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>persuasive design (3)
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design for older adults (1)
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using video (1)
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Why video is an effective sales tool for your website
What do these companies know that you don't? Is it worth investing in video as a sales tool for your product or service? Consider these reasons why online video is so persuasive, from Susan Weinschenk, an expert in applied psychology.
- Movement in peripheral vision grabs attention. Based on the number and type of receptor cells in the retina, we detect movement best with our peripheral vision. Moving video is particularly difficult to ignore, even while we're paying attention to other parts of the screen.
- Speakers' and listeners' brains sync up. Research has shown that when we listen to someone speak, the listener's brain patterns begin to mirror those of the speaker's. The closer the brains are synched up, the more the listener understands the speaker's message.
- Video compensates (somewhat) for the asynchronous problem. There is sychronous communication (phone, Skype) and asychronous communication (email, texting). Weinschenk refers to research showing that we're bonded during sychronous communication. While video is asychronous, the ability to hear and see a person makes it the most compelling of all asychronous forms of communication.
- Video can convey emotional information, not just factual. Watching and listening to someone speak communicates more social and emotional information than just reading text. This information can be more compelling than the "just the facts" style of text.
- Video testimonials combine all the powerful elements together. Written reviews and testimonials are already very compelling to users. They provide the social proof many users seek when buying a product or service. Video testimonials provide not only social proof, but they also grab the users' attention, synch up their brains, and speak to their emotions.
Given how effective video testimonials can be, you should certainly consider them for your business. They could be exactly what convinces your website visitor to become your customer.
You can read Weinschenk's take on it here.
persuasive design
Is it easy for older adults?
We know that most older adults experience some type of vision loss. In addition, cognitive abilities such as working memory, perceptual speed, and text comprehension, among others, are also impacted.
To make your site easy for older adults, keep these recommendations in mind from the National Institute on Aging.
- Break information into short sections.
- Give instructions clearly and number each step.
- Allow additional space around clickable targets.
- Use 12- or 14-point type size, and make it easy for users to enlarge text.
- Use high-contrast color combinations, such as black type against a white background.
- Minimize the use of jargon and technical terms.
- Provide a speech function to hear text read aloud.
- Provide text-only versions of multimedia content.
- Minimize scrolling.
- Choose a search engine that uses keywords and doesn’t require special characters or knowledge of Boolean terms.
- Use single mouse clicks.
In our user testing,we've found the first six recommendations to be the most critical. By following these guidelines and designing your website to be considerate of older adults, you'll build instant credibility with this user group.
persuasive design
Persuasive Design Tip: Proofread
Three crucial components, but there are four listed here. Whenever I see mistakes like this, it decreases my trust in the company.
During a usability test last week, several of the users noticed a single mistake on the website that caused them to call into question the competency of the company.
The mistake was stating there were three components and then listing four (shown above). Easy to do. When the content was written initially, there were probably three components. At some point later, someone decided to add another. But no one reread the entire page to see if adding a fourth impacted any of the other content.
As a result, a careless mistake casts a doubt about the whole company in the minds of users. And on the web, where the battle for the user's attention is highly competitve, a doubt is all it can take to lose your user to the next website.
Therefore, proofreading is one important step towards creating a truly persuasive site that enhances your company's credibility.
(I hope I don't have any typos in this blog entry.)
