How Internet Users Prefer and Process Information

More than 63% of Internet users indicated in a recent Webcopyplus poll the written word is their choice of communications on the Web.

However, according to psychologist, educator and neurolinguistics expert Dr. Genie Z. Laborde, only 20% of people are primarily auditory, meaning they gather and process information most effectively via written text and the spoken word.

Dr. Laborde notes 40% of people are strongly visual, and 40% are kinesthetically dominant when it comes to learning.

So while the majority of people indicated they prefer accessing information on the Web through web writing, it’s in website owners’ best interest to support and augment web copy with other communication forms to connect with a higher percentage of people.

Neuromarketing, authored by Patrick Renvoise and Christophe Morin, outlines the three different channels people use to gather and process information:

• The visual channel depends on seeing to learn.
• The auditory channel relies on hearing to learn.
• The kinesthetic channel uses touch to learn.

The book, which digs into customers’ “buy buttons,” explains how the different learning channels are used to interpret different types of information.

The visual channel can be used to interpret:

• Pictures or graphics
• Images and icons
• The visual component of an ad

The auditory channel is used to interpret elements such as:

• Written text
• Spoken words
• The auditory section of a video

The kinesthetic channel is used:

• When people are asked to perform tasks or exercises
• With props

Channel of Choice – Satisfy All

To tap into and influence a higher percentage of your target audiences’ minds, it’s best to communicate your message through various means to accommodate different learning styles.

You can arm your web content with:

• Web writing
• Photos
• Illustrations
• Charts
• Video clips
• Audio feeds

Visual support can, for instance, enhance the effectiveness of presentations – on or off the Web. In fact, Renvoise and Morin cited data published by 3M Meeting Management Institute, which revealed the time required to communicate a concept is reduced by 40% with the use of “effective visuals.”

Write and Design for Each Group

Additionally, how you communicate through a channel can help you connect with people who tend to gather and process information in other modes.

Web copy, for instance, naturally connects to predominantly auditory people. But your web writing can also engage online visitors who tend to process information visually or kinesthetically.

The text, “I saw the surfer ride the huge blue wave,” for example, caters to visual people because it prompts people to “see” what’s being described. Meanwhile, the text, “The ice-chilled beverage was so refreshing,” induces the kinesthetic channel because temperatures, Neuromarketing points out, can be experienced through touch.

This influence isn’t exclusive to web copywriters, as web designers too can tap into each of the channels. A close-cropped image of a crying baby can stimulate the auditory channel. And a vivid photo of lava can trigger the kinesthetic channel as heat can be experienced through touch.

A designer once told me he incorporates images of analog items — natural, concrete elements, such as wood — into his web content to “warm up” the cold digital format and build trust.

How Internet Users Prefer and Process Information

More than 63% of Internet users indicated in a recent Webcopyplus poll the written word is their choice of communications on the Web.

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