How would you describe the iPhone 5 in one sentence? I’ve been monitoring Twitter for one week since the new phone was first introduced. Thousands of tweets use the same adjectives, almost as if one person had written it. The posts say the iPhone 5 is “thinner and lighter.”
How is possible that thousands of people are describing a product in exactly the same way? A Google search for the phrase “iPhone 5” + thinner + lighter returns 29 million results. The exact words are used to describe the iPhone 5 in tweets, newspaper and magazine articles, in blog posts, and on radio, television, and podcasts.
Create a Twitter-Friendly Headline. The Apple marketing team is expert at developing what I call a “Twitter-friendly headline” for each and every product they launch. It all started with Steve Jobs who was doing it well before Twitter existed. What was the original iPod? According to Jobs, “1,000 songs in your pocket.” What was the first MacBook Air? “The world’s thinnest notebook.” While Jobs wasn’t trying to fit a product description in a Twitter post, he intuitively understood that a headline must give specific information while being short enough for customers to remember and repeat. It just turns out that Twitter’s 140-character limit is a great guideline to follow. Anything over 140 characters becomes harder to remember.
Now let’s go back to the iPhone 5. Here’s how the Apple marketing machine works. An executive will first reveal the headline during the launch presentation. As soon as the presentation ends, a press release goes out using the exact description as its headline. During the presentation Apple marketing chief, Phil Schiller, delivered the headline: The iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone we have ever made. This sentence is only 68 characters, well within the 140-character limit on Twitter. In a corporate video Apple chief designer, Jony Ive, echoed the headline nearly word for word. Ive said, “The iPhone 5 is the thinnest, lightest, iPhone we have ever built.” Apple spokespeople had internalized the headline.
At 12:00 noon PST on September 12, Apple updated its news site with a press release that read: Apple introduces iPhone 5. Thinnest, lightest iPhone ever. Shortly after Apple’s press release hit the wires, the Associated Press ran a story with the headline, Apple Says New iPhone 5 Is Thinner, Lighter.
Since hundreds of newspapers and online news sites carry AP reports, the headline was shared among thousands of readers. Newspapers, blogs, and sites took the lead and crafted headlines based on the Apple narrative. Here’s a sample:
NPR: Apple unveils new thinner, lighter, iPhone 5
CNET: iPhone 5 is thinner, lighter, faster
Endgadget: iPhone 5 review. Thinner, lighter, faster, simpler.
Many people on Twitter began having fun with the message. Here are a few examples of Twitter comments that were posted after the announcement.
“Congratulations, the iPhone 5 is thinner and lighter. I hope they start selling ‘I didn’t realize it was in my back pocket’ insurance.” @zeldawilliams
“The iPhone 5 diet. Makes you faster, thinner, lighter, taller and even better looking.” @qman_tweets
“Thinner, lighter, and faster. No, no, not iPhone 5. It’s me after a heavy work-out this morning.” @augustprabhu
Within hours of the announcement, Apple had successfully crafted the narrative it wanted to see and, just as importantly, it gave Apple Store specialists (salespeople) a script. I can hear the conversation between a specialist and a customer starting like this:
Specialist: I see you’re interested in the iPhone 5. We’re really proud of it. It’s the thinnest, lightest iPhone we’ve ever made.
Customer: You’re right. It is light. How much lighter is it? Can you tell me more?
Specialist: I’d love to. First, do you have own an iPhone already or will this be your first one…
The Twitter-friendly headline is so effective it can be used to describe anything—a product, service, initiative, or company. If you cannot describe your idea in 140 characters or less, try again until you can. Your listener needs a category—a bucket—in which to place the information. Only then can you dive into the details.
One caveat. Don’t confuse headlines with slogans. A slogan is an evocative motto or phrase, but it doesn’t offer benefits nor does it tell me what the product is or does. For example,
Coca cola: “Open happiness” (it doesn’t tell you anything about the soda)
Nike: “Just do it.” (it doesn’t tell you anything about the shoe)
McDonald’s: “I’m lovin’ it” (it doesn’t tell you anything about the food).
A headline should be used to position the product for your customers and it should be short and memorable enough for your sales staff to use in conversation. Although the Twitter-friendly headline tells you a lot in one sentence, it is not intended to tell the whole story. It’s the attention-grabber, the page-turner. It convinces you to learn more and to consider the product. If you’d like to learn more about crafting a pitch using the Twitter-friendly headline as the foundation, read my earlier post on How to pitch anything in 15 seconds. Just remember—if you can’t describe your product in one short sentence, you’ll fail to grab the attention of your target customer. You’ve worked so hard on the product, now spend a little time crafting your headline.