The Art of Persuasive Copywriting
Imagine you are in a fancy hotel room and you stumble across a towel re-use card in the bathroom. Which of the following two messages would have more of an impact on you?
Help save the environment by re-using your towels.
or
Help save the environment. The majority of guests in this room reuse their towels.
According to the Journal of Consumer Research article “A Room With A Viewpoint“, authors Noah J. Goldstein, Robert B. Cialdini and Vladas Griskevicius argue that the second message, which includes a descriptive norm, would increase the likelihood of your re-using your towel by nine percent. Now nine percent may not sound like a large increase, but in marketing terms, that additional nine percent could have massive impact. For example, in the case of targeted e-blasts, a click-through increase of nine percent would be considered a great success.
The change in wording between the two examples personalizes the meaning and provides context to reasonable societal expectations (if the majority of guests do one thing, I want to do it too). It also goes to show how influential language, and subtle variations in that language (we’re saying essentially the same thing) can be when it comes to the art of persuasion. Semantics are especially important in B2B marketing communications, where ads and collateral pieces tend to be more informational and content-heavy. At the end of the day, effective marketing depends on finding interesting and effective ways to communicate features and benefits to consumers, with a subtle persuasion factor built in to drive consumer behavior.
So the next time you are creating an e-blast or whipping up a white paper, don’t underestimate the power of good copy (including the power of semantics). The way your messaging is worded could make or break the success of your communications.
Would the second message listed above have more of an influence on you? Why or why not?
