Science of Persuasion

In the article, “Harnessing the Science of Persuasion,” Cialdini talks about 6 basic laws of persuasion. Choose one and discuss how that impacts Internet marketing and/or commerce.

I ended my last post talking about Steve Job's gift of persuasion, so it's only fitting that I now discuss Robert Cialdini's article “Harnessing the Science of Persuasion”. A select few are born with the gift of persuasion. They're charisma is effortless and with little ease they captivate a room, generate followers and convince others to do as they ask.

The article provides 6 persuasion principles and how they can be applied in any organization. I decided to choose the Law of Social proof.

This principle focuses on how we look to our peers for guidance. We look to them to give us their opinion on which is the fastest growing, the largest selling, and the best or favored course of action. We also look to them to support our decision. This emphasizes that if enough people are doing something, then it must be true. And since everyone is buying your idea, the person considering your product will also believe it.

One way your clients/prospects can decide what they should do under uncertainty conditions, is to see what others are doing and as a result jump on the bandwagon. So, when you adopt this law in the Internet marketing and/or commerce, you can become more successful. Adopting this law is not about being manipulative but rather it is about being more successful at getting the support from the people to achieve the most positive and desired outcomes.

One example of this is the use of Facebook in the purchasing process. We've all seen when our friends have liked a page. How do you react to that? Well when I see that my best friend just liked the Salon Denice Hair salon, it tells me that I can trust them with my hair. I see that her hair is always impeccable, so I know I can trust her judgement. Another example is when my sister shares a groupon purchase on twitter. I think well if she bought it, then it must have been a good deal. It might not instantly influence me to purchase the groupon but it will influence me to at least open the page and see the offer details.

To read the article and to see a list of the principles click the link below:

http://www.annbadillo.com/leadership/files/harnessing_science_of_persuasion_2.pdf