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This is the first installment of our weekly Web Wisdom Wednesday series, in which we will cover topics ranging from social media, email marketing, sponsored search, SEO, and more! Each video will aim to inform and educate you on simple tips that you can use for your own online marketing efforts!
As a fellow marketer you likely wonder, “How can I better appeal to my target audience?” Better yet, “How can I produce more appealing/compelling content to drive a desired reaction?” I’m asking myself these questions as I write this post. The good news is help is just around the corner.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Most marketers have studied or at least heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (to the right) but few have related it to more current marketing efforts such as social media. As you read this post keep in mind that although technology evolves, people’s basic needs remain the same.
First, the premise: For the purpose of this post, I will keep my analysis related to social media. In some respect, Maslow’s theory explains the massive draw and assimilation to social media channels. The top three most psychologically complex needs are all easily obtained using social media (Self–actualization, esteem, love/belonging). Some people I suppose receive all five, but for the most part, social media allows for the authentic release of creativity, esteem personified by the ability to become a thought leader and, of course, belonging and contributing to a community is all at your fingertips.
The application: How can we use this information to become better social media marketers? Well, first understanding what people are seeking from a physiological standpoint empowers us to better optimize our marketing channels, messaging and calls to action in order to evoke a desired response. For example, creating channels for people to collaborate not only with your brand but one another might be considered an essential need for your audience. The theory is basic enough yet the application is often lost in the shuffle of day-to-day activities. Comments and reviews are all means to connecting with your consumer at a higher level. Creating compelling copy and messaging to appeal to people on an emotional level help to create a deeper bond between your brand and your brand’s consumers. More advanced opportunities are found in attracting “like minded or like needed” people while exposing them to your messaging.
With this application in mind, below are several basic emotion evoking tips that apply not only to social media channels but also apply to general marketing practices.
Facilitate – Allow people to creatively participate with your marketing efforts. Encourage and ask for opinions, feedback and collaboration
Be Authentic – No auto DMs! People are looking for real human connections, whether they are on the computer, phone or in person
Respond- Being heard and having one’s ideas validated by others is a basic need that all people share
What do you think about this analysis and application? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
NBC has made it easier to follow the pulse of the Olympics by developing the Olympic Twitter Tracker, which categorizes tweets for each sport in an interactive, visual interface.
The tool works by indexing tweets related to each Olympic sport every minute, and showcasing the most popular sports in a given time period by the size of that sport’s image.
A similar zeitgeist (a tool used to capture “the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time,”) was created during the 2009 SXSW event, through which users could keep tabs on all the happenings of the event, from what people were saying about particular restaurants in the area, to using location based devices to help people find each other.
The coolest feature – in my opinion – about the NBC Olympic Twitter Tracker is the ability to change the time frame, and see the change in popular trending sports, minute-by-minute.
What do you think of the NBC Olympic Twitter Tracker? With the pervasiveness of social media, are these zeitgeists becoming a necessity for coordinators and hosts of major events to develop?
