There’s a narcissistic principle behind all social shares.
In this short blog article, I’ll demonstrate why brands should think differently about their social media copy.
To begin, we will take a closer look at the psychology behind why we share on social media.
Let’s go:
Why We Share on Social Media
When we share on social media, we share for a reason. And that reason typically has something to do with ourselves.
And so on.
And most of us get this. As humans, why would we do anything if it doesn’t do anything for us?
Prompts for Self-Expression
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.
Look at this tweet where I’ve replied:
I’m being manipulated by the narcissistic principle here. The original tweet is baiting for 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 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 of 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 added share 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 what my share comment would be — 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?
Please support my blog by sharing it with other PR- and communication professionals. For questions or PR support, contact me via jerry@spinfactory.com.