Neuroscience is a field that deals with the study of how the brain functions & its patterns of activity. It’s worth noting that the whole field of social media marketing, in whatever form, appeals mostly to the subconscious mind. This means most of our motivations or inspirations for behaving a certain way, having certain affinities or preferences & making certain decisions are a function of the brain. There have been several studies done in endeavouring to find out how neuroscience affects social media marketing. Herein I discuss some of the very intriguing discoveries that can do wonders for your social media campaigns.
Attention & Instant Gratification
It has been noted that social media has significantly diminished people’s attention spans. There was a recent overview of the social media platform, Facebook, for 2018 that pointed out that posts that were characterised by high engagements were relatively short. For video clips it was on average three minutes or as low as just 15 seconds; whilst text-based posts that were most engaging averaged just 50 characters. This, coupled with the heightened need for instant gratification that now characterizes people, is a vital consideration to make in social media marketing. The brain naturally has relatively short bursts of attention spans of which the need to navigate the vast universe of social media has further decreased that attention span. Never forget this when you come up with posts for your social media campaigns.
The Brain Is A Curious Organ
The brain is captivated when something never-seen before is presented to it. Familiarity can easily bore it so it’s wise to develop content and present it in ways that are innovatively novel (new). Present things in new, unexpected but subsequently relatable ways.
The Brain Is Generally Loss Aversive
The brain springs to action when it’s presented with a scenario of a looming loss or scarcity. The brain will always cause you to take action with the thrust of ensuring you don’t regret the consequences of inaction later on. So when you packaging your content do it in such a way that invokes a sense of urgency in the prospective consumer. For instance you could incorporate a countdown timer for a time-bound special offer.
People Need Support Buffers
There is this general predisposition for people to be pulled into trying out something that others testify of having used & liked. The brain tends to shy away or be adversely suspicious of uncharted territory that it hasn’t treaded on. Thus, having testimonials, particularly short video clips, of people attesting to how great your products or services are will engage more prospective buyers. Positive feedback normally triggers neurons in the brain that cause euphoric reactions that inspire action.
Cause-Orientation
People have a tendency of relating or associating themselves with initiatives that coincide with their interests, norms, beliefs or values. Therefore, as a social media marketer, it’s strategic to package your brand & content in ways that appeal to common shared interests, norms, beliefs or values. Characterize your brand with standing for a particular cause that will rope people in. Another thing to note here is that people are naturally resentful of woes or negatives. Juxtaposing your product or service with its direct opposite or the undesirable consequences of not having the product or service will increase the likelihood of getting sales.
Visual Prioritization
The brain reacts differently to images or videos presented to it. It has been found out that the brain internalizes faster visuals that are characterized by high levels of contrast. Therefore, when making video clips or images ensure that they have high contrast.
The Power of Curves
This probably sounds hilarious right? But truth is the brain is more receptive to visuals characterized by more curves as opposed to angular edges. The brain has been noted to regard objects that are angular negatively. That’s why you find that in modern car designs, they have increasingly incorporated curves.
Processing Fluency
Here is the thing, images or videos that communicate their message fully & clearly but with limited detail appeal more to the brain. Get rid of too much clutter or excessive detail; the idea is to be simple yet comprehensive. This promotes ease & higher speed of interpretation. Remember the decreased attention spans that I alluded to earlier.
Listing Vs Paragraphs
The brain has a high affinity for spatial integrity. This means that categorization appeals more to the brain due to the presence of spaces between points. Listing entails less stress on the brain’s data processing matrix. Ultimately, there will be less time used to comprehend. This is because the spaces provide visual contrast that optimizes the brain’s process of making sense of what’s presented to it.
Differences Between Male & Female Brains
The frontal lobes are different in male & female brains. I won’t delve into the intricate details but those differences accrue to differences in the kind of stimuli that triggers people to act on something. Inquisition appeals more to women whilst urgency & direct calls appeal more to men. “Would you want to see your financial life change in just 4 weeks” will most likely appeal to a woman due to their appreciation for questions which appease their curious nature. “Hurry and get yours before Wednesday” will most likely appeal to a men due to his appreciation for urgency & direct calls.
Story-Telling
When people hear a story, dopamine is released in the brain and the cortex is stimulated. This basically means that story-telling engages emotions & the subconscious mind. This will increase the engagement of the posts you put up. Incorporate story-telling in your posts!
Effective social marketing is premised on capturing people’s emotions & attention, both consciously and particularly subconsciously. No wonder further findings from neuroscience shall revolutionize social media marketing. It has been discovered that video ads have the highest engagement and lead to high levels of conversion because they capture people’s emotions.
