It is common to associate advertisers, marketers, and public officials with an extroverted personality. But social media marketing is not classic marketing, nor is it in-your-face marketing, as many campaigns from earlier times could be called. Rather, social media marketing is a mixture of listening, understanding and (re) acting. For your company, what counts above all is professional and target group-specific content marketing, strong relationships with a high level of commitment and the involvement of social media users. And introverted people are better suited to fulfilling these tasks than their extroverted marketing colleagues.
Introverted marketers focus better on the relevant target group, prefer to listen to others rather than talk about themselves, and have a feel for interesting topics that interest social media users. While introverts used to seem unsuitable for marketing, advertising, and PR, today they play an important role in any social media team and in online marketing in general. Why? This is shown by these 7 reasons that speak for the character traits of introverted social media marketers.
#1. Inventor Of The Internet
To start with a murderous argument, let it be said that the most important inventions that make social media marketing possible come from introverted people. Many of you will know that Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t exactly socially active when he brought Facebook to life. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, does not appear in public too often and is more likely to be introverted.
#2. Open To Ideas From Others
Successful social media marketing thrives on accepting and implementing new trends. This is exactly what introverts do better than extroverts. The myth that introverts don’t want to talk to other people is wrong. They only talk to other people if it is of benefit to them. You take inspiration from others rather than exalting yourself as many extroverts do.
#3. Valuable Social Media Content
First of all, the success factors in social media marketing are useful, informative or entertaining content – regardless of whether it is a post, tweet or blog article. While extroverts step outside, introverts calmly observe their surroundings and have a feeling for the interests of others. In addition, introverts find it easier to focus their thoughts on a topic because they do not need constant contact with others. This is a great advantage when writing blog articles and working out a posting plan, for example.
#4. Share Content To Build Communities
For many extroverted people, the “I” is above the “we”. This is absolutely the wrong approach in social media marketing. In contrast, introverts like to share other people’s content, if it’s good, and let all users participate. The social web was only created by sharing content and building communities, and that’s the only way it can survive.
#5. Transparency And Authenticity
A great danger of being an extrovert is wanting to publish more and more interesting things. This sometimes means that facts are embellished (e.g. in the ADAC scandal) or lies are spread. Introverts, on the other hand, do not need to, but limit their communication to interesting stories and, above all, the truth. For a successful appearance on social media, the aspects of authenticity and transparency are essential.
#6. Taking Advantage Of Attention On The Social Web
According to various studies, our attention span is limited to 8 seconds. We only pay more attention if you are interested. Introverts know how to make good use of these 8 seconds, because they don’t waste time on small talk about the weather and get straight to the point. In social media marketing, it is an invaluable advantage to convey information concisely and concisely.
#7. Focus On The Target Audience
Extroverts like to get in touch with everyone. That may be nice because they don’t exclude anyone. In Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, however, this is anything but efficient. Introverts, on the other hand, are not interested in random contact. You will focus on those who are committed to a company and build strong relationships. This significantly limits the target group and helps generate conversions using social media marketing.
Conclusion
It’s all in the mix! As in the marketing mix, there should be a good mix in your social media team: extroverted speakers who spread your message, increase your profile and attract contacts, and introverted analysts who closely monitor what is going on with your users and be able to empathize with their topics and wishes. So when you set up your social media team, you should pay particular attention to these character traits. Knowledge and certain skills can be learned. But changing one’s personality is extremely difficult or almost impossible.
