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Cognitive biases are criminally underused by smaller brands.
They can be used to create stories, engage with your audience and evoke emotion on a massive scale.
You can redefine a whole brand using them.
Here are 3 biases I've found to be highly effective.
Barnum Effect
The Barnum Effect is when you make the reader believe the content is written about their personality. In a world obsessed with personalisation, it's never been so effective.
A great example of this was the Coca-Cola "Share a Coke" campaign. During this campaign, they printed 250 popular names instead of their logo. Consumers saw these bottles as 'personal' to them and were therefore encouraged to buy.
The result?
A 2% increase in soft-drink sales.
This small change increased Coke consumption from 1.7 to 1.9 billion servings per day.
Bizarreness Effect
Ever watched an Old Spice ad? Then you've seen the Bizarreness Effect first hand.
This bias is exactly what it says on the tin. A bizarre scenario that is then linked to your brand/ product.
The reality is, human attention spans are shorter than ever. Brands need eye-catching ads that are memorable. This can be achieved with the Bizarreness effect.
In the case of Old Spice, it was used to connect an 'older' product with a young audience.
After their 2010 Superbowl ad, Old Spice reached 40 million views on YouTube, and a 107% increase in body wash sales.
Today, the brand sells globally to an audience of 15-32-year-olds.
One ad changed their entire market.
Authority Bias
The Authority Bias makes use of an authority figure to create credibility.
Think influencer advertising.
You see someone you like using the product. Next thing, you're buying it yourself.
It's used in just about every niche, from fashion & fitness to finance & crypto.
Just look at what happened to $DOGE when Elon Tweeted about it. The price soared over 20% in 24 hours.
If you're writing for a brand that has worked with an authority figure, use this in your writing.
It's an easy hack to create credibility and will instantly build trust amongst customers.
There are 100's of cognitive biases to use in your writing. Test these out with your clients and see what kind of results you can achieve.
Speak to you next week,
Copy Mav
