STRATEGY   |   POSTED ON 06.10.2015

There’s so much noise on social media platforms that it can be difficult to be heard. But by tapping into the psychology behind it, you can bypass the noise and clutter and reach your audience on a whole new level.

Follow the crowd

By nature, people all want to be part of the ‘in’ group even if they are determined to retain a certain amount of individuality. Your audience wants to learn and they want to comfort themselves with the idea that what they are feeling and doing is ‘normal’ and ‘right’. Engaging with your audience on social media provides social proof, shows that what they are following is the correct path.

Ask for favours

Psychologically speaking, asking for people to do you favours will get you further with people than offering to do them a favour. Using social media to ask your audience for a favour will build the idea in their heads that you are worth the favour and therefore are liked. This strategy works best amongst smaller networks.

Create discomfort

Discomfort can be a powerful motivator of your social media audience. It forces all involved to confront their faults, change their behaviours and endeavour to learn new things. Well-constructed headlines, posts and tweets can tap into people’s cognitive dissonance, make them feel uncomfortable and then compel them to click in order to rebalance the discomfort they are feeling.

Inject emotion

One of the easiest ways to spread ideas is with emotion. People will always respond to an emotional argument over a rational argument. And when those emotions spread out then you create a social contagion and just like a virus it has the ability to spread way beyond the people in your immediate vicinity.

Create a sense of scarcity/urgency

No one wants to be the one that misses out, the one not picked for the team, the one not invited to the party. By creating a sense of scarcity and/or urgency you encourage your audience to take action. Perceived scarcity makes any product or service seem more desirable and exclusive.

Be confident

The more confident and certain you are then the more you are able to strengthen attitudes on that issue. Show uncertainty or hesitation and you are more likely to lose your audience. People will follow those who ‘know’ what they want, what they believe in and how to get it.

To learn more about how to better connect with your audience using psychology and social media contact branding agency Liquid Creativity.