SmallBusinessNewz

Earlier today, I posted an article about security in the workplace that was inspired by a press release from Somerset International.

Now I'd like to take a moment to examine a marketing tactic they employed in this press release. They open the entire release with the alarming statistics about workplace violence that I discussed earlier.

Their goal is to get you to check out their security product that they talk about later in the release, but the beginning is all about cold hard facts. It hooks you into (or technically tries to scare you into) checking out what they are selling.

While the ethics of using fear to market your business are debatable, the broader concept of the "hook" can be a quite effective marketing tactic. Obviously, the whole point of marketing is to hook people in, but I think the way Somerset did this right off the bat in their release is a good example of how to do it.

This method could really be applied to just about any kind of article or advertisement, not just press releases. Getting the attention of potential customers is the most important part of marketing. If you can't even get their attention, they're never going to get as far as buying from you.

You need to start by getting in their faces, so to speak. Just don't be intrusive and annoying about it.

Somerset's release begins: "On average, 1.7 million workers are injured each year, and more than eight hundred die as a result of workplace violence according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The most extreme form of violence in the workplace, homicide is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States."

Hmmm, that's interesting, not to mention scary. It makes you want to continue reading and find out where this is heading. You want your customers to care about where your point is heading. Otherwise, it's just a waste of everybody's time.

What strategies to hook customers in have worked for you?