Social networks have a subconscious side as well.
The dirty little secret about social-network sharing is that a
lot of it really is designed to shape how others view the sender.
All those links, photos and status updates are autonomic marketing.
They're part of a subliminal effort to get people talking or
thinking about the messenger more so than the message.
The most successful marketers in the digital age will be those
that don't try to get people talking about a brand but rather
create branded content that makes people look good for sharing
it.
This means that we need to prioritize psychology over technology
and understand how the two intersect.
The good news is that we have a great role model: the media.
The press has earned a virtual master's degree in online
psychology. The most sophisticated among them know how to package
content in a way that 's gratifying not only to consume but to
share. They recognize that content sharing can be like wearing a
brand of jeans -- a status symbol.
Here are several tips from the friendly Freuds in the Fourth
Estate:
1. An infographic is worth a thousand shares.
News sites have long known that photos boost sharing. Infographics
do so even more. Geek-culture site Bit Rebels found that its
infographics see 800% more retweets than either photo or text
posts.
2. Know your memes. The media's love for
digital culture and memes is more than just about storytelling.
It's also about benefiting from global moments of sharing. Ellen
DeGeneres' "Gangnam Style" video featuring Psy and Britney Spears,
for example, has racked up more than 43 million views in just two
months.
3. Stress emotion over logic. Sharing is an
impulse behavior that sometimes addresses deep emotional needs.
BuzzFeed, therefore, organizes its content not just by logical
verticals (tech, politics, etc.) but also horizontally by emotion
(LOL, WTF, etc.).
4. Keep it simple. Content is infinite; time
and attention are not. If people can't grab a concept and see why
they should share it quickly, they won't. A new Akamai-University
of Massachusetts study found that many people abandon videos in
under two seconds if they fail to load.
5. Shamelessly copy. Picasso famously once said
that "good artists copy, great artists steal." The most
sophisticated media innovators are alchemists. They borrow
strategies from other companies and industries and then add their
own spin. Don't reinvent the wheel.
Every marketer wants to create talk-worthy programs, but often
they miss the point. It's not about building our brands but about
elevating the image of those we wish to reach. The sooner we grok
this the more successful we'll be.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Rubel is exec VP-global strategy and
insights for
Edelman.