Social Media Marketing is about Understanding People
Cialdini’s principles of influence in the Social Media era
I heard about marketing for the first time when I was in high school, in an economy and finance class. I immediately liked it because I felt very connected to psychology and creativity, two things that I enjoyed studying.
Upon finishing high school I decided to attend a computer science university. I then created my first startup and moved to Chile. My first startup idea didn’t work out so before even opening the company I decided to stop developing the project and started working on a new one with the same target market in mind. This is when Fanchimp was born and how I got back to thinking about marketing every day.
Fanchimp helps small businesses discover, collect and publish quality content for their social media marketing campaign (we just launched the Authorbox). The core point of Fanchimp is not just about sharing posts along the week but about understanding how social media marketing works. Fanchimp helps small businesses that don’t know much about social media marketing to get it down right.
I’m not living in Chile anymore, now I’m based in the beautiful and sunny (Mmmmm…11 of july, 17° Celsius) London!
I’m working from the TechHub, on the first floor of the Google Campus building.
One day people started asking me about Social Media Marketing, how it works, etc… At first I was explaining them every technical detail, but then I realized that for someone without experience that was just too much information all at once.
Now I simply say: “Social Media Marketing is about People, and understanding them”
You need to behave in the same way you would if your customer was right in front of you. Therefore share your company culture, your personality and your beliefs and they will trust and listen to you.
Then one day I discovered Cialdini’s Six Principle of Influence, that he created in his 1984 book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” I think they perfectly fit the Social Media Marketing era too.
Reciprocity
People tend to return a favor.
When your fans ask you a questions, be there to help and remember to always think about them as people and not numbers. This will help you create a close relationship with them and they will think about you when they need something you’re selling.
Commitment and Consistency
People have a deep desire to be consistent with what they think at first. That means that if you convince somebody to try out your product, then the chance that they will buy it are very high. Gaining the trust of your users will help your business grow.
Social Proof
People will do things that they see other people are doing. Today, a lot of people search the internet to see reviews of the products or services before buying almost anything (from books to hairdryers). For this reason it’s important to have testimonials on your website as well as articles and blog posts about your products around the web. But most of all it’s important to be present, have an active Facebook page or Twitter account where people can actually see your presence around the web. All of this will help them make the decision to buy your products.
Authority
People feel a sense of trust and respect for people in positions of authority.
Let’s say you sell a service to help other companies manage customer support. If you share or create content about that topic, people will think that you’re an expert in the field, an authority. This also happens if you sell beauty products and give people beauty tips. When they will need to purchase a customer support’s tool or a beauty product they will think about and buy yours.
A similar thing happens when someone trusted (a celebrity, a book’s author, etc…) uses your product and shares it on social media. This is why it’s good to try a strategy that targets the influencer of your market.
Liking
People are more influenced by people they like and admire.
It’s important to share interesting content with your audience on your social networks. Your fans will engage (like, sharing, pin, retweet) and their friends and followers will see they liked you and will like you as well.
Think about how many times you liked a brand or product just because your friends have done it.
Scarcity
Things are more attractive when their availability is limited. How many times did you buy something advertise like: “Only two available”? I’m sure many, or at least I did it. The same things happens to sales with a short expiration date. So create promotions, then urge and share them on social media to convince your fans and followers to buy right away.
Is Social Media Marketing more friendly now?
I hope so! Is your company following the Cialdini’s principles?
