The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks: How Brands Create Authentic Engagement by Understanding What Motivates Us (1ST ed.)

Joe Federer is the former Head of Brand Strategy at Reddit, where he helped reposition the platform's narrative to the larger world of advertising and drove revenue growth of over 10X in its first year in market. Prior to joining Reddit, he worked at leading PR and advertising agencies, where his campaigns performed in the top 95th percentile of advertiser studies on Facebook, and where he led the launch of Pinterest and Instagram ads for some of the world's most important brands. Joe has developed numerous successful content strategies for Google, Amazon, McDonald's, Bud Light, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Audi, Charles Schwab, and S.C. Johnson, among others. He thrives at finding the intersection between what brands stand for and what social media users are interested in seeing.

"A thought-provoking new approach to the digital economy and how brands can create authentic engagement by understanding the fundamental motivations behind human psychology from the former Head of Brand Strategy at Reddit Leading marketing practitioner and thought leader Joe Federer draws on evolutionary biology, anthropology, and psychology to explain why people act so differently in various online spaces and what they are seeking from participating in each one. With a framework based on Freud's Id, Ego, and Superego model of the human psyche, he demonstrates how different social network structures correspond to different mindsets: platforms like Reddit to the unfiltered Id, Facebook to the managed Ego, and Instagram to the ideal Superego. Understanding these fundamental mindsets of social media users enables marketers to more efficiently and effectively utilize these channels to reach their target audiences. In The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks readers will learn: how to create content that drives sharing and word-of-mouth how brands can fit natively into different types of social channels how to balance branded social presences across different networks why authenticity will only grow in importance to consumers Fascinating and deeply compelling, it is the essential playbook for marketing, PR, and advertising professionals"--

"Take a trip to the lands of social media with this expert insider, to be informed, to be entertained, and to unlock the performance of your campaigns."
-- Tonise Paul, Chairwoman of Energy BBDO

 

"I've long held the belief that social media will unlock more human creativity than we've ever seen. Joe's book is a deep exploration of this idea and does a phenomenal job of helping us understand the psychology of why we seek to connect, create, and share--and that we have yet to unlock the true power and potential of our social networks."
-- Toby Daniels, CEO of Social Media Week

 

"Not only did Joe Federer write what will become a seminal work on social media, he packed The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks with valuable insights that will help marketing and communications professionals bridge their organization's strategic plans with real world behaviors. Joe's unaffected style makes you swear you're simply having a conversation with this talented social media rock star."
-- Ron Culp, Professional Director of the Graduate PR and Advertising Program at DePaul University and former Partner and Managing Director at Ketchum

 

"Social media marketing is a continually evolving space. The speed of change challenges professionals to keep pace and bring the most up-to-date thinking to their work. The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks provides a timeless approach because it's based on people, not networks. Focusing on how people think and behave in those spaces will help brands bring value to consumers and create visibility for themselves on any network."
-- Josh Ehart, former Chief Data Officer at Energy BBDO

 

"Without Federer's keen insights and thoughtful analysis, you are destined to become an irrelevant, almost clownlike figure in your profession, honking your rubber nose and clanging your marketing cowbell to an increasingly disinterested audience. Buy this book or die a joke."
-- Jason Kreher, Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy

 

Acknowledgments
Introduction

 

PART I
MEMEOLOGY
1 WHAT'S IN A MEME?
2 THE MEME AND THE MEME MACHINE
The Importance of the Format of a Meme
3 EVOLVING MEME MACHINES
Five Principles to Maximize Engagement

 

PART II
SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS DISCONTENTS
4 WEARING OUR MEMES
The Ideal Self, Managed Self, and True Self
5 ONLINE REPRESENTATION OF THE OFFLINE SELF
The Ego and the Conscious Center of Action
6 THE GUIDING INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL IDEALS
Superego Networks and the Expression of the Ideal Self
7 THE UNREALIZED POWER OF TRUE SELF NETWORKS
The Id and the Unconscious Self

 

PART III
SOCIAL MEDIA'S RIGHT AND LEFT BRAINS
8 LEFT AND RIGHT BRAIN NETWORKS
The Known and the Unknown
9 THE MEME FLOW
Right Brain, Left Brain, and Right Brain Again
10 FIVE LESSONS FOR BUILDING AND HONING
A SOCIAL STRATEGY
11 BUILDING BEST-IN-CLASS SOCIAL CAMPAIGNS
EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY
12 THE NEGLECTED RIGHT HEMISPHERE
Balancing Storytelling with Experience Building

 

Notes
Bibliography
Index

 

From the former Head of Brand Strategy at Reddit comes a proven and thought-provoking approach to the digital economy and how brands can create authentic engagement that is rooted in the fundamental motivations behind human psychology

Leading marketing practitioner and thought leader Joe Federer draws on evolutionary biology, anthropology, neuroanatomy, and psychology, as well as more than a decade of hands-on experience, to explain why people act so differently in various online spaces and what they are seeking from participating in each one. With a framework based on Freud's Id, Ego, and Superego model of the human psyche, he demonstrates how the internet is a digital reflection of the collective human psyche and how different social networks correspond to different mindsets: platforms like Reddit to the unfiltered Id, Facebook and Twitter to the managed Ego, and Instagram to the ideal Superego.

In the same way you behave differently when you're home alone, out with friends, communicating with family, or interacting with coworkers, people act and express themselves differently in these various online spaces. Context matters. Understanding this will enable you to develop and execute effective engagement strategies to reach your target audiences on each social network. Learn:

• how to create content that drives sharing and word-of-mouth
• how brands can fit natively into different types of social channels
• how to balance branded social presences across different networks
• why authenticity will only grow in importance to consumers

 Fascinating and deeply compelling, The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks will equip you to make vastly more efficient use of your media buys, establish more thoughtful strategies, develop better creative, and, in the end, deliver more effective marketing that provides value.