5 Things Every L&D Pro Should Steal From Marketing

Learn more about our book "Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro" at https://trainlikeamarketer.com

L&D professionals and organizations face a critical challenge: disengaged learners and ineffective training programs. Traditional methods often result in low engagement, poor knowledge retention, and inadequate application. With a fast-paced world demanding constant up-skilling and reskilling, old-fashioned training can't keep up. Research indicates that only a quarter of executives find their training effective, with a mere third of the global training expenditure leading to business improvement. This session proposes a revolutionary solution: adopting a marketing approach to modernize and enhance training, ensuring it's engaging and effective for today's learners.

In this dynamic session, we'll explore how L&D professionals can tackle the challenge of disengaged learners and ineffective training programs by adopting marketing techniques. We'll look into the science of the how our brains actually work and its role in capturing attention and driving engagement. Attendees will learn how to create learner personas and design learner-centered solutions that cater to individual needs and preferences.

By the end of this session, L&D professionals will be equipped with a toolkit of marketing strategies and techniques to revolutionize their training programs, drive learner engagement, and achieve better business outcomes.

In the session, you will learn:

» How to harness the power of the primal brain, as used by marketers, for more engaging learning experiences.

» How to create learner personas to design learner-centered solutions

» How to design engaging learner journeys

» Techniques for building attention-grabbing awareness and promotional assets to engage your learners through great copy and exciting visuals

Transcript

1. TRAINLIKEAMARKETER.COM 5 Things Every L&D Pro Should Steal from Marketing BIANCA BAUMANN & MIKE TAYLOR
2. For contact info, slides, supporting links & resources visit trainlikeamarketer.com Visit the website: trainlikeamarketer.com
5. trainlikeamarketer.com Coming May 27th
6. WHY MARKETING?
7. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn L&D and Marketing share a common goal
8. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn How to get people's attention and help them think and act in new ways.
9. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn DIFFERENT APPROACHES
10. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn How L&D sells hamburgers
11. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Why You Should Buy Our Hamburgers: • They taste really good • We make them any way you want • We make them fresh • They are inexpensive • We have free kids toys • We have restaurants in lots of places
12. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn How marketers sell hamburgers
13. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
14. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn What is the difference? Why do we do it differently?
15. Things To Steal from Marketing
16. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Intuitive Brain 01 Learner Personas 02 Writing That Clicks 03 Grabbing Attention 04 Things To Steal from Marketing 5 Learning Campaigns 05
17. Speak to the Intuitive Brain
19. Daniel Kahneman Human thinking and decision-making involve two distinct cognitive systems
21. DELIBERATIVE
23. Let's try a quick experiment!
24. Identify ink COLOR
25. PURPLE BROWN BLACK PINK BLUE ORANGE RED GREEN RED GREEN PURPLE BLUE Slower? More effort? Stroop Test
26. What are we wired to pay attention to?
27. PERSONAL The intuitive brain craves personal relevance and ignores generic info. Attention Triggers CONTRASTABLE Contrasts grab attention. Our brains focus on differences, seeing them as important. TANGIBLE The intuitive brain craves concrete things it can see, touch, and feel – not abstract things. MEMORABLE Unusual, emotion-sparking info is easier to remember. VISUAL Our intuitive brain is wired to prioritize and make sense of visual input. EMOTIONAL Emotions are the intuitive brain's signal that something matters, driving attention and action. 6 ways to engage intuitive thinking https://www.salesbrain.com/neuromap-overview/6-stimuli/
29. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn We don't think as much as we think we think!
30. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
31. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn SUBCONSCIOUS MIND Supercomputer loaded with a database of programmed behaviors https://www.brucelipton.com/resource/interview/romp-through-the-quantum-field
32. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn most are acquired by time we are 6 YEARS OLD
33. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn WHOA!
34. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn How would you design differently for a 6-year-old?
35. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Which of those things do you NOT like?
36. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Living in this world…
37. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn …with this brain
38. Learner Personas
39. What do you know about personas?
40. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn What’s really important to learners?
41. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn PROFESSIONAL (THE WORK) PERSONAL (THE INDIVIDUAL) ORGANIZATION-LED (TOP DOWN) EMPLOYEE-LED (BOTTOM-UP) Human Experience 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trend Report Experience should be bottom-up and personal
42. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn PROFESSIONAL (THE WORK) PERSONAL (THE INDIVIDUAL) ORGANIZATION-LED (TOP DOWN) EMPLOYEE-LED (BOTTOM-UP) Human Experience 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trend Report Employee Engagement Human Experience Work/Life Balance Employee Experience Am I making a difference? When experience is bottom-up and personal, it becomes focused on “human experience”
43. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Meaning at Work MEANING AT WORK WORK Worker Work Environment Impact on Aspirations
44. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Learner Personas • Representation of your typical learner • Fictitious character • Supports human-centered design • 3-5 personas are ideal
45. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Learner Personas • Become more aware of your audience • Meet learners’ needs based on their preferences • Share the right content, at the right time, and at the right place • Increase engagement and productivity
46. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn 51 GATHER INFORMATION ANALYZE INFORMATION CREATE LEARNER PERSONAS • Interviews (learners, managers, other stakeholders) • Observations • Use of data Learner Persona Creation • Common threads • Similarities • Trends • Excel and PowerPoint • Brainstorming in design thinking sessions • Confirm with learners
47. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn PAIN POINTS NEEDS SEE Learner Personas DO THINK & FEEL HEAR
48. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Name: Apima Barsar Age: 26 Location: London Tenure: 1 year Role: Administrative Assistant Education: B.S. Goal: Manage a team Tech-savviness: high Interests: running and reading Best time to learn: early in the morning Access training through: any digital format Other: English is her second language SEE HEAR DO THINK/FEEL She is overwhelmed by the large volume of work. She just doesn’t have time to learn new skills at work. She needs a more flexible schedule. Her child is her priority right now. She hears from others that feel equally overwhelmed and miss flexibility on how they can access training, especially when they need it. Daily focuses on tasks and keeping operations running smoothly. Apima is a valued member of her team. She is taking classes online because it provides flexibility for her family-focused life. Overwhelmed by trying to keep up with multiple request and competing timelines. Frustrated by the training she has gotten because she doesn’t understand how it relates to her role or future roles. Example Pain Points • Her manager isn’t available as much as she would like • She doesn’t know where to go to learn new skills to help her reach her goal • Too many different sources and it’s hard to distinguish what’s worth her time • Not enough open communication within her core team • Too much gossip Needs • More guidance from her manager • Dedicated time to learn • People to stop talking and act, follow-through on accountabilities
49. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Name: Location: Tenure: Role: Education: Goals/Aspirations: Tech-savviness: Interests: Best time to learn: Access training through: Other: SEE HEAR DO THINK/FEEL • What does their work environment look like? • Who are their peers, coworkers, and friends? • What would they see when it comes to the work environment, and learning specifically? • What do they hear in their work environment about others’ pain points in general • And what do they hear when it comes to learning and learning solutions specifically? • What are their common tasks? • What would they do while using a learning solution? (where do they go, are they focused on the learning or do they multitask, etc.) • What are they thinking and feeling when they are faced with challenges at work? • What are they thinking and feeling when they take learning? • What is their attitude towards learning provided? Pain Points • What are some of the pain points in their daily work life right now? • Why is this a pain point? • What can’t they do because of this pain point? • Who or what stands in their way to perform the best they can in their role? Needs • What do they need in order to solve their pain points? • Who or what can help them perform at the level they want to be at? • Is it something they can provide, or is it something the organization has to provide? • What do they need to reach their goal?
50. Captivating Writing
51. NEWSFLASH!
53. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Don’t take it personally…nobody wants to read anything.
54. What You Can Do About It Start with great titles 1 2 3
55. 80% 20% THE TITLE HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTENT
56. Compelling titles spark curiosity and convince learners the content is worth their time. Boring ones don’t!
57. Headline Helpers https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer https://headlines.sharethrough.com/
58. What You Can Do About It Start with great titles 1 Use the SURE principles 2 3
59. S Simple U Useful R Resonate E Easy to skim
60. S Simple Our brains crave simple, clear information, making readability key in L&D.
61. Readability is a good proxy for learnability Look for ways to reduce the amount & complexity of your text
62. Flesch Reading Ease Score Use simple words Avoid 3 syllable words
63. Readability Score 65 52 30
64. Readability Tools
65. U Useful Ditch generic content and write for learners' problems. (Just like marketers target customer needs)
66. R Resonate Emotionally Emotional learning content creates a lasting impact by connecting with hearts and minds, not just facts.
67. Resonate Emotionally
69. REMEMBER: OUR LOGICAL MIND IS NOT IN CONTROL OF OUR ACTIONS
70. How marketers tap into emotion…
71. VIDEO
73. E Easy to Skim Busy learners skim, so create skimmable content with clear headings, short chunks, and visuals to boost learning.
74. Blocks of Text Data inside typical text blocks isn’t as impactful as it could be. https://killervisualstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Visual-Communication-Storytelling-Redesigned-ebook-FINAL.pdf
75. Skimmable Words: 291 Flesch Reading Ease Score: 37.9 Words: 103 Flesch Reading Ease Score: 60.8
76. What You Can Do About It Start with great titles 1 Use the SURE principles 2 Close with a call to action (CTA) 3
77. Call to Action (CTA) Clear direction on what to do and how it benefits them Transforms passive consumption into active participation
78. Attention- Grabbing Content
79. WITHOUT INITIAL ATTENTION NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
80. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
81. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
82. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
83. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
84. Did you catch ALL those changes?
85. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
86. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn
87. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Inattentional blindness: Our intuition is that we will notice something that's that visible, that's that distinctive, and that intuition is consistently wrong. – Daniel Simons Invisible Gorilla
88. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Important visual information can very easily be overlooked. That’s a gorilla!
89. What does the intuitive brain notice?
90. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn What Our Brains Pay Attention To Relevance We crave personal relevance and ignore generic info Novelty Our brains focus on differences, seeing them as important Emotion Signal that something matters
91. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn First Impressions Matter
92. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Our unconscious mind can form likes or dislikes before the conscious mind even knows what is being responded to.
93. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn What we see, hear, feel, or experience in our first encounter with something colors how we process the rest of it. https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/headlines-change-way-think
94. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Our automatic, subconscious reaction to a design influences how we perceive its relevance, credibility, and even usability.
95. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn MILLISECONDS
96. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn First impressions… % DESIGN RELATED
97. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn GOOD DESIGN IS A SMART INVESTMENT
98. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn REDUCE visual complexity + ENHANCE comprehension
99. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Your audience response may depend more on YOU!
100. Learning Campaigns
101. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn What comes to mind when you think of learner journeys?
102. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Event vs Journey
103. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Learner Journeys Learner Journey or Learner Experience View Curriculum View Topic View 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 A B C D 5 A B C D
104. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Learner Journeys
105. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn 1 LEARN SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME 2 LEARN MORE OF SOMETHING 3 APPLY & REFINE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED 4 ADJUST TO CHANGE 5 REACT TO FAILURE Example: System Rollout Training Traditional: • WBT Systems Overview • Job Aids • Knowledge Check 5 Moments of Need
106. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn 1 LEARN SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME 2 LEARN MORE OF SOMETHING 3 APPLY & REFINE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED 4 ADJUST TO CHANGE 5 REACT TO FAILURE 5 Moments of Need 2-3 weeks before system rollout WHEN WHAT Micro-video or WBT Overview System 1 week before system rollout Interactive job aid System rollout Wiki page, help desk Asked to complete a new task Tool tips Error message in system Help desk and Wiki page
107. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Learner Journey Template
108. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Marketing Funnel
109. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Kick-off Session Email 1 Email 2 Opened No Email 1 Email 3 Yes Closing Session Email 3 Opened No Email 2 Yes Chatbot Chatbot Journey Example
110. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Intuitive Brain 01 Learner Personas 02 Writing That Clicks 03 Grabbing Attention 04 Things To Steal from Marketing 5 Learning Campaigns 05
111. trainlikeamarketer.com #DevLearn Finish That Sentence I learned… I’m beginning to think that… I wonder if… I rediscovered… I was surprised that… I’m going to try…
112. trainlikeamarketer.com Coming May 27th