Why some things define us and some things divide us

If you asked me to describe myself, I would probably say that I am male, Caucasian, mid 30’s, agnostic, into sport, music, technology, film, writing and I work in the marketing industry.

For the most part this appears to list some of my interests as defining characteristics. If you don’t already know me, it would be difficult I’m sure, to get an accurate picture of who I am just by my identification with certain groups. However the more interests that I list, the more in depth your picture will be.  At least now it’s possible to identify or relate to me in terms of these groups. If you’re male, we have something in common, If you like music or film the same is true etc, etc.

With new communications technologies, the world is becoming more and more inclusive. Exclusive traditions are becoming more rare and individuals (in most free countries) find it very easy to search out and connect with groups that interest them. From the information above I have tried to define in a limited way, who I am, without focusing unduly on who or what I am not. By identifying what you are not, you are instantly dividing your influence. While this is not always a bad thing, it closes certain doors that may be hard to reopen at a later date.

In his books, presentations and blog articles Seth Godin describes the groups we identify with as “Tribes” and he frequently discusses his belief that society is moving toward a place where people are increasingly defined by their connections. In Seth’s words, “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”. This is true of all groups and once we understand this and importantly, how tribes help define us by forming a basis of our identities; we can start to see real value in creating new tribes, building new ideas, and ultimately leading them.

I am directly influenced by the leaders in music, sport, and technology etc and by the leaders of many sub genres. I follow the ideas that they have created which in turn inspires me to create or identify ideas of my own (take this blog for example). Okay great, but what does this have to do with you? Well it’s all about you. You are now more than ever the target of new, innovative and dare I say exciting marketing ideas that seek to include you or at least entice you into a tribe. You are being courted by products and services but also by organisations who want nothing more than to become part of who you are. Social Media is helping to facilitate this as is mobile technology, global news, blogs and countless other idea proliferators.

The questions you need to ask yourself (and your organisation) are;

How do you include your clients/potential clients?

How do you encourage people to identify with you or your business?

Nike, Apple, Microsoft and Volkswagen are all examples of well known brands that do this well, but you don’t need a massive marketing budget to engage your potential tribe. Social media is a great place to start and it will only cost you time.

Twitter is a perfect example of a social media tool that has far outgrown its perceived limitations to become a five year veteran of the social landscape. Often referred to as “Micro Blogging” It is a great little networking tool, with advocates utilising only 140 characters to organise and connect offline via conferences and events and discuss all manner of interesting topics. Be warned though, effectively using Twitter involves a learning curve. You must be prepared to familiarise yourself with morals, ethics and accepted usage. Because of the 140 character limitation Twitter has evolved certain idiosyncrasies and language; Twitter users can choose to follow whatever diverse topics take their fancy simply by monitoring or creating hash tag (#) activity. If enough users get together, mention a hash tag in their tweets and that hash tag activity is above normal, this topic will start trending.

Trends are a great way to promote an event or idea to a wider community. Unlike Facebook, Linkedin, Digg, Stumbleupon, Flickr and Youtube, Twitter has a range of third party platforms that can be used to enhance your experience. It doesn’t really matter which you use but I personally prefer TweetDeck . Finally, there is no twitter manual (although there are some very helpful sites) so even hard core veterans sometimes discover new or more effective ways of using twitter to suit their needs. If you are thinking about using twitter to start connecting with your tribe then my advice would be to find someone like www.beachside.net.au that you can talk to about social media and spend as much time as possible learning about the space, because unlike real life, mistakes online last forever.

By Davin Broadbent

Beachside is an outsourced marketing and creative department that specialise in ‘creating memories that inspire consumers long after the brand interaction’.