According to recent research cited in a Wall Street Journal article (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-danger-of-assertive-advertising-1494986460) being assertive with your advertising may be counter-productive. The Journal notes, “That’s because consumers don’t like being told what to do, especially by brands they love, says Yael Zemack-Rugar, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Central Florida and one of three authors of a paper about assertive ads forthcoming in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.”

The hard sell is a turn-off; soft sell works, according to what the research seems to be telling us. Even a phrase as seemingly innocuous as “Like us on Facebook” could be holding people back from doing what you would like them to do!

Something to think about.