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Have you ever wondered why you bought something that wasn’t in your plan or budget last week; what was it that finally made you decide?
Or you booked a surprise weekend away with your significant other based on a Tripadvisor review you read?
We could share thousands of examples with you. The truth: You were influenced to take an action. We are all human beings, and that is what we do; we react to some fundamental influencing principles in all areas of our life including what we buy and who we work with.
The good news is that these principles have been studied and researched in detail by Professor Cialdini the well-known professor of marketing at Arizona State University and New York Times bestselling author.
His book on persuasion and psychology is one of the leading resource guides for anyone that wants to market or promote their recruitment organisation.
He has identified a number of key principles of influence and here is how some of them link to recruiting.
1. Reciprocation
As humans, we generally aim to return favours, pay back debts and treat others as they treat us. According to the idea of reciprocation, this can lead us to feel obliged to offer concessions to others if they have offered them to us. An example of this is a restaurant where, at the end of the meal, the server may give you an after-dinner mint in the hope that you will reciprocate with a generous tip or come back for a repeat visit.
Psychology explains this by stressing that we humans simply hate to feel indebted to other people!
Examples: A comprehensive blog post
Let’s say that you’re running a popular blog on your recruitment website that offers clients and candidates highly actionable and practical information that makes their working lives better. Of course, all of this information is provided for free; they just have to visit your site and absorb all of the details.
Based on the idea of reciprocity, your site visitors would be more likely to feel obligated to call you, or contact you via the website, a general email or LinkedIn, providing you with a potential lead.
2. Commitment and Consistency
Generally, people do not like to back out of a situation. Once we have publicly committed to something or someone, verbally or in writing, we are much more likely to follow through and deliver on that commitment. We also have a need to be consistent with this behaviour. You only need to look at how the ice bucket challenge of 2014 went viral to experience how this can work.
When it comes to consistency, this can work at multiple levels. When people experience you and your marketing messages consistently, it will produce the desired effect as people ‘see’ your brand appearing everywhere.
Are you currently using this principle in your marketing approach?
3. Social Proof
Prof Cialdini defines social proof as “people doing what they see other people doing”. So this principle relies on people’s sense of safety in numbers.
For instance, if your colleagues are working late, then you’re more likely to do the same.
If you decide to go out one night, you might see that a particular restaurant or bar is always full and so be more likely to give that place a try too.
We are even more influenced by this principle when unsure of ourselves or if the people we observe seem to be similar to us. Amazon reviews and Trip Advisor are an example of how this principle is used in marketing today.
For a recruitment company, an obvious choice might be a testimonial or case study that appears on your website; or the number of current vacancies they find on your job board.
Or importantly how often your blog posts have been shared by loking at your social media icons.
4. Liking
“The more you like someone, the more you’ll be persuaded by them.”
Liking is based on sharing something similar with people you like, and it can be based on something as superficial as how attractive a person’s looks are, what team they support or what part of the country they come from.
This principle can be applied to your website in the following way: A recruitment company that wants to generate inbound leads can focus on creating a very well-executed “About Us” page.
That almost sounds too simple, but it makes all the sense in the world when you understand that a company’s “About Us” page serves as an opportunity to tell potential candidates, clients and future talent all about the similarities between its people and website visitors.
Why is video becoming so popular ? Because it’s an excellent and comprehensive way to connect with people. They get to see you, hear you, and it’s as if ‘they’ get to know you at a personal level.
Every week we post a video on our Facebook page where people experience us in a transparent and authentic way.
5. Authority
It is a truth that people feel a sense of duty or obligation to people in positions of authority.
This explains why Doctors and Dentists are employed by healthcare companies to front advertising campaigns and why most people will act on a Manager’s request. Job titles, uniforms and even accessories like cars or gadgets can lend an air of authority and can persuade you to accept what these people say.
The good news is that living in the current knowledge age individuals and organisations that communicate often and in a way that adds value to their market are also considered authorities.
Creating downloadable white papers running a great content rich blog will make you stand out in your recruiting sector. Again videos , podcasts and webinars will all anoint you as the expert too.
6. Scarcity
This principle says that things are more attractive when their availability is limited, or when we stand to lose the opportunity to acquire them on favourable terms.
For instance, human behaviour is such that we are more likely to purchase something if we’re informed that it’s the very last one or that an exclusive deal will soon expire. In short, people actually believe that they’ll be missing out on something they have to have if they fail to act quickly.
Recruitment examples could be:
“We are one of only two companies who represent, Acme Solutions”.
“The deadline for CV’s is August 14th, 2017.”
Here is an example every good recruiter can relate to. That hot candidate you found that is finally ready to move, and you know at least five companies that are crying out for a coder like her. Suddenly placing them becomes quite easy; they are a scarce commodity.
Would You Like Our Help?
All principles that work because of our human psyche. The question is, are you using these principles in your marketing? If the answer is no; we can help. If you would like clarity and direction when it comes to marketing your recruitment organisation let’s talk.
Book a quick call here and we can review where you are and if we can help, with no obligation to proceed further on either side. Click the button below and book your ‘quick’ call now.
