Seth Godin – Tribes. Why they are important to marketing.
There is no doubt that the internet opens up many opportunities for each of us to find and communicate with people that have similar interests to us. Most of us have joined a group, a club, or a forum that we visit regularly to talk about or interact with what we love most.
From a very young age I remember taking part in activities organised by the Fiat Car Club. I have continued to attend regular meetings and outings and enjoy talking about my latest restorations or purchases with others in the club, who share my passion. Where the notion of tribes gets interesting is that my father who drives a rare ‘model’ here in Australia, has extended his passion online and joined a forum where he regularly converses with members from all over the world who own the same car. (he has sourced another more detailed way to feed his passion). The forum is specific with a very narrow target group, but the reward for the time he spends participating is extremely high. Checking in on the forum is now part of his daily ritual.
This is what we need to consider when we are marketing, how do we ‘pull’ the right people to our business? Where they want to connect with us. Are we being specific enough about the target group/s and are we providing information that is helpful, useful or gives people a chance to interact with other people with similar interests?
Seth challenges us in this Ted Talk to consider, that we are now living through a change in the way ideas are communicated, spread and implemented. As marketers we need to rethink the ways we are doing things.
You will enjoy this discussion.
Belinda
