Ego marketing: why social media success is all about the consumer
My you’re looking ruggedly handsome / winsomely beautiful today! Did you know that your opinions about that TV show you love are so valuable that we’d like to talk about them on our Facebook page? We also think your latest Tweet was highly amusing and that Instagram you just posted was mind-bendingly awesome.
Without being able to target you and your individual tastes and identity here, I haven’t been able to tailor those messages specifically to you. But imagine if I could, and I could do it authentically and regularly? How would that make you feel?
Buy! Buy! Bye?
Many brands struggle to get over the one major hurdle which would otherwise see them swimming in online engagement – the ability to listen to their consumer and make them feel important, valuable and fundamentally good.
The problem is that brands want exactly the same thing as individuals: approval, genuine compliments, and people raging about how great they are.
You are AMAZING.
It takes a paradigm shift for us online marketers to get past that natural longing for adoration and validation and realise that, to gain their trust, admiration and long-term loyalty, we must first show that our consumers are the truly valuable ones. Our brand, products and services exist merely to serve them and make them feel happy.
The brilliant thing about social media is that, unlike in the spiel at the top of this page, it is utterly possible, and appropriate, to listen carefully and get a true measure of your audience, both en masse and individually, and to give them precisely what they want to hear.
Talk about what your consumers are interested in, even if it has nothing to do with your brand.
