Social media posts that work because of the way our brain works
We all want to write better social posts. But few of us know what that looks like, and we don’t know many people who are smashing it on social. So I’ll outline a formula here that will really help your social media posts appeal more to your preferred customers and clients.
It’s simple enough to do again and again. And it’s smart enough to be relevant to almost any kind of business. Even yours.
It works because of the way that our brains work.
Back in 2003, an experiment was performed that used the old Coke V Pepsi Challenge. This was all about trying to understand how people make decisions about purchases.
During the test, the researchers noticed that the majority of participants chose Pepsi over Coke when they didn’t know what they were drinking.
But they overwhelmingly chose Coke when they could see which brand they were consuming. And this was even when the drink in the Coke bottle had been replaced with Pepsi.
This was the beginning of “neuromarketing.”
It works on the basis that our primal brain will make instant decisions based on self-preservation, protection of those things and people we love, and what feels safe or unsafe.
100 years of marketing from Coca-Cola meant that Coke was a safe choice. It was familiar. It has always been associated with youthful vitality, life and energy.
But at the same time, Pepsi is a sweeter-tasting drink. And that has an instant appeal to the part of our brain that equates sweetness with energy. The kind of energy needed to run away from a predator or go hunting a woolly mammoth.
This primal brain makes hundreds of decisions like this every day based on the same self-preservation instinct that includes a desire to avoid pain while seeking comfort.
How do we use this on social media?
Appealing to the primal brain can be done in a few ways in a social post.
- You can engage someone’s attention by making them aware of a threat to their survival or that of the ones they love. A lot of pest control and insurance companies use this method.
- You could appeal to their need to be more comfortable and avoid pain. A lot of bedding, health and wellbeing businesses use this approach.
- Or you could go down the path of making what you post so in tune with what your audience knows and loves, that they can’t help but feel an emotional connection to you.
I really like this third option. Why?
Fear is only effective until a person feels safe. The desire for comfort only lasts while someone is uncomfortable.
But there are very few times when someone would not feel good when they feel understood. It’s powerful stuff when you know that someone “gets you.”
What formula will help someone to feel good enough about you to want to read or engage more with your post?
Connection + Benefits = Action.
The Connection
You start with the primal brain that is looking for safety and familiarity. A photo, video or even text that immediately sparks a “yes this is for me” is enough to break through the barrier that almost everything else in their social feed fails to.
If they are gamers, then a statement or image about their favourite game immediately triggers this positive primal emotional response.
If they are horse people, a photo of a well-groomed Arabian with the statement, “non-horse owners will never know how much it cost to get this look” will have them nodding their heads in agreement.
The Benefits
Next is the delivery of the benefits of whatever you’re selling or promoting that relates to this initial hook.
This isn’t just a list of what you sell or the features of your service.
It’s a connection you are making between what you are selling and what the upside is to that person having access to it.
Our gamers will appreciate you saying something like, “You’ll stay focused for longer when your chair has four individual massage points.”
And those horsey folks will prefer that your equine wash is “going to get you from muddy to show-ready with our wash-and-go formula” rather than simply saying that you have a quick rinse shampoo.
The Action
No one will buy, book or click unless you tell them to. This final part is a “call to action.” Basically, you’re telling someone what to do next.
You’re literally telling them now to buy from you, book your time or click to see more information.
It’s the logical thing to do now that they are interested and educated on why they should care about your products or services.
Dante St James is the founder of Clickstarter, a Meta Certified Lead Trainer, a Community Trainer with Meta Australia, a digital advisor with Business Station, an accredited Digital Solutions advisor and presenter, and the editor at The Small Marketer. You can watch free 1-hour webinars and grow your digital skills at Dante’s YouTube Channel.
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