Marketers actively use psychology to sell. It is much more effective to use background knowledge in human behavior than trying to figure out every customer and hope for the better.

By learning psychology tactics, marketers are able to sell more, connect with customers on all levels, and show that they truly understand their struggles and desires. Overall, psychology in marketing helps to make more informed decisions and connect to bigger audiences with better outcomes.

Content marketing can use some knowledge in psychology too. These psychology tactics will help you to build trust, keep prospects engaged and stay even for the long reads, and sell effectively with words and design.

1. Refer To Emotions

Every marketer knows that there are two tactics: addressing the fear of loss or creating urgency that builds a motivation to buy.

Content marketing is a perfect platform to use those. Both pictures, words, and hard numbers are used to build a perfect picture or become the Ghost of Christmas Future.

For example, when the company is focused on fitness and weight loss, they are likely to show a great “after.” They actively use stories of people who found their love, got a promotion, or gained confidence after they focused on their health.

Consequently, you can encourage people to achieve their goals by sharing success stories or studies on how life can become better after putting your health first, traveling, digitizing healthcare, etc., and then add that your product can help them in the process to make it less focused on selling and more on providing information.

When it is about climate change, for example, companies tend to appeal to fear. They bring science and pull out visualizations of empty fields and green water with tons of plastic. The message is that in order to avoid this, do something to stop it, and our product can help.

It is important to use vivid language if you want to motivate your potential buyers. Do not go for abstract words but rather create a detailed picture with straightforward language, facts, and visualizations.

2. Work on Cognitive Fluency

The average attention span of a human is eight seconds. That’s how long marketers have to grab the attention of a reader. Consequently, engaging headlines and an intriguing introduction are a must for every piece of content.

However, it is more than that. Users nowadays want to learn more with less effort and time spent. It means that they are likely to skim the article, not read long paragraphs or decipher through piles of jargon. As soon as the language gets too complicated and paragraphs become too long, a reader leaves.

Consequently, you should think more about how you build your text. Start every paragraph with the main thought so that the reader can understand what the article was about just by reading the first and last sentences of the paragraph. Break down long paragraphs into smaller ones – highlight important information through quotes or bolding. Use bullet lists and break articles up with subheadings to make them more digestible.

Also, do not overuse terms. Start with something readers know, then mention the term or jargon, and explain it briefly after. For example, if you’re in the project management space and are discussing VPNs for torrenting, it’s important to break down how you introduce it.

1. Explain the problems with torrenting
2. State that they can be solved through VPN
3. Introduce the definition of VPN and VPNs themselves.

By doing so, you will keep users engaged, deliver valuable information with minimal effort.

3. Stick to a Consistent Schedule

In order to show your audience that you’re a trusted resource, you have to have consistency.

Putting together a content strategy will help you achieve this. Having a document that outlines the kind of content you plan to create, your goals, the audience you’re writing content for, and an editorial calendar will help hold you accountable, so you maintain a steady stream of content.

Take into account the bandwagon effect as well. If a brand cannot be consistent in its posting schedule, it will also be inconsistent in providing services or communicating with clients.

4. Use Colors to Get Feedback

Marketers have been using colors and their effect on customers’ moods and actions for years. And even though a hefty amount of content marketing is written, it can be quite visual as well. Infographics, cover graphics for blog entries, and pictures within articles can add a color scheme and visual element that inspires more engagement and action.

For example, red and orange might be good for CTAs because they are considered the most active and motivating colors. In an A/B test from Hubspot, they proved that a red CTA was clicked 21% more often than the green one.

Every color means something and can evoke a particular emotion. Yellow is used mostly as a warning color, while green is a symbol of prosperity and freshness. Blue can create a sense of calmness, and if used right, it could assist readers in slowing down, so they read the entirety of the content.

Colors also tend to represent industries. While blue is mostly used in healthcare and healing, green is for the environment. And it makes sense. You would hardly use red for these industries, right?

The meaning of color can also change based on customer demographics. For example, a younger group may respond more to bright colors, and certain genders may respond better to green over blue.

Consequently, marketers should choose the color theme of their posts based on the desired action, industry, and customer demographics. They may also want to consider their branding color palette if they’re looking to keep things consistent.

Conclusion

Psychology tactics help content marketers to reach bigger audiences, build trust, keep customers engaged and sell more.

They can enhance their content by building positive or negative pictures of the future through stories, statistics, and visualization. Increased readability can be achieved by intriguing headlines and simple, well-structured texts. Consistency in posting will make its way into the routine of users. Using color psychology can convey a message better and encourage users to do the desired action.

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Author Bio

Rebecca Willis is an active freelance writer. She is interested in management, web design, and writing.