In the ever-changing digital era, social media has become a vital element of every human’s life, determining how we present, express, connect, and interact. Out of so many social media platforms out there, with a vast audience base of 2 billion active monthly users, Instagram is the second most popular platform and unquestionably the most preferred one among youngsters. The platform has a diverse audience base for every niche, genre, and industry, making it crucial for creators and brands to maintain a strong presence on this platform. In the Instagram world, engagement in the form of likes, comments, shares, and follows are the main metrics for determining success. Whether you are a creator, brand, or an influencer, have you ever wondered what makes people like your posts, share them with others, and follow your profile? If yes, you are on the right path, as social media engagement has a deep connection with human psychology. There are many psychological factors that motivate a viewer to take some action and show engagement. In this blog, we will shed light on the psychology of social media that may help you plan a strong social media strategy.
What is the Psychology of Social Media?
The psychology of social media means the study of human behavior and mental processes to determine the reasons or factors that motivate an individual to engage and interact on social media platforms. It delves into factors that help you understand the “WHY” behind specific social media activity. For example:
- Why do people follow various social media accounts?
- Why do people share content?
- Where do people message each other?
- How do people feel about social media ads?
- Do consumers trust company messages on social media?
The Psychology of Social Media: Why Users Like, Share, and Follow?
Human behavior is unpredictable, and a small insight into human psychology helps you understand various aspects of social media engagement. These aspects help you boost engagement and enhance your online presence strategically. However, if you seek fast engagement, you can consider buying likes, followers, views, etc, from blastup, a well-reputed site selling Instagram engagement.
Why do people Follow other People/Brands on Social Media?
There are a multitude of reasons as to why people follow other people or brands on social media. Some of the common reasons are:
To stay in touch – Humans follow each other just to stay in touch, form relationships, and ensure two-way communication.
To stay informed about products and services – People follow brands especially to stay informed and updated about their products, services, offers, discounts, sales, new arrivals, etc. They want to stay updated, become early adopters, and gain a first-mover advantage.
To enjoy the content – People follow creators only when they think that their content is entertaining, interesting, informative, relatable, and engaging. They seek refreshment or knowledge when they follow a creator or an influencer.
Due to Interest and Relevance – If a user has some hobby, interest, or passion, there are chances that they follow the brands or creators who share the same interest and create content on that. Besides that, many people follow pages that share insights on prevailing market trends, technologies, tools, tips, strategies, etc., just to stay informed and updated.
Why do people Like on Social Media?
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram work majorly on the metric of “Likes.” There are various reasons that propel a person to like a post:
Maintain Relationships – This is the simplest reason, as people like images, videos, or other content of some people just to maintain the relationship and add value to it.
Reciprocity Effect – It simply means some people like a post just for social exchange. Basically, people feel obliged to give back to people from whom they have received engagement, or they show engagement to get a similar gesture in return.
Content Appreciation – When a creator or a brand post something entertaining, informative, enjoyable, relatable, or humorous, there are chances that such content causes a positive impact on the viewer’s mind and encourages them to show appreciation by liking the post. Moreover, sometimes visually appealing pictures or aesthetic content also prompt users to like them.
Support and Engagement – When a brand or creator fosters genuine connections, their followers always try to support and encourage them by liking their posts. Support and encouragement motivate such creators to create better content and engage with their audience.
Express Emotions – Some brands and creators create relatable content that conveys special messages such as love, friendship, sadness, joy, nostalgia, disappointment, frustration, etc. Such relatable content has the power to influence people to express emotions and show responses by liking the post or reposting it on the story.
Why do People Share Content on Social Media?
People share content only when they feel that it has something relatable and worth sharing with others. When your followers like your content, they share it with others in some way or the other. People share your content for the following reasons:
Creating and maintaining relationships – Sharing relatable content in the form of reels, memes, images, etc, is a common activity that most people perform to create and maintain relationships. Many times, this approach is used to stay in touch with people with whom they might otherwise lose connection.
Entertainment and humor – People share content if they find it entertaining, amusing, and humorous. Comedy is the most loved genre that grabs maximum likes, comments, and shares; brands that share such content get the highest engagement.
Self-expression – Relatable content that aligns with someone’s personality, behavior, likes, dislikes, situations, etc., is more likely to be shared. Such content helps people show how they are, what they like, what they dislike, how their life is going on, what they think, what they desire, etc.
Identity expression – People often share brand-related content to showcase that they are also a part of the brand and are associated with it. This helps them attract viewers, increase engagement, and build connections. Besides that, some people even share content that relates to their lifestyle, for example, their favorite clothing brand, mobile brand, footwear brand, etc. This is done to present a defined image of themselves and their interests.
Incentives and Rewards – When brands share content related to contests and giveaways, the number of shares of such content is generally high as more and more people want to win the prize that is in exchange for sharing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that social media is an efficient tool for communicating with your audience and driving interaction in a simple manner. For brands and creators, it’s even more beneficial to understand the psychology behind these metrics, as it may help you in creating content that attracts more followers, likes, comments, and shares.