It was nice of you not to say anything about my back.
How did I find out that I have a problem?
Well, the Live Search team at Microsoft recently released its list of the top, “How to…” search terms for 2008 and one of the contenders was, “How to lose back fat.”
Over the past year, I’ve been working on losing weight and honestly, I thought the problem was a little lower– say in the caboose area.
But obviously, with millions of Americans searching for ways to lose
upper dorsal torso poundage, I’m figuring I might be carrying a few extra bricks up top as well, that everyone’s just been too polite to point out.
Back fat wasn’t the only thing occupying enquiring minds.
People also clicked to find out:
• How to tie a tie
• How to avoid tan lines
• How to save money
• How to write a resume
• How to lose weight
• How to make money
• How to improve your marriage
• How to save on home heating bills
• How to cook a turkey
• How to brine a turkey
• How to argue with your spouse
• How to choose a pediatrician
• How to reduce stress in your life
• How to be happy at work
• How to make gravy
• How to recycle cell phones
• How to pronounce “Palahniuk”
And to answer your question, it’s “Paula Nick”, and he’s the guy who wrote Fight Club, which was turned into a Brad Pitt movie about a brawl-picking sociopath.
And I found all that out by doing a Quick Search.
One of the fascinating things about this list—and a great lesson for marketing types—is how very personal and sweetly neurotic it is. Look behind the questions asked and you’ll see a host of concerns:
• “Am I doing this right?”
• “Am I pronouncing this correctly?”
• “Will I be warm enough?”
• “Am I loved?
• “Will I be successful?”
and
• “Why are you staring at my back?”
As you may recall, 2008 was an election year. So how come questions like, “How to pick a presidential candidate” or “How to understand Electoral College Votes? or “How to spell “Wasilla?” didn’t make it to the top?
You see, human concerns are vitally personal. That’s why marketing messages, however rational and well-thought out, have to connect with deeper emotions. They need to touch the brain stem, not just the brain cells. The personal is primal.
As we search for ways to engage the people who are our target markets, we have to keep in mind that what they’re searching for comes from the heart and make sure that we speak to those deeply-felt desires.
Now, I have to go. I’ve got to work on my Lats.