Over the last 4 years, I have been quietly observing a lot of different folks in social media, from Chris Brogan, to Robert Scoble, Brian Clark, Darren Rowse, Mari Smith, Shama Hyder,
and the list is almost endless. How they operate. what they say and do.
And of course there are hundreds more that could be listed.

But I have learned an immense amount of good stuff from each. It is like going back to University.

I have found though that psychology plays a HUGE part in the social
media marketing world. It plays a bigger part them most people realize
due to the newness of social media and the power behind it’s
capabilities.

There are what I call “Tier One” social media rock stars, (The term used by everyone today)  and the “Tier two” participants. These 2 “social media zones” are interesting to observe from a marketing process, and also from a human standpoint.

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Over the last 3.5 years, I also have been studying the Psychology of
Social media and why people are into it, what their goals and reasons
are, what they are looking for, and many other focuses just for myself,
as being a marketer.

I found some interesting things during this.

Today, I want to quickly go over what I call the “7 Psychological A’s of Social Media”
and the different needs that are a part of this growing social venue.
It is what I have observed, and consistently found as part of this
awesome new online world.

Ok …what are they? What are people LOOKING for in Social Media from a psychology standpoint?

1) To be Acknowledged.

I have observed that the first thing most people want and need are
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. They want to be acknowledged that they are now on the
social media scene, and simply, ‘Hey I am here!” There hand is raised
and they simply want to be noticed and felt welcome. No one does this
better than Chris Brogan,
who really is a prince and powerhouse in the social media zone. He
acknowledges EVERYONE- as busy as he is. That is why folks really love
this guy. He is REAL In social media marketing, and being REAL is one
of the 7 anchors of social media-some call it AUTHENTIC.

Simply letting people know that they are welcome and acknowledged
makes a HUGE difference to people that are new in social media. Take
the time to acknowledge…it will bless the other person immensely.

2) To Gain Attention.

People once acknowledged, desire some form of attention-as simple as responding to a follow on twitter , or a post on a blog, or friends on Facebook.
Simple. To the point. But when attention is given to someone beyond
“hello”, it really does make a lot of potential conversation down the
road. And if you are a marketer, conversation is critical in the social
media zone.

Conversation rules. So does acknowledging folks new to the party.

3) To Be Approved Of.

People LOVE to be approved of-especially when they have put
themselves out in a world they know nothing about, and trying to
contribute to the conversation. A simple “Thank you for the message” or
a “great share!” will go a long ways to drawing that person into your
sphere of influence and world.

Most people have not so good self images, and we can help them in social media
by approving, encouraging, and letting them know that we not only
approve of them, but “thumbs up” to their efforts in the contribution
to the conversation. Darren Rowse is
really good at this on his blog. He will simply mention some one’s
efforts on his blog, and that shows the person that they are on the
right track, and keep up the good work. Again, this is critical to
marketing online today if you are going to be a social media marketer.

Approve of what your prospects are doing and saying. Build the relationship.

4) To Be Appreciated.

People in social media love appreciation. Who in this world does
not? We all do! There are those rare individuals though that give an
immense appreciation to the party. Take Zna Trainer.She
has got to be one of the most appreciation showing people I know out in
the social world. She takes the time to let people know that they are
appreciated for their work, and for their tweets, and for their
facebook notes, and again the list is long what she does.

The same thing with Carrie Wilkerson.She
is a breath of fresh air when it comes to letting people know she
appreciates people’s efforts. She is a rare person, like Zna, and both
bring an immense value to social media, not only in their
ideas, writings and posts and tweets, but just who they are.

Appreciation also must go to prospects as well. Let them know you
appreciate their social media efforts and also them as a person. This
is what being REAL is about.

5) To Be Acclaimed.

People love to see their name in lights- and there are 2 different ways that can happen.

a) Being answered or featured in a conversation.
b) Being retweeted, featured, or talked about in a conversation.

Acclamation is important to people that are getting their brand out
in social media. Being acclaimed-even slightly says, “GREAT JOB!” and
“KEEP IT UP!” Who does not love that type of acclaim? And again, there
is no one better who acclaims others than Mari Smith.She
really puts people in the spotlight-even unknowns, for a job well done.
She is so good at it, as well as being the facebook maven!

That is why she has been blessed with success, along with so many
others. Psychologically, people love acclaim, and when that happens,
they have a tendency to also acclaim the acclaimer! (Is that a word?)
Find good stuff and share it. Good posts on blogs. Good notes on
Facebook. Good tweets on twitter. Good writings in journals. Good articles found in directories. Good attempts at sharing. All these are critical in the big plan of social media.

6) To Feel Assured.

People today in social media want to be Assured that they are doing
the right thing, being the right person, and taking the right actions.
As simple as this seems, people need it. In this social media zone,
assuring people that they belong, they are needed, and they are
growing, is another critical factor. It may or may not mean much to the
person that doing the assuring, but in marketing, it is one of the most
critical factors in the process. Assuring people that you are going to
be there for them if they do business with you, that customer service
is there for them and you will be there for whatever reason-if they
have a challenge.

Now THAT is reassuring the prospect of a good decision and good move. Brian Clark,
“copyblogger” fame is GREAT at reassuring his readers. He does it
often, and does it well. “You can do this,” is a simple but yet
profound message in all his posts. THAT is also a reflection of the
character that he and so many others share in the social media zone.

People also want to know that they are relevant and needed. Assure
people that what they are doing, writing, saying, or sharing is helping
you. Go out on a limb and say it. “Great job and thank you for sharing
this blog post- it really helped me.”

Goes a long way.

7) To Be A Part Of.

People in the social media zone want to feel a PART OF something
that is happening and bigger than they are. Marketing to these folks on
social media is simple.

Include them.
Invite them.
Impose upon them.
Engage them.

They not only will be feeling a part of something, but also wanting
to contribute to the whole that will help everyone. Yes, I know there
are exceptions, as there are everywhere else. There are always those
slimey types that try and break the system.

But you be the person that people want to be around and connected to
because they like how they feel about themselves when they are
connected to you and your company. When they read your stuff. When they
are on one of your  sites. When they see you constantly bringing Value
to the conversation.

Make people feel a part of what YOU are doing, and they will spread
the word-and quickly. isn’t that what marketing is all about? Not just
people talking about you-but people talking FOR YOU?

These are the 7 A’s in the Psychology Social Media Marketing Zone. Hopefully this helps explains some things that impact your efforts in your social media marketing.

blessings…Doug Firebaugh
PassionFire Training
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Editor’s note: this post was written by Doug Firebaugh of PassionFire International. If you’re passionate about social media, social media marketing and social networking lifestyle design, contact me about writing an article yourself.

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