Word advertising

It's true, even more so today than in the previous 20 years. The reason - social media, which is primarily a text-based way to communicate. And as more brands take to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blogs, words will become even more important.

The question is, which words?

Well, the psychology department at Yale University studied many words in the English language and discovered the following to be the most powerful, especially when trying to sell or persuade.

Here then are the 10 words you should always consider using in your campaigns; and if you've been paying close attention, you'll realize three of them are actually in the headline and subhead of this article. Oh, and there are a few words missing from this list that may surprise you.

10: NEW

We want new cars, new clothes, new shoes, new tastes, new smells, and we're willing to pay for it.

9: SAVE

Hands up if you don't want to save time or money. Exactly. Saving money is something that 99% of us want to do. Even the richest of the rich want deals, they just get them on more expensive purchases. If you can genuinely promise to save someone some money, you'd be foolish not to point this out. Of course, HOW you talk about it is just as important as what you're talking about. Do it wrong, and you will come across as either a pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap merchant, or untrustworthy. And as for saving time, well, time is money, which brings us right back to something we all want to save.

8: SAFETY (or SAFE)

A viscous Nazi, played so well by Sir Laurence Olivier in the movie Marathon Man, asks over and over - "is it safe?" We demand safety from our products. We want to know that our investment is safe, or that our children are playing with toys that meet the highest safety standards. We want food that has been inspected, and we want safe choices in clothing and shoes. Now, the question then becomes how to talk about safety. Sometimes, it will be something that naturally comes up, such as baby products or items that are designed to provide safety. But sometimes saying the word "safe" can be negative, as it brings up an issue that is considered a no-brainer. For instance, "our burgers are 100% safe to eat." Well, why wouldn't they be? What's the deal? What are you saying? So, be careful with its usage.

7: PROVEN

When you have a brand new product, not a new version of an existing product, there's a hump that you need to get over. It's basically "buyer beware, " because the customer is dealing with an unknown. They can wait to see what the reviews on the product or service are, or they can ask friends and relatives. But one way to get over this hump is to provide the proof yourself. For instance, a famous cat food brand often used "8 out of 10 cat owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred it." Wow, 8 out of 10. Must be good, it's proven. I'll try it. As Seen On TV products also do this well, with product demonstrations that prove a point. So, don't just say it, prove it.