Neuromarketing techniques are used in all areas of business related to customer service, including web design. For example, the effectiveness of conversion funneling, the dominant marketing theory in e-commerce, relies on neuromarketing a lot. Neuromarketing is pervasive in modern web design, but this does not mean that marketers use it appropriately and effectively. Even large websites such as Facebook, YouTube or Reddit can stand to gain from extra neuromarketing optimization. Imagine what it does for smaller sites struggling to get ahead in search rankings. For businesses looking to optimize their online presence through scientific means, we have compiled a list of ways in which well-known psychological principles can be used to boost the neuromarketing potential of a website.

Picture-Superiority Effect

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One of the oldest instances of neuromarketing is within the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. This common saying is based on the phenomenon called the picture-superiority effect, which just means that pictures are more likely to be remembered than words. All websites built on Web 2.0 standards use this effect to some extent. In recent years, using images when designing websites became a necessity as visitors now have shorter attention spans. With only about 8 seconds to catch their attention, modern websites have to condense information, and images are the best way to do this.

Social Proof

When people are unsure how to act, they are likely to mimic what others are doing. This is the logic behind social proof, the psychological principle where people tend to follow the crowd when feeling uncertain. Web designers implement this principle by featuring reviews, comments, testimonials, social media stats, etc. throughout a website.

The process of guiding a visitor through the conversion funnel is way more efficient when designers include social cues in each step of the process. Satisfied customers are more likely to add to the commentary themselves. This enhances the effectiveness of social proofing in the future.

Functional Fixedness

Humans are creatures of habit, and this characteristic extends to the way they browse the internet. When visiting a website, their expectations on how it is supposed to function are based on previous browsing experiences. If these expectations are subverted, you are likely to confuse and frustrate your visitors. The psychological principle that explains this is called functional fixedness. It relies on the observation that people encounter a mental block when they should use objects in unexpected ways.

When applied to web design, functional fixedness dictates that elements which form the core functionality of a website, such as store interfaces, social media plugins, navigation menus, etc. should be designed to work in a familiar way. Sometimes, doing things the old-fashioned way is better than needlessly innovating.

Anchoring

Anchoring or focalism refers to the psychological principle which states that people tend to base their decisions on how to act on a single piece of information. In web design, this principle can guide the user towards a preferred call-to-action without directly suggesting it. For example, using the landing page to highlight that a service is usually available at a certain price range, contextualizes the visitor’s expectations when he sees an offer of this kind while browsing the website.

Web design based around anchoring ensures that the context for evaluating an offer is determined in advance, leading to a more stable conversion process.

Scarcity Heuristic

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The perceived value of an item is dependent on the difficulty of obtaining it. This is the principle of scarcity heuristic, a cognitive bias where an item with limited availability is more desirable. Whether the sought-after item is actually scarce or not is irrelevant, as long as the implication exists. Web designers can leverage this psychological quirk by using alerts mechanisms to highlight the limited nature of the services they offer. Countdown timers in the header of a page and brightly colored inventory counters are an example of this kind of design at work.

Peak-End Rule

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Visiting a website is an experience that lasts a certain amount of time. During this period, the intensity of the experience can rise and fall. Visitors might like the discounts you are offering, but hate how sluggish your store page is. The structure of these fluctuations is what determines whether the experience will be remembered as a positive one or not. Research has shown that there is a pattern in the flow of experience that determines how it will be remembered. What people experience at the peak, as well as at the end, is what determines their feelings as a whole. This so-called peak-end rule is an indispensable tool in website development, as it allows designers the optimize the UX of a website for the most impact. In other words, make sure that your highs are really high, and that your lows are unnoticeable.

Rhyme-as-Reason Effect

Taking a cursory glance at the history of advertising, you will surely come across many examples of marketing slogans. These short rhyming phrases tend to become annoying after many exposures, but their efficacy as ear-worms is a well-documented fact. People are more likely to believe a statement if it is in rhyming verse.

Maybe because it’s easier to processes, or because people tend to judge statements more favorably based on their aesthetic features. Using rhymes when designing the textual content can give a website a unique twist that separates it from rest of the competition.

Subliminal Logos

One can use neuromarketing even when dealing with logo design – something that seemingly presents a minutia when it comes to designing a website. However, it is a great way to solidify the importance of your brand in the brains of your customers. Research has shown that a clever logo with a subtle message, that communicates your brands identity and purpose, can be processed by our brain without us being consciously aware.

Take for example the logo of FedEx, when you look closely, there is an arrow between “E” and “x”, obviously, it’s there to represent the speed of their service.

Conclusion

Despite what it sounds like, neuromarketing is not an esoteric discipline with limited application in the real world. It is based on well-known psychological principles with a wide range of applications. Designing a website with neuromarketing in mind is no different than setting a price of a service based on market research. No matter what kind of business you are practicing, using neuromarketing principles is indispensable.

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Just like there are different theories of marketing, there are multiple approaches in psychology, each of which has a slightly different view on what drives people to behave in the ways they do. While all marketing has a psychological basis, this does not mean that each particular marketing campaign employs the same exact psychological principles. In order to give you an idea on what kind of effects particular psychological propositions can have on social media marketing, we have created the following non-exhaustive list.

Social Proof Is All You Need

Social proof is a cognitive bias that states that you are more likely to do something if you see that others are doing it. It is based on the assumption that people around have a better understanding of the circumstances you have found yourself in, so it makes sense to follow their lead. An example of social proof in marketing is when companies display testimonials from their customers, or reviews from celebrities in order to establish credibility. Quoting media outlets has also been proven to be an effective strategy for increasing engagement among social media users. If you have another content delivery platform such as a website or a blog, adding a social media share counter next to your content is quick and dirty way to leverage social proof for your business. Additionally, social media share buttons are a way of turning new customers into vehicles for future social proofing.

Emotions Are Contagious, Spread Them Around

The phenomenon of content going viral is a great example of the way emotions tend to spread. If something causes intense feelings to arise in us, chances are we are going to share our experience. And social media are the perfect place to keep people up to date about how feel, especially if we are happy, in pain, or excited. Social media content that elicits stronger emotions such as these tends to get shared more often and networks such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Among the common emotional responses, which include happiness, sadness, anger and fear, statistics show that happiness has more potential to go viral than negative emotions. So make sure to have a handy supply of content that tugs at the heart-strings.

Make Them Fear Missing Out

The fear that we are missing out on what is going on social media is a phenomenon that is proven to exist. In fact, almost everyone has a friend who takes his social media consumption a bit too far for fear of being left outside the loop. The basis for this kind of behavior is the fact that we tend to experience feelings of anxiety and unease when we think about how other people are doing interesting things without us. So we try to constantly be up-to-date with what is going on, ensuring we wont miss out on a funny new meme or a video that went viral. This tendency to constantly check our social media feeds is what makes fear of missing out (FOMO) a powerful marketing tool, when used appropriately. Instead of only promoting the benefits of purchasing your product or service, try to show your customers what would happen if they decide to not respond to your sales pitch.

Let Influencers Influence

Having your sales pitch come from the mouth of an authority has always been a staple of web marketing campaigns. How to you build authority for your brand? Start by associating with individuals that your target demographic already seems to trust. Proceed further by developing relationships with influencers who can leverage their followers to create credibility for your product or service. These people promote themselves by engaging with niche audiences via social media outlets. This psychological benefit of authority is the fact that people respond better to actions of people who they admire. In order to effectively build relationships with influencers, start by sharing their content on various social media channels. Then follow this up by letting them know about what you are trying to do, and offer them a deal to start promoting your brand for benefits such as freebies, additional followers, media coverage, or inclusion on your payroll.

Conclusion

Using psychology in your social media marketing campaign is not as difficult as it sounds at the outset. It is a simple matter of applying scientific principles such as ones we have outlined above. There are also many more to consider, for businesses that want do dive a bit deeper. Psychology is a powerful method for understanding how your audience behaves, so use it to its full extent when developing your marketing strategy.

Chloe Smith is a cycling enthusiast and a part-time writer always willing to share tidbits of advice. She believes that passion, courage and, above all, knowledge breed success. When she’s not working, she’s probably somewhere cuddled up with a good book, and a cup of lemongrass tea (or more honestly binge-watching the newest Netflix hit show).

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