Understanding Human Behaviors in UX Writing
When you're writing for an app or website, it is important to understand the users' behavior at any given situation. UX Writers don't have to be psychologists but they should have some level of psychology in order to write more targeted copies.
Like designers, UX Writers always start with qualitative research to empathize with users. Data from the research would then be converted to useful framework, some of the most common are storyboard, user journey, persona profiling and so on.
Empathy is necessary in creating Human-Centered products. However, UX Writers (and especially copywriters) sometimes have to write for non-human-centered situations. Although the name defies the purpose of 'User Experience', many scenarios call for a change in behavior rather than working with the their wants and needs.
With an appropriate understanding our the users' underlying motifs, writers can strategically frame their behaviors.
This article will show you have you can apply Fogg's Behavior Model (FBM) in UX Writing.
Fogg's Behavior Model (FBM)
FBM is initially made to help UX Designers understand the drivers of human behavior. We all know that design is heavily psychological because the multitude of shapes and colors influence our interaction. Little do we know, language is very psychological process. As UX Writers, understanding behavioral theories can help strategize better copies.
The framework states that for a user to perform a 'target behavior', he or she must achieve 3 of the following: - Motivation: users must have sufficient willpower to take action - Ability: The simplicity of the design must allow users to understand and use - Trigger: The extra "push" for users to take action
If one of the 3 factors is missing, users are not persuaded enough to perform the task. The key word here is Persuasion -- what influences users to click on the ad? What gets users to enter their email address?
The graph is straightforward: Motivation on the Y-axis and Ability on the X-axis. Both axis scale from 'low' to 'high.' The star represents the ideal Target Behavior: when users have the highest Motivation and Ability, they will to perform the task without doubt.
The relationship between Motivation and Ability can be seen through the diagonal line that points to the star. The line suggests that when a user has both increasing Motivation and Ability, his or her behavior is likely to be changed.
Newsletter sign-up
Let's apply the example of a newsletter sign-up. When we enter a news website, we want to read articles that are currently trending. Depending on the type of news, we are, at some level, curious and impatient. However, news sites want us to be their frequent reader by popping up a newsletter sign-up right when we enter. In this situation, most people would have: - Low Motivation: we don't want spam in our inbox, we rarely care, we probably won't read it etc... - High Ability: entering our email is a simple task for most people
So what is the solution to improving the Newsletter sign-up? Is it increasing Motivation or Ability?
Sometimes, Motivation and Ability can be a trade-off. A common guess would be to increase the former, but often with low-motivation users, increasing the ability (making things simpler) is more appropriate in boosting the number of clicks.
Even with the perfect Motivation and Ability, successful copies cannot be completed without the final factor -- the Trigger. In UX Writing, we call this the 'Call to Action' (CTA).
Trigger & Timing
We all heard the phrase "Being in the right place at the right time." And so, the perfect trigger comes with the perfect timing.
Trigger can come in the form of a text, pop-up, alert, announcement that something is almost out-of-stock, and much more. These are all common interfaces where the persuasive element of UX Writing is necessary.
What is a trigger of the newsletter? - Trigger: a persuasive call-to-action pop-up - Timing: at the entrance of the page because that's when the users have the highest level of excitement
The message subtly speaks "This is the right moment to put in your email because you don't want to miss the next article."
How do we know if the trigger is successful? The trigger is successful when it is above the 'Behavior Activation Threshold' (BAT). When this is achieved, users are likely to respond to the target behavior.
Not every copy is a one-size-fits-all. Unsuccessful BAT are the ones that are incredibly annoying -- we encounter them everyday in forms of spams, pop-ups, ads, bouncing icons or even an addition browser without our consent. They are unsuccessful simply because they either give the wrong message or don't come in the most persuasive time.
1. The Three Elements of Motivation
Motivation is a human desire that makes us believe that everything is possible even if it requires breaking the rules. The FBM divides Motivation into 3 Elements:
Motivation 1: Pleasure & Pain
As primitive as it sounds, humans prefer pleasure over pain. When we are in a situation where we are encouraged to do something, but lacks the motivation, persuasion converts the pains into pleasures.
The Pleasure/Pain Motivational theory could also apply in situations when writers want to persuade users to take new actions.
Motivation 2: Hope & Fear
We all like the feeling that something good is about to happen. Much of the outcome in a given situation is determined by the Hope/Fear motivators. Sometimes, these 2 factors are more powerful than pleasure/pain because it indicates that something in our life is at risk.
As people (and UX Writers are people), we don't like to tell people the bad news, but we can't hide the fact that "the truth hurts." People are motivated by fear as equally as they are by hope.
Motivation 3: Social Acceptance & Rejection
Humans are social animals -- we like to feel a sense of belonging in a society that enriches our livelihood. Social acceptance is such a powerful human motivation that even Facebook changed its mission from: "Bringing the world together" to "Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together."
2. Ability (Simplicity)
As UX Writers, we all strive for copies that are easy to understand. However, everyone has a different, and unique, simplicity profile. If your copy is written for people in a specific region, then it may have a couple of dialects that reflect the way people think and communicate. Copies that are aimed at a worldwide audience will face a challenge of writing in the most basic yet understandable way possible. Google's Writing Material Design claims that: "Text should be understandable by anyone, anywhere, regardless of their culture or language."
3. Three Types of Trigger
The Trigger, the Call-To-Action, the Invitation-To-Act -- this is where UX Writing is made to be.
The "Spark" Trigger
The "Spark" trigger occurs when a person is low on motivation. Sparks are common in Sign-ups pages, emails or any scenarios where the business needs to "push" the users into doing something.
The "Facilitator" Trigger
The "Facilitator" appears when a user has high motivation but lacks ability. This trigger is widely used as an on-boarding technique.
The "Signal" Trigger
When users have high motivation and ability, the "signal" operates simply as an assistant. It doesn't really have the intention to make the process easier or motivate behaviors because users are already at their optimum level.
The 3 triggers can be graphically visualized on the FBM graph.
The role of triggers are becoming more important than ever before, and it could be achieved with UX Writing. Nice graphics and interactions may be good, but nothing initiates the target behavior than a trigger-inducing copy.
Summary
A quick summary of the FBM can be condensed in this equation: B = MAT (Behavior = Motivation x Ability x Trigger).
How to use the FBM in UX Writing?
- Identify specific motivational behaviors. Match what you want users to do with what they want/doesn't want to do. What are their underlying motifs, desires, pain-points? - Keep it Simple. When motivation is a blur, simplicity is the quickest way to change behaviors. Keep the language and interaction to the minimal. Simplicity changes behavior. - Apply appropriate Trigger to target behavior. Even with the highest motivation and ability, there is no behavior without a trigger. Define your Call-To-Action and insert motivation into the trigger.