laptop pic  bannerWelcome to our series Digital Marketing in a Noisy World. This content was originally presented in our breakout session at Breathe Christian Writers Conference 2015. (Check out our Prezi here.) We hope this information is helpful and encouraging for you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or contact us.

***

Gather and Build Your Tribe

By Lindsay Gustafson

Remember the definition of content marketing?

Creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. – Content Marketing Institute

Gathering and building your tribe is all about positioning content for consumption by those who want it.

Think about these quotes from some marketing greats:

michael-hyattMost creatives I know hate marketing. They want to write, speak, or entertain. But they hate the thought of promoting themselves or selling their art. If this describes you, I have good news. Marketing is dead.

Okay, maybe I am overstating my case.

Marketing may not be dead, but, in the world of social media, it has morphed. Dramatically.

Tribe-building is the new marketing. – Michael Hyatt, Platform

And…

 

seth-godin1A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate. – Seth Godin, Tribes

 

 

So…this is your tribe: People who have read your book, have shared interests with you, and will consume your content BEYOND a book if it is available to them.

Now you just need a way to gather them and communicate to them.

Seth Godin talks about the four essentials for tribe building. There must be mechanisms for communication between:

  • Leader to Tribe
  • Tribe to Leader
  • Tribe Member to Tribe Member
  • Tribe Member to Outsider

A tribe is not just a crowd. Don’t spend time marketing to a crowd (i.e. shouting out to whoever will listen in digital spaces).

Tribe Building is the New Marketing

  • Marketing is no longer about shouting in a crowded marketplace. It is about participating in a dialogue with fellow travelers.
  • Marketing is no longer about generating transactions. It is about building relationships.
  • Marketing is no longer about exploiting a market for your own benefit. It is about serving those who share your passion—for your mutual benefit.

You have a tribe out there. Go find them and lead them.

All you need to know is two things. The first thing is individuals have far more power than ever before in history. One person can change an industry. One person can declare war. One person can reinvent science or politics or technology. The second thing you need to know is that the only thing holding you back from becoming the kind of person who changes things is this: lack of faith. Faith that you can do it. Faith that it’s worth doing. Faith that failure won’t destroy you. – Seth Godin

 

***

Leveraging years of experience in marketing, the publishing world, non-profit development, and a passion for gathering tribes. Lindsay is co-owner, chief marketer and queen of detail. When she’s not in the virtual world she can be found laughing with her 2 kids and dog.