Email engagement: how to use ‘pre-suasion’ in your messages

Today’s digitally-centric world is a noisy place. The amount of content consumers are exposed to, and expected to process, is overwhelming. The constant avalanche of work and inbox traffic, never-ending news updates and constantly refreshing social media feeds – it’s enough to make your head spin.

We know more than ever about the world we live in, but the real change in habits is that consumers are much more in control of the content they engage with. It’s really not surprising that consumers are selective and quick to judge, putting the pressure on for online content to cut through effectively. This means priming consumers to receive punchy, clear messages in an accessible way, on a platform that doesn’t fall down at crucial moments.

Robert Cialdini’s book is available for purchase, here.

The back end of tech has never been the most glamorous arena – no-one can say that web hosting is the most dazzling of topics when it’s contending with the likes of Apple and Tesla at the front end. Although I’ve always said that I work in the sort of technology that I can talk to people about in bars, it’s important that I position it in the right way. However, viral, humour-led, snackable content has taken the fore, making standing out from the noise, particularly when the message is not considered traditionally glamorous, an even bigger challenge for marketers. Clear communication and messages alone are no longer enough. As the marketing remit evolves to include a rapidly expanding range of new technologies and agency partners, marketers must work efficiently to ensure that target audiences are primed to understand, receive and ultimately agree with your message before they even know it.

At SXSW in Texas this year, social psychologist Robert Cialdini (pictured) discussed how effective persuasion doesn’t lie in the message itself, but in the key moment before that message is delivered. Many marketers will have read and applied findings from his original work, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (see the video below), but his latest book, The Art of Pre-Suasion (pictured), describes the process of gaining agreement with a message before it has been sent. From Royal Caribbean priming with an emoji in an email subject line, to Warren Buffet creating trust by putting errors and humility at the fore of his annual shareholders’ letter, pre-suasion is a powerful way to influence perceptions and ultimately behaviour.

The moment just before a message is delivered is key because it allows a communicator to encourage a state of mind with recipients that is consistent with the message they are just about to receive. The insights shared by Cialdini are a potential holy grail of tactics for marketers in the age of prolific content – particularly those whose job it is to talk about issues that are less than glamorous.

For marketers working in industries struggling to stand out in a world of memes and pun-tastic email subject lines, whether its B2B or B2C, incorporating pre-suasive tactics into their marketing strategies could be the key. There are number of ways that they can ensure that they’re incorporating these into your marketing activations, whether it’s messaging on websites, email marketing, internal comms or beyond.

Cialdini revealed that surveys can increase demand – for marketers this is a huge opportunity if framed in the right way. Make sure you think about the wording of questions; making the respondent feel like they are negative about their current solution or product will make them more inclined to feel open to what marketers are offering in order to change their circumstance. It’s particularly important for companies promoting low-engagement services or products. For example, “Are you dissatisfied with your current hosting platform?” or “Do you have any concerns with the amount of downtime your website suffers?” will be more effective than “Are you satisfied with your current solution?”. The same tactic can be applied across content strategies to prime potential consumers and drive sales.

Something else worth considering is Cialdini’s new major principle of influence – unity. Socio-political divisions from the past few years have lurched us into a post-truth era, meaning that consumers are looking for a greater feeling of community and familiarity than ever before. In the context of pre-suasion, ‘unity’ refers to the perception of shared identity. Although family is the ultimate shared identity, businesses can take advantage of this by using language that alludes to a community bond. Unity can be based on other groups: ethnicity, geography, shared interests and many more. Marketers must do their research to ensure that they are targeting their pre-suasive framing and messaging in the right way. The more the individual identifies as being a member of that group, the more powerful the unity effect will be.

Marketers need to stay focused and think. It’s not only what you do, it’s also what you do just before. However, the single best influence approach in marketing is to avoid having a priority influence tactic. A measured and well-informed approach will help to facilitate cut-through in the age of overwhelming content.

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