The Psychology Behind Attraction – What Draws Audiences To Your Brand
Attraction is a powerful force. It can be used to draw people in, or it can be used to make them run away.
The psychology behind attraction is fascinating and often surprising, but understanding how attraction works can help you market your brand and products to your target market more effectively.
Marketers are psychics. We can predict the future and decisions that humankind will make on a day-to-day basis… because everyone is (essentially) wired the same. When a campaign or advertisement pops up strategically using the key elements of marketing psychology, it’s bound to leave its mark.
So what is the psychology behind marketing and attraction for brands, businesses and consumers? Keep reading – it gets interesting!
Attraction marketing is a form of marketing that uses psychological principles to attract people to your brand and engage key elements of human behaviours when selling products. Using marketing psychology, you can strategically structure your brand campaigns to hit the bullseye of consumer decision making, increase awareness, sales and loyal customers.
These are the key psychological principles of marketing:
Colour
Colour is often considered to be the most important element of any marketing campaign. It has a huge impact on how people feel about your brand and what they think of its personality. “People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 90% of this assessment is based on colours alone” (Researcher, Satyendra Singh).
There are some colours that are universally understood to be associated with specific feelings, emotions and actions. For example:
Red is thought to stimulate an increase in your heart rate, which will make you feel excited or aroused;
Orange has a calming effect on your nervous system;
Yellow creates feelings of happiness and optimism;
Blue creates feelings of calmness and serenity;
Purple gives people an elevated sense of spirituality and connection with others;
Green creates feelings of naturalness and balance;
Pink inspires warm feeling towards others;
Black makes people feel more secure in their decisions.
These meanings are reliant on culture, experience and context. In western countries purple symbolises wealth, fame and royalty, however in Latin and South America purple indicates mourning or death. So be considerate of which colours you use and where. The right colour combined with the right message can create an immediate impact on consumers’ emotions, helping them take action now!
Reciprocity
On planet Earth, you can’t just take, take, take. Our human instincts remind us to offer something in return. This is the idea or reciprocity – the art of giving back. Reciprocity has even been found to be more effective than other forms of persuasion such as authority or money, so it’s important for brands to harness it in their marketing strategies.
This could be done by giving away a gift with purchase, discount code, free shipping, a giveaway or many other ‘deals’. This allows your customer to feel as though they are receiving the better end of the deal; feeling appreciated and gaining something from the brand that they are purchasing from.
Reciprocity is a great tool for creating goodwill and trust among consumers, who would like their brands (and the people behind them) to be associated with positive attributes and experiences. This makes sense from the consumer perspective; after all, if you help someone out with something small or insignificant, chances are they will want to return the favour – especially if doing so makes them feel good about themselves or their brand loyalty!
Key Phrasing
Words matter. Your messaging and key phrases plays an extremely large role in marketing psychology. The communication between brand and customer is super important for the relationships being established.
These words, phrases and the language used to display your messages to the world can evoke emotions that lead to a purchase or many purchases. “Retail” therapy is no joke. Emotions play a bigger role in buying decisions than you might think. In fact, “95% of purchases are emotional” (Harvard professor, Gerald Zaltman). We know we’re not the only ones who get so much happiness from shopping!
The psychology of key phrasing is a simple concept. You want people to remember your brand, so you want to make sure that they read the same words over and over again. When it comes to marketing, this means using the most important keywords in your branding as often as possible. In addition, you should also use those same keywords in different places for maximum impact – like on social media or in any other content you may create.
Social Proof
Social proof is the idea that we tend to follow the crowd and do what other people are doing. This is a powerful way to influence people, because it can make them feel like they’re part of something special or important. Although people are different in their own way, deep down, we all have the same motivations and aspirations.
Social proof is a way of us all following trends and keeping up with the times… Have you ever bought something because a celebrity or influencer endorsed it online? Did this make you want to be more like them? Yes?! That’s social proof.
This is also why customer reviews and testimonials are so effective for many brands. Adding quotes, testimonials and reviews to your marketing channels can increase conversions by 34% (Impact Plus). Jump on this bandwagon and start sending your products to influencers, content creators and celebrities so they can share your product and their thoughts on it, with the world. Because, even though everyone is different, we’re all kinda the same…
Anchoring
Anchoring is a psychological phenomenon that describes our tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information we receive when making decisions. This can be used in marketing by framing offers or prices based on what customers expect they should be – even if a different price would actually benefit them more!
This technique allows your audience to evaluate two or more options at once. They are reference points that consumers use for comparison. For example, placing the original price and discounted price side by side, communicates to the buyer that they are getting a great deal. Although they’re saving money, the idea of getting a higher quality product at a cheaper price is extremely enticing. Using anchoring in marketing allows for the exposure of information you want your customers to know, leading them to make the decision you want them to make.