There are three main methods of persuasion that are used to convince who you’re speaking to. The Greek philosopher Aristotle coined the terms logos, pathos, and ethos to describe these three methods. When it comes to advertising, using a mixture of these methods will improve your chances of converting your audience into making a purchase.
The first method is logos where you persuade your audience using logic. One example of how you might use logos is using comparisons between your product and a competitor’s product to inform and give information. The logic behind your argument is that if your product is better in these various ways such as having less sugar, why wouldn’t you favor the better product?
The next form of persuasion is pathos where you persuade your audience through emotion. You can use pathos in evoking positive emotions as well as negative emotions. Talking and showing how delicious a product is, gives positive excitement towards your product.
Talking about pain points is a way to arouse negative emotions by reminding your audience about insecurities or concerns. Those impulsive emotions are effective ways of convincing someone to buy.
The last form of persuasion is ethos where you persuade your audience through authority or credibility. Social proof is the most common way that ethos is used with testimonials and reviews from satisfied customers. No one wants to take a risk when making a purchase so it’s common for us to look at what others say about the product. The credibility of others using the product makes us feel secure in our purchases.
So you have all this information now. What’s the next step? How do you effectively use these methods in your advertising? The answer is through creating effective storylines that take into account the purpose and intent in using these methods of persuasion.
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