Unlocking Digital Delight: A Behavioral Approach to UX Writing Mastery |PT.1
“You learned the concept ‘pain’ when you learned language.” Ludwig Wittgenstein
Introduction:
In the realm of app development, user experience writings act as the keystone, shaping how users interact with and perceive a digital service. Effective UX writing goes beyond mere words; it guides users, triggers actions, and ensures a seamless journey. By understanding and leveraging behavioral models, like BJ Fogg’s model, UX professionals can unlock the true potential of their digital creations.
In this article, we’ll steer away from the basics and common methodologies in UX writings, instead focusing on a unique behavioral perspective. Also, we won’t focus on Scan-ability approach and how people read.
Decoding the Essence: Influential Elements Shaping UX Writings.
Establishment factors
Hired Process: This is where we outline what users want to achieve or how the app works. It involves understanding why users choose to use your service or app and identifying any additional tools or resources they might need to accomplish their goals.
Age Range: Consider a social networking app designed for both teenagers and adults. The tone and language used in the app’s notifications can vary based on the user’s age. Notifications targeted at teenagers might use informal language and popular slang, creating a relatable and engaging tone. On the other hand, notifications for adults might adopt a more professional and sophisticated tone to resonate with their preferences.
Gender: An e-commerce app catering to fashion and beauty products can tailor its product descriptions and recommendations based on the user’s gender. For instance, if the user identifies as female, the app can use language that resonates with femininity and addresses their unique needs. If the user identifies as male, the app’s content can adopt a more masculine tone.
Demographics: A banking app serving a diverse user base across different countries can adapt its UX writing to demographic preferences. In regions where formal language is valued, the app can employ a professional tone in its transactional messages. In contrast, regions where a friendly and personal tone is preferred, the app can use more conversational language.
Cultural Barriers: A navigation app designed for travelers can navigate cultural barriers by providing instructions that consider local customs and norms. If the app guides users to places of worship, it should provide respectful and culturally sensitive information about dress codes and behaviors. This ensures that users from different cultural backgrounds feel comfortable using the app.
Empathy factor
Empathy:During a research phase for the digital transformation of the Egyptian government, I encountered a profoundly impactful incident. We were conducting testing with a family who had tragically lost their children. During the testing, we used a label that read “died” next to their children’s names, which unexpectedly triggered intense sadness and brought them to tears.
Empathy is all about understanding why people do what they do. When we look into their reasons, we can also understand how they feel.
For instance, let’s talk about someone using government services. One of the things they really don’t like is when it takes a long time and seems really complicated. To make their experience better, we need to make it faster and easier. When we do that, it builds a stronger bond with them because they’ll compare this better experience to the old, frustrating one.
Tone of Voice: The Art of Emotional Resonance : Imagine talking to your friend versus talking to your boss. That’s what tone of voice in UX writing is all about. It’s like the mood of a text. If it’s a fun app, the writing might be playful. But if it’s a serious thing, like a medical app, the writing should be more straightforward and professional.
Example: A meditation app wants to make you feel calm, so its writing is gentle and soothing, like a reassuring friend.
In the next section, we’ll delve deeper into what drives users, their “Ability” to navigate a smooth experience, and the “Prompts” that encourage action. These are the key elements in Fogg’s behavior model. grasping these aspects is not just important for crafting empathetic content but also for making it functional. Ultimately, this understanding can result in higher conversion rates.
Introduction on B.J Fogg’s behavior model
The Fogg Behavior Model shows that three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt. When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing.
Let’s explore how and when to employ this model through real-world examples:
Why i use this model within my UX process!
1- Predictability: Sometimes, studying the balance equation among the motives, ability and prompts type gives me how near i am to let the conversion happen.
2- Resource management: Many times, designers are so busy with the attraction and using fancy or marketing language to raise the motivation level, meanwhile their users find hard ability to achieve the target. Then we need to focus on the ability elements and try to make the experience simple.
3- Establishing a right communication bridge with users by studying their motivator cores, cause if users didn’t see what makes them relates the purpose why there are here, so there is no deal.
Fogg’s score:Behavioral factors
Ability score: Unlocking User Success: Think of it as helping users over a wall. If the wall is too high, they might not bother. Ability score is like that wall. Good UX writing helps them climb over by giving clear instructions and support. It’s like a boost of confidence.
Example: Picture a cooking app. It can motivate users to try new recipes while also giving them helpful tips and step-by-step instructions.
How to measure the ability?!
IT’s simple Fogg’s put 5 elements that shape the user ability to use your app of to adopt a specific behavior and just ask (Time, Cost, Physical effort, Brain cycle and Routine).
The Holy Motors
Understanding users motives motors:Unlocking User Success: User actions aren’t random; they’re driven by motives. Digging beneath the surface, we discover Fogg’s motivation cores — emotions that influence choices. Let’s dive into these cores and see how they shape our writing.
1- Pleasure vs. Pain:
Think of winning versus losing. Motivation cores are like these emotions. Understanding joy and fear guides writing to evoke the right feelings.
For example: A productivity app can motivate with leisure rewards (pleasure) or warn about missed deadlines (pain).
2- Hope vs. Fear
Writing can guide users toward dreams or away from worries. Think of winning versus losing. Motivation cores are like these emotions. Understanding joy and fear guides writing to evoke the right feelings.
For example: In investments, highlight financial security (hope) or loss potential (fear) to shape decisions.
3- Social Acceptance: Finding Belonging
Writing can emphasize your app’s role in connecting users.
For example: A social app can highlight friendships (acceptance) or FOMO (fear of missing out).
Behavior Frequency: Keeping Things Familiar: Think of how often you use an app. If you’re a regular, you know the ropes. UX writing needs to jive with that rhythm. When your messages match the way users are used to, it feels like a smooth dance, making everything comfortable and easy to understand.
Example: An app sending notifications about emails might sound friendly and casual if you’re a frequent checker. But if you’re not on it all the time, it might explain things more formally.
Prompts Design
You probably did everything write, you made the experience so simple, understood their motives, needs, struggles…etc but the conversion doesn’t happen, right?! Here is the sexy part and the output of Fogg’s equation.
“Without a Prompt, the target behavior will not happen”
Prompts:The third element of the Fogg Behavior Model is Prompts. Without a Prompt, the target behavior will not happen. Sometimes a Prompt can be external, like an alarm sounding. Other times, the Prompt can come from our daily routine: Walking through the kitchen may trigger us to open the fridge.
Prompts types:
1- Spark Prompts [Low motivated & High ability]
These prompts aim to trigger a behavior by creating motivation or increasing the motivation already present. They answer the question, “Why now?” Benefits include:
- Timely Action: Spark prompts encourage immediate action by leveraging the user’s existing motivation.
- Reduced Procrastination: They help users overcome inertia and start a behavior they desire.
- Engagement: Spark prompts can make interactions more appealing and enjoyable.
Example: “Limited Time Offer: 50% Off on All Products Today Only!”
Benefit: Motivates users to make a purchase by creating a sense of urgency and the desire to get a discount before it expires.
2- Facilitator Prompts [Highly motivated & Low ability]
These prompts make it easier for users to perform a behavior by providing guidance, reducing friction, or simplifying the task. Benefits include:
- Simplified Action: Facilitator prompts remove obstacles and make it convenient for users to complete the behavior.
- Improved User Experience: Users appreciate a smoother and more efficient process.
- Increased Conversion: They can lead to higher completion rates for desired actions.
Example:“A cooking app offering a step by step guide for recipe”
Benefit: Clarity and Guidance: The cooking app provides users with clear, step-by-step guidance for recipes. This aligns with Fogg’s Behavior Model by making the desired behavior (cooking a new recipe) easier to understand and follow through.
Reduced Complexity: By breaking down the cooking process into manageable steps, users are less likely to feel overwhelmed. This simplification encourages action, as per Fogg’s model, which states that behavior is more likely to occur when it’s easy to do.
3- Signal Prompts [Highly motivated & High ability]
Signal prompts inform users that the right time to perform a behavior has arrived. They answer the question, “How can I do it?” Benefits include:
Clarity: Signal prompts provide users with clear instructions on what to do next.
- Reduced Uncertainty: They eliminate ambiguity, making users feel confident about their actions.
- Enhanced Trust: Users trust systems that provide timely and accurate signals.
Example: “You Have 3 Unread Messages”
Benefit: Informs users about unread messages, signaling them to check their inbox and respond, ensuring they don’t miss important communication.
Conclusion
At these moment you are able to write based on the behavioral model by knowing the motive cores and the users ability to achieve the task or a process, you can know the direction of the prompts/triggers to initiate a conversion or delivering a certain information.
- Triggers are born from your creation, reflecting users’ motives and desires — pain, pleasure, and aspirations. These insights shape empathetic writings, resonating without offense, aligned with users’ thoughts.
- Your writings empower, not just simplify. They guide users through tasks, breaking cognitive barriers. It’s about fostering ability, not mere ease.
- Choosing triggers is tactical. Users may be motivated and able, yet nudging actions remains elusive due to external factors.
- Empathy guides, motives lead, and trigger selection is an art. Each decision crafts a narrative that speaks to users’ hearts. Triggers promise deeper engagement, seamless experiences, and a dance of actions in perfect rhythm.
To further understand this in action using Chat GPT provided with these knowledge, Check out this Case study i made
