PART TWO THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SHARING In PART ONE we learned what motivates
people to share content online
AS MARKETERS WE LEARNED
Sharing on social media networks fills an innate human need to be SOCIAL
It is CRITICAL for any serious business to share content with users that satisfies there NEED to be SOCIAL and encourages them to SHARE.
Create your content with the intention of satisfying your customer’s SOCIAL NEEDS.
Design your content specifically to be SHARED and turn customers into advocates of YOUR BRAND.
WHAT WE ARE GOING TO LEARN
What are the characteristics of viral content?
What role does emotion play in determining whether or not something gets shared?
How marketers can influence sharing when creating content?
How can marketers create content that is more likely to get shared?
That’s Hot!
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IS USELESS IF…
Content marketing and social media marketing are a waste of time if no one shares your content
Your brand’s success is based on influencing the digital word of mouth in a positive way
In some cases content can even harm your brand if users see your content in a negative light
LET’S WORK TOWARDS THE BERMUDA TRIANGULATION
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO VIRALITY
Here’s a question to challenge you. Do people tend to share positive or
negative content?I am
Wicked SMAHT!
Positive Content = Content that has more “positive” words compared to “negative” words.
AND THE ANSWER IS…
Contrary to public wisdom, POSITIVE content is much more likely to be highly shared than negative content.
In Part One of The Psychology of Sharing we learned that one of the reasons people are motivated to share things is to define themselves to others.
If people are transmitting content digitally that is a reflection of some part of their IDENTITY, it is likely that the content they share is going to be POSITIVE.
Just hanging out
SEEMS SIMPLE RIGHT…WRONG
The likelihood that a piece of content becomes viral is much more complex than whether it is positive or negative alone.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SWEEEET EMOTION!!
Online content that evokes a STRONG EMOTIONAL RESPONSE is more likely to go VIRAL, regardless of whether those emotions are of positive (awe) or negative (anger, anxiety) nature. Yummy: food is
associated with high levels of
emotional activation
TRIGGER HIGH LEVELS OF EMOTIONAL ACTIVATION
When marketing content triggers strong emotional responses both positive and negative, it is significantly more likely to get shared
TREAD LIGHTLY – remember why people are motivated to share.
Don’t be another Celeb Boutique disaster
Celeb Boutique tweeted this after
the Aurora Massacre and
may never recover
NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL CONTENT IS OK IF IT MAKES SENSE
BMW created a series of suspenseful short films that elicit anxiety in viewers.
The film series has accumulated over 1 million YouTube views.
They also have a lot of money,
which helps
NOT QUITE BUT… STILL ON THE PODIUM
Consistent with the notion that people are motivated to provide valuable and entertaining content to others, SURPRISING and INTERESTING content is also highly VIRAL.
Also, consistent with the idea that people are motivated to share content to contribute and define themselves, practically USEFUL content is VIRAL too.
MEAT AND POTATOESHOW TO INFLUENCE SHARING
EVOKE A STRONG POSITIVE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE Think this when
creating content: Would I share this with the Dalai Lama? If not, don’t worry just try to be PASSIONATE with what you share.
People appreciate PASSION because it’s REAL and UNIQUE.
Don’t be another
bobble-head in the world!
DON’T JUST PROMOTE – EVOKE EMOTION AND ENDORSE A LIFESTYLE
A picture of a Celtics Jacket
Valuable content that triggers a strong emotional response
ORCake is tasty,
it is also associated with strong
positive emotions.
From Celtics Pinterest Page WINNER!!
APPEAL TO CONSUMERS MOTIVATION TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER
Another motivation people have for sharing is to GROW and nourish relationships.
Make it easy for them. Provide short post
titles for Tweets, proper context, make sharing buttons visible (above and below your posts), encourage them to share.
BUILD YOUR REPUTATION AS A TRUSTED SOURCE
Everything you create doesn’t have to WOW your audience, but it must show your CHARACTER.
People are motivated to share things that define themselves – empower your customer with do-it- yourself articles, tips and tricks to do things easier, and ideas to impress their friends.
Look at these sharing numbers,
pretty sweet!
KEEP IT SIMPLE – LESS IS MORE
There’s way too much information out there, make your content concise if you can
Blog posts in list format are gaining VIRAL status every day.
I have trouble
with this one, really.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A COMEDIAN JUST DON’T BE A ROBOT Humor is real Humor builds trust Humor is
memorable, you want people to remember you, right?
Is that a Chicken,
Bacon, and Baby?
HOW TO TRIGGER AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE AND GET SHARED
Get Visual Kinda Like this presentation
90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than plain text. (source: 3m Corporation)
According to Facebook, posts that include an image are 120% more likely to be shared.
Include at least one emotionally engaging photo in EVERY POST, if not more.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING
Be creative and have fun, I know it’s hard. Make sure to follow through with your content
and interact with customer comments. Blendtec got silly with their blender and
created a YouTube video series called “Will it Blend?” – whattya know it went VIRAL.
This I-Pad blended up
like a margarita!
TRY MEMES – THEY’RE ALREADY VIRAL
They are SHAREABLE Their funny They humanize your brand They evoke strong emotion They cut through the clutter
I don’t always include images in posts…but when I do it
works.
WHAT I HOPE WE LEARNED Viral content is likely POSITIVE and it almost
always evokes a strong EMOTIONAL RESPONSE. To influence Sharing and create VIRAL content your content MUST:
HOW TO TRIGGER AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
Get Visual
Thanks for listening…stay classy
When in Rome…
SHARE this presentation
SOURCES
‘What Makes Content Go Viral?’, Journal of Marketing Research
‘The Psychology of Sharing’, The New York Times Consumer Insight Group
Stock Exchange Photographs All other images are linked to original sources
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Peter Abbott
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