Bacon. A Lesson in Features vs Benefits for Your Social Media Marketing

This week I saw a TV ad for a new brand of bacon.

I like bacon. I buy bacon.

Sometimes from my local butcher, sometimes from the supermarket.

It got my attention.

The TV ad told me that their bacon contained no nitrites, and that someday all bacon would be made this way.

This bacon is the future.

But the ad didn’t tell me WHY.

I know the feature – no nitrites.

I don’t know the benefits – what does this mean for me? Why should I change my buying habits? Why should I buy THIS bacon?

Bacon from my local butchers

Bacon from the supermarket

Bacon from the TV advert

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because your ideal clients are watching your social media posts. They see what you are selling. Perhaps you’ve explained the features, but are you communicating the BENEFITS?

A feature is something that your service or product has. It might make you different from your competitors.

A benefit is a result your customer can expect to experience as a result of using your product or service.

You might be selling features, but people buy the benefits.

The benefit is the reason a prospective customer becomes a customer. You need to include this in your messaging.

You don’t buy a vacuum cleaner. You buy clean floors.

People don’t buy features, they buy the advantages that those features provide.

In your social media posts, address the advantages your client would like in their lives.

If you want to break it down, a useful exercise is to ask yourself the question “So what?” about each feature.

This vacuum cleaner has bagless technology.

So What?

You don’t have to buy disposable bags or change them.

So What?

No further outlay on bags or the messy job of changing them.

This vacuum cleaner has anti-hair wrap technology

So What?

If you have long hair, you won’t have to give your vacuum cleaner a regular haircut.

So What?

Your bald husband won’t swear at the household members with flowing locks 😉

Demonstrate how you meet their desires and convert followers into buyers 

Let’s go back to the TV ad. I like bacon.

I don’t know if my bacon contains nitrites.

It’s not a problem I’m aware of.

I’m not buying.

I already like to buy a healthier version of bacon – the medallions – so if nitrates are a health concern, I’m open to making a healthier choice and will consider changing my buying habits. But I need to hear what those health benefits are.

Of course, I can google them (I have, but only because I was writing this blog) but people are busy. You have to quickly paint them a picture of how you can make their lives better.

In summary, know what problems and desires your ideal customer has. When you write sales copy, talk to that one customer about how you help with that problem. And lead with the benefit, not the feature.

If you’d like help with nailing down your ideal client or writing

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