{"id":111649,"date":"2020-11-03T10:07:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T16:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/?p=111649"},"modified":"2022-08-24T19:59:48","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T00:59:48","slug":"understanding-the-psychology-of-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/psychology\/understanding-the-psychology-of-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Psychology of Advertising"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"clearfix\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psychology is not only a tool to better understand those around you\u2014it can also lead to increased influence. And while these persuasion skills are typically put toward research or counseling, they can also be useful in fields outside of the direct psychology world, such as marketing and advertising.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the methods used in advertising and marketing have changed progressively over the years\u2014from merchants in ancient times screaming in marketplaces to digital marketers buying ads on social media sites\u2014the underlying psychology in marketing and advertising has remained the same.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>No matter how complex it may seem, psychology truly is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/psychology\/examples-of-psychology-in-action\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">everyday principle<\/a>. We use it in our relationships, our communication, and we can learn to use it to improve sales in business.<\/p>\n<p>This article aims to uncover the link between psychology and advertising and how you can use advertising psychology to sell smarter.<\/p>\n<a class='requestbut' href='#single-ninja-form'>Request info<\/a>\n<h2>Psychology in Marketing Advertising<\/h2>\n<p>According to research, people generally lose concentration within a short period of time\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/3858309\/attention-spans-goldfish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">about eight seconds<\/a>. This is largely due to the constant overload of messaging in today\u2019s society, causing us to become desensitized to a lot of information around us.<\/p>\n<p>Big tech companies have also made the content world messier. Simply scrolling through Facebook or YouTube is enough to expose you to a ton of ads. In fact, it\u2019s estimated that the average person is exposed to more than <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcprotect.com\/how-many-ads-do-we-see-a-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10,000 ads<\/a> every day.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response, many people have learned to reduce the amount of attention they give to the content they come across, which has hurt many companies\u2019 advertisements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to win a customer, you must first learn how to grab their attention, even if it is just for a few seconds so that you can get your message across. By employing psychology, you can reach your audiences quicker and more effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>7 Examples of Advertising Psychology<\/h2>\n<p>Many business owners are highly skilled at providing solutions to problems, but they perform terribly when it comes to selling that message to their target audience.<\/p>\n<p>Brand advertisers and marketers use a lot of psychological tricks and principles to increase their chances of making a sale. Here are just a few of the most common psychological principles used in advertising today:<\/p>\n<h3>1. The Reciprocity Principle<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This social psychology principle describes the give and take relationship between humans. When you give someone something, you put a burden on them to want to pay you back. For example, a business may provide some free services with the expectation that the consumer will then pay for bigger, more expensive services. Here are a few companies utilizing the Reciprocity Principle:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benihana<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Restaurant\n<p><\/span>The Hibachi icon, Benihana, offers a \u201cfree\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.benihana.com\/promotions\/chefs-table\/#benihanabirthdaycertificate-\"><span>$30 gift card<\/span><\/a><span> during the month of your birthday. The restaurant mega chain incorporates the Reciprocity Principle here by offering this free gift, knowing the customer will likely spend more once they\u2019re seated for dinner.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hulu\n<p><\/span>The popular streaming service offers <span>its customers<\/span><span> a chance to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hulu.com\/start\/twit\"><span>try out the service for free <\/span><\/a><span><span>for a set number of days before paying the full monthly fee. The concept of free trials is one of the more popular uses of The Reciprocity Principle in advertising.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hulu.com\/start\/twit\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.hulu.com\/start\/twit<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. Commitment<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When businesses can make a customer commit to something small, they can then easily increase their ask to include bigger things. For example, getting individuals to sign up for a free class or webinar may make them more apt to sign up for a cheap paid class down the line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEMRush, a popular software used by digital marketing and advertising professionals, uses the commitment method by offering an array of free tools, like their suite of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/academy\/courses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">digital marketing courses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The consumer is more <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">likely<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to opt into the paid services once they become <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">knowledgeable<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the free <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">aspects<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">platform<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<a class='requestbut' href='#single-ninja-form'>Request info<\/a>\n<h3>3. Consensus<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People are more likely to buy from businesses when there is demonstrated proof that other individuals have made purchases and put trust in the company. By simply providing target audiences with reviews or testimonials, advertisers are taking advantage of this psychological principle. It\u2019s no wonder reviews are such an <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">important<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> part of the advertising space, especially <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">considering<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 93% of consumers say that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qualtrics.com\/blog\/online-review-stats\/#:~:text=Online%20reviews%20statistics%20to%20know%20in%202022,-Diana%20Kaemingk%20%2F%2F&amp;text=93%25%20of%20customers%20read%20online,and%20encourage%20positive%20buying%20recommendations.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">online reviews influenced their purchase decisions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>4. Authority<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People tend to pay more attention if they see that a company is an authority figure in the industry. Here are a few ways advertisers showcase authority to help build trust with consumers:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Publish a healthy flow of authoritative, industry-specific content to establish thought-leadership.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visible mentions of awards or badges to tout many years of experience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trusted team of influencers to showcase a product or service on the company\u2019s behalf.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>5. Liking<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s easier to get someone to buy from a company if they first <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that company. To use this tool, businesses must know their target audience, understand their likes and wants, and reflect those things in their brand messaging.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe like people who are similar to us, who pay us compliments, and who cooperate with us towards mutual goals.\u201d (source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/marketing-psychology-liking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/marketing-psychology-liking\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>6. Scarcity<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When things are in short supply, people rush to get them. Limited availability = mass appeal. To use this tool, advertisers may put deadlines for promos and limited quantities for really good deals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An easily<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recognizable example of a scarcity method in advertising is the Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Starbucks.\u00a0 The seasonal beverage sticks around for only a handful of weeks per year yet grosses an estimated <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/gb\/blog\/mind-brain-and-value\/202008\/the-psychology-the-pumpkin-spice-latte\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$100 million per year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>7. Verbatim Effect<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/effectiviology.com\/verbatim-effect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Verbatim Effect<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the idea that people tend to remember the gist of a given written or spoken topic rather than the information in its exact form.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to our aforementioned small attention spans, customers aren\u2019t really paying much attention to long, unnecessary advertising content. Plus, people tend to remember general meanings as opposed to specific details. When advertisers break ideas down into simple concepts from the start, customers are more likely to remember a company or product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many other psychological principles can affect how prospects respond to advertising, and we use them daily. Advertising companies will then use these automatic responses to advance sales and reach customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Are you interested in learning how to use psychology in marketing and advertising? Do you want to use your psychology degree to work in the business world? With a sound foundation in psychological theory, the opportunities for diverse work are wide open.<\/p>\n<p>Explore The Chicago School\u2019s convenient and comprehensive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/online\/programs\/ba-psychology-generalist-concentration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology<\/a>. The program covers psychological principles such as critical thinking, problem-solving, research, and decision making.<\/p>\n<p>Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/online\/programs\/ba-psychology-generalist-concentration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">program page<\/a> for more information, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/request-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Great advertisers understand exactly how their audience thinks and what they respond to. Learn how businesses apply psychology to create effective ads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":111666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1073],"class_list":["post-111649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Understanding the Psychology of Advertising | The Chicago School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Great advertisers understand exactly how their audience thinks and what they respond to. 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