@cugelman

DIGITAL PERSUASION EQUATIONBrian Cugelman, PhDOnline strategy and research consultantAlterSpark Consulting

20 July 2011Toronto, Canada

eat:Strategy

The science of online influence

www. eatstrategy.com

@cugelman

TODAY'S AGENDA

1. Online psychology2. Digital persuasion equation

1. Change2. Motivation3. Ability and efficacy4. Triggers5. Eight spheres of digital influence

3. Wrap-up

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ONLINE PSYCHOLOGY

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SOURCE ATTRIBUTION - MEET KIKI

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HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN PERSUADE

Social Actor

Media

Social Facilitator

Tool

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BJ Fogg with social facilitator added

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MEDIA EQUATION

Mediated experiences = Real life experiences

Human-computer psychology

is like

Human-human psychology

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PERSUASIVE WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES ARE LIKE PERSUASIVE PEOPLE

• They’re reputable• They’re likeable with personality• They demonstrate expertise• They appear trustworthy• You understand them easily • They respect you and your time

• They have personality

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TW

ITTER

FO

LLO

WER

S

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DIGITAL PERSUASION EQUATION

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DIGITAL PERSUASION EQUATION

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+ + =Click Here

Motivation Persuasive Experiences (8 spheres of

digital influence)

Trigger ChangeAbility & Efficacy

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CHANGE

• Buying more widgets

• Increasing support for a social cause

• Losing trust in a company

• Shifting political votes (Liberal to NDP)

• Trying to quit smoking

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INTERNAL CHANGE PROCESS

Beliefs Attitudes Behaviour

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Not necessarily in this order. Behaviour can shape attitudes, and attitudes can shape beliefs.

Trust

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MOTIVATION

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Behaviour is more likely when motivators outweigh

demotivators

(+) Motivator: Goals, carrots, benefit, drivers

(-) Demotivaror: Costs, disincentives, barriers, effort

Value proposition

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ABILITY AND EFFICACY

Ability: What you can or can't do

Self efficacy: What you believe you can or can't do

Either way, your ability or self efficacy dictate what you will and won't do

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TRIGGER

Call to action (CTA)PromptRequest

OfferProposal

Sales pitch

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Click Here

Act now while quantities last.

The first 100 callers get a free gold

plated pen valued at over $50.

CALL 1 800 DUMB GIFT.

You were poked by Bob. Poke him back!

Download your free report

Click on this link now!

"Wow! That shirt makes you look 20 years younger. Would you like

to pay by cash or credit?"

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EIGHT SPHERES OF DIGITAL INFLUENCE

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EIGHT SPHERES OF DIGITAL INFLUENCE

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Cugelman, B., Thelwall, M., & Dawes, P. (2009). Communication-Based Influence Components Model. Paper presented at the Persuasive 2009, Claremont.

Integrates potentially hundreds of influence components, but we'll just focus on eight.

@cugelman

1. SOURCE

What it is: •The person, organization, or group behind a website, social media profile, ad, or message

Key principles: •Appealing to source credibility boosts persuasiveness

•Build on the three components of credibility:

1. Expertise2. Trustworthiness3. Visual appeal

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WHICH PHOTO CAN INCREASE TEXT CREDIBILITY?

NGUYEN, H. & MASTHOFF, J. (2007) Is it me or what I say? Source image and persuasion. Persuasive 07. Springer.

No photo

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CREDIBILITY AND IMAGERY

Readers perceptions of text credibility is influenced by photo credibility

Don't underestimate the impact of graphic design on your perceived credibility

Photo Goodwill Trust

High credibility (female) Higher Higher

No photo Middle Middle

Low credibility (male) Lower Lower

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Featured by X, Y, Z.

Low credibility websites can borrow credibility from higher credibility sources.

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2. MESSAGE ENCODING AND DECODING

What it is:•How you express an idea and how the person interprets it

•Expression can be spoken, written, symbolic

Key principles:•How you express something can strengthen or weaken what you say

•Encode messages so the audience can rapidly understand them

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Place the CTA where most eyes land

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3. MEDIA CHANNEL

What it is:•The various media used to express something

•Eg. Written words, spoken dialogue, photos, video, interactive websites, email

Key principles:•Select the media channels most suited to your target audience

•Make it easy for them engage with the media

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4. AUDIENCE

What it is:•The person or organization you are trying to engage and influence

•It comprises their demographics, traits, and psychology

Key principles:•Understand your audiences' motivations and psychological hot buttons

•Frame interaction around motivations and leverage hot buttons

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HOW THE PSYCHOLOGY OF 30 HEALTH CHANGING WEBSITES INFLUENCES USERS' BEHAVIOUR

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CUGELMAN, B., THELWALL, M., & DAWES, P. (2011) Online interventions for social marketing health behavior change campaigns: A meta-analysis of psychological architectures and adherence factors. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 13(1), e17. http://www.jmir.org/2011/1/e17/

d 

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5. FEEDBACK ENCODING AND DECODING

What it is:•How the audience expresses and transmits their feedback to you, and how you interpret it

•Some of this is contributed voluntarily, but most is encoded automatically

Key principles:•Automate data collection whenever possible

•Incentivize requests for user information

•Just get what you need initially, then incentive data collection over time

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6. FEEDBACK MESSAGE

What it is:•The information an audience shares with the source that is used to tailor messages•In other words, any data collected about a user that is processed and acted upon•This is the foundation for relationship building

Key principles:•Leverage user data to tailor personalized and relevant messages

•Mine trends among populations to build processes that help individuals

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7. SOCIAL CONTEXT

What it is:•The social environment in which a relationship occurs

•This includes society, whether virtual or "real"

Key principles:•Demonstrate group behaviour to leverage social norms and pressures

•Play on our competitive nature and scarcity

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8. INTERVENTION MESSAGE

What it is:•What you express or do

•In other words, the tangible communication or action you express to an audience

Key principles:•Build your messages around your audiences' motivation, make it easy, and leverage persuasion

•Research will help you identify the influence components that matter

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@cugelman

BUILD YOUR MESSAGE FROM THE DIGITAL PERSUASION EQUATION

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+ +Click Here

Motivation Persuasive Experiences

TriggerAbility & Efficacy

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What target audiences want

Built from influence

components in the 8 spheres

Make it easyDon't overdo it

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BUILDING MESSAGES AROUND INFLUENCE COMPONENTS

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WRAP-UP

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BEYOND BASIC E-COMMERCE, AN ONLINE MUSIC STORE COULD BE MORE PERSUASIVE BY:

• Demonstrating a trustworthy company (source)

• Using social pressure to sell "popular" songs (social context)

• Using star ratings to highlight popular songs while collecting feedback (social context, encoding, feedback)

• Up selling based on group intelligence (i.e. top rated and co-purchased songs) (social context, feedback)

• Tailoring to buyers prior purchase history (feedback)

• Allowing people to shop for music through text, photos, video, sounds (media channel)

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Source

Motivation based on audience needs

Social context

Trigger C

Ability & efficacy

Trigger B

Motivation

Feedback for next sales

stage

Trigger A

Feedback via keywords

@cugelman

Brian Cugelman, PhDOnline strategy and research consultant

@cugelman

www.AlterSpark.com

@AlterSpark alterspark alterspark alterspark

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brian@alterspark.com+1 (416) 921-2055

Toronto, Canada

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