The Secret Psychology of Persuasive Content - Nathalie Nahai

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

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

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

What is a community?

COMMUNITY
Oxford Dictionaries 2016 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/community
The condition of sharing or having certain
attitudes and interests in common
“ ”

To create a thriving community online…

You have to reach the right people,
then compete for (and hold) their attention

So how do you do it?

1
DECISION-MAKING

DECISION-MAKING
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
“ ”

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

TRUST
Simpson, J. A. (2007). Psychological foundations of trust. Current directions in psychological science, 16(5), 264-268.
The 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

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

VALUES
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

TRUST
• People need to feel safe

TRUST
• They need to feel understood

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

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

HOMOPHILY
“Love of the same”
The tendency of individuals 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
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

PERSONALITY MATTERS
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
“ ”

The Big 5 
(a quick quiz)

DO YOU HAVE…
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.
“ ”

1. Openness
THE BIG 5

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

1. Openness
2. Conscientiousness
THE BIG 5

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

1. Openness
3. Extraversion
THE BIG 5

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

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

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

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

Who does this appeal to?

EXTRAVERSION
Strong
Outgoing
Active
Excitement 
Attention

OPENNESS
Innovation
Intelligence
Sophistication
Imagination
Creative

NEUROTICISM
Safe
Reduce the anxiety
Uncertainty
Security
Protection

Specific words engage specific traits

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

TRAIT MOTIVATION

TRAIT MOTIVATION
Open Creativity & intellectual stimulation

TRAIT MOTIVATION
Conscientious Efficiency & goal pursuit

TRAIT MOTIVATION
Extravert Excitement & social rewards

TRAIT MOTIVATION
Agreeable Connection with family & community

TRAIT MOTIVATION
Agreeable Connection with family & community
Neurotic Safety & security

TOOLS
1. Big 5 (IPIP-NEO) personal.psu.edu/j5j/IPIP
2. Visual DNA visualdna.com
3. MyPersonality mypersonality.org

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

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)

How to put it together

Number / Trigger word
+

Adjective
+

Adjective
Keyword
+

Adjective
Keyword
Promise+

Adjective
Keyword
Promise
KILLER HEADLINE
+

EXAMPLE
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”

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
adjective
keyword

number
trigger word
adjective
keyword
promise

But isn’t this just clickbait?

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

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

KEY TAKEAWAYS

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

THANK YOU!

@NathalieNahai
hello@nathalienahai.com
Get in touch
Any questions?

The Secret Psychology of Persuasive Content - Nathalie Nahai

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The Secret Psychology of Persuasive Content - Nathalie Nahai