CXL Digital Psychology And Persuasion Minidegree Review Part 7

Wow! Six weeks have passed and I am just 6 weeks away from completing CXL’s minidegree in Digital Psychology and Persuasion. This calls for a celebration and a recap.

So here’s what you can expect from this week’s post.

1.A total recap on what I have learned from this course so far

2. How to navigate through different stages of trust within your users as they form and build a bond with your brand.

Recap

Week 1

In the first course, I was introduced to 7 Principles Of Persuasion by Cialdini. The 7 principles are as following;

1. Reciprocity

2. Commitment/Consistency

3. Social Proof

4. Authority

5. Liking

6. Scarcity

7. Unity

The part that I want to highlight the most from the first week is Peep Laja’s warning to not overuse these tactics. It makes sense though, as overusing these tactics will make you look shady and people to lose trust in you.

Fogg Behavior Model

In short, any web or ad should be designed in such a way that it produces high motivation, easy for the reader to take action with the right trigger in place.

Lessons from Neuromarketing

Here are the 5 guidelines you should follow according to Peep Laja, in order to appeal to the ‘old brain’:

1. Focus exclusively on your lead and their needs as the ‘old brain’ is selfish and it only cares what is in for it.

2. Provide reasons that are super contrast when supporting your USP as the ‘old brain’ is triggered when something changes and uses the contrast to make any decision.

3. Make your messages short and easy to understand.

4. Address your lead’s pain points and provide your claim on how you can effectively solve their pain points compared to competitors.

5. Use high-definition and stunning visuals.

6. Generate an emotional copy to influence your lead.

Week 2

During this particular week, I was thought a rule of thumb that fits perfectly with any situation: FIRST IMPRESSION DOES MATTER. In marketing online it’s so crucial that it can make or break your sales.

Here are 4 Factors That Will Create a Good First Impression:

1. Visual Design

A boring website will never convert. This is why your website needs to be appealing and familiar web layout that brings confidence and trust in your brand.

2. Your Value Proposition

Your value proposition should inform your potential clients who you are, what do you specialize in and the competitive advantage you have over your competitors in 1 or 2 short sentences.

3. Compelling Imagery and Graphics

Always use a high-resolution image or else your website visitors will not trust you.

4. A Personal “touch” That Exudes Trustworthiness

Giving a personal touch to your website will connect you and your website visitors at an instant.

Now to make your online content easy to read and scannable, try the tactics below,

1. Optimize your blog or article for F-reading pattern

2. Use bolded words

3. Underline important words

4. Use numbers instead of words- 1 instead of one

5. CAPITALIZE words to grab more attention

6. Use colors to highlight and evoke particular emotion within your readers

7. To further grab attention use ‘quotation mark’ and trademarks sparingly

Week 3

The Persuasion Slide

Here, I would like to heavily focus on The Persuasion Slide by Roger Dooley. Now let’s look at the key components of The Persuasion Slide.

1. Gravity

In this model, gravity is considered as the initial motivation of the customers. That is why you need to align your messaging to your customer’s needs and wants.

2. Nudge

This is where you start to get your customer’s attention and start persuading them with a call to action or a pop-up ad.

3. Angle

Here, the angle of motivation you provide to your customers via the nudge should appeal to both the conscious and non-conscious minds of the customers.

4. Friction

Friction in conversion appears in many forms such as a large number of fields in forms and unclear instructions that confuses the customer. That is why special emphasis on UX should be given to avoid friction that can cost the conversion rate.

Week 4

Week 4 teaches us how implicit code works.

As mentioned in previous posts prior to this, our brain will always prefer to be in system 1. Due to this fact alone, implicit codes work well.

Almost 100% of the decisions are made unconsciously-pass through system 1; and then only to be rationalized by system 2 with reasons to support the decision made by system 1.

Week 5

I love fifth week’s lesson the most as it had helped with the areas that I have been troubled the most, Social Proof. If you are just like me then remember CRAVENS.

‘CRAVENS’ states that good social proof; should be Credible, Relevant, Attractive, Visually stunning for the clients in an Enumerated form, Nearby your customer’s friction in buying and as Specific as possible.

Week 6

Here’s a short to do’s from last week's lesson, that I am applying for my website (which will be up pretty soon).

1. Cognitive bias is a system that is created by the brain to filter out unnecessary information.

2. Cognitive bias is made based on a predictable pattern

3. We, humans, are always subjected to these biases even when we don’t think so.

4. Statistics don’t really change the mind

5. Statistics can justify beliefs and actions

6. Use vivid stories and personal examples not probabilities to persuade

7. If something is easier to remember it is marked as more important by the brain

8. People tend to decide first emotionally and then will find reasons to justify their decisions in most of the cases.

Since I had successfully recapped the lesson learned in the past six weeks. It’s time for what I have learned in the 7th week.

In the 7th week, I found, BJ Fogg’s 10 Credibility Factors is a great website checklist that every marketer should have.

1.Apropriate Design

Your website design should reflect your brand value and the audience it serves.

2.Easy verification

Make it easier for your web users to check any of your claims. For instance, if you are featured in media such as Forbes include a live link. This will build trust among web users.

3.Show you are real

Humanize your brand with real-life stories, user testimonials, and your employee’s image.

4.Prove your expertise

Paste those certifications you had earned, strategically to reduce doubts and build more trust.

5.Show the human behind your product or services

It’s time to get more personal with your photos and personal background story that displays your unique character.

6.Easy to contact

Make it easy for them to contact you. Include your social media links or better use a live chat whenever possible.

7.Easy to use

Another pro tip, make your web so easy to use that even a 5-year-old can use it. This is because research shows that ease trumps trust in increasing usage of websites when compared together.

8.Update often

Show them that you are always there and always informed by updating frequently and consistently.

9.Limit ads

Trust me, everyone hates ad. Especially sites that are loaded with it.

10.Avoid all errors

Try to avoid any technical error that can distort your page viewing error. This will make you look more professional.

With all that been settled, I would like to give out my personal verdict on this week’s lesson. Has it achieved its aim to teach marketers how to build trust with their users while forming a bond with their brand? Yes, it does. In fact, much other valuable knowledge I had gained from this week is not covered in this post. However, I would like you to check it out yourself to find out what you are missing out.