3 Social Media Thoughts to help you break away from the Herd
We all like to follow somebody or something. It could be your gut feeling, it could be the ideas of someone you respect. It could be a leader in your industry, or a political or religious leader. Or maybe, like many people, you like to follow the herd?
Following the herd is a very human characteristic, and very much embedded into our psychology. Most of us make decisions based on what others think- or more truthfully on people we respect. Pyschologist Dr. Robert Cialdini in his book “The Pyschology of Influence” goes through 6 Principles of Persuasion, and following the herd is what he would call social proof. When humans aren’t sure about a particular course of action, they tend to look to the humans around them. They do this to guide their decisions and actions. They want to check out what other people are doing- especially their friends, people the respect or people who are most like them.
When it comes to social media, who are the people we respect?
Could it be the self proclaimed “social media guru” or “expert”? (I mean that in an ironic sense – http://iag.me/socialmedia/how-to-become-a-social-media-guru-in-20-steps/ )
How do we work out whether we can trust the advice of these so-called gurus?
The truth is, it’s very hard. The main reason for that is it’s all too easy to switch your brain off as soon as you switch on your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
It is so important (especially if you are running a business and using social media as part of your overall marketing strategy) to keep your brain switched on. In fact, I’d go as far as to make sure you implement the following to make sure you are not straying over to the dark side of social media…
1) THINK When reading the advice of someone (whether it is via an article, a video, a podcast, an email or in person) try to ask the question why. Don’t just take what they say as “given”. We all like to cut corners, and thinking can so often be seen as too much hard work. Use your common sense!
2) BE ACCOUNTABLE Ask the opinions of others you respect. That could be on a forum such as Google+ (which is a great network for in-depth discussion) or offline. The advantage of private or offline discussion is that people might be a little more honest and adopt less herd-like tendencies! They might not know it, but the people I’ve mentioned at the bottom of this article have unwittingly held me accountable!
3) WHERE’S THE MONEY? I use social media partly because I enjoy it. It’s been an amazing way to meet some fantastic people and build existing relationships. However, I also use it for my business. If you are using social media to drive leads and sales to and from your business, then you need to make sure social media marketing is working for you. Many “social media gurus” will just give advice without any real proof that their “technique” will generate leads or sales. It might well work for their business, but will it work for yours…
4) THINK YOU NOT THEM We are all uniquely individual and we all have different businesses. But you wouldn’t think that by the advice many “social media gurus” give. Be on your guard when you hear phrases such as “The Only way to Drive Sales to your Business” or “How to boost your traffic” (is it actually traffic you want, or is it leads, sales and a way to pay the bills?!)
I’ve written the above partly as the start of a new article I am writing for my blog. I’d love to know your thoughts!
All of this results from an article I wrote for Social Media Experts (which was published today), but all of this stemmed from conversations I have had with Brooke Ballard, Mallie Hart, Carol Lynn Rivera, Ralph M. Rivera, Ashley Faulkes and from a couple of articles/videos from Jason T. Wiser.
#SocialMedia #SocialMediaPyschology
http://www.smexperts.co.uk/best-practice/3-social-media-thoughts-break-herd/#sthash.rbilfr3v.dpuf
