If your marketing isn’t working… you may just need more of it.

Marketing psychology expert Dr. Jeffery Lant’s “Rule of Seven” states: “To penetrate the buyer’s conscious mind, and therefore make any significant penetration in a given market, a prospect needs to see a message a minimum of seven times within an 18-month period.”

For decades, this “Rule of 7” has been seen as a fundamental rule in marketing. And it makes sense!

When have you ever bought something after hearing about it for the first time? Pretty rarely if ever. 

But we’ve all been “worked down” by brands or products hitting us over and over again in our feeds or on TV or driving by the billboard to work everyday. The key is in the repetition — but that’s not all you need to know to make the “rule of 7” work for you.

Building Awareness

The Rule of 7, or at least, the idea behind it, rings especially true with awareness tactics. Brand awareness marketing refers to efforts to familiarize the target audience with your brand. It is an essential part of any marketing strategy but is especially important for newer businesses to focus on before diving into product marketing. 

No one buys a product from a company they don’t trust or have never heard of (typically.) And no one “knows” your brand after one ad or post on social media. 

Building brand awareness takes time – likely even more than 7 exposures – but it can be done successfully when keeping these things in mind:

1. Consistency in the repetition
2. Clarity (and simplicity) of message
3. Customized for platform/audience segment 

Consistency is Key

For your brand messaging to sink in, it’s not enough for folks to see something from you 7 (or more) times. They need to see the same (or virtually the same) message each time.

This sounds simple, but it can be challenging. Resist the urge, the itchy-ness to change out your ad message every month (or even every quarter). Repetition can help build trust and understanding. Plus, it can help cut through the noise of the thousands of messages consumers are met with each day. 

Keep it Simple

Similarly, the simplicity and clarity of the message can help with message retention and brand trust. Think of all the brands you know well. For each brand, you likely know a handful of words, or a phrase, that you associate with it. Distilling a brand down in this way is not easy, but it can have a tremendous impact on overall awareness and success. 

Know Your Audience (and Platform)

While keeping your message consistent and clear, you may also need to be mindful of the context/platform where you are sharing the message and the segment of the audience you are trying to build awareness with. The message won’t change, necessarily, but the style, length and tone might. When building your content strategy, think through those factors and keep in mind another “rule of 7”: can you squeeze seven pieces of content or marketing opportunities out of a single idea? Like the original rule of 7, the number itself isn’t important – it’s the idea of maximizing your efforts.