Aristotle: Ancient Greek Philosopher and Marketing Strategist

Born in 384 BC and often referred to as “the father of Western philosophy,” Aristotle contributed an abundance of important concepts to our society. His interests and prolific studies covered physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, music, poetry, theater, psychology, politics and more.

Perhaps his greatest contribution to the marketing world were insights into persuasion: a foundational aspect of any results-based marketing campaign. Aristotle believed that “ethos,” “pathos” and “logos” were necessary for effective persuasion.

Ethos is what is often preached in today’s “artificial world” of social media. It is the Greek word for “character” and the root of the word “ethic.” Ethos enables the audience to view you or your message as authentic and credible. Ethos can be created through tactics that create trust such as articles, success stories, case studies, testimonials, personal videos, resumes and more.

Pathos deals with appealing emotionally to an audience. Aristotle understood that humans are emotionally driven, and therefore, that their purchasing behavior is based in emotion. Pathos is the Greek word for “experience” – strong emotional hooks that appeal to a person’s value system inspire action. These emotions can be reached through persuasive messaging and visuals that makes the audience feel like they need a product or service.

Logos is an appeal to the analytical decision-making process through logic or reason. The word “logic” is derived from the Greek word “logos.” This is the fact-based dimension of Aristotle’s persuasive success manual. This includes communicating historical or product-based data that are true and believable to the target audience. Audiences who are analytically driven such as engineers and architects tend to prefer more Logos in the content they consume.

Make sure your marketing contains all Aristotle’s elements for increased response. If it’s all still Greek to you, contact us at info@x-factormarketing.com. We’d be happy to discuss building a highly persuasive inbound marketing program for you.

Sources: https://pathosethoslogos.com/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle