Nathalie Nahai - Psychology of persuasive content (Brighton SEO)

All material © THE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST LTD. 2016. No unauthorised reproduction or distribution.
@NATHALIENAHAITHE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST LTD.
THE SECRET
PSYCHOLOGY
PERSUASIVE CONTENT
of

The empirical study of how  
our online environments influence  
our attitudes and behaviours
WEB PSYCHOLOGY
“ ”

WEBPSYCHOLOGY
HCI
neuro-
aesthetics
user
experience
social
psychology
cognitive
psychology
neuroscience
cross-cultural
psychology
behavioural
economics
persuasive
technology
personality
psychology
digital
humanities
marketing

Provides a psychological toolkit to
help design more persuasive websites,
marketing and user experiences
WHY IT’S USEFUL
“ ”

What’s the purpose of content?

GOOD CONTENT SHOULD:
1. Grab (and hold) attention from the right people

2. Provoke the desired emotional response(s)

2. Provoke the desired emotional response(s)
3. Convert this into a mutually beneficial action

So how do you do it?

DECISION-MAKING
1

Brosch, T., Scherer K. R., Grandjean, D., & Sander, D. (2013). The impact of emotion on perception, attention, memory, and
decision-making. Swiss Medical Weekly.
Neuropsychological studies - patients
with emotional dysfunctions from brain lesions
can be highly impaired in everyday decisions
DECISION-MAKING

R. Carter (1999) Mapping the Mind. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Where thought conflicts with emotion,
the latter is designed by the neural
circuitry in our brains to win
DECISION-MAKING
“ ”

To create a positive emotional state,
it helps if people trust you

Simpson, J. A. (2007). Psychological foundations of trust. Current directions in psychological science, 16(5), 264-268.
Single most important ingredient for
the development and maintenance of
happy, well-functioning relationships
TRUST
“ ”

Lack of trust is the biggest
impediment to successful e-commerce
and interpersonal relationships
TRUST

One way to establish trust is to anchor yourself
in your values & express them business-wide

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2014/05/22/millennials-expect-more-than-good-products-services-to-win-their-loyalty/
More than 81% of millennials expect
companies to make a public commitment
to good corporate citizenship
VALUES

• People need to feel safe
TRUST

• They need to feel understood
TRUST

• They need to feel understood
• They need to feel enabled and supported
TRUST

One of the best ways to help people feel
these things, is to show homophily

Love of the same
The tendency to associate and
bond with similar others
“ ”
HOMOPHILY

Chu, S. C., & Kim, Y. (2011). Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking
sites. International journal of Advertising, 30(1), 47-75.
A homophilous source is more
likely to be perceived as credible,
trustworthy, and reliable…
“ ”
HOMOPHILY

…The effectiveness of
communication from a homophilous
source may be greater
HOMOPHILY
Chu, S. C., & Kim, Y. (2011). Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking
sites. International journal of Advertising, 30(1), 47-75.
“ ”

To leverage homophily, you have to
understand and mirror your audience

The stories we relate to the most are the
ones that reflect our own experiences

PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE
2

J. Hirsh, S. Kang and G. Bodenhausen (2012). Personalized Persuasion: Tailoring Persuasive Appeals to Recipients' Personality
Traits. Psychological Science published online 30 April 2012
Adapting persuasive messages to the
personality traits… can be an effective
way of increasing the messages’ impact
PERSONALITY MATTERS
“ ”

The Big 5 
(a quick quiz)

A high degree of intellectual
curiosity, creativity and a preference
for novelty and variety?
Costa, P. T. Jr., and McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory
(NEO-FFI) Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
DO YOU HAVE…
“ ”

THE BIG 5
1. Openness

Organised, dependable, self-disciplined
and dutiful? Do you prefer to plan
and aim for achievement?
ARE YOU…
“ ”

THE BIG 5
1. Openness
2. Conscientiousness

Energetic, positive, assertive & sociable?
Do you tend to seek stimulation in
the company of others?
ARE YOU…
“ ”

THE BIG 5
1. Openness
3. Extraversion

The tendency to be compassionate
and cooperative rather than suspicious
and antagonistic towards others?
DO YOU HAVE…
“ ”

THE BIG 5
1. Openness
3. Extraversion
4. Agreeableness

The tendency to experience unpleasant
emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety,
depression, and vulnerability?
DO YOU HAVE…
“ ”

THE BIG 5
1. Openness
3. Extraversion
4. Agreeableness
5. Neuroticism

Who does this appeal to?

Strong
Outgoing
Active
Excitement 
Attention
EXTRAVERSION

The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting.
The cure for Apple is to innovate its way
out of its current predicament.
Linzmayer, O. W. (1999). Apple confidential: the real story of Apple Computer. Inc.
INNOVATION
“ ”

Innovation
Intelligence
Sophistication
Imagination
Creative
OPENNESS

Safe
Reduce the anxiety
Uncertainty
Security
Protection
EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Specific words engage specific traits

Know the psychography of your audience
and adapt your messages accordingly
PERSONALISE

TRAIT MOTIVATION

TRAIT
Open Creativity & intellectual stimulation
MOTIVATION

TRAIT
Open
Conscientious
Creativity & intellectual stimulation
Efficiency & goal pursuit
MOTIVATION

TRAIT
Open
Conscientious
Extravert
Excitement & social rewards
MOTIVATION

TRAIT
Open
Conscientious
Extravert
Agreeable
Connection with family & community
MOTIVATION

TRAIT
Open
Conscientious
Extravert
Agreeable
Emotional Stability
Connection with family & community
Safety & security
MOTIVATION

1. Big 5 (IPIP-NEO): personal.psu.edu/j5j/IPIP
2. Various personality tests: discovermyprofile.com
3. From Facebook likes: applymagicsauce.com
4. From digital footprint: hogan-x.com
5. Computerised text analysis: liwc.wpengine.com
TOOLS

There are also other psychological
ways to increase engagement…

OPTIMISING HEADLINES
3

What do you notice about the
words in these headlines?

They all use trigger words

Weird
Surprising
Secret
Mystery
Effortless
TRIGGER WORDS

Weird
Surprising
Secret
Mystery
Effortless
Painstaking
Strange
Outrageous
Odd
Amazing
TRIGGER WORDS

Weird
Surprising
Secret
Mystery
Effortless
Painstaking
Strange
Outrageous
Odd
Amazing
Bizarre
Essential
Incredible
(It’s not what
you think)
TRIGGER WORDS

How to put it together

Number / Trigger word
+

Adjective
+

Adjective
Keyword
+

Adjective
Keyword
Promise
+

Adjective
Keyword
Promise
KILLER HEADLINE
+

Subject:
EXAMPLE

Subject: Frying eggs
EXAMPLE

You could write an article entitled:
EXAMPLE

-“How to fry an egg”
EXAMPLE

-“How to fry an egg”
-“Why I love frying eggs”
EXAMPLE

OR APPLY THE FORMULA:

“13 unbelievable ways you can fry a small egg with a sock”

number

number
trigger word

number
trigger word
adjective

number
trigger word keyword
adjective

number
trigger word keyword
promise
adjective

But isn’t this just clickbait?

You’re not offering value, or if you’re
promising more than you can deliver
ONLY IF…
“ ”

What are the tangible benefits my
customers will get from this content?
“ ”
ASK YOURSELF

KEY TAKEAWAYS

To create persuasive, emotionally engaging content:
KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Establish trust through shared values & homophilly
KEY TAKEAWAYS

2. Adapt your content to your customers’ personalities
KEY TAKEAWAYS

2. Adapt your content to your customers’ personalities
3. Use trigger words in your headlines
KEY TAKEAWAYS

THANK YOU!
@NathalieNahai
NathalieNahai.com

Nathalie Nahai - Psychology of persuasive content (Brighton SEO)

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