80% of Social Media is Generated by 10%
A recent report by the Reserve Bank of Australia highlighted the dangers of ‘group think’ in setting interest rates. There was a suggestion that when the Governor recommends to the bank board – the natural inclination is to accept it. Groupthink occurs when a group of individuals reaches a consensus without critical reasoning – simply conforming.
In his book Collective Illusions, researcher Todd Rose examined the drivers of groupthink. Collective illusions occur when most people express a view the group expresses because they believe most people in the group hold that view. Rose describes this as a ‘funhouse of mirrors’ where the majority think that the majority think something that they don’t. Collective illusions can result from drivers including - conformity, information filtering, cognitive bias, and a lack of critical thinking.
Collective illusion is not new, but what is relatively new is the availability of social media to facilitate it. Rose notes that some 80% of content on social media is generated by about 10% of the users and that 10% tends to be the most extreme. This creates the illusion that the majority hold the extreme views. This causes people to adopt the extreme view – because they think most people have it.
Among the impacts of collective illusions on marketing are the following:
• There is power in leveraging positive reviews, testimonials, and endorsements to reinforce the desired brand perception.
• It is essential to monitor and address false information to prevent the spread of damaging rumours.
In one study, Rose found very little congruence between what consumers thought the group thought and what they actually thought. He found that while consumers thought they understood the group view, they rarely did. Among the implications of this for business are the following:
• When a consumer tells you what others think – don’t believe them.
• When you think you know what consumers think – don’t believe you.
Implications of collective illusion more broadly include:
• It is difficult to understand consumer behaviour without understanding collective illusion.
• With the advent of social media, it is relatively simple to leverage collective illusion.
The ethics of leveraging collective illusion is a discussion for another day.
D. John Carlson – Marketing Consultant Perth.
Maximising performance through ethical customer centric marketing, branding, and communication.
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