Tribal Marketing

Seth Godin is an entrepreneur, writer, and an innovator of effective ways to spread ideas. His Ted Talk video details an effective strategy for mass marketing. His strategy to get the word out, not by spamming the masses or trying to get everyone to see your idea, but rather share the idea with those who have strong feelings about said topic or idea put forth. Those who strongly care for the idea will share it with their network of friends and likely to their friends.

His work was effectively organized. He opened by sharing a story about a dogcatcher who felt there was a better way of dealing with stray dogs than picking them up and euthanizing them immediately. In a perfect world, these animals would have the opportunity to find a companion. Their thinking was that maybe they don’t have to change the world, but rather the minds of the community. He set forth on a mission to city council with the community behind him, the ones who felt strongly about the issue. He ultimately accomplished his goal of making San Francisco a no-kill city. Then he moved on and accomplished the same in a county in New York, North Carolina, and Reno, Nevada. He didn’t have to target the masses, just the ones he knew would stand with him when it mattered.

He then moved his storyline to mention other marketing models. He offered models that were effectively targeting the masses. He offered that Henry Ford introduced his idea of transport and mass production of vehicles in a way that “changed the fabric of an entire country.” He also spoke of how media pushed ideas on their audience. How advertising is used to attract the attention of potential consumers and how those consumers are mesmerized and marketers capitalize utilizing what they know appeals to them. Whether it be by the usage of sex appeal, children, or appealing to egos.

Finally, he gave an alternative way of thinking, the introduction of tribes. By focusing on those that share strong beliefs or ideas, you can cut down on the effort involved to get your idea to the masses. These like-minded individuals will share it with other like-minded individuals and they will share it with friends or acquaintances in their network. The great idea can be mobilized not by the original thinker, but at the hands of others. His main purpose was to share an effective way for anyone with a product or idea to market their idea. It doesn’t take tons of people to get the word out, it only takes a few to have that idea spread like wildfire.

I think Godin effectively got his message across. The mentioning of other marketing models strongly supports his thinking, because those tactics of marketing are not available to the everyday consumer. His way of spreading ideas can be effective for everyone, not reliant on your ability to afford a television spot for advertising or plugging a product on the radio. Social media gives the majority of people worldwide the ability to make connections with others and share ideas. It’s up to us to effectively utilize it, to make the most of it and make it work for us.

He compares this type of model to a tribe. In particularly, the one with the idea is compared to the tribe leader. The tribe leader becomes so because of his ability to think, to challenge, and to offend. How are you able to share your story? The tribe leader shares information with the tribe and the tribe delivers the information. Communication between tribes is like the communication between friend networks. His story is about building a culture. An interconnected culture between tribes. Our world is filled with tribes, networks among friends is a strong example of this. He also shows in this speech how to get your idea beyond your own network, beyond your friend’s network, and into networks beyond the narrow spectrum and into a broadband society.