Using Behavioural Science to Grow on Linkedin 

In this blog we will examine how behavioural science impacts how people engage with your posts and some tips for how you can implement strategies to drive additional, long-term  engagement from your audience. 

The Hook:

We all know attention spans are shrinking and a hook is vital for ensuring your content is seen. However, two powerful psychological principles can help you craft hooks that not only capture attention but compel action.

Information Gap Theory: The Curiosity Engine

George Loewenstein's Information Gap Theory reveals that curiosity arises when there's a gap between what we know and what we want to know. When people encounter incomplete information, they experience a psychological tension that drives them to seek closure. This isn't just academic theory, it's the foundation of compelling content creation.

Consider the difference between these two post openings:

• "Here are 5 tips for better networking"
• "The networking mistake that cost me a $100K opportunity (and how you can avoid it)"

The second example creates an information gap. Readers want to know what the mistake was and how to avoid it themselves. This psychological tension keeps them scrolling.

Variable Reward Mechanisms: The Engagement Loop

Nir Eyal is a productivity expert featured on Diary of a CEO in an episode we can’t recommend enough! Nir’s Variable Reward method demonstrates how engagement is driven by five factors.  Triggers, actions, variable rewards, and investment. The unpredictability of what comes after a good hook triggers what behavioral scientists call an "intermittent reinforcement schedule." This leads to an action, often wanting to read more. The variable reward element is what the reader gains from reading the post, new learnings, social rewards etc. and finally investment, this is when the user likes, comments etc. the actual engagement.  

Pro tip to increase your engagement: Use unpredictability to your advantage… “5 tips” gets ignored. “The mistake that cost me £100K” gets clicked.

Storytelling: 

Stories aren't just a chance for us to talk about ourselves, they're neurologically powerful tools for creating lasting connections with your audience. The impact goes far beyond the immediate dopamine response that makes people feel good while reading.

The Amygdala-Hippocampus Connection

Emotionally charged stories trigger a chain reaction in the brain. When your audience encounters a compelling narrative, their amygdala, the brain's emotional processing center, activates. This activation then triggers the hippocampus, which plays a crucial role in memory formation and retention.

This neurological sequence has profound implications for content creators. When people encounter your future posts, they're more likely to remember the content that you created compared to if you wrote it as dry facts. People will also remember how your content made them feel, this emotional memory drives deeper engagement, as readers begin to associate your content with positive feelings and begins to anticipate positive experiences when they see your content, leading to higher engagement rates and stronger follower loyalty. This is what psychologists call "affective memory associations."

Pro tip to drive engagement: Emotion > Information. Make sure the emotions you invoke remain consistent so people know how they will feel by reading your posts. Inspired? Positive? Laughter?

Media: 

Visual content isn't just about making posts easier to digest, it's about leveraging sophisticated psychological triggers that influence behavior and perception.

Emotion Synergy: Aligning Visual and Emotional Intent

The ‘Emotion Synergy Trigger’ occurs when the emotion conveyed in your media perfectly matches the emotion you want your audience to feel, significantly increasing audience affinity for your content.

For example, if you're sharing content about professional growth and empowerment, pairing it with images of people looking confident, successful, or determined creates emotional synergy. The visual reinforces your message at a subconscious level, making your audience more likely to feel inspired and motivated, exactly the emotional state that drives engagement and sharing.

Away from B2B creation, think of the images charities show on their adverts. They often evoke empathy, an emotion required to compel people to donate. 

Pro tip to increase your engagement: 

The social proof of human faces

When users see numerous posts featuring real human faces, it shifts their perception of platform norms. This exposure increases their own willingness to engage and even share content as it becomes more of the social norm.

This psychological principle explains why AI-generated cartoon images often underperform on social media platforms. Human brains are evolutionarily wired to respond to real faces, which trigger mirror neurons and empathy responses that cartoon representations simply cannot replicate. When you include authentic images of yourself or real people in your posts, you're tapping into millions of years of human social evolution.

Pro tip to drive engagement: Match media to your message and never underestimate the power of being human. 

Call-to-Actions: 

Effective CTAs aren't just polite requests, they're psychological triggers designed to convert motivation into action.

The Fogg Behavioral Model in Practice

B.J. Fogg's Behavioral Model demonstrates that behavior occurs when three elements converge: motivation, ability, and triggers. Your CTA serves as the crucial trigger, but it only works when your audience is sufficiently motivated and the requested action is easy to perform.

This is why the most effective LinkedIn CTAs are simple and specific:

• "Share your biggest networking challenge in the comments"
• "Tag someone who needs to see this"
• "Follow for more career insights like this"

Each of these requests requires minimal effort while capitalising on the motivation you've built through your content.

Leveraging cognitive biases for action

Several powerful cognitive biases can dramatically increase your CTA effectiveness:

Loss aversion: People are psychologically wired to avoid losses more strongly than they seek gains. CTAs that highlight what users might miss out on, ‘Follow me so you don’t miss the next breakdown,’ leverage this bias to drive immediate action.

Urgency and scarcity: Creating time pressure triggers the fear of missing out (FOMO), one of the most powerful motivators in digital behavior. Phrases like "Limited spots available" or "This offer expires soon" activate the same psychological pressure that drives impulse purchases and immediate decisions.

The ownership effect: Using first-person language in your CTAs increases engagement by making the action feel personal and relevant. "Start your free trial" feels more compelling than "Start my/ the free trial" because it creates a sense of psychological ownership before the user has even acted.

Pro Tip to drive engagement: Singular ask, use the personal touch, drive FOMO. A/B test!