The psychology behind successful social media posts

I refer to Buffer a lot, but they do have amazing content. So not surprisingly they recently posted about the science of social media influence and how to make posts more persuasive based on the psychology of human minds. 

Buffer's post is inspired by Dave Straker's website Changing Minds , a site that has a variety of psychology terms neatly organized in specific categories for easy reference. 

As a social media marketer (or marketer in general) you are familiar with the process of trying to find the magic content that engages your readers enough to make them want to share and increase your earned media percentage. I decided to include some of the most important ones here: 

Amplification Hypothesis: 

When you express something with certainty, your attitude hardens. The opposite holds true too- if you express an attitude with uncertainty it softens the attitude. 

Conversion Theory: 

The minority in a group can have a disproportionate effect on influencing those in the majority. Typically, those in the majority who are most susceptible are the ones who may have joined because it was easy to do so or felt they lacked alternatives. Consistent, confident minority voices are most effective. 

Reciprocity norm: 

The feeling we get after other have done something for us. We feel obligated to return the favor. 

Scarcity principle:

People often want what is in short supply. The desire increases if there is a time limit present as well. 

Social influence:

People are strongly influenced by others based on how we perceive our relationship to the influencer. We tend to be influenced by recommendations from authoritative sources, big brands and peers.

Ultimate terms:

Some terms are more persuasive than others. See this post to see what words work. I can reveal that the five most persuasive words include: You, Because, Free, Instantly and New. 

Read the rest of the article on the psychology behind great social media posts here.