October 2021
Your customers have a lot of choices to make, and if you want them to choose you or your brand, sometimes you have to persuade them. You want to convince your audience that your brand is the obvious choice instead of your competition. How you choose to do this is up to you, but we have seven amazing social media persuasion techniques that we believe will work.
#1 - Scarcity
When something is scarce or harder to come by, your audience will place more value on that item. Scarcity is used quite often in marketing, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. It is a powerful tool that encourages your audience to act quickly because they don’t want to experience FOMO (fear of missing out).
You can use scarcity in your social media copy by saying something like “XYZ item is selling out quickly” or “only a limited number of spaces left!” Another great use of scarcity is using a countdown timer. This will show your audience there is very little time left to act, and if they don’t want to miss out, they need to make a purchase soon.
#2 - Authority
If you want your audience to trust you or your products, you need to convince them that you are an authority on the subject or have someone who is an authority supporting your product. This is an especially useful tactic when you are making expert or scientific claims.
You can show authority in your social media copy by saying something such as “recommended by 4 out of 5 doctors.” This shows that people your audience considers to be authority figures approve of your product, so it’s got to be good.
#3 - Urgency
Urgency is similar to scarcity, but it is specifically related to the amount of time your audience has to make a purchase. By giving your audience a deadline, it encourages them to take action more quickly.
You can create a sense of urgency in your social media copy by saying something like “order today and receive a 20% discount.” This will make your audience feel like they are going to miss out on a great deal if they don’t act within the allotted time frame.
#4 - Proof
If you want your audience to buy your product, you have to prove that it works. One of the best and most influential ways to show proof is through testimonials or reviews. If your audience sees that your product has received thousands of five-star reviews, they are going to be more likely to believe it really works like you claim it does.
You can showcase proof in your social copy by saying something like “if you don’t believe us, just check out all of our reviews online.” You can even add a link to your product testimonials to make your post more impactful.
#5 - Reciprocity
Reciprocity is the idea of doing something for others because of mutual benefit. In other words, you give your audience something for free because you know they will feel compelled to reciprocate that generosity by making a purchase, signing up for an email list, or taking a survey.
You can use the idea of reciprocity to create lead magnets, opt-in offers, consulting, or demos. Your social copy could say something such as “sign up for our email list and get a FREE copy of XYZ guide.” Your audience will see that you are offering them something of value and will be more likely to give their email information in return.
#6 - Unity
If you can show your audience that you have something in common with them, you can use the unity technique. This is a great way to introduce your product or your brand to new customers and connect with them.
An easy way to incorporate unity into your social media copy is to say something like “we are a new small business in XYZ community and we are looking forward to meeting our neighbors.” This allows you to connect with your audience because you are all members of the same community, and you can appeal to them on a personal level.
#7 - Belief Matching
Belief matching is the idea that you want to convince your audience that you have the same beliefs as them, and you know how to overcome the issues they are dealing with because you’ve been there, too. This is a great tool to use on cold audiences that don’t know you or your product just yet.
A great way to incorporate this into your social media copy would be to say something like “Have you ever felt XYZ emotion? We’ve been there, and our product is the solution to never having to feel like that again.” This shows that you sympathize with the audience and make them believe you and your product are exactly what they need.
These are just a few of the persuasion techniques you can use in your social media marketing. You will want to ensure that all of your social media copy has at least one of these techniques, but you never want to overutilize one specific technique. For instance, you don’t want to create a sense of urgency with every single post or email because your audience will quickly become desensitized to these posts. If you need help figuring out how to incorporate these techniques into your marketing plan, set up a free consultation with us and we will help you get started.