Eyeball Talking

Last week I watched an episode of Pluto Living in which the star {Pluto} says, “Eyeball talking is the way to go when wearing your mask.”

Pluto is a “talking” Schnauzer from Canada who has become somewhat of a celebrity since her videos debuted on Facebook in March. She dispenses helpful advice on coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. And she’s very, very funny. {You can find her on Facebook or Instagram.

In the “Eyeball Talking” video, Pluto starts off by saying masks are “a really great way to whoosh some love and compassion out there” (she’s big on whooshing). Then she chats about how fun it is to watch masked-up people learning new ways to communicate now that they “can’t see your great smile or your snarly curled-up lip.” Dubbing Eyeball Talk “the universal language of our strange new world,” she has her Mom (wildlife photographer Nancie Wight) demonstrate ways to express what you’re feeling using just your eyes.

This got me thinking about marketing.

In this strange new world, we business owners are being challenged to find new ways to communicate, too.

Maybe your customers can’t shop in your store or eat in your restaurant. Maybe you can’t deliver your services from six feet away or while wearing a mask. Circumstances have pushed you to find creative ways to adapt the way you do business – and it also might be time to reconsider how you talk to your tribe.

Your business is still your business. You’re still you. And everything your clients/customers value about what you offer is still the same. But, like Pluto’s “lovey-dovey eyes,” the messages you put out there must be more heartfelt than ever.

Marketing right now is all about being human. Vulnerable. And sharing your feelings and struggles as a way of showing compassion and understanding. 

Making a genuine emotional connection with your clients/customers about what they need – and what you can give them – is what will keep them coming back. Again and again.

So if this new reality inspires us to be more open, more engaged, and more of who we are, then – as Pluto says – I think it’s a “really, really, really, really, (4 reallys)” good thing.