According to the book Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal, about 20% of all advertisements contain highly sexual imagery.
Of course, we already knew this, or at least guessed it! But what can a book that was written dozens of years ago tell usabout sex in advertising, if the author hadn’t seen Instagram or YouTube?
Lots of promotional channels nowadays are not censored and have too much sexuality in their content. Moreover, we have almost a full generation of people, who are now adults, that have been raised on sexual content.
Open any Instagram business profile – no matter if it’s influencers or business – and you will see incredibly attractive girls (and boys) trying to sell you anything from shampoo to chainsaws.
Check the trend on any Instagram account
Moreover, you can check any business account on Instagram for sexual content and even count the percent of Stories (or posts) with a use of this trend. Just add free accounts account to the Stories Downloader library - and check once a week all published content. You will see all the amount of content they post with a sexual framework.
- Type an @account name in the Stories Saver and tap Autosave updates
- Turn on Profiles stories autosave
- Check the library of the Stories saver once a week to see ALL stories of the profile of this period on one page
Some marketers believe that advertising for the fitness, clothing and accessories industries is almost bordering on soft porn these days. This is the state of affairs – most large companies use sex in their strategies to promote goods and services, even Apple, which does not allow the distribution of erotic applications for mobile phones in the App Store.
Why are there so many online and offline sex appeal campaigns? Does this phenomenon really drive sales?
Here is one plausible explanation:
Every woman associates herself with a better version of herself (more harmonious, symmetrical, thinner, tanner, with better hair or skin).
This effect brings one important change into any visual strategy. If you want to sell something to them, show the product on a model (or near the model) which looks even better than potential customers.
Every single woman on Instagram wants to reveal her inner beauty and sexuality through her lifestyle and look. So if you offer her something, make her believe that she will be better with it.
So when does sex sell?
The general formula goes something like this: "Buy it (product) = get it (sex)."
Expanded, we can decipher this message in a similar way:
“If you buy our product, then
You will be more sexually attractive;
You will have more sex;
You will just feel more sexual.”
Using sex to increase online sales
One of the largest affiliate marketing blogs, Shoemoney, ran an experiment on Facebook and found that ads with busty girls get the most clicks (and their CPC goes down due to higher CTRs), and they even convert.
But, of course, you have to be careful when using such images. It will surely attract myriads of clicks (which you paid for from your advertising budget); however, few visitors will have the intention of converting on the landing page.
Plus, the trend of sexuality looks appropriate in accounts that are connected with sexuality itself. It means that Instagram should be about any topic, which is really about sexual looking - clothing, shoes, makeup, hairstyles, accessories and etc., or about something, that is connected to the way of life, that includes sexuality as a trigger: clubs, cars, relaxation, traveling, etc.
So, to sell well, we should use the trend only on these accounts, where sexuality is an original and organic parameter, and not imposed at all.
We mean that using a sex appeal model on a Story advertising of a module house or in a post ad of an insurance company will look too much. It will cause negative emotions, as it seems to be vulgar. Except for the cases, when the marketeer knows exactly how to make it look natural and aesthetic.
Why is it so?
Because sexual content is more likely to cause impulsive sales from your cold audience, which are based on feelings and emotions.
So, it is more profitable to sell through sexual content to your hot audience, who are ready to buy your product. But they need just one point to be convinced. And sexuality could be at this point.
So, free the bodies and souls, it is a time to show sexuality on Instagram. It definitely works.
