The Psychology of Social Media Marketing

In my evolution towards becoming a bit of a skeptic of social media, I’ve found a community online of people who have similarly rejected the Kool-Aid of social media marketing. It took just a few blog posts and several hours of tweeting until I realized that there was a mass of people who were gazing at this big spaceship called social media, hovering overhead, promising all sorts of things to all sorts of people, and they were taking aim at it.

One of the sites I stumbled upon is a relatively new one called Social Triggers, authored by Derek Helpern. Beginning with the simple premise that:

You must learn about human psychology to get traffic and sales online.If you know what makes people “tick,” it’s easier to get their attention and keep it. It’s also easier to get them to take some form of action (like buying or talking). How do we find out what goes on inside the mind of people?

I’ll break down psychological research and business case studies into simple, actionable steps that can help you improve your online business.

I’ve had the chance to chat with Derek a bit over email and on Twitter. We even Skyped together one evening and I can tell that Derek is a smart cat. He’s not necessarily a social media skeptic, he’s just too smart to fall for all the B.S. that gets peddled around the internet everyday by dubious marketers. And actually that is something I have found among this new community I’ve tapped into. It’s not that these skeptics or critics don’t value social media, its more that they don’t see it as that revolutionary. It is a new tool, powerful and necessary for businesses and brands to engage.

But social media isn’t going to save your business. Especially if your business is struggling anyway. And that is what a lot of people have been saying, over and over again, perhaps in the belief that if they say it enough they can will it into truth.

Selling things is selling things, whether its online or at a hot dog stand. And in order to be a great salesman, you have to understand the psychology behind purchasing. That is the point of Derek’s website, to pinpoint proven psychological tactics that can help your business thrive in the online setting.

I asked Derek if there was a different psychological framework in social media. He told me that,

“Psychology is the same in social media and traditional marketing. People want what they want and nothing else. Smart marketers will continue to use psychology as they have used it. They will continue to look for new advancements of psychological theory, put the stuff to the test, and see if it helps them sell more stuff.

Derek’s goals with Social Triggers are a bit hidden right now, but in a very short amount of time, he’s been able to get some very influential people to not only recognize him but to laud him. Chris Brogan and Jason Falls, two leaders in the social media marketing space, rave after the guy. Derek is a builder. Of websites, of relationships, and of the connections that smart marketers will need to make in order to be achieve their goals.

As someone enamored with psychology, and the infinite possibilities that psychological manipulation allows, I think a site like Social Trigger is just what the eco-system needs. I look forward to seeing and hearing more from Derek in the coming months.

Image Source: Hryck. on Flickr