Polling Narcissistic Junkies - Why do we trust Social Media Behaviour?

Okay, imagine this scenario. You’ve setup a focus group of people to discuss your product but before they’re allowed to comment they must do the following:

1. Pretend they’re a far better and more interesting person than they actually are.
2. Only say things that are positive and will make them look good.
3. Say stuff that their friends are likely to appreciate.
4. Know that if they say something right they’ll get a round of applause and a few new friends.

Okay...got that?

Now talk about my product!

Social media is not a marketing tool, at least that isn’t what it was designed for. The one thing that people tend to overlook about Social Media is that it is, well, SOCIAL. That is to say; stop thinking it’s a high street, a shopping mall or a car salesroom and start thinking of it as your living room, or a private party with some people you trust.

When it comes to sharing, social media is one gigantic narcissistic gratification engine, a support tool, a crutch for the ego. Other examples of this might be overeating, alcoholism, attention-addiction and heroin. You share stuff because you like it but there must also be a payback. It’s like taking your personal brand to the gym.

When it comes to sharing, social media is one gigantic narcissistic gratification engine

Social media is a drug, make no mistake about it and the one thing we know about drugs is that they are, by and large, behaviour altering. Social media changes your behaviour and therefore ‘you’ on SM is not the same you that you are everywhere else.

So, having established that you’re in an altered state when you’re online, and most of your decisions are to some extent tainted by narcissism and social gain. Why on Earth would you put any stock in statistics and behaviours emanating from people in this frame of mind?

But we do, oh boy do we.

Amazingly, having spoken to a number of CMO’s and Marketers there is still a complete ‘stunned mullet’ approach to measuring success in Social Media campaigns. ‘Yes but what’s a good benchmark?’ One marketer asked me.

‘Erm…how much does a sandwich weigh?’ I replied.

You need to look at the results of a social media campaign through an ego filter. Only once you’ve siphoned off all the ‘personal gain’ baggage and drilled down to those actions that are motivated by your brand or your message can you really take them seriously.

You need to look at the results of a social media campaign through an ego filter

I’m in the same boat as you, I work with the same things that you do and I guess that makes it a level playing field. But perhaps it might make sense to filter social media campaign results before basing large financial and strategic decisions upon them. Just because you're getting into the real world...that doesn't make it honest research.

Just my opinion of course...

Ta!