Five Ways You Can Leverage Social Psychology in Your Marketing Strategy

It’s safe to say that marketing is a complex, multi-faceted field with a lot of moving parts. Social psychology is one of those gears which you may not have considered rolling into your marketing strategy to date. As human beings and consumers, we are constantly being influenced by the people around us. This is known as social influence, and it extends beyond just our friends and family; it also includes strangers and everyday objects like social media accounts and advertisements. Indeed, it is impossible to be completely unaware of these influences; they are constantly at play in our lives in some way or another. Here are five ways that marketers can leverage these powerful tactics for their own benefit.

Social Proof

Social proof is one of the most important elements of your marketing strategy. Social proof is a method used to show prospective customers what other people are saying and thinking about your brand, product or service. This can be done through customer reviews, testimonials and case studies written by customers or experts. Customers look at this information before deciding in which direction to go, so it is crucial to have this available on your website and off-line media.

Know-Like-Trust

"People buy from people they like."

Know-like-trust is important in your marketing strategy. Know, Like, and Trust is the concept that your audience needs to know that the product or business is worth their time. Researching a website before purchasing is a consumer’s first step, and ensuring that you have high-quality content will help with the “know” portion of the three scales. Prospects need to think about the brand in their mind before reaching out to engage with them. A content-marketing strategy focuses more on the know and like elements at the beginning, then moves on to trust by showing that your company can handle any potential issues with their products or services. When you create top quality content that aligns with your overall marketing strategy, this fosters a trust factor between consumer and brand. This makes it more likely that prospects will use their social channels to share content they find useful with their own networks, thus expanding your reach and building relationships with other potential buyers.

Authority

Authority is important for your marketing strategy, especially if you are trying to attract new customers. People will trust a well-respected authority on the subject of your product more than they will trust a new business. The better you can create value for your customers and the more you do it, the greater your authority will be. The more authoritative you are on a topic, the more likely it is that people in your audience will see you as an expert source.

Authority is built on trust and one of the best ways to build authority is by creating a valuable, quality piece of content that teaches your readers something they didn’t know. One way to do this is by sharing personal stories of how you overcame a challenge or created a business using your special knowledge. What we find is that people are more likely to engage with content that speaks to them in a personal way.

Scarcity

Scarcity is one of the most powerful psychological triggers that exists to make people take action. From a marketing perspective, this means you’re more likely to get people to purchase your product if you place limits on when and where it can be purchased.

Scarcity is something we are all familiar with, but why does it work so well? We have all heard of limited-edition items, but what about limited time offers? On a website where you can buy anything you want, scarcity is an emotion that is used by marketers to drive urgency and encourage your customers to take action immediately.

You can leverage scarcity in many ways:

• With time-based language; for instance, "Book now before it’s too late."

• With scarcity language, such as "While stocks last" or "Only a few tickets remaining."

• With scarcity images, like a low number on an item.

Understanding how to use scarcity in marketing is a crucial skill for any marketer. It can be used for many different purposes and when used effectively, can help you get the results you want from your customers.

Consistency

Consistency is a key factor when marketing your business. It's important to keep your message consistent across all mediums, and to keep the tone and voice of your brand consistent as well.

Consistency helps you gain trust with potential customers and clients, because they know what to expect from you. In addition, it makes it easier for them to remember your message—and if they can remember your message, then they're more likely to return later on if they need something from you.

When creating content for your website or social media accounts, make sure that each piece of content fits into the larger theme of your brand identity. Make sure that each piece of content has a similar font style or color scheme as other pieces of content on your site so that viewers won't be confused about which part belongs where. We can use consistency to create a brand that's easy to remember.

Conclusion

The final takeaway is that social psychology is a powerful tool for marketers to use, and there are a lot of ways to leverage it in your marketing strategy. You can use it to create more persuasive ads, better understand your customers, and improve your brand image. And if you're not sure where to start with social psychology, we're here for you!