It is clear that finding the best way to succeed with your marketing campaigns is sometimes a difficult task, which is why digital marketing resorts to the use of other techniques to help you achieve your goals.
In this post we will tell you what reverse psychology is and how to use it for your marketing strategies. Keep reading so you don't miss anything!
what is reverse psychology?
Reverse psychology is the set of techniques that consists of defending and supporting a behaviour that is the opposite of what we really want to promote, with the aim that applying this approach will make the subject act as we really want. In other words, in simpler words, it is suggesting to do (or not to do) the opposite of what you really want that person to do.
Reverse psychology is very successful and works very well in the world of marketing and advertising, as you challenge the audience to perform an action contrary to what you really want them to do, thus capturing their attention, which is exactly what you want.
In both marketing and advertising it is more effective to challenge the audience than to simply ask them to do it, which is why it works so well.
how does reverse psychology work in marketing?
As we mentioned earlier, people often do the opposite of what they are asked to do, either out of sheer rebellion or because they feel free to decide not to do it. It works very well because they feel they are being forced to do something, they feel less free, so they decide to do the opposite.
In psychology, this is called "psychological reactance", which is the preference of people to do the opposite and "break" with the rules.
It is precisely this fact that works so well in the marketing field. When you generate a challenge or a prohibition to the public what you are looking for, in reality, is that they do it. A very simple example is with a sign in a shop that says "Do not enter here", but what you are looking for is that users see it, accept the challenge and enter the shop. You generate expectation, you call the curiosity and attention of the potential customer, you persuade them to break those rules. That is why reverse psychology is nothing more than a persuasion technique.
how to apply it in your marketing strategy?
Now that you are clear on what reverse psychology is, how it works and how it is used in marketing, let's focus on how you can apply it in your strategies.
Applied to your content marketing strategy, where you can write the titles of your texts using this psychology. For example, use a prohibition "Don't read this if you want to..." or "Be careful what you read..." You attract the user's attention, who will be curious to know what's behind the headline.
In the marketing world, as you know, a picture is worth a thousand words, so using a contradictory photograph to capture the public's attention is very common.
Using reverse psychology in your call to action or CTA is also a common technique. As you know, CTAs are there to encourage the user to take an action on your website, so what better way to challenge them to do it to make them even more eager. An example would be "Do you dare to..." "Are you sure that...? Because as we have mentioned in the previous two points, there is no better technique than proposing a challenge and provoking the user.
Another way to apply this branch of psychology within your marketing strategy is to block content within your website. You may be wondering how to do this, and it is easier than you think. If you are looking to get more subscribers or sign up for your newsletter, you can use this strategy with examples such as: "Access to exclusive content is for subscribers only" or "If you want to discover protected content, share this on your social networks". This will make the user feel exclusive, and they will agree to take that action.
Dangers of using reverse psychology
Like any other technique, it can be very effective, but it must be used correctly, because remember, it is still a persuasion strategy and must be used wisely.
- You can damage trust and relationships with your customers
- Be careful with the message you give and the language you use, or users may feel bad and generate negative emotions towards your brand.
- Don't overuse this technique, they may associate you with negative messages
- You can sound repetitive, and nobody wants the same thing over and over again.
- Avoid being too obvious, try to be subtle or the user will catch your intentions from the beginning.
Throughout the post you have been able to see the benefits that reverse psychology can bring you in your marketing strategies. But first of all, remember that you must know your target audience very well. If you do not know how your future customers behave, you will not be able to adapt your strategies to them. That is why we recommend that you carry out a research of your audience and create the necessary buyer persona profiles.
We encourage you to try this technique for yourself and see the reactions it provokes in your customers.
we hope you enjoyed reading this!
