Can incorporating Learning Styles improve your marketing strategy?
Let me put it this way; if you are not considering learning styles, you will miss out on many potential clients!
Take, for example, the differences just in our staff here at Lionzone:
I am a reader! For me, it's almost always about reading! If you want to reach me, send me as many details as possible, and then get out of my way as I read literally every word you have. Don't have written content, then you have lost me, and I am moving on to the next company that does.
Our COO hates to read! If you sent him a mound of text, he is out of there or sending it to me to do the reading for him. Video is a better way to reach him. Interesting visuals really hit the mark.
Others in our staff are listeners or do-ers. They want to hear it or experience it. Podcasts are great for the listener type, whereas demos or free trials are great for the do-ers.
If you want to reach a group like ours, you must have your content game on point and offer something for all of us.
The staff at LZ are not outliers. Every human being is unique! We absorb information in various ways, and it is safe to say that no two people learn in exactly the same way.
The theory of Learning Styles seeks to determine how individual humans learn best and teach those strengths.
What engages one person can bore or confuse another. While there are flaws with this theory, for marketers, it is helpful to understand learning styles. People tend to gravitate towards their preferred learning style when researching for themselves, and our content offerings should match these preferences.
What Are Learning Styles?
Learning Styles is a theory that suggests that people prefer to learn in different ways and will retain information better if it is presented in their learning style. Learning Styles should not be confused with “Multiple Intelligences.” According to the article, Howard Gardner: 'Multiple Intelligences' are not 'learning styles', “A belief in multiple intelligences assumes that we have a number of relatively autonomous computers—one that computes linguistic information, another spatial information, another musical information, another information about other people, and so on.”While scientist today believe that learning styles are a “neuromyth,” as testing done in schools does not prove that providing information to the child utilizing their ‘learning style’ improves retention, outside of the classroom learning styles can be beneficial to getting and keeping someone’s attention.
VARK, developed by Neil Fleming and Colleen Mills in 1992, states that there are 4 main learning types.
The VARK Modalities | VARK (vark-learn.com)
- Visual - graphs, diagrams, charts, etc.
- Aural - lectures, discussions, and even talking to yourself
- Read/Write - the printed/written word
- Kinesthetic - hands-on/demonstrations
It is important to note that people do not learn through just one style or method. We can learn using all methods and any combination of methods. It should be noted that preference can change depending on what is being learned and other situational factors.
Are learning styles effective in marketing?
Marketing is the science of trying to reach people and make them want what you are offering. You can’t make them want what you have if they don’t understand, are confused by, or are not engaged with your content.
Marketers often feel that their content is like The Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”
It’s true they might come; but, if they are presented material in a way that is confusing, or boring for them, are they really going to stick around to learn more?
Learning Styles are not a magic bullet to get sales in the door; what they are is a tool in your kit; you should use it to engage the people interested in your product.
How to incorporate learning styles into your Marketing plan.
Incorporating learning styles in your marketing plan is so simple! Next time you write a blog, email, or post, think about how people like to learn. Did you incorporate something for those that like charts and diagrams? What about the listeners? The readers? The do-ers? Regardless of what content format you are using, you can incorporate at least two variations that speak to different learning styles.
Utilizing analytics, keep an eye on what content and styles are most often chosen by your target audience. This data will allow you to personalize what type of content you are sending to your contacts to ensure that you give them the information they want in a format they will enjoy using.
Make it easy for your contacts to engage with what you are offering. Let them stay in their comfort zone, then they will be more open to your product. Your job as a marketer is to cater to your audience and ensure that they feel heard and understood. Offering content that matches their preferred learning style is a simple and easy step to create an emotional connection with your buyer.
Here it is! You have been expecting it- the sales pitch. As I am sure you have discovered, this blog is created by Lionzone Digital Marketing, which means that we would be more than happy to assist your company with their digital marketing needs; for more information about our services, please see lionzone.com. My favorite feature of our services, no long-term contracts! If we don't earn your business every day, we don't deserve to keep you!
Resources:
Strauss, Valerie. Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles.’ Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/. October 16, 2013. Accessed May 7, 2021
“ The Vark Modalitites”, https://vark-learn.com/introduction-to-vark/the-vark-modalities/. Accessed May 7, 2021
Gleason, Derek. “Learning Styles: The Impact on Marketing Messaging,” CXL, https://cxl.com/blog/learning-styles/. Accessed May 7, 2021.
