The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks summary

Imagine you’re listening to someone tell a joke. In the wrong hands, a good joke can be heavy, dull, and completely fail to make you laugh. But if told by a gifted comedian, even the most clichéd material can be laugh-out-loud funny. It’s all about delivery. 

The same is true for memes: the meme machine has to fit the meme. For instance, anyone browsing Reddit or 4chan during the late 2000s and early 2010s would’ve noticed that memes, in the form of images, were always accompanied by words written in the chunky, unsophisticated “Impact” font. 

Online content teams often fall at the first hurdle as they scramble to understand and harness new memes and trends. Their carefully crafted marketing campaigns are ripped apart by savvy online communities, or they just sink without a trace. Worst of all, some brands enter online spaces without really understanding them – like an embarrassing older relative crashing a house party. 

But when content is gauged correctly, an advertising campaign can really succeed. So what can brands do to create content that actually works? 

Each of your social media platforms has its own specific tone. Think about your Instagram posts – how do they compare to those on Twitter? And your Facebook profile is probably nothing like your Reddit profile. It’s as if you’re taking on different personas across the various platforms.

The author believes that this corresponds to Sigmund Freud’s model of the mind. In this model, Freud suggests that the mind is made up of an id, a superego, and an ego. The id is your chaotic, unconscious instincts and desires. Then, the superego embodies all your learned cultural rules and ideals. Finally, the ego, which is the conscious “center” of your mind, has to mediate between these two sides. In the author’s view, you engage these different parts of the mind on different platforms. 

To succeed, brands need to understand how people behave across different social networks. It’s not enough to have a blanket marketing approach across all platforms. Posting content meant for Instagram simply won’t cut it on Reddit – and vice versa. 

So let’s first consider the way brands should engage with people on ego networks – the sites like Facebook or Snapchat. To recap, this is where you present a version of yourself that’s consistent with your offline life. You’re mostly interacting with others who know you in person, which brands should be sensitive to. 

As we now know, superego networks are where we present an idealized self; these are platforms like Instagram or TikTok. We curate our lives heavily on these platforms because the whole world can see us – not just the people who know us offline. Consciously or not, we mostly present event highlights, positive moments, and idealistic beliefs. 

To appeal to people on superego networks requires content that is badgeworthy and aspirational. Take, for example, fashion content – something that has had great success on Instagram. When someone engages with a post by Nike, they’re defining their ideal self as athletic. On the other hand, if they engage with a small, local clothing brand, they’re defining their ideal self as offbeat, ethical, and fashionable.

On id networks like Reddit and 4chan, all that users have to identify themselves are nicknames – often comic handles like “drunkwombat92” or “lovetacos123.” These are websites where individual identity and representation aren’t a big deal. The important thing is the community.

Compare Reddit with Instagram, for example. On Instagram, users present a highly individualistic version of themselves – selfies, snaps of their meals, their vacations, etc. On Reddit, they join groups called “subreddits” and discuss their favorite subjects with other anonymous users. Most Reddit users don’t even have a profile picture, just a customizable avatar.