Spike Jones has 11 good tips on how to ignite a community. Merritt Colaizzi boils it down to one sentence: “Don’t talk about marketing campaigns (us v them); talk about movements (we’re in this together).”
# 5 sticks out.
Movements empower people with knowledge. Brains on Fire taught “Fiskateers” how NOT to be sales reps, but rather how to be ambassadors, transparent in everything they do. This includes talking and blogging about their own lives. That’s what hooks people and brings them close to you and your brand.
Transparency is a must in order to have an authentic conversations with consumers or constituents. Without the trust that comes with authenticity, there’s nothing to build a relationship on. So live in a glass house. Be open and direct about your motives and objectives. Ask for feedback. And incorporate what you hear in your strategies. Encourage your audience to invest time and creativity into your message.
To do so means to give up some control over message. But that can be a very constructive thing as Alexis Ohanian of Reddit explains.
Which brings us to #9 on Jones’ list of community building must-knows– “Movements live online and offline.” Greenpeace’s grudging authenticity brought online and offline action together around a clear, cohesive and passionate message. Online opinion shaped on and offline messages. And it worked.
That’s the essence of movement marketing.
Raj,
Thanks so much for the nice words and including your thoughts. I couldn’t agree more about about the importance of transparency. In fact, we’ve built a section into the custom curriculum that all leaders of the movements we help ignite go through.
Thanks again and keep up the great work.
Excellent list, Spike.
One question: How has your team effectively built a case for transparency with reluctant clients?
My experience with some more conservative clients is that there is a reflexive rejection — as if exposing the process of making a product or running a political campaign will somehow lesson the appeal of it/him/her.
Haven’t decided if there is a generational divide that can’t always be bridged or if there are particular appeals that work in that situation.