Gossip can save you
Trusting outside of the comfort zone… new ways of doing things… people, places or brands you don’t know, is not natural to us. Despite it’s somewhat toxic and unhealthy reputation, we thrive and survive on gossip. Sharing something that is (no longer) secret is our evolved way to create a stronger bond of friendship, create intimacy and trust, and validate someones’ place in our life.
Gossip can save lives says The Economist, which notes that “Many aid organisations working in poor communities find that people won’t accept vaccines because they don’t trust outsiders” - so creating successful behaviours relies on 1) Community, and 2) News worthy of spreading. For the marketers’ that means give your consumers a way to talk and a story to share.
Is successful selling really that simple?
Find the biggest gossips, and ask them to share the news. That’s almost every companies’ approach to influencer marketing. Except… if you know someone is a gossip, and being paid in sponsorship, discounts and perks, you don’t always believe them do you? Hence, the rise of ‘authenticity’ says Vanity Fair - the right influencer must come coupled with a self-awareness that identifies with your audience to be successful. These would be your ‘micro-influencers’ and Business Insider has been advocating them as a tool of gossip since 2016.
There is no better influencer than your best customer - and no better gossip than recommendations. Do you know who your best customers are? Do you know who your networked best customers are? Customers prepared to advocate for your brand simply by virtue of brand love and usage are highly valuable. Take the time to identify those who have active, strong networks (you may have only a handful), create an extra-special CRM programme for them with exclusive content based on stories worthy of sharing and watch them animate their communities (better yet, give them a community to animate).
The words ‘carriers’ or ‘super-spreaders’ may today conjure up images of those who could damage our health - but tomorrow our ‘customer carriers’ could well be our ‘go-to’s to launch, test, trial or drive uptake of that very-special-secret-no-one-else-knows-about-yet (sssh - don’t tell anyone).
*All views my own*
Sources:
https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/08/09/nothing-to-speak-of-the-horror-of-a-world-without-gossip
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/04/influencers-coronavirus-arielle-charnas-escape-new-york
