Cialdini Principles: 7 Principles of Influence (+ Examples)

Cialdini Principles 1

Cialdini Principles: scarcity, authority, social proof, sympathy, reciprocity, consistency and unity form Dr. Robert Cialdini’s 7 influencing techniques.

You have a website that gets traffic, but you’re not getting enough results from it.

I’m going to explain to you, how to:

Let’s start…

Dr. Robert Cialdini wrote the book Influence and Pre-suasion.

He did a lot of research on how to persuade people in his career as a psychologist.

His findings were later subbed as the ‘7 Cialdini Principles’.

For a brief explanation, see the video below:

As you probably know, humans have 3 types of brains:

3 types of brains

95% of our behavior is determined by the reptile and mammalian brain.

Making rational decisions takes time and energy, so we prefer to make decisions based on emotion.

Often, the rational brain mostly justifies the decisions we have made with the reptilian and mammalian brain.

Cialdini’s principles are so valuable because the reptilian and mammalian brains respond incredibly well to them.

Certain Cialdini Principles work better with certain people.

You’ve probably heard of an MBTI/DISC analysis:

Disc Personality Types

It is helpful to know what bin your target audience falls into to determine which Cialdini Principles will be most effective.

In the beginning there were 6 basic principles of influence, later ‘Unity’ was added:

With scarcity you can prevent procrastination….

Losing something hurts twice as much as winning something:

Cialdini Scarcity

Scarcity gives extra motivation to order it now, think of:

Additionally, scarcity also works well by using loss language:

Scarcity works particularly well with the red and yellow decision maker. With the blue decision-maker it could be counterproductive.

Note: only apply it if it is actually true.

By nature, we follow someone with authority….

After all, we trust experts and people who (think they) know what they are doing:

Google Cloud Authority

You can incorporate Authority into your website using:

This Cialdini Principle works particularly well on the red and blue decision maker.

When we don’t know what to do we look at what others have done.

14% of people trust an ad and 70% trust someone else’s opinion:

This principle can also be combined well with the ‘Unity’ principle by saying something like:

Social proof can be applied well by showing:

The green and blue decision makers in particular attach great value to social proof:

Social Proof Booking.com

Note: as with all principles, don’t overdo it, as it creates suspicion.

If you like someone then you are more likely to grant that person something…

We are more likely to say ‘yes’ to someone we like than to someone we dislike.

You won’t buy from an ugly and grumpy salesman because you feel absolutely no sympathy for him.

A brand can be of great help here, because we find one brand more sympathetic than another. Research shows that there are 4 factors that can cause sympathy:

Sympathy can be created by:

Green and blue people in particular value sympathy.

Tip: looking at the peak-end rule, the last experience a lead or customer has with your company should be hugely positive.

Giving and taking…

If you give something of value then you should expect something in return.

If a restaurant offers peppermints when paying the bill, people are more likely to tip (more).

Reciprocity can be applied in a huge number of ways, such as:

And so much more…

Reciprocity works especially well on the yellow and green decision makers.

It is very important that what you give or do is of real value to the recipient.

People are consistent to their previously displayed behavior….

If we’ve shown an interest in something or a liking for something then there’s a huge chance that we’re going to be consistent to this behavior instead of proving ourselves wrong.

Marketers have embraced this principle by working with micro-conversions:

These micro-conversions eventually lead us to a larger conversion.

It’s better to work from micro-conversions to a larger conversion than to offer the larger conversion directly.

The bigger or more public the commitment is the more likely we are to stick with it.

The yellow decision maker is most sensitive to consistency.

The more you feel part of a group, the more you allow yourself to be influenced by that group…

This principle was added later, but is just as important.

Unity applies when you create a group feeling. Don’t use language like:

But language like:

Remind your target audience of that shared identity, that helps you create loyal fans:

Cialdini Unity

Unity can be deployed by:

Unity works especially well with the green and blue decision makers.

Power words are words that copywriters can use to increase conversions

These words actually trigger a psychological or emotional response, think:

The formula B=(MAT)+rU is a formula that can be used to get desired behavior:

Fogg Behavior Model

B = Behavior > What behavior do you want to change, what is the desired outcome.

M = Motivation > How motivated is someone to do something.

A = Ability > is the person able to do the desired action.

T = Trigger to change – (Trigger) > Send the eye where you want it to go, but also Cialdini principles.

rU = Remove uncertainty – (Reduce uncertainty) > Remove uncertainty. What would stop people from demonstrating the desired behavior?

Reduce Uncertainty B=MAT+rU

A nice visualization of B=(MAT)+rU is the persuasion slide:

Persuasion Slide

Besides B=(MAT)+rU there is another formula, C= 4M + 3V + 2(I-F) – 2A:

There are several outcomes a behavioral change could have:

Behavioral Change Outcomes

Now you have enough knowledge to influence the entire world… 😉

I’m curious which principle you find most valuable and why.

Let me know in a comment below!

P.S. Want more help? Send an email at gust@gustdebacker.com

What are the 6 principles of persuasion?

The 6 basic principles of persuasion were devised by Dr. Robert Cialdini and include: scarcity, authority, social proof, sympathy, reciprocity and consistency.

What are the 7 principles of persuasion?

The 7 basic principles of persuasion were devised by Dr. Robert Cialdini and include: scarcity, authority, social proof, sympathy, reciprocity, consistency and later unity was added.

What is B=(MAT)+rU

B=(MAT) comes from BJ Fogg, a behavioral psychologist. To get desired behavior there must be a high motivation, it must be easy to take the desired action and there must be a trigger to take the action. rU stands for reduce uncertainty, make sure all doubts are removed.

How do you apply scarcity?

Scarcity is applied to prevent procrastination, this can be done by working with daily/weekly deals, limited time, limited stock, exclusivity or a limited number of places.

How do you apply authority?

Show that you have authority by associating with famous people, labels, awards, claims, titles, experience and/or knowledge.

How do you apply social proof?

Show reviews and ratings, show how often a certain action has been done or create a top 5 of popular products.

How do you apply likability?

Have a good about-us page, be vulnerable, use humor, create positive brand associations, emphasize similarities or make sincere compliments for example.

How do you apply reciprocity?

You can apply reciprocity by doing something of value for the other person or giving them something. Think of giving a gift, e-book, training, checklist, free trial, etc.

How do you apply consistency?

You can capitalize on consistency by, for example, showing an exit-intent or welcome-back pop-up, placing a trigger on the thank-you page to get a new conversion or perhaps adding an option to save something as a favorite.

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