March 29, 2022

How to Get Your Ideas to Spread

 I just have to say that I adore Seth Godin. If he wasn't married I would absolutely seek him out. I had no idea who Seth Godin was and one day about 7 years ago I happened to see a blog of his when I was researching the Stock Market, more times than not information about the Stock Market can be pretty dry but I was thoroughly delighted by the insight I gleaned reading Seth's post. I subscribed to his weekly newsletter immediately. I only read about 1 in 10 emails (time constraints, you know, I barely read the emails that are actually for me) but the ones I do read are very enlightening. His style of relaying information is infectious and entertaining, you hardly realize that you are actually learning something, Seth is just an absolutely brilliant human.

If you've never heard of Seth Godin, he is a Public Speaker and author of 19 books that are bestsellers all over the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He’s also the founder of the altMBA and The Marketing Seminar, both online workshops that have helped tens of thousands of people.

"He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership, and most of all, changing everything. You might be familiar with his books Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. His latest book, This Is Marketing, was an instant bestseller around the world.

In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth has founded several companies, including Yoyodyne and Squidoo. His blog (which you can find by typing “Seth” into Google) is one of the most popular in the world.

In 2018, he was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame. More than 10,000 people have taken his powerful workshops, including altMBA and The Marketing Seminar." - Nordic Business Forum

In this particular live forum: Seth Godin Speaks - How to Get Your Ideas To Spread, Seth talks about the cycle of advertising and repetition. I remembered the commercial from the 80s with a then little-known Heather Locklear for Faberge Organic Shampoo. Imagine.....word-of-mouth marketing that went VIRAL!  The concept even by today's standards was GENIUS! I didn't know anyone who a) hadn't seen the commercial multiple times and b) hadn't run right out to buy it.

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So what is the real bottom line when it comes to getting your ideas to spread? Connecting with people who care and listen. Focusing on the demographic that can spread your idea to other people..... a beautiful girl with an AMAZING head of hair tells you that you too, can have hair this lucsious by using this ORGANIC shampoo and then tell two friends and they'll tell two friends and so on, and so on, and so on....repetition at it's BEST!....and the audience? Pretty much anyone with a head of hair full or not.

Be Remarkable....is ultimately the make or break element, the essence of where idea diffusion is going. All products, not even just the good ones, but ALL products that were successful were because someone way back when figured out how to reach people in an unexpected way. Seth says, "The riskiest thing you can do is play it safe. Very good is boring, very good is average." 

I also really love the word "remarkable." I think that is what we as creatives all strive for, for our work to be "remarkable." 

The lesson about a company changing over time is also so very important. Example: My parents had a Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar for 40 years......40 years. They were the first sushi bar in Palm Springs in 1980 and were really the ONLY game in town for about 20 years. Then a few more restaurants and sushi bars opened up which then took away some of the clientele because maybe the spot was in Palm Desert and the people lived in La Quinta. Even if the quality was not half as good as my parents' place why drive 45 minutes when we coulkd drive 15? Anyway, in that case, it would be time to Advertise....something my parents NEVER had to do before.....but because they were in their own little bubble still using pads to write down the order, give the ticket to the Chef and Assistant Chef (Me), ring it up on an old cash register...I mean just soooo antiquated. And my mum would always say, "We've never had to advertise before now, we don't need to advertise now, the people will come." Stubborn woman. As it turned out they did still have customers come from all over the world but.....and that's a BIG BUT, lol,....sorry....had she been open to the idea of marketing the restaurant might still be open today with three Chefs and maybe a second location!!!

The point is businesses have to be flexible and adapt to the ever-growing phenomenon that is the internet.

I feel like I am on the edge or more probably on the outside looking in therefore I feel like everything I do, say, wear, the entire vibe must be different than what is mainstream and average, as such, I believe my marketing strategy for myself or for a client would be very much as Seth said, "Find out who does care about what you're doing and create a campaign around that."