Sunject: WebReference Update: Persuasion and Web Survival: Jan. 22, 2001 Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 14:57:38 -0600 From: Webreference ORIGINAL is also at: http://www.webreference.com/new/010122.html#feature 6. FEATURE: Persuasion and Web Survival In the February, 2001 issue of "Scientific American" Dr. Robert Cialdini wrote an interesting article titled "The Science of Persuasion." Dr. Cialdini boiled his 30 years of research into social influence down to six factors that influence humans to comply with a request. They are: reciprocation, consistency, social validation, liking, authoring and scarcity. While different cultures favor some factors over others, these factors hold for all societies. What's this have to do with the Web, you ask? Persuasion is used in nearly every transaction we make, including deciding on which Web site to visit, buy from, or subscribe to, so if you can make your Web site more persuasive than your competition, you've got an edge. "These six tendencies help govern our business dealings, our societal involvements and our personal relationships, knowledge of the rules of persuasion can truly be thought of as empowerment." I thought it would be instructive to briefly explore these six factors as they relate to the Web. Many webmasters are already using some of these techniques subconsiously on their sites, to boost traffic. At the end, I'll show an example pitch using these techniques. Now, onto getting to "yes." * Reciprocation - returning the favor "All societies subscribe to a norm that obligates individuals to repay in kind what they have received." Receiving an unsolicited gift obligates you to give something back in return. The author found that when the Disabled American Veterans included free personalized address labels in solicitations, contribution response went from 18 to 35%. Give away free things and information on your Web site. Reciprocity also applies to concessions that people make to one another. You may reject a large request, but if I retreat to a smaller one, you are now more likely to reciprocate with a concession of your own. * Consistency - personal. The desire to be, and to appear consistent. People are more likely to comply once they've made a public committment. The researchers found that by first getting residents to sign a petition, contributions nearly doubled for the handicapped. * Social Validation (of desired result) It's been said that people are sheep as they tend to follow the group. "We decide what to do in a situation by looking to what others are doing. If many individuals have decided in favor of a particular idea, we are more likely to follow, because we perceive the idea to be more correct, more valid." Show how popular your site is by displaying your subscribers and unique visitors. 100,000 people can't be wrong. http://www.webreference.com (stats) * Liking People prefer to say yes to those they like. Like includes those they are familiar with, are good looking, or they share some connection with (Hey, I'm from Michigan too!). Why do you think Tupperware parties are conducted by a trusted friend? People tend to believe what friends say over strangers. Dr. Cialdini found that American Heart Association donations nearly doubled when good looking fundraisers came a-knocking. Show your users how much other users like your site. http://www.webreference.com/yak/ * Authority People believe symbols of authority. Uniforms, credentials, and experience all give the appearance of authority, which people tend to believe. Show the expertise of your writers, say that you are the authority on your subject, and back it up with awards and glowing user comments. http://www.webreference.com/awards/ http://www.webreference.com/about.html * Scarcity Perceived scarcity (via time, space, and/or availability) raises the perceived value of items and opportunities. That's why marketers trumpet the unique benefits or one-of-a-kind character of their offerings. Available for a limited time only! That's why one-word domain names are worth so much, they are scarce. Offer exclusive, timely information on your site. http://www.webreference.com/experts/ These six principles influence humans the most when it comes to saying "yes." It's all about perceived value. Dr. Cialdini says that from an evolutionary point of view, "each of the behaviors appears to have been selected for in animals, such as ourselves, that must find the best way to survive while living in social groups. It usually makes sense to repay favors, behave consistently, follow the lead of similar others, favor the requests of those we like, heed ligitimate authories and value scarce resources. Consequently, influece agents who use these principles honestly do us a favor." However, these principles can also be misused, and the knowledge of them will make you a more savvy developer and consumer. Let's look at how we could use these techniques on WebReference. Dear loyal subscriber, You show outstanding intelligence in remaining a loyal reader of the WebReference Update, the leading authority on Web development. WebReference is the only place on the Web where you can get the benefits of reading high quality tutorials by the likes of Robert Polevoi, Peter Belesis, Wendy Peck, and Dr. Yehuda Shiran. How popular are our experts? Just search http://www.google.com for 3d, dhtml, graphics, javascript and webmaster. Our readers like us, and we like them. That's why over 120,000 nice people like you subscribe. Are we charging you for this? Of course not, this is the Web. As you know, the unspoken agreement on the Web is free content in exchange for your help promoting our site. Can you think of any reason why you wouldn't want to send this newsletter to 10 of your friends? ... Well, is that too many? Ok, just send it to 3. But wait, don't e-mail them yet. Because you're one of our most loyal readers, and I genuinely like you, we're going to throw in, at no extra charge, these free exclusive links on this little-known topic. http://www.webreference.com/authoring/collections.html Hurry, supplies are limited, and this is a one-time offer. Now e-mail those friends and help WebReference.com grow to 1 million subscribers. Did I mention what a lovely outfit you have on today? http://www.sciam.com http://www.influenceatwork.com Thanks to my friend, Bob Peyser, for his helpful input on this story.