Why people share on social media - Tom Mason, Delineo

SSMM Week 8Tom Mason, Delineo

About me

Head of Social Media at Delineo

Strategy, planning and execution of social media campaigns

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What do we share?

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What do we share?

Gossip

Opinions

News

Ideas

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Graffiti from Pompeii

The man I am having dinner with is a

barbarian.

On April 19th, I made bread.

Satura was here on September 3rd

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As a species, we have always shared

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A constant behaviour

“Our behaviour tends to stay the same…we are social beings.

To believe that technology is able to alter us is to fall into the trap of thinking that machines are alien…They reflect our needs and desires.”

David Shariatmadari

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How we would like people to use social media

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How people actually use social media

Why do we share?

Tell stories

Social currency

Practical value

Makes us emotional

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Social currency

• People share content to make them look good to other

• 40% of content is people talking about themselves

• Reinforces their identity

• Vanity

• Exclusivity

• Update friendship networks

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Social currency and marketing

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Emotion

• When we care, we share

• Emotions, not facts, invite people to share

• Proactive emotions are more likely to be shared

• Excitement, anger, pleasure vs sadness, boredom

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Emotion and marketing

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Practical value

• Altruism

• People share deals/tips

• People answer questions

• People provide knowledge for the sake of knowledge

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Practical value and marketing

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Telling Stories

• As a species, we have always told stories

• Way to communicate lessons, advice, knowledge

• We share in narratives

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Stories and marketing

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Using social media for marketing

Social media is a technology, not a strategy

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Communicating with your audience

• What story are you going to tell them? What’s your USP?

• What content are you going to create to explain this message?

• What value are you going to add?

• What do you want them to do?

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Further reading

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Any questions?

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