For this article, I didn’t want to focus on just one social media platform to explain the latest social media psychology practices. These are over-arching principles that will help any company get out of the box.
That’s the key with many businesses. Getting out of the box, and this article will hopefully be enough for you to start embracing what works and what matters on social media.
There are too many guides on social media that don’t apply for business. They talk about how being outlandish is better than being professional. The idea is to get the attention of people to get more followers, and professionalism is said to be boring.
This leaves businesses in a pickle. How can ordinary businesses or large corporations play in the social media world if what the gurus say is correct? With the methodology, it’s impossible, but I have a better solution for you. Side-step your competition and just be better than them.
That’s how you can be professional and be the best on every network in your industry.
The Business Purpose of Social Media
The best social media psychology technique you need to understand is that social media is meant for building communities. Or, as Seth Godin says, “your tribe.”
Your social media psychology might think social media is a great place to sell products. It is but only if you build your tribe first.
It’s easy to stick an ad in front of someone. It’s quite another to make work. That takes time great copy, perfect images, and well-constructed videos to do that.
However, most people don’t get on social media just to sell ads. They start by making a profile and posting their ideas. Those ideas might put the idea into people’s heads to buy, but it’s difficult to go from starting from scratch to making sales.
So, that being said, put all your urges to go with your current social media psychology and let’s build a community that you will eventually sell your products.
Engagement is More Important than Followers
Most people think social media psychology tips should get you more followers. The tips in this article and many other articles on the Digital Cartel Media blog will help you do that, but to truly become a respected business on social media that sells products, you need to embrace the title of this section.
Engagement is the only metric that matters for businesses, because engagement means that you’re building trust with your viewers and their confidence in your brand. You’re giving your company an identity that people can relate to. That’s social media psychology 101, and having a high number of followers can’t do that.
Here’s how you do that…
Post the best possible content you can that invites a conversation. There is an art to this and you need to find the best way to create this kind of content specifically for your brand and your audience. For now, here are some tools you can use to keep building that engagement on all platforms.
- Twitter Surveys
- Memes
- Tie in current events to branded posts
- Use the story function
- Make micro-content as much as possible
- Short videos are great
- Do live-streams frequently. Don’t forget to promote them
- Post your best long-form content to LinkedIn and Medium
Resist the Urge to Post Mediocre Long-Form Content
Social media psychology for the end user is a delicate place. One misstep for a business can really damage who you are in the eyes of your audience.
It’s best to carefully plan anything over 1-minute long. That means storyboard your videos, live-streams, webinars, blogs, and articles.
Poor content is very detrimental to company’s brand. You might think that mediocre posts can’t hurt an image that much, but let me tell you that it does. Dramatically.
What you need to think about is sharing your expertise. All the little things that people think if they reveal, they won’t have a need for their services. Those are the things that will catapult a company to the next level on social media.
This tiny belief is what messes with so many people when they think about social media psychology. What most companies don’t realize is they have an opportunity to teach every person that comes to their website. The better they teach their visitors the more people they will tell.
The best long-form content you can share provides real substance to the consumer. That means sharing not just tips and tricks. It means giving real strategies to run with and create more business.
If you’re the expert in the field, you should be at the forefront of your industry, right? If you’re constantly putting your best information forward, your customers will not be able to keep up and they’ll just want you do it for them. Remember, the people that steal your ideas, probably can’t afford you anyway.
Micro-Content Is More Important than You Think
Micro-content is what you should be most concerned with. The long-form content will come, but it’s to daily tap on the shoulder that keeps customers consuming your stuff.
Some of the best places to post micro-content is on Instagram stories, Snapchat, and Twitter. They are designed for this kind and if you believe in this social media psychology you will do very well with these platforms.
Try and make your business outward-facing, and use these platforms to do it. The best part about micro-content is that mistakes and mediocre content is totally fine. This isn’t a license to slack off, but just think like this…
You’re micro-content is just a small drop in the bucket, one post that isn’t up to par won’t be the end of the world, because you should have a ton of micro-content coming right after it. Viewers actually expect this content to be weak every once in a while.
Stop Selling and Start Telling on Social Media
You really need to stop selling your products directly on your social media. Get this piece of social media psychology locked in your head right now. This is why so many companies try, fail, and quit with their accounts, then say things, like I didn’t get anything out of it.
This is because they fail to accept the purpose of social media. Social media is for building communities and any selling that is done should happen outside of the platform. Think about it.
How many times have you gone through an online webinar or video sales letter? Yes, many of them are annoying and not done very well, but they work. That’s why they are done.
Do you wonder why they take you through the ringer to get you to buy something? They want you to hear their story, because more people that listen to the story and the hopes and dreams the speaker talks about end up buying whatever they are selling. If you sell directly on your social media, they don’t get the story. This is why YouTube ads are so powerful.
YouTube is a great place to tell your story and sell a product, because you can prove what you’re selling. If you’re selling a durable smartphone case, you can show people how durable it really is. This is another part of social media psychology that people ignore. Social media gives you the social proof that you need to sell products.
Video is Your Business’ Best Friend
Video marketing feeds into the most persuasive piece of social media psychology available online. Yes, it’s the closest thing to face-to-face sales interactions, which is the most effective way to sell. Where video falls short of face-to-face conversions and over-the-phone sales pitches, videos quickly make up for their slight lack of performance with convenience and cost-effectiveness.
The price alone is why many marketers and business owners have flocked to video marketing as their go to strategy. All you need in many cases is a smartphone and a YouTube account and you’re instantly selling your products. Don’t believe me? Then you’re not paying attention on YouTube.
Look up Tai Lopez and you’ll start to see what I mean.
Social Media Psychology 201: Don’t Compete with Your Competition
The last section I want to leave you with is a great lesson for social media psychology.
Don’t compete with your competition. Create your own lane.
Don’t worry about what the other guy is doing, make your product, brand, and customer service one-of-a-kind. This may seem like a daunting task, but trust me.
Becoming a leader in an industry of one is easy, and when your competitors try to stop you and undercut your prices, you can charge more than them and tell your customers that they are getting the best of the best.
Does Apple make money, by being like everyone else? No. It took a long time to get where they are today, but I think it was worth it. How are you going to make a dent in the universe? If you’re products and services lack in inventiveness, maybe you need to hire some people to brainstorm instead of just following orders.
For more information on creating a modern business, click this link for more.
