A few weeks ago several people in the company were reading Seth Godin’s book, Tribe. I have some pretty smart employees so when I see a book floating around, I jump on it. I liked the idea of tribes — digital communities that Seth says need three things to come together: A leader, a common idea, and a way to communicate.
Providing all three of these criteria for your clients will not only create a strong digital tribe but will dramatically grow your business as well.
1. The Leader
There is a lot of noise online. A leader who can cut through the garbage and deliver real value stands as out as a high worth connection. You do this by clarifying your unique service proposition and your big picture mission and then sharing that with your clients and prospects. But don’t be vague about it. Clarify your different service features and how they match up with customer needs. Then capture those ideas in articles and tweets.
Decide which language best describes you. Or if you are feeling lost, make an appointment with one of our copywriting strategists. They are great at helping people see the next step to take.
2. The Common Idea
Your Newsletter – think of it as your shingle. You may be familiar with the phrase “He’s hanging out his shingle”. It comes from the practice of putting out a sign to let the people in your community know what it is you do. But here’s the problem. There are a lot of shingles out there. So we’ve had to get more specific with our shingles. Now we call them newsletters.
Your newsletter is first and foremost a service to your clients and prospects. If it isn’t full of valuable, insightful content, it won’t make for a very good representation of your company. Newsletters also are a great context for taking role in your tribe. Often the newsletter signup is the main point of initial data collection. If someone wants to know what you have to say, you want to give them the chance to hear you say it.
3. The Communication
Start a LinkedIn Group. If you already have one, start taking it more seriously. LinkedIn groups are continuously brought up by clients and end users as a place they go for in depth knowledge. The format of them allows you to easily share insights on topical articles or share original material from your LinkedIn blog. If you keep the group fresh and consistent it can end up being both a demonstration of your service value and a conduit for new interested parties to meet you.
Sign up for our upcoming Live Video Broadcast with Craig Faulkner and Claire Akin from Indigo Marketing Agency for more insight on how to build your audience with LinkedIn.
By gathering your supporters together in a digital tribe, you not only create a great brand presence online, but you surround yourself with the people you help. They become a community you can check in with as often as you like. Creating a digital tribe could be the best thing you ever do for your business and for you.