SOCIAL MEDIA: TURN HUMAN NARCISSISM INTO GOLD BARS
This article offers an unconventional answer: the secret to selling more may lie in human narcissism. Drawing from the ideas of Robert Greene, author of The Art of Seduction, we explore how emotional identification — not manipulation — is one of the most powerful tools to attract customers. You’ll understand why your brand needs to reflect your target audience and how social media has turned vanity into opportunity. A direct, provocative, and essential read for anyone who wants to sell with strategy and authenticity.
Felipe Vasconcelos | Marketing Manager
6/28/20252 min read
“People are narcissistic — they are drawn to those who resemble them the most. Give the impression that you share their values and tastes, that you understand their spirit, and they will be fascinated.”
This quote from psychologist Robert Greene, author of the best-seller The Art of Seduction, sums up one of the most powerful mechanisms of influence: emotional identification.
While pretending to share values or tastes with the intent to manipulate can raise ethical concerns, Greene’s provocation is legitimate when applied to marketing: deeply understanding the persona your business and sales strategies are targeting is essential.
After all, mirroring your audience, sharing values, demonstrating empathy, and speaking their language are fundamental to creating connection, building trust, and ultimately, selling effectively.
This becomes even more evident in the context of social media, where people tend to adopt narcissistic behaviors — wearing social masks to appear more successful, attractive, funny, happy — or all of that at once. As Greene himself explains:
“In social life, we all wear masks; we pretend to be more confident than we really are. We don’t want others to have even the faintest idea of the indecisive self that dwells inside us. In truth, our egos and personalities are far more fragile than they seem; they conceal feelings of confusion and emptiness.”
So, how do we turn human narcissism into gold bars — that is, into sales?
The answer lies in creating genuine emotional identification with your target audience: share their values, speak their language, and become a reflection of the people you want to attract.
It’s important to highlight that this is not about manipulation or pretending for commercial gain, but rather about developing a brand with identity and purpose — an authentic positioning that fits naturally into your ideal customer’s world and wins them over through affinity, not illusion.
In an environment ruled by appearances, algorithms, and inflated egos, the brand that truly connects is not the one that fakes it — but the one that understands.
Understanding your audience’s behavior, desires, insecurities, and aspirations is not manipulation — it is strategic intelligence.
When your communication stops being generic and becomes a mirror, it stops interrupting and starts attracting.
In the end, turning human narcissism into sales is not about exploiting weaknesses — it's about aligning purpose and perception. And that may be the most valuable lesson for anyone aiming to build real value in the digital world:
The more you understand people, the more they identify with you — and the more likely they are to buy what you sell.