The Power of Ego – The Driving Force Behind Social Media

18356 followers and counting on Twitter. The number makes hold my head high and my ego swell. The funny thing is its just a number, but the power of numbers should not be ignored. The incentive for most people to be more social is less about making friends then it is to have a bigger number and be therefore perceived as a better person as a result. I would even go as far to say that if Twitter didn’t show a number of followers associated people probably won’t even bother trying to build mass followers. On the search engines content is king. For social media ego is king.

However, realize that the importance that ego plays in social media doesn’t undervalue the importance of social media itself. In order to get the maximum benefit from social media one must understand this driving force and take advantage of it. Catering to the egos of others and using the power of numbers can make social media a powerful marketing tool. For example when I tell people that I have thousands of followers it adds credibility to my words. My ever growing ego adds confidence in my services. People want to work with people that are perceived as successful. In the real world it is the same being well dressed, driving an expensive car, or living in a luxury home all go to show your success and make people want to do business with you. Online we achieve the same by creating a persona of success: having large number of followers, friends, connections, and fans.

So some key points:
1) Ego is king
2) Cater to your own ego
3) Cater to your online persona
4) Play to others egos
5) Learn from Mark Zuckerberg who has 600 million virtual friends