Psychology is important for many reasons. In the world of advertising, we rely on understanding people to create ad experiences that resonate with people and call them to act in a certain way (CTA).
Having an understanding of how people process/think about information is the key to creating effective ads.
Get into the mind of a psychologist and you’ll know what elements to incorporate into your campaign to get your audience’s attention and make your ads more effective.
Here are 3 ways to use psychology to improve your Facebook ads:
1. Emotions
Tug on their heartstrings. Make them laugh. These are the kinds of things that make people’s thumbs stop. Emotions are powerful and people remember the way something makes them feel more than the actual content.
So create content that is not only visually appealing but also evokes an emotional response from your audience. Think about how you want them to feel after engaging with your ad. Do you want them to feel sad, happy, hyped, excited, scared etc. Set emotion goals for your ads and work towards achieving that as well, test it.
Creative that has emotional story arcs and make your audience feel something by the end is key.
This ad by Vice in partnership with KitKat is really hilarious. It tells the comical story of a woman living as a mermaid.
2. Social Proof
Social proof is powerful. It’s the reason bartenders put money in their tip jars before they start a shift or laugh tracks play on tv shows. These are cues that elicit behavior from people because it shows them that others have acted in a certain way and teaches them to follow suit.
Our lives are full of these mental shortcuts that are in place to make our lives easier and allow us to not have to think so hard about what is right, wrong and ultimately how we should behave in situations.
This is why including testimonials in your ads is effective. If you have happy customer feedback and reviews then absolutely consider using that as part of your Facebook ad copy. This cues other people that they should do what others are doing and buy your product.
Another form of social proof is if the product been featured in various magazines or notable places then you can even make mention of that to show credibility.
It also allows you to not have to directly convince your customer that your product is good, someone else is doing the convincing for you. As a company saying your product is the “fastest selling” or “top pick of Elle magazine” for example, you can tout that your product is great by giving proof that many people are buying it.
This ad by Endy really showcases how using customer reviews can allow people to take an interest in this mattress without even trying it out:
This makes your copy so powerful. You don’t have to come up with very creative/witty copy, just tell people positive things about what others are saying and doing in relation to your product.
3. Scarcity
People want what they can’t have. It’s an underlying principle of human nature that influences thoughts and behavior.
Make your product seem scarce and exclusive and people will want it more. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a real thing. Think about it! If something may only be available for a short period of time, don’t you want it more? This innate urgency drives us to make decisions that other people are probably making as well. It feeds into our need to be accepted and conform to what we think others are doing.
You can leverage this principle to get more sales or conversions.
Through your ad copy express that the offer is for a limited time only. This causes urgency from your audience to take you up on your offer or miss out on it.
This ad by Amazon subtly tells you that this 50% deal will disappear by midnight. It makes it seem like the deal won’t be available long and that you should grab it while you can!
Final thoughts
By using the principles of emotion, social proof and scarcity, in your ads you can leverage people’s psychology to get more conversions.
Get more leads using psychology with Facebook ads and Abacus today!
