The Motivational Drivers of Social Networking

by Steve MassiPhoto source: Jeffrey Heer, Stanford University

BACKGROUND

Background

•Social network growth continues

Background

•26% of American adults use social networking services, with younger cohorts much more likely to use SNS than older cohorts*

*PEW – Social isolation and new technology, 11/2009

Background

•One third (35%) of American adult internet users have a profile on an online social network site

–4X as many as four years ago•Still much lower than the 65% of online American

teens who use social networks

Source: PEW – Adults and social networking sites, 1/2009

Background

•But usage and share are concentrated

Background

• Facebook growth is exploding*– 400MM active users– 35MM users update status daily– Avg. user has 130 friends– Avg. user sends 8 friend requests/month– Avg. user spends 55 minutes/day on site– Average user becomes a fan of 4 Pages each month – Average user is a member of 13 groups

*Facebook.com

Background

• 19% of internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others*

– This represents a significant increase over previous surveys in December 2008 and April 2009, when 11% of internet users said they use a status-update service

*PEW: Twitter and status updating Fall 2009

Background

• MySpace*–Avg. app. 54.8MM users/month

• YouTube**–Every minute, 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube–Fifty-one percent of YouTube users visit weekly or more

often–52 percent of 18-34 year-olds share videos often with

friends and colleagues• LinkedIn***

–50MM+ members–Adding 1 new member/second

*Quantcast.com** YouTube.com***LinkedIn blog

REASONS FOR USING SOCIAL NETWORKS

• Online social network applications are mainly used for explaining and maintaining personal networks, and most adults, like teens, are using them to connect with people they already know

Reasons for using social networks

Source: PEW – Adults and social network sites, 1/2009

•An important difference between social networking sites and earlier forms of many-to-many conversations such as chat rooms and blogs is that social networking sites are predominantly based on social relationships and connections with people, rather than a shared interest*

*Ofcom.uk, 4/2008

Reasons for using social networks

• DISCOVERY – for self-development or to learn from others• ALTRUSIM – to help others make the right decision or

become involved in the brand’s product decision• SOCIAL – to connect to the like minded, reinforce tribal

identity or gain a sense of belonging• FAME – for personal notoriety or to challenge their ability

against others• ESCAPISM – for entertainment and an escape from the daily

routine• EXPRESSION – as an outlet for their imagination or

expression of personal identity

Source: TMW social media research 4/2009

Reasons for using social networks

WHAT MOTIVATES US?

•Are social networks here to stay or just another technology fad?

•A deeper understanding of human motivation may answer this question

Underlying drivers of motivation

• Abraham Maslow’s, A Theory of Human Motivation, identified the key building blocks of human motivation:

1. Physiological needs - food, air, water, homeostasis2. Safety needs - safety, shelter, basic stability3. Love needs - love, affection, belongingness4. Esteem needs - self-respect, self-esteem, esteem of

others5. Self-actualization – desire for self-fulfillment

Source: A.H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, 1943

Underlying drivers of motivation

Underlying drivers of motivation

• These needs are often expressed visually as a hierarchy of needs

• Expressed as a hierarchy due to perceived stacking of each• Generally, lower level needs must be satisfied to some

degree before next level need begins to exert itself• But this is not a fixed rule:

– “There are some people in whom, for instance, self-esteem seems to be more important than love.”

– “There are other, apparently innately creative people in whom the drive to creativeness seems to be more important than any other counter-determinant.”

– “Perhaps more important than all these exceptions are the ones that involve ideals, high social standards, high values and the like. With such values people become martyrs; they give up everything for the sake of a particular ideal, or value.”

Source: A.H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, 1943

Underlying drivers of motivation

• Additionally, there is a false perception that a lower level need must be completely satisfied before a higher order need exerts itself

• Here are Maslow’s thoughts on this subject:– Degree of relative satisfaction. – “So far, our theoretical discussion may

have given the impression that these five sets of needs are somehow in a step-wise, all-or-none relationships to each other. We have spoken in such terms as the following: "If one need is satisfied, then another emerges." This statement might give the false impression that a need must be satisfied 100 per cent before the next need emerges. In actual fact, most members of our society who are normal, are partially satisfied in all their basic needs and partially unsatisfied in all their basic needs at the same time. A more realistic description of the hierarchy would be in terms of decreasing percentages of satisfaction as we go up the hierarchy of prepotency…”

Source: A.H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, 1943

Underlying drivers of motivation

• Maslow also identified a set of higher order, B-values, that motivate during the self-actualization phase

– Wholeness: unity, integration, one-ness– Perfection: necessity, just-right-ness– Completion: ending, finality, destiny, fate– Justice: fairness, orderliness, oughtness– Aliveness: process, spontaneity– Richness: differentiation, intricacy– Simplicity: honesty, essentiality– Beauty: Rightness, form, aliveness, simplicity– Goodness: rightness, desirability, benevolence– Uniqueness: idiosyncrasy, individuality– Effortlessness: ease, grace, lack of strain– Playfulness: fun, joy, amusement– Truth: honesty, reality– Self-sufficiency: autonomy, independence

Source: A.H. Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being, 1968

Underlying drivers of motivation

Underlying drivers of motivation

• Let’s compare recent insights on social network usage with Maslow’s hierarchy

• Social relationships, connections w/people

• Stay in touch w/friends• Make plans w/friends• Make new friends

• Discovery• Altruism

• Expression• Fame

Reasons for usage

• Summary:–Needs for connection, friendship, love, respect and

acknowledgment from self and others are an essential part of the human condition and growth

–Once lower order needs are fairly met and sustained, people seek out higher order needs, or B values, related to fulfillment, goodness, truth, etc.

–Online social networking enables people to more easily and more fully satisfy their needs for connection, esteem and self-actualization

Underlying drivers of motivation

IMPLICATIONS FOR BRANDS

•Social networking is here to stay–It is part of the human condition

•Social networks provide an opportunity to increase the depth, not just number of relationships

• Ideas and platforms, not tactics, will drive 2-way communication, engagement and connection

Implications for brands

•Engagement will require a level of openness and transparency brands are not accustomed to

–Clear goals, strategies, responsibilities and on-boarding, are mandatory

•Brands will need to become more human and flexible in their interactions

–Consistency, not rigidity•Maslow’s insights on human motivation provide a

roadmap for engagement

Implications for brands

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• Steve Massi• stevemassi@verizon.net• linkedin.com/in/stevemassi• twitter.com/stevemassi• stevemassi.posterous.com