Psychological Warfare on Google Plus

Psychological Warfare on Google Plus

In war, the true goal of Psychological Operations (PSYOP) is to manipulate the behavior of the enemy or of the local nationals in such a way that it supports the efforts of the military agenda.

According to Google, the word manipulate has two meanings:
1) handle or control typically in a skillful manner;
2) control or influence cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously. 

As online marketers, brand ambassadors, and bloggers, our goal is to find clever ways to influence the thoughts, emotions, and behavior of our followers.

You’ve probably read an article at some point describing how to craft headlines that attract more clicks. You’ve probably studied at some point how to attract more viewers to sign up for your email newsletter. You’ve probably researched how to gain more followers on your social media profiles.

These are all simple examples of specific actions or behaviors that you want people to do. As people respond to your efforts, their behavior supports the agenda of your business goals. If you have  put into practice a tip that you thought would help people to follow one of those courses of action, you’ve essentially done the same thing as is done in Psychological Warfare.

Don’t get too caught up on the negative connotation of the word manipulate. I used that term on purpose to grab your attention. Although in war, we do use methods of influence that may be considered unfair, I trust that your common decency and sense of ethics will fuel your attempts to be clever and cunning online without being unfair or unscrupulous. 

The photo below is of the cover of the PSYOP Field Manual from the 1970’s. I’m currently working on putting together some more specific principles directly from the current PSYOP Field Manual as they relate to online business, branding, marketing, and blogging. Very soon you’ll be seeing articles about target audiences, needs conflicts, lines of persuasion, emotional triggers, and much more.

If you find these topics interesting, please be sure to let me know. I love your feedback.  I’ve already written the first in the series which can be found here:

The Art of Online Psychological Warfare
http://www.sitesketch101.com/art-online-psychological-warfare/