The Environment, The Context and the State of Mind we are in are the Elements of Life that Impact Our Perception of Reality
The Environment Is what we are exposed to, The Context Is The situation and conditions that exist when we experience something and the State of Mind is The emotional and mental condition we are in while engaging with something.
For a better understanding of how to best use or explain Facebook, it is vital to associate the above elements with the Facebook experience.
The Facebook Environment
Life and Science prove that the environment influences our life choices, determines our preferences and makes us who we are. Since we are “social animals”, our social environment is the most powerful of all influencers.
Facebook is by far the biggest social network ever. Connecting almost 1.4 billion people with almost 900 million of those connecting every day. When we are “in it”Facebook becomes our environment and its influence on us is far beyond what we believe and what we are willing to admit.
The Facebook environment is a real-life experience. It contains all life components: people, friends, relationships, places, sounds, visuals, advertising, information, noise, beauty, ugliness, repulsion, attraction beauty and interest…
The Facebook environment is amplified (or distorted?) virtual manifestation of the real world and life itself. We are exposed to content apparently without any continuance or logic. (Apart from the fact that this is exactly what Facebook algorithms decided to expose you to, based on your interests and your impulsive clicking instincts)
The time spent scrolling down the Facebook timeline is just like walking the streets of life, and much more.
The Facebook street is called ”Timeline” or “Wall” and it spreads eclectically across space and time where the bizarre, popular, banal and the interesting are all concentrated into this one conceptual avenue. everything is there for you to watch, comment, share, consume or ignore. Every private conversation is there for you to listen to, to like and even to comment on. It's rather crazy when you think about it – as this almost funny Jena Kingsley video demonstrates her walking around liking, poking and following real people and commenting or sharing real-life conversation and events.
Tip for Marketers: The environment of the user is determined by what the user pays attention to and engages with. It is in your hands. It is up to you to bring the user into your environment. How? Get noticed by having an attractive great visual and title (good luck this might be the hardest mission)Provide relevant and valuable content, directed to the right audience, explaining the context of your message. * and you better be clear and quick to establish it.
Only if and when all the above are accomplished, only then can we start talking about the marketing Call to Action. (Will do that in a future publication) for now, we still have the Facebook context and the user state of mind to investigate…
The Facebook Context
While things are constantly happening on the Facebook platform, the context remains social. The content we are exposed to is generated by other users AKA people, friends, friends of friends, not friends, family members and others. Even Brands communicate through a personality in a personal way.
We measure, evaluate and are influenced by a message according to its social context. The importance, reliability and value of a publication is determined by how users (and how many users) interact with it.
Tip for Marketers – Facebook is a social platform. So I recommend you to investigate how powerful the social impact is: you can learn of how we are influenced even by a 3rd degree of connection – In Facebook terms: Friends of friends, in this scientifically fascinating, if not shocking, evidence of “The Surprising power of how social networks shape our life” / “Connected” by Fowler/ Christakis.
Or just watch and learn from this contagious laughing video
The Social Context can be divided to two. The inner context we have spoken about so far and the other being the External Context that we have to consider. Where and when is the user exposed to our message? Who is he with? at home alone? with the family? commuting to work? on his way home? out with friends? Out Shopping? All these factors have a tremendous impact on the user's state of mind, behaviour, content consumption choices, level of engagement and response to a call to action. If you wish to get even more intimate; have a look at unexpected places where online consumers make mobile purchases.
Tip for marketers: Research, think and take into consideration all of the above and use the tools Facebook offers to deliver your message and content to the user in the right context, time and place by scheduling, device choice and placement.
The Facebook User State of Mind
So, we are fully present while on Facebook. some may argue that we are hyper-engaged. So the next important question is: What state of mind are we in while exposed to the Facebook experience and stimuli?
The state of mind we are in while on Facebook; will determine how we perceive, assimilate and react to a message, content and the info we are exposed to.
You might wonder; why does the author use “we” while referring to the Facebook user?
Tip for marketers: We have the great benefit of being both; The Facebook user and the Marketer at the same time. Use this fact to be your own critic.
When on Facebook, we are usually fully submerged in these addictive human-screen relationships. And we are probably in either one of the following states of mind;
Killing time: Drifting along aimlessly.
Entertainment mode: Just surfing, in a passive observer mode, open to anything that might be attractive or interesting.
Search mode: Looking for someone or something.
Consuming mode: Trying to stay updated.
Branding mode: Seeking attention and recognition.
Selling mode: Trying to sell oneself, an idea, a message or a product.
The common factor is that we are on a mission set by our human operating system; looking to satisfy our needs and get the greatest reward with minimum investment (ROI)
All along this wondrous adventure our attention span and comprehension capabilities are very limited. We are almost in an *ADHD mental state(*No offence some of my best and most admired colleagues and friends are diagnosed as such) which is only natural when exposed to such a vast amount of data, info and stimuli.
While on the Facebook platform our state of mind is very different from other forms of internet surfing.
When searching the web we have some mission or an idea of what we are looking for, we set rules, we initiate the action, we choose keywords, we only exposed to content and link that we choose to click on and most important to our case, as marketers: we are locked into a pre-determined set of decisions.
While On Facebook we are open-minded, open-hearted, ready to accept anything that comes at us, almost like a sponge. We let ourselves be washed by the Facebook newsfeed ocean, waves of info go through us, what our vessels of perception absorb remain and what does not touch us just flow through with no recognition and almost no conscious record.
A metaphor: When a user is looking for a blue shirt for up to 25$ on a search engine, he/she is there ready with a cup of tea and notebook to complete a mission. No shirt in any other colour or a higher price will even be considered.
The same user, while on Facebook and in a Facebook state of mind, an hour later might see a red shirt for 35$ and might as well buy it, because he liked it.
Even when we let loose and try to give place to synchronicity By using Discovery Search Engines or Apps such as the cool StumbleUpon we still remain within the boundaries of our previous choices or still confined to some pre-determined definitions.
Tip for Marketers: Remember when a user encounters your message or publication on Facebook, most likely it is not because he looked or asked for it. It is more as if he encountered it while walking on the street, watching tv or socially hearing it through the grapevine or directly from a friend.
Another very important observation regarding the User state of mind while on Facebook is the deep level of Intimacy we experience.
As strange as it may sound we have a very intimate relationship with our communication devices and with Facebook specifically. If we look deeper into why it is so, then that high dependency becomes clear: these are our windows and connection to the world, our source of information, our playground, where we socialize, our means to keep our scattered families together and for some of us our livelihood. Try to take a mobile from someone and check the response. It is as if you have taken a part of him/her away.
As “Streets” the great UK Hip Hop poet sang “How would I survive without my outside line to the doubting life in the inside lining of my trousers tonight?” from the “I love my Phone” a track released exclusively through Twitter.
Facebook and our electronic means of connection to the world had become an indispensable organ of our self. A vital social organ of great importance and influence over our social life, our self-perception and over our state of mind.
Tips for marketers: These understandings should be the guidelines to any marketing or Branding action. “We” the users have a very high Stimulus/boredom threshold and are lazy and in a state of mind that is very sensitive, selective and critical. Any information served too crudely, slowly or in a complex way will not register in the mind of the user and will be lost in the vast virtual graveyard of unnoticed content.
A Non-Metaphorical Call-to-Action
We hope that you have enjoyed and benefited enough to also share some more usable Facebook vs. real life allegories of your own: humour is welcomed so we could all enjoy more productive professional entertainment.