The Cost of a Tribe
“Just Do A Social Media Advocacy Campaign”
In social media and in other areas, we’ve been seeing a big surge in “advocacy” and “crowdsourcing.” It’s truly an outstanding and exciting result of the democracy of the internet.
Today, your tribe, you’re most excited and passionate supporters can be inspired to do your marketing for you. It’s alluring to say the least. And it sounds so much easier than say, simply buying an ad.
About that activation….
Simply getting other people to do what you want them to do isn’t quite so easy though. That’s why marketing professionals and sales people have jobs. And even those experts don’t have all the easy answers.
Inspiring people to take action is about understanding their motivations. The recipe is that easy and that difficult. As I said to someone today, you can either pay people to be your spokespeople, or you can motivate them, I’m not sure which is more expensive. Tapping into people’s motivations requires a sustained, organized effort. It takes a deep understanding of why the message resonates with some, but not others.
What ARE our Motivations?
Turns out that we all have deep motivations and when they’re triggered, we take actions that we didn’t even plan to take. We act almost instinctually. Gamers and social media sites have figured out a lot about our motivations over the years. So have mobile phone companies, which is why your obsessed with checking your email on your phone. Apple is the KING of understanding people’s motivations..which is why, as I write this, the Apple stores in my area are preparing for a deluge of lines when the new phones announced today become available, even though there are many other awesome smart phone options on the market today. Features and benefits are not what make people stand in line for hours on end. If it were about features and benefits then people would skip the line all together.
So if you’re looking to activate, inspire and collaborate with your employees, customers or potential customers, be extremely clear on the motivations of WHY someone would advocate on your behalf. It’s not that they won’t, indeed, we see it frequently. It’s just that tapping into people’s motivations rarely happens coincidently, it takes time and strategy. Developing advocacy programs is something that every agency and consultant should be offering today, because it really takes full advantage of the social and digital media.
If you’re interested in hearing more about motivations in marketing, I’m holding a free webinar on September 19 at 9AM PST. This Go!Captivate training is specifically tailored for social media, marketing and advertising consultants and agencies, to help you expand your understanding of motivations, both the motivations of YOUR clients and the motivations of THIER customers.
 You’ll walk away with at least 3 “ah-hah” moments and probably more.
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