6 Psychological Effects You Must Know About Marketing

In recent years, various content forms have become popular, including short videos, H5, and comic strips... Each of them can trigger a follow-up trend after it becomes popular, but not all works can bring surprises in terms of traffic.

The reason why the data effects are uneven lies in whether it captures the readers' hearts.

Regardless of the content itself, product form, or operational strategy, if you want to achieve good communication effects, "deeply understanding user psychology" is the key.

Most of the works that have a good reputation are based on the following six psychological effects .

1. Ripple effect

The ripple effect refers to the phenomenon that when a stone is thrown into water, ripples spread from the center to the periphery.

In psychology, this phenomenon is mostly manifested in that the central figure can have an important influence on the people around him by relying on his own connections, social status, etc.

When applied to marketing, the most representative example is the book-throwing campaign of "New World" .

The plan mobilized celebrities such as Huang Xiaoming, Xu Jinglei, and Zhang Tianai to drop books on public transportation (subways, flights, and ride-sharing) in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, calling on people to pay attention to their inner world.

Zhang Jingchu promotes the "Book Throwing Campaign"

This celebrity-driven reading creativity has been widely recognized. The article "I prepared 10,000 books and threw them in the subways in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and places you pass by | Book Throwing Campaign" released by the Xin Shi Xiang official account received more than 100,000 readings in 3 hours , and the topic on Weibo exceeded 230 million readings; the scope of dissemination expanded from first-tier cities to Qingdao, Chongqing, Shenyang and other places.

"Book Throwing Campaign" Weibo Topic

In 2017 , iReader launched the “A Million Reasons to Read” campaign for the 4.23 Book Festival.

Jackie Chan, Yang Lan, Yuval Noah Harari (author of "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind") and other big names have launched their own reading manifestos, with posters covering the entire Beijing subway line, attracting participation from over 100 million users .

"A Million Reasons to Read" event poster

By leveraging the influence of celebrities, the credibility of an event can be increased . Marketing methods such as Lin Yun joining Xiaohongshu and Angelababy opening Douyin accounts have all utilized this effect and achieved great results.

In addition, celebrity endorsements can awaken people’s sense of ritual and expand the scope of participation in activities.

Based on the "ripple effect" , if media professionals want to expand their marketing influence, they can seek endorsements from KOLs to increase the chances of monetizing traffic. As for how to utilize KOL, we have mentioned it in our previous article “KOL is so popular, are advertising companies scared? 》 has been analyzed, so I will not repeat it here.

2. Rosenthal Effect

The Rosenthal effect emphasizes the important role of positive motivation .

The brand's praise and recognition of users can increase their self-confidence ; in order to meet the high expectations of others, users will work hard to achieve their goals.

Keep is a fitness app that uses the Rosenthal effect in its copywriting.

The main page displays the slogan "Self-discipline gives me freedom" . During use, users can receive cheering voice messages from fans or friends. At the same time, the App will also give users encouragement at appropriate times, such as "You have run 4 kilometers in 40 minutes, come on!"

Keep's running settings page

Sports broadcast voice type

Keep's motivational copy undoubtedly increased users' enthusiasm for active participation and helped the app attract more fans, gaining 30 million users within one and a half years of its launch.

The same principle applies to the H5 produced by the "People's Daily" . By awakening readers' sense of pride , it encourages users to actively forward the photos. Each synthesized photo looks good and has the effect of shaping a personal image.

This effect tells media professionals not to be stingy with their praise and recognition of users, but to create different incentive scenarios based on user characteristics.

Keep copywriting belongs to the psychological suggestion scenario , and this motivational method is widely used. In addition, we can also choose "attention-oriented scenarios" and "mutual encouragement scenarios" .

"Attention-based scenarios" can allow users to gain more attention , such as the "Children's Gallery" that once swept the circle of friends. Users purchased paintings of disabled children and shared them on WeChat Moments, creating a noble image; "Encouragement scenarios" create an atmosphere of mutual supervision , such as study groups on various apps.

3. Anchoring Effect & Decoy Effect

These two psychological effects are similar in nature and both serve to pave the way for bringing out the real selling points .

Specifically, in order to reduce users' resistance to a certain marketing method or product, you can first throw out a "bait" to set a standard in the reader's mind, and then introduce the real selling point .

The cleverness of this marketing method lies in that the bait is definitely not as affordable as the real selling point . By comparing the two , users naturally feel that they have "got a great bargain."

For example, many magazine subscription packages will be marked with the original price . This discount marketing method applies the " anchoring effect ."

Subscription advertisement at the end of the article on the public account "National Geographic Chinese Network"

In addition to setting an anchor on price, you can also start from product features, product performance and other aspects.

For example, the account slogan of the public account "Xiaosheng Bibi" first throws out the anchor of "What the author writes is not very good", and then throws out the user's opinion of "Why haven't you updated it yet?" The two are in sharp contrast , which arouses the curiosity of readers .

Therefore, in order to enhance the attractiveness of a certain option, it is necessary to create anchoring, form conflict , and leave a "standard" impression on readers. By making their own comparisons, users increase their recognition of a product.

4. Assi Effect

The Assi effect is simply the herd mentality .

In the era of Internet communication, anonymous weak-relationship social interaction has not weakened people’s fear of being “isolated” . In many cases, readers voluntarily follow most opinions.

The most common manifestation of the Assi effect in marketing is to create an environment where "most people are doing it" , such as the long queue at the entrance of Heytea, and the UNIQLO x KAWS products being sold out in 3 seconds...

The H5 "Do You Know What Children Need Most" produced by Tencent marked in the ending poster "I am the Xth parent who agreed to accompany my children unplugged." The number here plays a "pressure" role, increasing the chances of users sharing.

"Do You Know What Children Need Most" ending poster

However, not all users will buy into the “large number of people” factor. At this time, it is necessary to accurately identify the groups to which the readers belong and create an environment of advantageous opinions within the circle .

For example, in an article on the public account "Mr. Zhang Says" titled "The National Day Tourism Contempt Chain is Divided into Five Levels, Which Level Are You At?" , users will unconsciously bring it into the conversation and resonate with the opinion environment of the corresponding level .

5. Endowment Effect

The endowment effect , when applied in marketing, usually refers to the fact that people will give higher evaluations to things they already have and are about to lose, and will try their best to retain those opportunities that are about to be lost.

Phrases like “If XX more people come, the price will rise to XX” can create a sense of tension . Users are afraid of missing out on the discount and rush to buy and share.

In addition, you can also use the method of limiting quotas , such as the promotion of Faye Wong’s concert, emphasizing that “there will only be one concert in four years”, to create a sense of product scarcity and enhance people’s “loss aversion” (hate to lose something).

Similarly, brands can apply the endowment effect to a narrow user base based on demand. For example, the advertising copy of adult self-study training creates panic about losses among users who are anxious about their academic qualifications through words like "missed out" and "don't want to miss out again" .

Therefore, operators can set up "loss" reminders in a timely manner to stimulate users' loss aversion and enhance fan conversion rates .

6. Detailed Possibility Model

The detailed possibility model inspires operators to adopt different marketing strategies for users with different needs .

Consumers who focus on the product itself will naturally take the initiative to understand core information such as product performance, and the brand's marketing activities (non-promotional activities) will not have much impact on their purchasing behavior; potential users are more likely to pay attention to marginal details , such as endorsement celebrities, brand spirit , etc.

Taking a certain skin care brand as an example, its advertising copy deliberately downplays product information and instead conveys the brand spirit through a few stories . This type of marketing approach can enhance potential consumers’ favorability toward a brand and trigger recognition within a certain circle, while not affecting the consumption behavior of loyal users .

SK-II advertisement "Why don't they go home for the New Year"

How to classify users and develop different marketing strategies for core users and marginal users is worth thinking about for media professionals.

In an era of scarce attention, no one buys into forced sales anymore. Good marketing is good at winning people’s hearts .

Only works that fully understand the psychology of readers and can invisibly satisfy or even create their needs can stand the test of time.

Author: NetEase H5

Source: NetEase H5 (ID: wangyih5)

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