In order for an idea to spread, someone has to do the spreading.
In the dark ages (ten years ago), the only way to spread your idea on a large scale was to do it yourself. Lots and lots of ads.
Today, marketers get all sweaty thinking about how this happens magically, virally, for free. If it were only that easy.
What’s interesting to me is that different products and ideas are spread by different groups of people. There isn’t just one professional association of idea spreaders, with everyone else being passive.
If
your authentic little Welsh restaurant gets hot, it’s going to be
because the chowhounds, the folks who love to talk about the next great
place, are buzzing about it. On the other hand, if your blog gets a lot
of traffic, it might just be because a few of the digerati are going on
about it, spreading the idea.
This is obvious, of course.
But
what you are you doing about it? Have you figured out which portion of
your user base are the talkers? Is it possible to focus your
development efforts on actually making something that they like? Or,
are you confusing the people who talk about your competition or about
other industries with the people you need to reach? Might not be the
same tribe…
The #1 cause of an idea that’s not spreading or a
business that’s not growing is that they don’t have a committed group
of people spreading the word about them. If you treat everyone the
same, you’re not increasing the odds that some people will step up on
your behalf.
This is the first question to ask someone who is
frustrated at the rate their idea is spreading. “Who are you hoping
will talk about you?” If you don’t know, it’s unlikely to happen all by
itself. On the other hand, if a marketer is smart about finding,
courting and delighting the group most likely to spread the idea, it’s
time well spent.
(Image source: utalkmarketing.com)
