There’s a narcissistic principle behind all social shares.
I’ll examine why we share on social media in this blog post.
I’ll also demonstrate why brands should think differently about social media copy.
Here we go:
Why We Share on Social Media
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Why We Share on Social Media
“People want to be loved; failing that admired; failing that feared; failing that hated and despised. They want to evoke some sort of sentiment. The soul shudders before oblivion and seeks connection at any price.”
— Hjalmar Söderberg (1869−1941), Swedish author
When we share on social media, we share for a reason. And that reason typically has something to do with ourselves:
If you can get social media to work for you, great. But you should also be mindful not to let the pressure get the better of you.
“A status update with no likes (or a clever tweet without retweets) becomes the equivalent of a joke met with silence. It must be rethought and rewritten. And so we don’t show our true selves online, but a mask designed to conform to the opinions of those around us.”
— Neil Strauss, Wall Street Journal
Learn more: The Narcissistic Principle: Why We Share on Social Media
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Prompts for Self-Expression
Look at this tweet where I’ve replied:
I’m being manipulated by the narcissistic principle here. The original tweet is baiting people to reply. I’m trying to signal that I’m smart here, but that’s not the case.
The tweet is most likely sent out by a Russian bot aiming to ignite division. Like a noob, I reacted, trying to be funny.
The psychological power of tweets like these is how they’re designed to be prompts for self-expression. Brand updates in social media practically never do this.
The kicker is that most brand updates are missing the point of this narcissistic principle. They use up all the oxygen, so there’s nothing left for anyone to add.
The Narcissistic Principle for Brands
So, we rarely share corporate messages on our social networks. Not because brands have nothing interesting to say but because they’re doing a good job ensuring everything is being said.
To run a DIY experiment, I collected 100 social media updates re-shared by a user. Out of these, 86 updates included shared comments where the users expressed something about themselves.
I then collected a smaller sample of branded social media updates without shares. I tried to think of my share comment — if I were to share these tweets. Nothing came to mind.
So, what to do?
Look at your brand’s social media copy. If someone were to share your update in their feeds, would it be easy to instantly add share comments to express themselves?
Thanks for reading. Please consider sharing my public relations blog with other communication and marketing professionals. If you have questions (or want to retain my PR services), please contact me at jerry@spinfactory.com.
PR Resource: More Social Media
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Doctor Spin’s PR School: Free Social Media Course
Discover this free Social Media PR Course and master the art of digital public relations on social networks and platforms. Explore now for valuable insights!
Learn more: All Free PR Courses
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PR Resource: The Stupid Majority
The Stupid Majority
From what conversion theory tells us, minorities tend to hold their opinions more firmly. This is reasonable since going against the majority comes at a higher social cost. 1Silfwer, J. (2017, June 13). Conversion Theory — Disproportionate Minority Influence. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/conversion-theory/
But some minorities have an additional advantage:
Smart Minority = a minority of today that will grow into a new majority of tomorrow.
In contrast, some majorities have an additional disadvantage:
Stupid Majority = a majority of today that will steadily decline into a minority of tomorrow.
Examples of Stupid Majorities
Stupid Majorities are to be found everywhere:
“Riding a skateboard isn’t a real sport!”
(Stupid Majority vs Red Bull)
“Computing is about bits and bytes, not design!”
(Stupid Majority vs Apple)
“Websites and apps can’t produce movies and television shows!”
(Stupid Majority vs Netflix)
“Electric cars can’t compete with gas cars!”
(Stupid Majority vs Tesla Motors)
“Hotels must have hotel rooms!”
(Stupid Majority vs AirBnB)
“Taxi companies must have taxis!”
(Stupid Majority vs Uber)
“Media companies must produce media!”
(Stupid Majority vs Facebook)
Identifying a Stupid Majority (and siding with a Smart Minority) will clarify your core message and attract highly engaged minority supporters.
Since time’s by your side (the Stupid Majority will be gone no matter what), targeting a Stupid Majority might become your career’s most influential PR strategy.
Read also: The Stupid Majority PR Strategy: How Underdogs Dominate
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ANNOTATIONS
| 1 | Silfwer, J. (2017, June 13). Conversion Theory — Disproportionate Minority Influence. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/conversion-theory/ |
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