C O G N I T I V E C O M M U N I C A T I O N :

In f luence your audience by communicat ing in thei r language.

By Kathryn McMann

USING MEMORY RENTENTION AND COMMUNICATION INTELLIGENCES TO INFLUENCE SOCIAL SHARING THROUGH

MEDIA

© Kathryn McMann Holistic Marketing Consultancy 2013www.KathrynMcMann.com

Whitepaper created from the original talk ‘Predicting Their Next Move: Influence Your Audience by Speaking their Language’ Presented by Kathryn McMann #140Conf New York: June 2011

How can we have a greater impact on how people share and communicate across platforms on and offline- By communicating in their language?

The Internet and mobile access has multiplied different ways of communicating anywhere, with almost anyone, and be able to source or look up almost anything. But this does mean they are all in one place. An audience with a shared interest will be disseminated across many portals of communication.

Let’s start with what we know. We know that as human beings we have the same motives and incentives online as we do offline. We are driven by the same emotional drivers such as desire, belief, empathy, humour.We know…

There are over 200 million* active users on Twitter.

Facebook dominates the digital space, with over 1 billion users*.

Over 4 billion videos* are watched on Youtube every day.

LinkedIn has now more than 200 million users*.

And we know that the online event organizer social media site, MeetUp, facilitates 340,000* meet ups per month.

*Statistics correct as of 10th Jan 2013.

Powerful stuffThis reinforces that interactions are happening all the time and that content creation is an extremely valuable marketing tool, especially since the accelerated evolution of technology has opened up the opportunities for everyone to communicate globally. These stats help us measure the impact of interaction but they don’t help us identify where the users have come from or where the users will go to next from one customer touch point to anotherInformation is so readily available that the volume of content available is immense, and in turn, it is drowning itself to sell out, becoming white noise to the interactive audience.

2© Kathryn McMann Holistic Marketing Consultancy 2013www.KathrynMcMann.com

Q

Information Overload

The world is suffering from information overload and, in turn, decision fatigue. In response, customers are creating their own personal filters to quieten the influx of noise and to help streamline their decision making. They choose to only engage with what they are actually interested in and nothing more, staying within these areas of interest. This is where social activity helps to widen that gap.

Algorithm Funnelling

Google also contributes to this funnelling affect of minimizing people’s ‘areas of interest’ by defining peoples search results based on previous searches so no search page results are ever the same, even if the search term used is. Facebook also funnels people’s personal areas of interest by only showing the status feeds of the ‘friends’, ‘pages’ and ‘groups’ that people have recently interacted with. You can read more about Google rank and Facebook ranking systems on my blog.

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Natural CuriosityHowever, we are all naturally curious, and our knowledge capacity is always growing. What we see as relevant expands our circle of attention opening up our wider scope of interest. This works well online because of the viral nature of the Internet, where one thing laterally connects to another, although these lateral connections will be unique to each individual user.

So how can we have greater control on what is included in ‘their’ area of attention? 4

© Kathryn McMann Holistic Marketing Consultancy 2013www.KathrynMcMann.com

Decision

Areas of

Personal

Information Overload

This is very similar to the ‘9 hits and their sold’ theory. A pre-Internet advertising mantra developed in the 80’s. This is now the equivalent to achieving 60+ hits/brand recognition and a strong emotional connection, to get the brand within the radar of the audiences’ circle of attention.

So how can brands get within this circle of interest?

5© Kathryn McMann Holistic Marketing Consultancy 2013www.KathrynMcMann.com

Interest- Related Content

Related Content

New Interests

Area of Interest

Interest

To really engage with an audience you need to communicate in their languageIt’s quite simple to speak to them in their Communication style which is also known as their learning style. For example, when we communicate

We learn – receive the information We memorise – store the information

and when we need to communicate the information

We retrieve the information from our memory to pass on or reiterate.

How you digest, perceive, and memorise information impacts how you share, repeat and reciprocate the information.

When we receive information that speaks to our primary communication style we are able to reply or interact with greater speed and greater understanding. This is because we revert to using our natural state of communication which takes the least amount of energy and has the lowest path of resistance, which is often required in a fast-paced feed of information. For example, it is very likely that either your right or your left arm is stronger than the other. So when you approach tasks/sports/activities you will always unconsciously revert to using the stronger arm first to start with an advantage rather than a disadvantage. This is a subconscious decision based on the instinct of survival and previous memory. This is particularly why visual communication and videos are shared so easily and become viral, even if only for an afternoon. They simplify messages for all intelligences making it easier to understand, memorise and share on.

Cognitive Intelligences

Everyone uses a combination of different intelligences - logical, visual, intrapersonal, kinaesthetic, auditory, spatial, and interpersonal- these are the main seven that are widely recognised, however there are up to twenty-one that have been diagnosed so far.

Utilising and Sharing information

When we feel confident of our understanding of a message in its medium, we are far more likely to share the message on.

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This is why video is such a success. It speaks to a larger than average range of senses and intelligences. Even to kinaesthetic, as people with a natural kinaesthetic ability will subconsciously visualise themselves or use ‘muscle memory’ to copy or repeat an action they see on a video and be able to re-enact this action without the complication of mentally dissecting it. If they were to mentally dissect the process, this would actually hinder their ability to copy it naturally because then they have turned the information into a logical process. For example, an amazing dancer does not necessarily make a good dance teacher, unless, they have additional cognitive communication intelligences to be able to adjust their own retention and retrieval processes and then clearly communicate this to others who in turn, are able to interpret and understand the intended meaning of the information. In this case having a combination of intrapersonal (self-reflection of own ability), interpersonal (working and understanding with others), spatial (clarity within the space), and kinaesthetic (having the skill in the first place) would contribute to optimum intelligence sharing and understanding for both the teacher and the pupil.

Storage and Memory

By receiving information that appeals to our natural communication style, it helps us to retain this information better. If our brain subconsciously knows where this information is stored, it is then much easier to pull it into the conscious. For example, if you’re trying to find ‘that thing’ amongst your belongings where do you start? Do you visually retrace your steps by remembering the last thing you thought when ‘that thing’ was in your hands (emotive visualisation), or do you go to the last place you remember being in your house (spatial and visual) and try to recall what you were doing (kinaesthetic) or do you go to the place you always keep it in (logical) and start from there? You may even use all of these intelligences at different points during your search. Next time, notice what order you go through and then try to notice when you get frustrated or stumble with your search.If we know where to find this information, it is then easier to retrieve the information with greater clarity. In turn, the information is then closer to the original message we first absorbed and received. This also means that there are far fewer parts of the message lost through personal translation, when recalling from memory.

Supporting Memory Retention

Another way to support memory retention is to create a memorable narrative or symbols that trigger connections between the media. This can be a brand message, character or even a game that challenges individuals and encourages collaboration. One such method, trans-media narration, the process of communicating a single story or experience across multiple social media platforms, is especially important in reaching and building loyal communities across the spectrum of communication styles. Trans-media means to travel across mediums. Mediums are both on and offline forms of communication and even an individual’s personal experience.

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Each medium holds and continues part of the message or storyline, and together they form the narrative as a whole, encouraging participants to share their experiences with each other onto another platform. To aid continued engagement, there could be a reward system, one in which the users/participants receive another part of the puzzle or brand message. This is viral by its very nature by encouraging people to work together. People excel in different areas but their curiosity forces them to collaborate to solve larger parts of the narratives, drive interest and in turn seed from one medium to the next.

So, how can YOUR message stand out from the noise?To make your message stand out and reach people’s areas of interest and sustain this interest, communicate by addressing all cognitive intelligences. Create your message across multiple channels, such as audio, blogs, vlogs, newsletters, video and particularly offline engagement, so that the message can be easily understood by consumers/users/advocates/followers with any variation of intelligent perception style.So what does this all mean? It means...

You can reach an even bigger global audience across a variety of media who will seed your content with greater clarity and enthusiasm.

Greater options for people with disabilities to be involved, again reaching a wider audience.

Greater communication across cultural boundaries, varying educational backgrounds and learnt intelligences.

And creates greater consistency for the brand image uniting the customer’s journey across the media.

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Summary: How can we influence where users will click to next?

Utilise a variation of MediumsUse a wide range of media and ensure it repeats the same message that fits within the context of the medium to address and target all audiences scattered across the different mediums personal preference based on their demographics. You need to know your technology, here if you don’t consult expert help. For free advice on some of the main platforms, please refer to The Social Media Low-Down.

Optimise and enable the technology to make it fool-proof to shareEnsure sharing buttons and technologies are in all the proper places, connected and linked properly. Feed their curiosity or propensity to shout about it. It’s an obvious one but one that is often thought to be so simple that the mechanics are often overlooked.

Streamline all media to ensure the message repeats throughout mediums This is about managing the team efficiently and setting up feasible human-

centred processes with realistic time-management to keep the brand consistent across all the media.

Create a narrative that connects the brand story across different mediaCreate a narrative or concept that unites all the different media and communication channels together to present an effortless customer journey, presenting simplified connected concepts and a seamless brand image. This simplification and combination of medium connections will encourage your audience to interact with each other, to connect between the different channels, for example, using a traditional narrative in a non-traditional way, across integrated media such as Trans-media narration.

9© Kathryn McMann Holistic Marketing Consultancy 2013www.KathrynMcMann.com

About the Author

Kathryn McMann presented this talk at the #140Conf in New York on 16 th June, 2011. Kathryn is always interested in discussing these theories with people from all sectors. If you like to discuss the issues and topic, find her on her Blog, Facebook page or LinkedIn, all of which are provide on her website: www.KathrynMcMann.comIf you would like Kathryn to speak at your events on this topic; Social Media; or about the new Consumer-Brand Relationship, would like to discuss how using Cognitive Communications can help you business please contact her on: 0 (+44) 330 111 0630Kathryn@KathrynMcMann.com@KathrynMcMannwww.KathrynMcMann.com

Kathryn McMann’s original talk from the #140Conf in New York City, June 2011

Duration: 10 minutes

10© Kathryn McMann Holistic Marketing Consultancy 2013www.KathrynMcMann.com