Hell yeah it exists! The internet is such a powerful tool and online persuasion happens everyday. Thanks to the internet, access to people around the world has become easier and easier and the amount of sales emails, pop up adverts, online businesses, social mediums (twitter, you tube etc…) and educational websites increase on a daily basis.
There are different styles of online persuasion and these are the basic to look at:
1. Social Media
2. Online Business/Sales adverts (Google PPC, pop up boxes etc…)
3. Educational forums/newsletters
The power of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube
How quickly does information spread thanks to these resources. Celebrities announce something on twitter and everybody knows about it, the same is true with social groups where rumours can be spread about colleges and doubt is created in this way. If you have an online community and you use information like you know a loop hole in the lottery then everyone will listen to what you have to say. The beauty is that you can use viral marketing where everyone tells their friends and you have the power to influence many people through this online source. Many online marketers use this persuasion technique very successfully.
Youtube works in the same way where if you post an interesting video it will spread and create suggestion in peoples minds. I will give a good example of the “free hugs” video. This became viral so quickly and it actually influenced people in a positive way where good will increased among peers who would talk about it. This was a powerful form of persuasion but in a very good way.
Online business and sales adverts
There has been a huge increase in the amount of online business and there is a good reason why… because you can reach a lot of people and influence them to buy your product or service. This leads to online sales people and the internet being swamped with adverts and pop ups. I am not against this because it just makes sense to do so as Google quickly found out. They make billions of dollars from PPC (Pay-Per-Click) adverts because there is such a huge demand from online marketers. The persuasion techniques used online do not really differ from television, radio or print media except that you can combine all of them in one. You can even use webinars to talk directly to people and use common conversational persuasion techniques.
Educational websites and forums
We all listen to our teachers and these people usually have the most amount of influence over our way of thinking. Now every university has a website with forums and online learning tools. As a teacher there is a huge responsibility to be responsible in your online teaching because it can reach more than just your students but the entire internet world. “Edu” sites are a place of authority and most people who find information on an “edu” site will believe what they read and be influenced by it. It is the same mentality of reading something in an Encyclopaedia and you believe it with out question because of the standard of reliability that comes with the resource.
Learning persuasion online
If you are interested in learning how to persuade people from an online source then have a look at the link at the top/right of this screen. You will not be let down.
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