When you put content out into the world, you hope that it connects with other people. If so, it often is in one of two ways: they can respond to it, or they can react to it. Those are very different things.
The world of medicine is a perfect example of this:
- “She is responding well to treatment”. Excellent.
- “That was an unexpected reaction to the medication”. That’s not good.
There are some companies that push for reactions to their marketing, but they’re generally not well-liked. These are companies that will promote outrageous commercials (scantily dressed women, ridiculous promises, etc).
On the other hand, many companies will generate content that they hope people will respond to, which is almost always a better way to approach things.
This applies to events in your life, too. On “The Growth Equation” website, the author shared this about what happens when people face a change in their lives:
Responding, a spin off from the word responsibility, is considerate and deliberate. Reacting, on the other hand, literally means to meet one action with another one. It is immediate and rash.
You can’t tell users which road they should take when it comes to your marketing, but the way you choose to put it out into the world will point people very strongly in one direction or another.
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