If there was ever a marketing channel that aligned perfectly with the concepts of human psychology, it’d be social media.
An interactive tool designed to reach millions of people within seconds, social media has completely changed the way humans interact with others — including the brands they shop with.
As a result, brands everywhere are searching for innovative ways to get ahead of the crowd and make a name for themselves as top social media influencers. The reason is obvious: If you’re a force to be reckoned with on social media, you’re a force to be reckoned with everywhere.
Chances are if you’re looking at this blog, you want to be a force, and as always, we’re here to assist you on your journey. Here are four tips on how you can use marketing psychology to get more social media followers.
1. Social proof
Social proof is a psychological principle that explains just how much influence the behaviors of other people have on human behavior. Social media is an online platform allowing people to share their lives, and brand interactions, with the world. In short, they're two sides of the same coin.
Getting more social media followers for your business isn’t a one-person job; it requires a lot of outside persuasion from brand advocates. Lucky for you, there’s a number of ways you can go about getting active participants to speak positively about your brand.
As always, you can rely on the quality of your products to resonate with paying customers who will feel compelled to share their experiences. Hearing positive feedback from people we know and trust has a way of greatly impacting how we respond to the subject at hand.
You can also enlist the help of authority figures like social media influencers. These are typically people who have large followings and have gained trust from their supporters. Gaining promotional content from influencers can help introduce your brand to new audiences and show real-world instances of how your product can be used to enhance the lives of consumers.
2. Urgency
Social media drives immediate responses from millions of people everyday so it’s only right for you to create that same sense of urgency in your quest to get more followers.
Create social media campaigns that are only accessible to new and existing customers within a certain time limit.
This can include:
- Offering discounts for consumers who follow your social media pages on a specific date
- Rewarding customers who quickly refer others to your social media
- Providing free products to consumers who like and comment on your social media pages
Limited offers like these encourage the addition of new followers and give you insight on which incentives consumers find attractive enough to engage with your brand and its social media marketing. (Find out how Vera Bradley leveraged urgency marketing to acquire more social followers.)
3. Fear of missing out (FOMO)
Behind the glitz and glamour of social media, there’s the looming weight of FOMO otherwise known as the fear of missing out.
It’s not surprising. Social media has become a space for humans to showcase their “highlight reel” or the parts of their lives that are exceptionally appealing. While this has caused some discourse on whether or not social media is healthy for the average human, you can still use the platform and FOMO for good.
FOMO can be achieved in various ways through the use of social media, including:
- Creating visually appealing content that will activate certain emotions in your customers
- Crafting strategic verbiage in your captions around your brand
- Dropping an offer without warning your audience, encouraging them to pay attention to your social pages so they don't miss out next time this happens
People will follow your page in hopes of gaining access to more information about your brand, its items on sale and any upcoming initiatives you may have on the way.
4. Scarcity
Humans want what other people have. We want it even more when there isn’t much to go around.
This happens thanks to the brain’s response to scarcity. The less a product is available to us, the more we want it. We attach value to scarcity because of its exclusivity.
Now while there is no shortage of social media platforms at your disposal, you can still use scarcity practices in your marketing strategies to increase your social media relevance.
Leverage scarcity in your social media marketing by offering attractive incentives to a limited number of followers. For example, you can create a campaign that would give X amount of followers exclusive access to new products or discounts on beloved items. You can even combine this tactic with urgency by setting a time limit on the campaign.
Providing a sense of rarity around your business will heighten brand awareness and attract new followers to your social media pages for the simple fact that you are providing something they can’t get elsewhere.
Psychology has certainly made a name for itself in the social media space. This list is meant to guide you through the world of digital marketing and help you create campaigns that enlarge your audience. What will you do with your newfound knowledge?
