Marketers: Don't Forget How REAL, NORMAL People Act

I came across a really interesting infographic article this week about how marketers and advertisers differ from the average population. It probably isn’t a surprise that marketers use social media more and are more active on newer sites, but they also pay more attention to brands on social media. Given this, it isn’t surprising that marketers think that it is important for businesses to participate on social media more so than “normal” people do.

Stop Vomiting QR Codes at Me; Normal People Dont’ Use Them.

The mass adoption of QR Codes in marketing is a perfect example of this. It seemed that everywhere you turn these days there is a QR code, typically with no compelling reason as to why I should scan it. Only 5% of consumers have actually scanned a QR code recently. Marketers are flocking to QR codes, but their love of the new medium is not shared by consumers.

As marketers, it is important to consider the actual usage habits of the audiences we want to reach. Most people don’t scan QR codes. Why waste your limited print space with a call to action that few people know what to do with and even fewer will actually do.

Remember How Normal Humans Act. They Are NOT Super Users.

Regular people don’t love to adopt new technologies or connect with brands because they do interesting things on the internet. Regular people like brands on the internet because they like them in real life. They don’t want to try every new social network (like Google+ or Spotify). They watch TV on a TV. They don’t want to follow brands on Twitter.