Online world | a behavioral science view
It is that time of the year when Spotify does its wrapped. It analyses users’ listening patterns and breaks them down to them. Telling them, what they liked, what they listened to the most, what genre of music they relate to and to which percentile they belong.
There is a sense of excitement in the air when campaigns like wrapped emerge & there is a reason behind it. spotify uses the tried and tested methods of behavioural science, that many successful ventures employ. This piece is an attempt to analyse these concepts and the products using it.
Random options generator
Instagram is one of the most popularly used products in the world. Instagram has beautifully employed the concepts of random surprises. People’s pleasure centers light up like a Christmas tree when they are surprised. Instagram’s random questions generator while posting stories and marks mechanism for questions like ‘how good a kisser you are’ etc. Give people the element of surprise, and this hooks people more to a product.
Spotify’s year-end wrapped also surprises users in similar ways unless they have listened to the same song throughout the year. This is also the reason why Spotify has its daily mix, which we see right off the bat when we open it. Surprises in the feed are also one of the prime reasons why social media platforms exist in the first place. People scroll through the feed, hoping to be surprised, they get surprised and this loop continues.
Data & personalization
Nothing is free in this world. Each time a product is given for free, we are selling ourselves in the form of data. This helps in three ways. One, in the form of ad revenue. Two, collecting user data for customization. Three, in retaining the user.
When products analyze customer usage patterns & share the statistics, two things happen.
One, it helps people validate themselves. food, music etc. are a means of identity to people and these products reaffirm that identity when they share interesting statistics on usage of product.
Two, it brings the angle of gamification. When people see which percentile they belong to and a month-on-month or year-on-year usage, they tend to start competing subtly.
Bandwagon effect
“Everyone is doing it, let me do it too.”
Considering people are social creatures who crave authentic connections, they are automatically drawn towards experiences that involve more people. This gives people an entry into other people’s worlds, friendships and most importantly alleviates them from FOMO or loss-aversion.
Narrative identity
Social products are a journal for evolution. When one scrolls through Instagram or Linkedin or Spotify, they relive key moments of their lives. Nostalgia kicks in, which in turn creates positive emotions. These products help people create a cohesive story that they can tell themselves where they are the protagonist.
People are on the constant lookout for products that reaffirm their identity and these products enable it. The reason why people like reading about star signs or want to take personality tests like MBTI is also for the same reasons.