5 Ways To Be Incredibly Persuasive On The Web

Saturday, 05 September 2009 18:11

We are at a point where just having a web presence isn't enough. With tools like Google Analytics we can easily track not only what people are doing on our website but how well our site performs. In order to truly have a high performing website we need to design a site that is truly persuasive.

A website that isn't persuasive will fail to convince users they should spend the time to perform what actions are required to convert. At some point they will lose interest and find a different site that is more effective at convincing them it is worth their time and money and you will be left scratching your head as to why they left when they did.

We put endless amounts of emphasis on design, clean code, standards, interactivity, functionality and even sometimes well written copy. However none of these elements necessarily mean that the website will end up being persuasive.

There are countless ways to be persuasive online. Psychological studies have identified common patterns and situations in which outcomes and actions of other people become predictable. By incorporating the findings of these articles we can develop sites that are more effective and have higher conversion rates.

1. Admit Minor Faults

Social psychologist Kip Williamns performed a study on the perception of lawyers and cases as seen by jurors. In situations in which the lawyer had mentioned a weakness in his own case before the opposing attorney mentioned it they trusted and liked the lawyer more.

By admitting small faults and weaknesses it actually increased the perceived trustworthiness of the lawyer. We can learn from this example by admitting minor faults and weaknesses in order to increase the trust in our claims of strengths and selling points. You can be sure that your customers and clients are doing their research to find out what your competitors offer that you don't. By admitting it first you will increase the amount that those potential customers trust you and your messaging.

2. Have Someone Else Boast For You

Many company websites are hesitant to sing their own praise for fear of sounding boastful and conceded. What we end up with are sites that sound vanilla and don't highlight any differentiating factors at all.

This is not an unfounded practice, we tend to take any praise with a grain of salt when the one giving it is tied to the company or product being described.

The solution is to get someone else to do it for you. Even if the person has something to gain from giving your praise, studies have shown that people do not discount the information nearly as much as they should. This means that you should find someone of credible nature (even if they work for you or the same company!) to introduce or talk about you, your product or the product engineer. Because it is being said by someone else it immediately increases the credibility and how much the user will take the information to heart.

Why do you think so many websites take advantage of client and customer testimonials?

In a case where a real estate agency changed introductions from "You should speak to Sheldon" to "You should speak to our condominium expert, Sheldon" they saw significant increases in new clients and sales.

3. Encourage the User To Be Consistent

Let's face it, your users are smart, savvy and educated individuals. You should be glad they are taking the time to visit your site and you should complement them for it!

This may seem like a wide step away from anything to do with consistency, but bare with me. It has been proven that people often accept compliments as truth even when the compliments are not really accurate. In addition, by accepting the compliment (even if it is just a mental note) they have made a decision that they are what ever that compliment was.

By nature we strive to be consistent. We see ourselves in a very specific way and it is difficult for us to challenge that viewpoint. So with this combination we can persuade a user to perform actions by complementing them and then challenging them to stay consistent.

In a study in which researches monitored the behavior of potential voters, 25% more of those surveyed voted if they were first asked if they would vote on election day.

We can use this by first giving the user a complement such as "You are smart when it comes to business and always make smart decisions." Later on the page by asking the user to make a smart decision you will essentially ask for the user to be consistent with what they already agreed that they were (a smart business person).

4. Focus on Fear Rather than Gain

Research has demonstrated that people are much more likely to act on fear rather than gain. This concept sounds simple, we are programmed by nature to try and reduce and avoid threats before we start considering ways to improve our lives. However it doesn't stop there, with out careful and detailed directions of how to correct or avoid the danger we may simply block out the message or deny that it applies to us. This is often referred to the "fear than relief" method.

A typical example of this would be inexperienced investors. Inexperienced investors are very likely to sell stocks too early because they are afraid of losing what they have already gained. Additionally they are also less likely to sell stocks that have gone down as this would be an absolute loss compared to where they had started.

We can use this on our websites by focusing on what could be lost by not using a given product or service as well as what can be done to avoid the lose. This is often used in advertising that informs customers of real-world threats that a good or service can prevent or alleviate all together. In these cases they always use very clear and specific instructions on how to reduce those threats.

5. Utilize Authority

We have been programed since birth to respect those who have authority over us. From police men to school teachers, those people who have authority command a lot higher trust and respect than the average voice. There are ways to short cut your way to being seen as an authoritative figure. Why do you think that doctors put their diplomas on the walls or why so there are so many professions with uniforms?

The principal of authority has been described  by the following, "we believe we will be better off if we follow the lead of legitimate experts, because they have greater knowledge and expertise in a certain domain than we do."

It is a common mistake to neglect communicating credentials and elements that establish oneself as an authority figure because we are taught that it is rude to brag. However this is actually passing up a great opportunity to be persuasive. If you feel uncomfortable describing credentials and expertise in your copy think about using method #2 and have someone else establish you as an authority for you.

Take any opportunity to establish yourself as an authority. This could be clients who by or use your product, write ups in publications, groups and organizations your company is part of, etc... All of these things establish you or your company as an authority. Users are much more likely to act if they feel there is authority and expertise backing up your messaging, product or service.