Human Psychology in Marketing

This article is more of an exploration of more abstract concepts than concrete advice. However, considering the psychological element of marketing may help you in the way you advertise. That being said, I would like to clarify that I am in no way a psychologist, I am a marketer who enjoys exploring marketing concepts and theory.

Why Do People Like People?

Humans are inherently complex creatures and there are many reasons inter-personal relationships are formed that I will not mention. I'm going to look at a simplified view of some reasons that are the easiest to translate into marketing.

• Compliments and flattery

• Ability to relate to one another

• Perceived as genuine, not overly nice to the point of appearing fake

• Proximity

• Similarity

• Reciprocity

• Attractiveness

• Familiarity

• An element of mystery to create intrigue

• Well-dressed and groomed

• Not always available

• Strong sense of humour

• Providing solutions

How Does Human Psychology Relate to Marketing?

Let's take those factors above and translate them into actionable efforts in marketing.

Psychology Concept	Marketing Translation	Example in Practice
Complementary	Being complimentary in copy and content. Essentially any type of admiration for your customers will work here.	Fashion brands will often say things like "you've got great taste" in copy and on print marketing like mailer bags.
Relatability	Being relatable in copy and content. This is where content like EGC works well, shows that the staff and thus the brand are relatable.	PaperRepublic are a stationary brand that have an ad series on Meta where real employees talk about the products they actually use.
Genuine	Being genuine in copy and content. Not being too over the top with exclamations of positivity. Staying away from lines like "The best x ever".	PaperRepublic also achieve great authenticity in their ads. The way they talk about the products isn't too pushy or over-the-top.
Proximity	This is much easier for brands with physical locations, for e-commerce brands doing pop-up stores in city centres is a good option	Before they started opening permanent stores, Gymshark frequently opened pop-up events in key cities like London and Birmingham.
Similarity	Appearing similar to other brands that the consumer likes. Not the same, but complimentary to the other brands. This is why market research is important.	While this is not the only reason, many brands have pursued B Corp certification. This way they are more easily assoicated with certain brands and qualities.
Reciprocity	Providing something of value to your consumers. For example providing expert knowledge via blogs. Consumers are more likely to want to reciprocate.	Huel are fantastic at this via their email marketing. They offer monthly expert insights via their 'the digest' email series.
Attractiveness	This one is very simple. Make your brand attractive and cohesive. Everything from the logo to your posts on social media should feel cohesive.	Tiffany & Co. is a perfect example of this. The colours, fonts, formatting - everything. All incredibly cohesive no matter where you look and very attractive.
Familiarity	The best way to achieve this is to be present where your target consumers are. Also sharing things like behind-the-scenes content can help.	There are a million brands I could mention here. The main point is: be recognisable and be present on the platforms that your target market frequent.
Strong sense of humour	Humour is very difficult when used for marketing, as it can be polarising. It is important to be humourous in a way that your target market will identify with.	Duolingo are a great example of the right kind of humour. Their target market is undeniably younger people. So their content on social media reflects this.