While it’s great to get likes, repins, and retweets, the most important thing about social media is developing relationships with your audience that last over time.
A few years ago, Ben McAllister and Kate Canales gave a talk at SXSW in which they suggested that all human relationships can be classified into three broad categories:
- Authority relationships : Relationships where one individual has clear power over the other. One gives instructions; the other fulfills them. Think employer-employee.
- Exchange relationships : Relationships where there is an equal give and take. These relationships are sustained only as long as both parties continue to offer incentives to remain together. Ever reward a user for a “like” on Facebook? That’s a classic exchange relationship.
- Communal relationships : Relationships where there is a deep bond of mutual trust between both parties. The relationship does not depend on bribes or incentives to survive; it is propelled along by deep-rooted goodwill and shared common ground. This is the type of relationship we share with our closest friends.
Many marketers are continuing to use exchange relationships, where they offer users something in return for carrying out a specific action, even though they may not be aware that they are doing so. 67% of users said they “liked” a brand page on Facebook so they could become eligible for discounts or special offers.
The model of giving bribes in return for desired actions is not sustainable in the long term. If you only focus on attracting followers with exchange relationships, you will end up with a lot of unqualified leads who are only interested in getting free stuff.
The goal of your social media campaigns should be to establish relationships with your followers that are based on give-and-take, rather than constant promotion of your product. These types of relationships are more likely to last over the long term.
The following are seven psychological tricks to help you connect more authentically with your social media followers and develop a lasting communal relationship.
1. Put a human touch on brand interactions
Old Spice is a brand with a masculine personality, Nike is a brand with a sporty personality, and UGGs is a brand with a chic personality.
When a brand demonstrates what it stands for clearly, consumers identify with the brand’s personality. And that’s when conversations (and conversions) start happening.
Check out the difference a dash of personality can make:
Progressive Insurance’s Facebook page is bland and uninteresting, yet it still has 315,000 fans. While the official Progressive Insurance Facebook page only has around 1.5 million fans, the page for their popular mascot Flo, the Progressive Girl, has nearly 5.5 million fans!
This demonstrates that it is simpler to be companions with an individual on online media than with a marketing device without a face.
How to apply this to your social media campaigns:
Don’t leave that big personality at home. Your social media accounts are a great place to show off your brand’s personality. Your brand profile, posts and voice should spell out who your fans are talking to.
To add a dash of personality to your social media campaigns:
- Use fixed social media assets like your profile picture or your cover image to evoke your brand’s personality . You could include pictures of your social team or a behind-the-scenes look into your marketing “war room.”
- Let your employees connect with users one-on-one with their real names and identities . Beyond putting a face (or faces) to your brand name, this offers employees a renewed sense of ownership towards their work and keeps them more motivated.
2. Use compelling narrative to inspire followers to take action
Do not only request that users “like” your page in order to receive a coupon or freebie. Give them a good reason to behave in a certain way.
A compelling narrative is a great way to motivate people to take action. Tell your customers the story of how your brand started and what it has become today. Alternatively, share a story about a cause that is important to you.
Psychology at work
When youopen up to people, they feel trusted and important. The need to feel like we belong and have people in our lives who share similar characteristics to us is something that motivates us emotionally, according to research by Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary.
When you share your brand’s story or the story of a worthy cause, people will listen to you more than if you simply try to sell them something. They will also be more likely to share their story with you.
How to apply this to your social media campaigns:
Target’s 2013 social media campaign was an enormous success. It told the story of hunger and the plight of those less fortunate than us. It allowed users to become part of the alleviation of hunger by helping.
Target created a collection of apparel and accessories in partnership with the non-profit FEED Projects. Every purchase provided meals for 35-40 hungry people.
The campaign was heavily promoted on social media by Target, resulting in a lot of visibility and engagement. They raised enough money to donate 10 million meals to people who need them.
If you want people to use narrative in your social media campaigns to engage followers:
- Share a story (about your brand or a cause that you believe in) that will strike an emotional chord
- Ask your fans to share their own tales to make it an engaging two-way process.
3. Make it fun and encourage participation
Good marketers know that social media interactions have to be fun in order to be successful.
The stuff your friends and family share the most on their personal social media accounts is probably stuff you’re interested in too. Are these updates from a company’s finance team? Or is it hilarious jokes, memes and one-liners? My money is on the latter.
Psychology at work
You probably see a lot of funny things in your social media feed if you have an account. A study showed that people were most likely to share “interesting” (61%) or “funny” (43%) things on social media.
Why do we share things that we think are fun?
Fun and laughter help to bring people together because they bond us through humor and play.
How to apply this to your social media campaigns:
But that’s only an excuse not to have fun You could argue that your brand is serious and not something frivolous that would make a song and dance about it. But that’s only an excuse not to have fun.
However, your brand cannot be more serious than Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS.
This summer, celebrities from Bill Gates to Oprah Winfrey took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge to support ALS research.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge illustrates how social media can lead to conversions. The ALS Association has received over $100 million in donations since the launch of the challenge on July 29, 2014. This year’s fundraiser brought in $4 million, which is significantly more than last year’s $2.5 million.
Be less serious and give amusement a chance. Do something silly that draws laughs. Even better, challenge your fans to do something fun.
4. Retargeting your website visitors on social media networks will lead them to experience the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon
Suppose you heard someone say SEO. And, suddenly, it started to appear everywhere. You would be more aware of the subject because it is more recent. This means that it will be memorable and you won’t just ignore it.
This phenomenon is often referred to as the Baader Meinhof phenomenon or the frequency illusion. It’s not just about learning words, it’s also about your personal experiences. If you are thinking about purchasing an Audi, you will see more of them on the road.
The frequency illusion leads marketers to believe that their content is being seen by more people than it actually is. This causes them to produce more content, which leads to more people seeing it and believing that it is popular.
If you want your brand to be successful, you need to show your message to your potential customers multiple times. The frequency illusion is when people believe they see something more often than they actually do. This illusion can make people trust a brand more because they feel like they are seeing the brand’s message more often than they actually are.
WordStream found that the more ad impressions there are, the higher the conversion rates are.
On social media, you can target people who have visited your website but left without taking any action, through remarketing campaigns. Compared to regular ads, Facebook remarketing ads receive 3 times the amount of engagement.
I have increased my lead generation and deal closing ratio by 28% by using remarketing.
to launch your first Facebook remarketing campaign, you’ll need to install a pixel on your website. Read this remarketing article for detailed instructions.
5. Focus on what the social media user loses if he does not try your product or doesn’t click on your post
Do you ever finish scrolling through your Facebook feed and feel like your friends are having the best times and enjoying rewarding experiences?
Do you feel guilty for wasting time or sad that you weren’t with them when they were having fun?
If you’re afraid of missing out, you may have FOMO.
If you’re afraid, you may end up taking on too much and not being able to do what you said you would. Unless you’re willing to commit to something, you might miss out on a great opportunity.
FOMO is a feeling of missing out that can lead to social media addiction. It’s something to be aware of as you develop your social media strategy.
In a study by My Life, more than half of the total social media users were afraid of missing out on an important update or news. This is because social media has become such a big part of users’ lives that they can’t imagine not being up-to-date on what’s happening. They check their social media channels frequently and don’t stay off of them for long periods of time.
When brands try to use FOMO on social media, they need to be careful. Only make promises that you can fulfill. Don’t try to trick your audience into clicking on your posts.
A typical example of using fear is clickbait titles. To persuade you with fear, phrases like “do this…before you die,” “the most important things in your life,” and “if you watch one video today” are used.
The headlines written by BuzzFeed sometimes get criticised because they are too attention grabbing and go overboard. – Make a list of headlines that you can use safely. – Get some tips on how to make headlines that you can use safely. – Find out how to make headlines that won’t get you in trouble.
If your Facebook fans like and trust you, you can ask them to turn on notifications for your updates.
This will ensure that they are always up-to-date with the latest news from your brand. You might be able to slightly increase your organic reach.
6. Create excitement with your social media posts, by promising to spill the secrets on the other side
Humans are inherently curious. We are curious about how things work and why they exist.
The curiosity gap is the difference between what you know and what you want to know. It’s the space between your current understanding of a subject and the desire to learn more about it. fMRI studies show that there is an inverted U-shaped curve.
How can you use the curiosity gap in your social media posts?
By teasing your audience with limited information.
People will be interested in your social media post and want to know more because it contains information that is not immediately known. By clicking on the post, they will be able to fill in the gaps in their knowledge.
Make sure you are addressing the questions that the majority of your audience has on social media. You can find people with similar interests to you by searching for your niche on Q&A websites like Quora.
You can engage your audience on social media by using trigger words like who, when, where, how-to, which and what in your posts.
The most effective social media strategy for driving actions from your audience is to address the ‘why.’
7. Hang out with your social media followers, add value and have fun – it’ll lead to a greater sense of belonging.
Aside from the necessities like food and shelter, humans also have a need to feel accepted as part of a social group, whether it’s a big one or a small one. They want to feel like they are part of something larger than just themselves. Abraham Maslow said that belonging is a third-level need in his hierarchy of needs.
What implications does the sense of belonging have on social media?
After examining the threat to belonging and related needs on Facebook, Dr. Stephanie concluded that actually being active on the site makes users feel more connected.
This psychological phenomenon can be used by brands to engage with their fans and followers regularly using social media profiles. Answering queries and being transparent can help create a community that is closely connected.
You can involve your audience and understand their expectations by occasionally conducting polls.
You can also use live video on Facebook or Instagram.
The live feature on Facebook can help increase your organic reach.
Facebook Live is an excellent way to engage with your followers and expand your reach.
Conclusion
Social media profiles give you a great opportunity to improve your marketing skills and increase brand awareness. To make your message stand out, it needs to be interesting and different from everything else that is being shared on social media.
Psychology can help you understand how your target audience thinks. Choose one of the seven content marketing psychology hacks from the article and use it to improve your social media posts. And, please keep me posted on your results.
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