NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL RAPIDS

Nick Michaels
Copyright American Voice Corp. 2013 All Rights Reserved

In a river, too much water flowing through too little space creates rapids. The same thing applies to the digital river. Too much information flowing through too little time creates mental rapids. As long as you are able to control the boat, a ride through the rapids can be exhilarating and fun. When the speed of the rapids causes you to lose control, that fun ride becomes uncomfortable and you want to get out of the boat.

We are about the leave the over communicated world and enter the hyper communicated world. A place with rapids so intense the ride is terrifying. The audience /consumer will be drawn to messages which allow them to slow down and temporarily lose the out of control feeling.

The messages that stand out and attract will be longer and slower, not shorter and faster. They will be easy to digest because they will have more emotion than facts as their content. Tell a story, in a low key human voice using less flash and more depth of  feeling.

THEY COME FOR A FEELING

Nick Michaels

Copyright American Voice Corp. 2013 All Rights Reserved

Why does the audience listen? Is it the content? Or is it something deeper? The content is a means to an end. That end is a feeling.

They come for the feeling. 

When you make your messages about that feeling, you are connecting at their deepest and most personal level. You are connecting with them about the reason why they came.  If you want to reach the audience and connect with them, do it via the thing they care about most, and the reason they came. The Feeling.
The link below is a perfect example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjOleyFMMgw

ENGAGING THE NEW AUDIENCE

Audience Engagement Begins With Discovery And Participation
Nick Michaels
Copyright American Voice Corp.2013 All Rights Reserved.

The over communicated world has created a unique and very hostile environment for our messages. The audience is now our newest and biggest competitor.  Does your message allow the audience to discover and participate. Are you revealing yourself too early? The way to engage the audience is to make sure your message causes the them to ask this question: "What is this and who is bringing me this message?" Then make sure that the message is about their deepest needs, wants or fears. Do not make it about your product or service, make it about something that matters to them. Then somehow attach yourself to that feeling. That is how you make the connection.

Click for video:   A new audience and a new relationship

IT MAY BE YOUR MONEY BUT IT IS THEIR TIME.

Nick Michaels
Copyright American Voice Corp. 2013 All Rights Reserved

In The Over Communicated World, Time Becomes More Valuable Than Money.

There are two sides to every message, the sending and receiving side. In the over communicated world the only side that matters is the receiving side. I know it is your money that is spent to create and deliver the message, however, because of the new environment, created by the over communicated world,.the audience pays for it with something far more valuable to them.They pay for your message with their time.

Is your message worth it to them? Was it a good deal for them? How did they feel when the deal was over? These are the questions, that when answered correctly ensure that the audience/consumer feels the the trade was a good one.

DELIVERED OR RECEIVED?

Nick Michaels

Copyright American Voice Corp. 2013 All Rights reserved

Your message may have been delivered but was it received?

There is a big difference between a message being delivered and it being received. Junk mail and spam emails are delivered every day but not received. 

We live in an over communicated world. The amount of information is overwhelming and that creates an extremely hostile environment for all messages. In this environment we retreat into a defensive position and unless the message is vital and personal and emotionally engaging or extremely entertaining, it will not be received.

All messages come with a price. The currency with which we pay for all this information is time. As more and more information is tugging at our sleeve, time becomes more valuable. Where it is spent is based on a compelling reason for the spender. If your message is not about that compelling reason, it will probably be delivered but not received.

MOVING FASTER WHILE SITTING STILL

Nick Michaels

Copyright American Voice Corp. 2013 All Rights Reserved

The over communicated world We are now living in it, and are quickly moving beyond that, to the hyper communicated world.

 It can be a very uncomfortable place.

The downside of too many messages is the inability to focus on any one thing long enough to enjoy it.  One of the effects of the over communicated world is the feeling that life is moving faster, even though we are sitting still.  An occasional ride on a roller coaster is fun, but living on one is a nightmare.

Media, and especially advertising and promotion, can take advantage of this by making their messages slower and lower.  In audio messages, speak softly and use the power of the pause. In the over communicated world, messages that subliminally make you feel more comfortable have an advantage over those that do not. That advantage can be the difference between your message being received or rejected.