Reciprocation: Give Before You Get

What is It? Reciprocation is our collective human tendency to feel a debt towards people that give us things. We then reciprocate once someone has done something good by use. The Proof: Dr. Jenifer Kunz (of West Texas A&M) did an interesting study in 1994: Send Christmas Cards to strangers. And she discovered that strangers will send Christmas cards back, even if theyve never met the sender. This is reciprocation at work. (Interestingly, she found the greatest response rate was between senders called Dr. and blue collar receivers.) By contra-example, Sam Walton (founder of Walmart), famously never let a purchasing agenct take so much as a handkerchief from a purchasing agent, ensuring reciprocative tendencies never drove up his prices. How Link Builders Can Use It: Give your prospect something before you ask for anything preferably multiple times. For example, if youre going to launch an ebook about flyfishing at the end of the month, include all of the blogs youll eventually reach out to in a 20 Best Flyfishing Blogs po st, your ebook promotion request will go much further.

Liking
What is It? People are more likely to agree to requests from people they like. There are many ways to increase likability physical attractiveness, similarity, repeated contact, and association with other liked objects. The Proof: Researchers have shown that attractive people are thought to be talented, kind, honest, and intelligent often without basis. Attractiveness has a halo effect that extends to other areas. Similarity also creates liking. This is known as intergroup bias in psychology, and creates increased success rates in direct marketing and other persuasive situations. How Link Builders Can Use It: Highlight things you have in common with the author or site owner. (Dont do this in a fake way, Funny you have a website. I also have a website!, but rather dig in, and find complex opinions or preferences you have in common. Engage with influencers through comments, through Twitter, through email, and any other way they might respond (and not find creepy) to create familarity. Then ask for a link as a friend or peer not a stranger.

Commitment & Consistency

What is It?

Once people have agreed to do something, or agreed to some principle, theyll perform to it, even when they would be disinclined to do so otherwise. After people have made a decision, in retrospect, they think it was a better idea. Cognitively, we see things weve agreed to as good choices, even if there is obvious evidence otherwise. The Proof: One study, originally conducted in 1975 and repeated in 2009, presented a familiar scenario: someone sitting on a beach blanket left their radio (later, ipod) and walked away, and another researcher came along and stole it. In one test set, the radios owner said nothing to their beach neighbo rs none of them intervened. In the other test set, the radios owner asked their new beach neighbors to watch my things this one change produced a 95% intervention rate, often chasing the thief down the beach. How Link Builders Can Use It: Before you have a piece of content, ask influencers what they think of it. If they like it, ask them to share it with their audience. Follow bloggers Guest Blog for us or Write for Us rules. Theyve already agreed to have you and youve complied with their rules. Mention this.

Social Proof: Everybodys Doing It

What is It? We use other people doing something as a heuristic for whether doing something is valuable. When we see Over 1 Million Served in front of a McDonalds, were persuaded that McDonalds is great. According to Cialdini, We view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. The Proof: Studies have found that simply showing shy, introverted pre-schoolers videos of other children interacting normally with crowds can radically change behavior. Furthermore, Milgram, Bickman, & Berkowitz experimented with having a single person on a sidewalk in a busy street look upward. More than 80% of passerby lifted their gaze to the same empty spot. Social proof can even help people overcome and ignore physical pain: a study from 1978 showed people who would otherwise find electric shocks painful did not when there was someone else in the same room receiving the shocks and finding them bearable. How Link Builders Can Use It: If youre guest blogging, mention the number of social shares your last guest post got. If 1500 people shared it, it couldnt be too bad. If your site gets lots of traffic or does lots of business, let the link prospect know. Share positive metrics about your site and increase your credibility.

Authority
What is It?

We believe what authorities tell us. Doctors, CEOs, Presidents, celebrities, and more, all have undue influence over us. Titles, clothing, social status, and other factors can all create this feeling of authority. The Proof: Many studies, the most famous the Milgram Experiment, have verified this. One of the most interesting concerns peer-reviewed medical journal papers. 12 papers that were previously published by professors from prestigious universities in a medical journal were copied and resubmitted, but with the professional affiliation changed to the Tri-Valley Center for Human Potential. Nine were accepted for review, and only one was accepted for publication. How Link Builders Can Use It: If your site has been blessed by authorities in your space on the consumer web it might be Martha Stewart, while in the IT world it might be Gartner mention that in your link request. If other prominent blogs (like Mashable or TechCrunch in technology) have mentioned your product or your site, let your link prospect know youve been covered there. If an executive in your company is well known and famous in her field, ask her to use rel=author markup on her posts, so her picture will appear in Googles search results, making your sites content even more authoritative.

Scarcity
What is It? We disproportionately value scarce things even when they have little or no value. The Proof: Stephen Worchel and his team conducted an experiment about the psychology of scarcity: they asked consumers to try two cookies and rate them for taste and quality. However, in one test, their bag had ten cookies, and in the other, it held only two. Consumers rated the scarcer cookies more desirable, more costly, and a better value. For a more modern example, consider reality television programs like the Bachelor, the Bachelorette, and (my personal favorite) Flavor of Love. Otherwise normal people become incredible objects of desire after being made scarce and competed over. How Link Builders Can Use It: PR professionals have been offering exclusives to influential publications for years. Link builders can do the same thing offering exclusive samples, interviews, and other content to choice publications. If youre giving bloggers samples or inviting them into a blogger program, you can limit the number of seats available, creating scarcity and exclusivity.

Stacking Persuasive Principles

While these principles used invidually are persuasive, when they get stacked together, they can become something incredibly powerful.

For example, think of a Tupperware party with a limited supply of an incredible piece of Tupperware. Everyone wants it, and the hostess has graciously provided you with wine and hors doeuvres. Now your friends are buying the items, and theres only two left Can anyone say no in this situation? Charlie Munger (Warren Buffets lawyer and investment partner) called situations like this where multiple cognitive biases intersect the lollapalooza effect.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Using these triggers, especially together, can create great influence. However, keep in mind that many people, especially marketers, are very familiar with these concepts and do not necessarily appreciate their use. Do not use them irresponsibly they can cause resentment and major PR backlash, resulting in not only you not getting your link, but damage to the brand youre working for. Make sure you always use these concepts truthfully.