Digital Persuasion and Psychology –Cialdini’s 7 Principles of Persuasion in Action- CXL Review
Being in quarantine and working from home opens up a great deal of available time. I’ve decided to dedicate a few hours each week (or if you ask my family, every waking moment) to upskilling in digital marketing. This leads to countless Google searches that end up in the digital marketing rabbit hole.
- Top ten tips to winning SEO — I’ll click.
- Creating email subject lines that will get results — I’m watching the webinar on-demand.
- Everything you need to know when redesigning a website — I’m downloading.
- A social media content calendar template — I’m downloading only to realize the one I already have works just fine.
It’s the endless quest for more expert content.
But that’s the thing, how much of this endless stream of downloadable guides, e-books and templates can I actually use? How many of them do I actually use? How many have I downloaded multiple times only to realize I’ve already downloaded. Don’t ask.
Finding CXL at the end of the rabbit hole.
Two weeks ago, my consistent habit of clicking through multiple pieces of content led me to the CXL Institute. At first glance, it ticks every box for a digital marketing content junkie:
What stood out most was the site’s value proposition. They offer content that is more than a listicle or advertisement cloaked in a case study. CXL features in-depth learning paths devoted to helping its students become world-class digital marketing practitioners. And since this is the whole point of my endless hours spent searching for content, I decided to dig a little deeper into the site.
“When you’re looking to upskill in digital marketing, you’ve got many options. You should only choose CXL Institute when you’re serious about furthering your career.”
I settle in on the mini-degree programs because they offer a specific digital marketing skill taught in a reasonable time frame. Topics include:
- Content Marketing
- Conversion Optimization
- Customer Acquisition
- Digital Analytics
- Digital Psychology and Persuasion
- Growth Marketing
Free Scholarship! This can’t be for real!
A free 40+ hour course from the top 1% of the world’s practicing marketing professionals. Free in exchange for twelve weekly 1,000-word blog posts. I’ve never written a blog before, but as a digital marketing professional, now seemed like the time to start.
The Digital Psychology and Persuasion Mini-Degree stood out because it digs into why users perform the actions they do online. As a B2B marketeer, I am constantly looking for ways to fill the funnel. Learning ways to get more people to take the desired actions seemed like a better use of time than learning new ways of measuring how many took the actions.
My First Thoughts of the Content
The content is instantly more intriguing than a lot of the digital marketing content and courses I’ve taken. In B2B Marketing, it’s easy to forget a deal begins with one person’s first touchpoint. Learning about the role psychology takes in digital marketing humanizes the complex B2B customer journey.
Cialdini’s 7 Rules of Persuasion — How CXL Practices what they Preach
After completing the first lesson “People and Psychology,” I realize CXL has used Cialdini’s 7 Principles of Persuasion to optimize conversions and course sign-ups.
Reciprocity. It works like this — people innately feel obliged to provide discounts or concessions to others if they’ve received favors from those others. A free scholarship for a mini-degree in digital marketing content from some of the best in the industry (it says so on the website), of course I will write a 1,000-word blog post each week. It’s the least I can do — right?
After all, they didn’t even require me to put in any financial information to qualify for the scholarship (this is the concept of reducing friction- but I’m skipping ahead to the Neuromarketing section, more about that later.)
Commitment — This principle declares that human beings have a deep need to be consistent. Once I have publicly committed to writing and publishing a blog post as part of the CXL mini-degree program requirements, I am much more likely to go through and deliver on that commitment and complete the coursework.
Social Proof — What’s the first thing I did before I completed the scholarship application — Googled CXL mini-degree scholarship. I found quite a few entries validating the CXL scholarship, and since the principle of social proof is based on the idea of safety in numbers — I had the proof I needed that this wasn’t a hoax and had no problem submitting my application.
Authority — I’m sure CXL didn’t take the use of the word “Institute” lightly. Institute conveys a certain air or authority and expertise, that “free training” does not. CXL isn’t for someone looking to become a Google Analytics expert in 30 minutes, instead, they offer “marketing training programs to people serious about their career.”
Am I serious about my career, of course!
By only using the top 1% of practitioners as instructors on their platform, they are establishing themselves as authorities in digital marketing. This Principle of Persuasion concludes that when humans are met with authority, we comply.
“CXL Institute is for building advanced level data-driven marketing skills. It’s where people come to transform their careers. Our programs go deep, and completing them requires considerable effort. It takes somebody with determination, commitment to invest long term, and hunger to go after what few will ever pursue in order to complete one of our programs. Are you one of them?”
Liking — When you like someone, the more you are persuaded by him or her. This section of the content refers to the power of a well-executed “About Us” page, so I head to CXL’s to see how they’ve integrated this Principle of Persuasion.
CXL’s about page is bold, it’s authoritative. The founder, Peep Laja, is passionate about sharing his knowledge with other marketers.
“I am devoted to growing the size and quality of the whole conversion optimization community. You can always rely on me for help. I spend most of my time today on making top 1% marketing know-how available for everyone through CXL Institute.
This explains the scholarship, the founder wants to make marketing know-how available to everyone. This is a great way to humanize the company and convert visitors who want to be part of this mission.
Scarcity- ONLY 2 MORE LEFT! Quantity and time are elements used to convey scarcity and boost conversions. Although not overtly expressed on the site, the follow-up email explaining the criteria for the scholarship and blog posts makes it clear that if you don’t meet the criteria each week, your access will be revoked. Not quite an exact match for scarcity, but you don’t want to lose out either.
Unity — Cialdini says that the unity principle moves beyond surface level similarities and is about shared identities. This is where I feel most persuaded by CXL. They are not for everyone, they are educating those who want to be “elite marketers.” People with the discipline to go through intensive learning and the determination to apply these hard-won skills.
This is me.
This is how I ended up on this site, a constant quest to upskill and become a better marketer using data-driven principles and not basing strategy on guesses.
I’m in the right place.
