Social psychology & lead generation: Better understanding your social media audience

Likes, retweets, shares and comments only scratch the surface of online communication. To take full advantage of the power of social media in marketing, having a basic understanding of the social psychology behind your social media can be a game changer.

Learning how social media users interact online in a more profound way will help you find more qualified leads and build your brand awareness - while still maintaining psychological well-being.

Social media & the brain

Mental health professionals, sociologists and other interested parties are always examining ways social media usage affects the human brain. While much of this research is geared toward investigating negative effects such as social media addiction, the positive effects shouldn't be ignored.

Social media can impact various neurological processes in unique ways. Regular interaction with social media sites means exposure to multiple combinations of different stimuli. These stimuli all cause various reactions, such as engaging with posts that make consumers feel.

For example, positive feedback through attention and engagement on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook can activate the reward circuit in our brain. It can boost self-esteem and also drive business by allowing your target audience to associate that reward with your brand.

How social media engagement happens

Social media sharing has always been aimed at maintaining and strengthening relationships between people, but also between people and how they spend their money. Even without the powerful advertising tools offered by professional-level accounts, social media is one of the most effective ways to build your brand.

But how does that happen through engagement? Consider the basic concepts of supply and demand. We use social media to satisfy a demand for news, entertainment or personal interaction. By meeting that demand with quality content and communication, you as a source of this content can better connect with your audience.

Leveraging the science of social media platforms

So, how can you use social analysis and psychology along with social media to enhance your business strategy?

• Use multiple platforms: Different social media use different types of stimuli. Utilizing more than one can connect you with more people and leverage how social media affects your target audience based on the qualities each social media platform has to offer.
• Interact with users: Two-way communication satisfies a psychological demand. It also makes your brand more approachable, trustworthy and promotes algorithm-friendly engagement.
• Quality over quantity: The average social media user may spend hours scrolling their feed, but only a few seconds on your post. Make those few seconds count with high-quality, entertaining and relevant content.

Let's make it even easier

Social networking by itself can feel like a daunting task when going at it alone, regardless of your skill level. If you don’t have an idea where to start, you may under post, not respond or simply neglect your social media altogether.

Don’t let it happen. Get together with Miles Greer, our Social Media Expert, to learn tips, tricks and best practices for generating your social media presence. You’ll learn easier ways to manage your social accounts and ways to make your social media more automated, so you can engage with your clients as soon as they’re ready.

Once your lead becomes a client, you’ll know exactly how to capitalize on their success to grow your social media sphere of influence - generating more leads, repeat business and referrals.