Digital Marketing and Social Media Emotional Impact

In my previous post, I touched on how social media affects our mood, our self-esteem, or self-worth, and our values in our lives. Social media has been under controversy for a while for this issue, by being the leading causes in suicide, because a lot of people rely on the need for approval in their lives. Thank you inadequate feelings... But that is the human existence, and only really emotionally stable and full people can evade this epidemic.

Studies have been done with the impact of social media on mental health in individuals and in couple's relationships. Millennial's are accused of not being able to interact and hold conversations with live people in front of them. And have other social cue's problems. Clarissa Silva, a Huffpost contributor, wrote:

"For us to accept these behaviors with disregard for how it impacts us emotionally is what the core of what I call, The Millennial Virus, is. What is it doing to our sense of self? Are we becoming more narcissistic? Are we becoming more insecure? Is technology driving dating, sex and emotion? Are dating patterns just an extension of how we behave on social networks?" - "Social Media's Impact of Self-Esteem"

Silva makes a good point. So what does this have to do with digital marketing? Well, the "Millennial Virus", as Silva would say, also drives us to have a need for acceptance in almost everything we do. So how does that help marketing? Marketers use customer's emotional insecurities to help drive them to buy products?

According to Larry Alton, of Adweek Daily Pro,:

"From a marketing perspective, it’s not your job to change how society thinks and acts. It’s up to you to elevate your brand in a way that leverages the way society thinks and acts. In today’s age, that means tapping into the human desire for approval in your approach to social media marketing." - "How the Human Need for Approval Drives Social Marketing Strategies."

And who said that it was just millennial's who were becoming more manipulative?

One of the three ways that Alton says that you can accomplish this in your marketing strategy is to share your product reviews. Lead with it. This also jumps on the bandwagon deal. BUT EVERYONE IS DOING IT appeal. You should also connect with social influencers. Find YouTubers who can advertise for you, name drop, whatever you need. You want the people who are following them to want to use the products they are using. Social influencers are the new celebrities. And lastly,

"Prioritize shares: Marketer Leslie Nuccio makes the bold claim that going viral—or getting social media shares—is better than closing a sale. Her point is that word-of-mouth marketing on social media ultimately produces more long-term value than an isolated sale. When you share content, your goal shouldn’t be to make a sale at that very moment. While it’s great if somebody clicks a link and purchases a product from your website, you’ll get more value if you’re focused on driving word of mouth and building your brand through shares." - "How the Human Need for Approval Drives Social Marketing Strategies."

So there you have it. Marketing has become the manipulative boyfriend that your mother always warned you about. Congratulations social media. We are all a little more shady after all now.


References:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-medias-impact-on-self-esteem_us_58ade038e4b0d818c4f0a4e4
http://www.adweek.com/digital/larry-alton-guest-post-human-need-for-approval/