Learn to apply mental triggers to your marketing strategies and maximize your results
Understanding your audience is essential to knowing how to reach them in the right way. This applies not only to the choice of content and formats, but even extends to the terms you use in your publications. This is what we call mental triggers.
Meeting certain demands requires a lot of knowledge about your audience and what generates recognition for your brand. Likewise, it is necessary to understand how to retain attention and direct the user to a defined action.
Therefore, in today's article you will find all the details to apply the best mental triggers in your strategies and convert the greatest number of leads through consolidated strategies.
Let's not waste any more time, okay? Enjoy reading!
What are mental triggers?
But after all, what are the famous mental triggers? Basically, this is a tool for external stimuli that can directly influence people's decision-making. They are based on our instincts and emotions, and can be used to persuade people to take a specific action, such as buying a product or service, subscribing to a newsletter or making a donation.
Regardless of the situation, a mental trigger becomes essential for the purpose of an advertising piece. It can be present in the text, image or even in the strategy concept. In other words, it is a way of making that material have an impact on the consumer.
You may already know some. The list of mental triggers is commonly used in the corporate environment, especially when it comes to marketing. Furthermore, the terms that are part of this list can reach infinite numbers.
After all, any term can be applied as a mental trigger, as long as it is used in the right way and, above all, in the right context.
How do mental triggers work?
Mental triggers are based on psychological principles that have existed for centuries. For example, the scarcity mental trigger was already used in ancient Greece, when merchants announced that a product would only be available for a limited period of time, to increase sales.
However, the concept of mental triggers was systematized and popularized at the beginning of the 20th century by psychologist Robert Cialdini, author of the book “The Weapons of Persuasion”, where Cialdini identified six basic mental triggers.
In this way, they work by taking advantage of our emotions, desires and needs. They can be used to create a sense of urgency, scarcity, exclusivity or necessity.
What are the types of mental triggers?
As we saw previously, mental triggers are guided by human feelings. In this way, each of them is responsible for transmitting a certain sensation. Among the main ones, we can mention Cialdini’s six triggers:
Scarcity
This trigger exploits the fear of missing opportunities. By communicating that a product or offer is limited in time or quantity, people are motivated to act quickly so as not to miss out on what they want.
Urgency
Similar to scarcity, urgency creates the need for immediate action. Promotions, discounts, or limited-time offers encourage people to make quick decisions.
Authority
People tend to trust experts or authority figures in a field. Using respected figures or demonstrations of knowledge and experience can influence consumer decisions.
Social Proof
This trigger is based on the principle that people tend to follow the behavior of the majority. Showing that a product or service is popular or widely accepted by others can encourage consumers to adopt it.
Reciprocity
People have a natural tendency to return favors. Offering something of value, like a free resource, can make people feel obligated to reciprocate, often by purchasing products or services.
Emotion
Appealing to emotions is a powerful strategy. Messages that evoke feelings, such as happiness, nostalgia, fear or empathy, can create deep emotional connections and influence decisions.
We can use these six mental triggers in marketing, advertising and sales to influence consumer decisions. As we saw previously, they explore psychological aspects of human behavior to stimulate action and decision-making. However, it is important to use them ethically and transparently to establish lasting customer relationships.
Ethical use of mental triggers
Exploring the user's feelings to make them buy a service, product or idea can develop ethical questions. After all, what is the limit for using this crazy strategy?
In fact, there are ways to use this resource without harming those affected by it. This is because the ethics of mental triggers are a crucial aspect in marketing and sales. When using these persuasive techniques, it is essential that professionals adhere to transparency and honesty, providing clear and accurate information about products and services, avoiding misleading practices or hiding relevant data.
Additionally, respect consumer autonomy, and ensure that decisions are informed and free from undue pressure. Likewise, mental triggers should be applied to highlight genuine benefits and not to sell products that do not meet customer expectations or that could harm them.
Therefore, it is vital to keep in mind not only the short-term gain, but also the long-term impact on customer relationships, building relationships based on trust and respect. Thus, working in compliance with consumer protection regulations and the application of common sense and balance, which are essential to ensure that persuasion is ethical and responsible.
Examples of mental triggers to inspire you
Knowing all this, how can you apply mental triggers to your publishing routine? After all, whether in an ad or a post, depending on your objective, the mental trigger can be a good addition to the strategy.
With this in mind, we have separated some possible uses for each of the main types of triggers. Check out!
Scarcity
An e-commerce site might highlight the message “Only 3 more in stock” next to a product to create a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to purchase quickly before the item sells out.
Examples of good use of this strategy can be seen on e-commerce platforms such as: Shopee, Amazon and Mercado Livre.
Urgency
A travel company may offer a special discount for bookings made within the next 24 hours, encouraging consumers to make a quick decision and take advantage of the promotion.
We promise not to repeat any more examples, but e-commerce continues to be great for this situation. And one that stands out is Mercado Livre, when determining urgency for purchases in which the consumer needs the product for the next day.
Authority
Talking about health is something very important and essential, as long as it is done in the right way. How about using a mental trigger for this? A well-known doctor may endorse a health product in a commercial, highlighting his authority and experience in the field to increase consumers' confidence in the product.
Who doesn’t remember the famous phrase “approved by 9 out of 10 dentists”?
Social Proof
A restaurant can display testimonials from satisfied customers and positive reviews on social media and its website, showing that many people enjoyed the experience, which encourages others to try it too.
This is the proposal of service applications, such as Uber, Ifood, 99 Taxi, among others. Where reviews are essential for other users to purchase a certain product based on the experience provided by that professional.
Reciprocity
A clothing store may offer a free style guide online, providing valuable fashion tips and advice. Consumers who receive it for free may feel inclined to shop at the same store in return.
The famous e-books are widely used in projects that involve the reciprocity trigger, but it is not limited to just that. After all, reciprocity is offering something in exchange for loyalty, no matter the format, as long as it is advantageous for both parties.
Emotion
An ad for a nonprofit can tell an emotional story about the impact of your actions, showing how donations can make a difference in people's lives, evoking empathy and encouraging people to contribute. But the emotion can go beyond that!
A brand can sell based on emotion, creating bonds with the consumer and showing through storytelling that it is capable of generating identification between brand and user. Coca-Cola's end-of-year campaigns, for example, have as their main theme feelings involving family and Christmas parties, showing that the soft drink is always present in memorable situations.
So, what did you think of these examples of mental triggers? Think you can apply them to your marketing campaigns?
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