Marketers today base their strategies on research, trends and past experience. Although these are crucial factors, one key aspect which should not be overlooked is understanding how people think and act the way they do. Understanding how the target audience behaves is the key to taking marketing efforts to the next level. The audience reacts to content which touches them at a personal or emotional level. It has been witnessed that studying consumers has helped firms and organizations to improve their social media strategies. Psychology plays an important role in the success of social media and influences how business owners use different social media channels to promote their services and products.
You need to tap into the emotions if you want to attract customers. It is important for developing long-term customer relationships. Most buyers are influenced by their emotions when they take their buying decisions. But you may be wondering how to use psychology to generate a successful media campaign. In this article, we give you a quick lowdown on ways to use psychology in social media marketing.
Giving away gifts
Your primary aim should be to engage. You can consider giving gifts to encourage responses. When you give the audience something valuable they will start feeling indebted to you. You can offer a discount, a free trial or just allow access to a free guide. But, it is important to answer the question how it will benefit you. It is a good idea to take a close look at the audience to find out what they expect and what their likes include. Ascertain what causes engagement and what are they likely to share with their friends. At times marketers choose to offer something while ensuring that the audience gives something in return. You may decide to give a 5% discount to any visitor who either shares your post or comments on them.
Connecting with customers meaningfully
By connecting with the customers you can boost social media engagement. When the audience connect with you better, chances are higher that they will engage with your company. To build an emotional connection you need to ensure that you interact with the customers in a meaningful way. Closely study the audience to ascertain what type of humor appeals to them. Humor is a great way to connect but at the same time can offend a few if they have perceived it wrong. Stay away from social media posts which can offend them. If you are using sarcasm or satire do it carefully. It is recommended that you get the team’s opinion on certain posts to ensure that they are not offensive.
Rules to abide by
Frequently analyze the posts to find out which receive the most engagement from the followers. If your followers have expressed interest in a particular topic you can come up with more posts related to the topic. If your fans have mentioned you in a comment, take time out to join the conversion. Think of a few lines to respond to them. They will appreciate the time which you have taken out for them. Everyone loves to be acknowledged. It will make them feel that they are a part of the social media community. Express your approval of what they are saying which will make them believe that there is value in what they are contributing. Be a sport and welcome feedback. When you tap into the audience’s emotions in all likelihood you will receive mixed emotions. Be open and learn to accept both positive and negative feedback on your posts.
Touch the chords
In most cases it has been seen that targeting emotional responses like compassion and empathy can work effectively. You can share a touching story with the audience or highlight a volunteer work which your company has undertaken. Apart from helping you connect, stories like these will help you to build a brand value and establish a credible face for your business.
Partnering with influencers
If you are aiming at conversions and engagement, trust is a crucial factor. It is advised that you associate with people and brands which your target audience already trusts. Start by building relationship with influencers and brand authorities who will give credibility to your brand. Take the example of a cosmetic brand which has partnered with hair stylists, make-up artists and vloggers to promote their products. The company has aimed at engaging a niche audience through social media. The brand witnessed increased engagement through higher number of shares and likes of the posts and a higher number of comments. It was evident that by partnering with the influencers it was easier to create brand awareness and send the brand message across. Vloggers promoted the products in subtle ways and the campaigns were a success. This technique is effective as people respond better to those who they admire.
Before narrowing down on influencers
Before you reach out to the influencers it is a good idea to study the number of shares, likes and comments they receive for the posts. You would want to partner with influencers who drive the maximum social media engagement. Take a look at how active they are in engaging with their followers. Next, reach out to the influencers you intend to work with. Give them a brief idea into how they will benefit by partnering with you. Work towards an actionable strategy which will spark social media engagement. Maybe you can ask the influencers to talk about your product or write a review on one of your products and post it in their blog. This will help establish your credibility which will eventually lead to trust and engagement.
Creating positive content
It is a natural tendency for humans to seek out things which are positive. Thus, when creating social media plan focus on sharing content which uses a positive language. In studies conducted researchers have found that articles are more likely to be shared if they evoke awe, laughter and amusement. Articles with negative emotions are not shard often. The primary reason why people share information is to bring entertaining and valuable content to others which makes positive content more popular.
Understand the audience thoroughly
Before making a post it is essential to understand the audience. A thorough understanding on why they spend time on social media will help you to come up with effective campaigns. The culture of the audience across social platforms should be taken into consideration when you create content. One reliable way to understand the audience is research. You may feel that it is not worth the effort but often it has been seen that the rewards are substantial. Studies have shown that companies which conduct research on their competitors and the audience are likely to grow 12 time faster than firms who do not conduct research. They are also twice more profitable.
Establishing exclusivity
Creating exclusivity is always helpful. It has a greater influence over human actions. You can adopt an invitation only strategy for social media which creates exclusivity. When you invite someone, he or she will feel that they are a part of an exclusive club. Even if it is subconscious, they will be compelled to take action. When you create invite-only events, not only do you highlight the urgency for action but keep it exclusive as well. At times it helps to set parameters regarding what one must do to receive an invitation.
The social impact theory
According to the social impact theory most are influenced by large groups which have a strong presence in their lives. In case of businesses, consumers are more likely to respond to a company if they perceive it as important. One way you can tap into this psychology is by continually updating engaging content on the profile. The greater your presence in news feeds and timelines closer shall you get to the consumers. Daily updates may not prove enough if you cannot engage the audience. The content which you post must be valuable for the consumers. It should have a value add.
Leverage social comparison
Socially comparing oneself is an automatic process which happens without much thought. It is a good idea to examine the competition in your space and establish yourself as an early adopter or a trend-setter. A true trend-setter will be forward thinking and will drive innovation. Use social comparison not only to keep up with the competition but to influence the consumers as well and increase social media presence.
Concluding
Lastly, knowing the brand is as important as knowing the consumer. You must relate your message to the target audience as you try to decipher their psychology. The brand image which you create should resonate the core beliefs and interests of your fans. The content which you offer should provide both educational and entertainment value. Make sure that the content which you present is clear, concise and current in addition to reverberating with the audience.
An insight into human psychology will boost your social marketing efforts. Not only will you outpace your counterparts but the marketing efforts will yield tangible results.
