If you work in social media, you're probably very used to conversations about algorithms, posting schedules, and platform updates. But something I've found far more useful, and far more enduring, is understanding the human behaviour behind all of it.
That's exactly what my co-author Dr Tom Bowden-Green and I set out to explore in our book, Marketing and Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach.
Writing it was a genuinely fascinating process. We brought together over 400 psychology theories and applied them to real marketing practice.
Tom and I recently hosted a webinar for Social Day where we walked through just some of those theories and why social media managers need to know about them. Watch the replay: The Psychology Behind the Scroll, Theories That Shape Social Media Success
Here's what we covered:
- Dual Process Theory
- Motivation
- Impression Management
- Social Proof
- Novelty
- Authority
- The Von Restorff Effect
- Similarity
- The Halo Effect
- The Labour Illusion
- Authenticity Bias
The ABC Approach
In our book, Tom and I group all 400+ theories around a framework we call the ABC Approach.
A, Audience. Understanding who your audience is before anything else. What motivates them? What are their behaviours and values?
B, Brand. How people perceive your brand as they become aware of and start to consider buying from you.
C, Choice. The psychology of how people decide. What makes them choose you over a competitor? What removes friction? What builds conviction?
1. Dual Process Theory
Kahneman (2012) | Relevant to: Brand & Content Creation
This is the foundational theory that underpins almost everything else. If you've heard of Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking Fast and Slow, you'll know the basics. Dual Process Theory describes two modes of thinking:
System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional. These are the instant, effortless decisions we make without conscious thought,choosing the same coffee we always have, picking our favourite chocolate bar when shopping
System 2 is slow, deliberate, and rational. This is how we think when we're choosing a supplier, or comparing products
The critical point for social media: almost all social media engagement happens in System 1. People scroll quickly and make split-second judgements. Your content needs to be emotionally engaging, visually clear, and immediately easy to process, before anyone has consciously decided to stop.
Related to this is the concept of involvement, how much mental effort someone is likely to invest in a decision about your product or service. High-involvement products attract more deliberate, System 2 attention. Low-involvement purchases get a System 1 response. Knowing where your product sits shapes how much cognitive work you should ask of your audience.
What this means in practice: Use hooks, bold statements, and emotionally resonant moments to earn System 1 attention. Save detailed information, case studies, pricing information, for the moments when people are already in System 2 mode and actively seeking it.
2. Motivation
Deci and Ryan (2012), Self-Determination Theory | Relevant to: Audience & Messaging
Before you can reach your audience effectively, you need to understand what drives them. Self-Determination Theory identifies two types of motivation:
Intrinsic motivation, doing something because it's personally meaningful or enjoyable.
Extrinsic motivation, doing something because of an external outcome: status, approval, or how you'll be perceived by others.
Take exercise as an example. Going to the gym might feel like a personal choice, but if you're working out because you want to look good at a wedding, your real motivation is extrinsic. You're thinking about what others will think.
For social media marketers, the question is: what is actually driving your future customer? The answer should shape your messaging entirely.
We used the Social Day event promotion as a live example in the webinar. Three different posts, three different motivational levers: one appeals to practical, rational justification ("Here's what your boss will care about when you ask to attend"); one to social belonging and peer validation ("There's a reason 95% of attendees say they'll be back"); and one to status and identity ("The coolest marketers attend Social Media Fest"). Same event, completely different motivational angles.
What this means in practice: Identify whether your audience is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to buy or engage. Then write your messaging accordingly. You may find different segments of the same audience respond to different levers, so it's worth testing both.
3. Impression Management
Goffman (1959) | Relevant to: Audience & Community Engagement
A quick note: impression management here means the first-impression kind, not the social media metric! It's about the ways people (and brands) consciously and unconsciously shape how they appear to others.
People are always managing their impression, in everyday life and online. Every time someone shares, comments on, or likes a post, they're making a micro-decision about what that action says about them. Before hitting repost, most people [should] instinctively ask: does this reflect well on me? Is this something I want my network to associate me with?
For brands, this has two implications.
First: think about what it says about someone to follow or share your content. Is your brand one people want to be publicly associated with? If you want your content to spread, it needs to feel like an identity-positive act to share it.
Second: your own social media presence is an act of impression management, too. Every element of your LinkedIn profile, your banner image, your About section, your featured posts, the comments you leave on others' posts, communicates who you are to someone encountering you for the first time.
What this means in practice: Make sharing your content feel like a positive reflection on your audience. And treat your own social profiles as deliberate, curated representations of your brand, not afterthoughts.
4. Social Proof
Cialdini (1984) | Relevant to: Audience & Content Creation
Robert Cialdini introduced social proof in his 1984 book Influence, and it's one of those theories that, once you know it, you see everywhere.
The core idea: when people are uncertain, they look to others for cues. We choose the restaurant with a long queue outside. We trust the product with hundreds of 5-star reviews. We are reassured when someone similar to us has already made the same choice.
On social media, social proof appears in both obvious and subtle ways. Explicit social proof includes testimonials, case study posts, and star ratings. Subtle signals include the number of likes on a post, a comment from someone in your peer group, or seeing that a connection already follows a brand you're considering.
What this means in practice: Actively gather and share reviews, testimonials, and case studies. Don't wait passively for social proof to accumulate, seed it. Encourage your community to share their experiences. Even small signals, a like count, a comment thread, act as proof points to the next person who sees your content.
5. Novelty
Berns et al. (1997) | Relevant to: Brand & Content Creation
Research by Berns et al. showed that encountering new information triggers measurable increases in brain activity and a small release of dopamine. New things feel good at a biological level.
This is partly why people scroll in the first place: they're looking for something they haven't seen before. And it's why content that repeats what everyone else in your industry is already saying tends to get ignored.
Novelty also connects to social currency, a concept from Jonah Berger's work. Sharing new, interesting information makes people look informed and current. So they're more likely to pass on your content if it gives them something genuinely fresh to share.
A great example is Will Francis, who creates content on TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn about AI and social media. His format is immediately recognisable, his hooks are direct and specific, "5 things you need to do immediately", "The 10 best AI courses right now", and his content is consistently focused on what's new and useful.
What this means in practice: Aim to be the go-to source for fresh, useful information in your niche. Think news, research, tools, and insights, not just promotional content.
6. Authority
Milgram (1963) | Relevant to: Brand, Content Creation & Community Engagement
Stanley Milgram's experiments demonstrated something uncomfortable but important: people follow authority figures. Using someone with genuine authority, a recognised expert, a credentialled professional, a trusted institution, can significantly increase the persuasive power of your message.
Authority here isn't only about domain expertise. It's about status, too. Someone perceived as being in a position of higher standing is more likely to be listened to and acted on, even outside their immediate area of knowledge.
One of my favourite examples is the Met Office on social media. Across Instagram, TikTok and their other channels, they consistently feature meteorologists presenting timely, useful information about weather and climate. Their authority is genuine, and it shows in how trusted and widely followed their content is.
What this means in practice: Who are the most credible voices you have access to? That might be internal experts, academic partners, or industry leaders. Put them in front of the camera. Credentials and demonstrated expertise all build authority, and authority makes your message more likely to be heard and acted on.
7. The Von Restorff Effect
Von Restorff (1933) | Relevant to: Choice & Content Creation
Hedwig von Restorff was a German psychiatrist who demonstrated in 1933 that when one item in a list is distinctly different from the others, it's the one people remember.
Apply this to scrolling through a social media feed. Your audience is moving through content from dozens of brands, influencers, and connections, often in the same industry, often covering the same topics. What makes your post stop them? It might be your colour palette, your tone of voice, your format, or simply the fact that you're saying something nobody else in your niche is saying.
What this means in practice: Spend time scrolling through the feeds your target audience sees. Does your content stand out, or does it blend in? Commit to being genuinely distinctive, in your visual style, your tone, or your content angle. Consistency matters too: the more consistently distinctive you are, the more recognisable you become.
8. Similarity
Cialdini (1984), Dunbar (2003) | Relevant to: Audience, Brand & Community Engagement
Also from Cialdini's Influence, the liking principle tells us we are more easily persuaded by people we like, and one of the strongest drivers of liking is similarity. We are naturally drawn to people who remind us of ourselves.
Similarity can take many forms. Robin Dunbar's research on friendship and social bonding identified multiple dimensions along which we recognise something of ourselves in others, including demographics, profession, location, shared interests, and even music taste. You don't need to match your audience on all of these. You just need to identify something meaningful.
For social media, this means thinking carefully about who represents your brand, whether that's a founder, an employee, a creator, or an influencer. Do they have genuine overlap with your target audience's world and experience?
Some examples that illustrate this well: SEMrush's TikTok account uses "digital marketing support group" POV scenarios that anyone working in social media will immediately recognise themselves in. A midlife fashion account (@wardrobeofa midlifecrisis) speaks directly, and unapologetically, to women who have felt overlooked by mainstream fashion. And a chartered accountant's day-in-the-life post, produced as a paid partnership with ICAEW, resonates deeply with existing and aspiring accountants, because it shows a life they can genuinely imagine for themselves.
What this means in practice: Help your audience see themselves in your content. Use formats like day-in-the-life, POV videos, and "if you've ever..." hooks. Choose people to represent your brand who have an authentic overlap with your audience's experience.
9. The Halo Effect
Nisbett and Wilson (1977) | Relevant to: Brand & Platform Choice
The halo effect describes how a strongly positive impression in one area spills over into our judgements about everything else connected to that person, brand, or environment. When we think highly of someone overall, we tend to rate all their individual qualities more generously, even the ones we have no direct evidence about.
The most recognisable marketing example is David Beckham. Celebrated for his football, he now fronts campaigns for fragrance, fashion, and beyond, areas where he has no specialist expertise. It works because the overall positive evaluation extends to whatever he's associated with.
The halo effect also operates at a platform level. LinkedIn's own research has confirmed that because it's perceived as a trusted, professional environment, brands advertising there can benefit from that halo. Research from Integral Ad Science found that ads seen on high-quality sites are perceived as more likeable, generate higher engagement, and deliver greater memorability, simply by virtue of the environment they appear in.
What this means in practice: Choose partners, platforms, and spokespeople with the halo effect in mind. A positive association with a credible person or trusted environment rubs off on your brand. Build your own halo through consistent quality.
10. The Labour Illusion
Buell and Norton (2011) | Relevant to: Choice & Content Creation
Research by Buell and Norton showed that when people can see the effort going into something, they value the result more. This is the labour illusion: the visibility of work changes perceived worth.
Think of a pizza restaurant where you can watch the chef prepare your meal. The same pizza feels more worth the price because you witnessed the craft.
Interestingly, some websites deliberately show a loading bar, making the system appear to be working harder, and satisfaction with the result goes up as a consequence. The perception of effort is enough to change the experience.
For social media, this translates directly into behind-the-scenes content. Showing the process of making your product, the expertise behind your service, or the people working in your business increases perceived value, because your audience now understands what went into it.
A brilliant example of this is Martha Brook London, a personalised stationery brand. Their content consistently shows the behind-the-scenes process, foiling, embossing, and personalising journals and notebooks by hand. It's compelling to watch, and it makes the products feel genuinely worth the price because you understand the skill involved.
What this means in practice: Behind-the-scenes content is relatively simple to produce and genuinely drives perceived value. If you make something, show how it's made. If your service requires real expertise, let people see that expertise in action. The effort you show adds to the value people place on what you offer.
11. Authenticity Bias
Recent research (2024 - 2025) | Relevant to: Brand & Content Creation
We almost got through a social media presentation without mentioning AI... almost!
Authenticity bias refers to the finding, supported by multiple academic papers, that people place higher value on content they believe was created by humans.
When content is perceived as AI-generated, or when brands actively disclose AI involvement in their creative work, engagement and trust tend to drop.
To be absolutely clear: Tom and I are not saying stop using AI tools. Everyone working in social media is using them in some capacity, and they can be enormously helpful for efficiency, research, and ideation. But the research is consistent: audiences are developing real sensitivity to content that feels automated, generic, or inauthentic.
And there are nuances worth noting. For example, research on algorithm bias, including work discussed on Katy Milkman's Choiceology podcast, suggests people sometimes trust algorithmic recommendations (like Netflix's suggestions) more than human ones, because algorithms are seen as impartial and data-driven.
Importantly, this is distinct from creative content. When it comes to brand voice, storytelling, and social media posts, human authorship continues to carry significantly more perceived value.
Audiences are increasingly literate about what AI-generated content looks and sounds like. Wikipedia now has a page dedicated to what's been termed "AI slop", the telltale signs of machine-written content.
What this means in practice: Use AI as a tool, not a replacement for your voice. Keep real faces, real opinions, and real behind-the-scenes moments at the heart of your content. The more human your presence, the more it will resonate with your audience.
Key Takeaways
• Appeal to both rational and emotional factors, all decisions, including B2B ones, involve both.
• Consider why people would share your content, social currency and impression management are always at play.
• Feature social proof in your content , seek testimonials, share reviews, seed engagement. Don't wait for it to accumulate.
• Share new information, give people a reason to follow you beyond your products.
• Use authoritative spokespeople, credibility and status both matter. Put your most credible people forward.
• Be distinctive, audit what your competitors' content looks like and make a deliberate choice to stand apart.
• Use the halo effect, credibility and positive associations are transferable.
• Show your process, behind-the-scenes content builds perceived value and trust.
• Keep it human, authenticity is increasingly rare, and increasingly valued.
Find Out More
Tom and I explore all of this, and a great deal more, in our book Marketing and Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach, available from all good online bookstores.
You can also find free resources and a downloadable PDF guide to applying System 1 and System 2 thinking to social media at marketingandpsychology.com.