to influence brand guardians and win SEO allies //

You go to work everyday hoping to have an impact. I am sure I do.

Our ability to have the impact that we desire can sometimes be hampered. Sometimes, our desire to succeed can cause conflict and stop us in track.

This article discusses behavioral psychology and tools to help you get your SEO team on board.

We will look at ways to be more humane, reduce friction and increase empathy in our work relationships with colleagues.

Navigation of the alignment path

You’ll be taken on a journey that begins with a story. So, make yourself comfortable and get ready.

We are going to visit a digital agency. Any agency will do. You’ve seen them before – colorful offices, beanbags, table football.

In the agency, there is a lot of work to be done. They are about to present their SEO strategy in front of five key contacts from a new client.

The team is in a good mood. The team is so proud. They completed the deck around midnight the previous night.

The client is undergoing a significant transformation, but they stated that they wanted a challenge so they could all feel ready. The data also speaks for themselves. The potential and forecasts are incredible.

They are off to the meeting, bouncing along. They return a few hours later looking downcast, which is not what their team members expected.

The director of strategy begins to tell everyone what has happened.

They just didn’t understand it.

Their brand director said that it was too off-brand.

They liked the numbers but said that it could not happen because it was too much pressure.

They said that we couldn’t concentrate on xx keywords… But they want to rank for those!

The list continued… Over the next few weeks, the team spent time analyzing everything that happened and the feedback they received and quickly realized it was not as bad as initially thought.

It was just a matter of putting themselves in the shoes of the brand, and thinking more commercially. This gave them a new perspective.

After a few late nights and some education, the strategy was approved.

Have we not all been there before?

When your boss can’t understand it or sign it off and you still believe that it’s the right thing to be doing, whether it’s agency side or inside, it’s a good idea to go ahead.

Get buy-in with psychology-backed techniques

I have more than wrinkles on my face from 15 years in digital marketing. I’ve compiled a list of scenarios, examples and moments in hindsight. This is combined with a knowledge of behavioral science.

I now have the opportunity to share with you some of the lessons I wish had been taught when I first started out. We will use behavioral science and, specifically, a set of tools called nudges.

Thaler and Sunstein popularized the “nudge” theory based on earlier works by Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky and their book “Nudge: Improving decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

Nudges are psychological tactics that make an option more appealing.

These are not mandatory but rather shortcuts that frame a path while still allowing the people to choose a different option.

Education: Bridging Knowledge Gap

It will be difficult to agree on ideas, concepts and strategies if we do not speak the same language.

It is important to ensure that all parties understand the fundamental concepts.

Education should be done early and before any important decision points which could lead to conflicting viewpoints. It could be interpreted as condescending. This education must also be done on both sides.

You want to make sure that the person who you are trying to convince to buy into SEO understands the basics: keywords, search volume and search behavior, as well as how these factors relate to your personas.

You will often need to gain the buy-in of a brand or marketing leader. So, you should use the same language they’re used to.

By using personas, we can demonstrate that we understand our audience. We move away from the idea being “yours” and instead focus on what “Frankie”, needs.

The “identifiable-victim effect” is a nudge that states an identifiable person described in great detail will evoke deeper emotions than large groups of anonymous individuals.

We often use large numbers in SEO such as “10k monthly searches.”

This isn’t as simple as putting yourself and your audience in “Frankie’s” shoes and watching his journey of discovery.

You can lose people if you try to impress them with specialist language. They won’t know the facts that they need to say yes.

The customer journey will help you to make your strategy more understandable for everyone, regardless of their level.

This makes it easier to show the user how other channels can be used together and to convert them.

Think about how to make an impact on the lives of children.

You must also understand your brand in order to create the best possible SEO strategy.

What is the brand’s mission, what are its values, and who would be the ideal customer?

Why not ask your brand guardian for a hands-on tour of the brand guidelines?

Ask questions to learn more about the thought process behind the development of the brand.

Mind reading: Identifying potential problems before they occur

You might think that I’m losing it, but please stay with me. It is possible to read minds.

We want to identify potential problems before they become a problem.

We need two additional hats to go with our SEO hat.

• The brand hat may not fit well, but it gives us another lens through which to view the world.
• The business hat is even more removed from brand considerations, but it exists to consider the larger, more commercial picture.

How can we learn to read minds?

You can think like the brand owner if you understand what excites or irritates them.

It’s a good starting point, but “availability” bias can affect us all. We tend to give undue importance to things that come easily into our minds.

Imagine you have done this amazing training for both SEO and Brand, but never returned to it.

You are now about to unveil your new strategy 12 months after the original date. You’ve forgotten what they care about, and they’ve forgotten all that you taught them.

Keep training as you would.

It could be a monthly meeting, or even a 10 minute exchange on each side, to discuss what’s new. Stay on top of the most important issues for your brand team.

The “endowment” effect is another psychological tool that could be used to influence people.

Brand guidelines is one of the things that the brand owner will care about.

Can you merge some SEO into your brand guidelines?

You could make this their idea, and give them almost ownership of it.

It formalizes the relationship between SEO and branding and allows that person to feel closer to SEO.

You know from a mind reading perspective that SEO is part of your brand’s agenda and have agreed upon what this looks like.

Presentation of your case

The meeting and presentation of strategy is only a part of the process to get buy-in.

This is the part that people will remember, and it’s where they can say yes or no.

When deciding on the format of your presentation, consider who you will be presenting to. Also, ask them what they want to see.

It is rare that you will share your detailed strategy document.

When it comes to making your case, preparation is key. You have probably been preparing for this for several months.

It is always a good idea to share some nuggets with others. Do not leave everything to the last minute. Do not wait until meeting day to talk with key stakeholders.

Keep your cool if you’re in a meeting and your strategy isn’t working out as you expected. You will see the other person’s point of view when all is said and done.

Remember to build your presentation as if you were an SEO, brand owner, and business owner.

Do not let the strategy be about you. Instead, use a research-driven method.

What to watch out for, and what to prepare for

Confirmation bias

They search and analyze information to support their ideas.

Anyone who arrives in the room without a preconceived idea will look for reasons to support it.

Use your mind-reading abilities to consider what you propose from every angle so you can be prepared.

Test the validity of your strategies by stress testing them. This is not something you want your peers or stakeholders to do.

Herding

People are prone to copying what others do. This is something we see all the time.

• Can you bring an ally into the room? Can you, through your training and efforts to build relationships ensure that someone is already there to help lead the other members?
• Take advantage of your competitors. Demonstrate that your competitors are in the lead. Use the right competition for the people you have available.

Neglecting an opportunity can be costly

When people make decisions, they tend to forget what they are giving up.

You must make them aware of the consequences of not saying yes.

Use short and concise sentences. Use the data.

Focus on:

• Why? Why do we cover this topic, what is the importance to your audience or business goals? ?
• What ?
• How: How do we do it? Have we got the resources? Does it fit in the budget
• What If? What would happen if you did this or not do it?

Compromise is the art of compromise

We often hear “yes, but …”

Prepare yourself by thinking creatively. Balance is key.

Many years ago, we had a customer who sold apartments and not flats. They could never be called flats.

We knew this was coming and included it in our strategy.

We started out with a headstrong approach, because that was ultimately our preferred outcome. They would agree to use “flats” on key pages of the website.

We were disappointed that despite our efforts to educate and tell stories based on personas and the data we collected, we couldn’t secure a “yes” but we did have a backup plan.

We had planned to use the content as part of blogs and other parts of the site.

Google’s algorithm had been improved not long afterwards, so that the words could be used interchangeably.

It is important to be able to balance the two. Document the decision making process for all parties involved.

Humanity is key to gaining buy-in

The power of behavioral science can be harnessed for the greater good. The advice given above is and not about tricking people into doing things they don’t like.

It’s about giving you the tools to say “yes” faster and more efficiently, so that you can accomplish more meaningful work.

We all want similar things, but we see them in different ways.

Understanding humans allows us to better format our actions and communication to make them more digestible and to remove barriers for getting buy-in.

The first post Search Engine Land : How to influence brand guardians and win SEO allies.