Five Ways to Engage the Unconscious Mind

Here are five of the more compelling ways to do engage people.

Use them for web, course notes, marketing and other collateral.

Use sex, food, or danger

1. Use sex, food, or danger. The unconscious mind pays attention to the possibility of sex, to food, and to danger. If you use any of these triggers at a web site then the unconscious pays attention. So show a picture of a good looking man and/or woman with a flirtatious look in their eyes, or a full colour picture of luscious food, or a scary picture, and you’ll grab ’em.  ( just make sure it is appropriate for your context and audience)

Ratings

2. Use ratings. Ratings invoke the principle of social validation. If we see that other people have rated the (product, idea, author, blog, etc) highly, then we feel we should check it out too.

Stories

3. Tell a story. Some of the latest research on brain scans shows that people digest information in a story format. Using stories makes information easier to understand, and engages us automatically on both a conscious and unconscious level.

Keep it simple

4. Keep it simple, Don’t offer too many choices. Research shows that people pay attention to only about 2 or 3 attributes of a product or an offer at a website. If you offer too many choices the unconscious can’t decide (it’s really the unconscious deciding). Too many choices and people freeze up and don’t take any action at all.

YOU

5. Use the word YOU. The unconscious mind is all about YOU. You will pay attention if you see the word you.