Persuasion in Blogs

After viewing the video on the science of persuasion, I believe that all the techniques with the exception of "Liking" can easily and effectively employed by bloggers. The reason that the liking technique presents a challenge in my mind is because I felt like this is an activity that needed to be engaged in a more direct form of communication like face-to-face or audio dialogue. While a blog accepts comments, it feels like a much more difficult activity to engage in to create cooperation, paying compliments, and finding similar interests unless there is a live chat feature between author and reader.

Reciprocity and scarcity may be a bit more challenging as well, but I can see someone sending an "e-gift" to blog readers (I'm thinking about free subscriptions to paid content or small discounts for partner sites as examples of reciprocity.) While the video example of scarcity referenced the reduction in the Concord flight schedule, creating a need to "act now" while "supplies last" of something could lend itself to the scarcity technique. However, in my example, it feels like reciprocity and scarcity may be more intertwined when it comes to persuasive blogging.

Authority, consistency, and consensus seem to be the most relevant techniques to a persuasive blog post. If an author of a blog is able to establish credibility on the subject, get people to start with small commitments then move to larger actions, and show how others have acted in the same/similar situations, I think the reader can be persuaded.

In my estimation I would think that all three elements (ethos, pathos, and logos) are employed in some form or fashion. The degree to which element is most prevalent, however, would depend on the type of blog and the overall goal of the writer. Thinking about the Covid-19 outbreak for example, I imagine that many blogs would focus on logic and reason to convince others of the need to self-quarantine and social distance. But, thinking about people with elderly parents/grandparents, there would seem to be an emotional appeal as well to persuade readers to be responsible during this crisis. However, without having read a ton of blogs, I think that pathos (the emotional appeal) would be most likely employed to move people into action. I think things that move people emotionally have much more impact on people's actions.