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How To Build A Global Tribe Fast With Social Media

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Categories: Social Media

Tribes and pork used to be about a feast in an ancient tribal village. In 2010 it is about Facebook , technology tribal channels and software platforms that make connecting to your tribe frictionless, global and fast moving. Type in ‘Pork’ into Facebook and there is a Facebook page with  6,196 people. How To Grow A Global Tribe Using Social Media

You have passion to make something happen. Everyone wants to make a difference deep down. It might be about pork or it may be about conservation, cycling or cooking.

Leading and growing a tribe of followers centuries ago was very local. If you wanted to motivate your followers to build a new fort or or start a war, you organised a feast, cooked a pig, and arranged some entertainment.

To get the message out you walked, rode a horse or paddled a canoe. It took a lot of effort and a lot of time.

The tribe was localized and came from the town you lived in or the nearby district. They were and are the cooking  club of Denver or the knitting club of Colorado.

Tribes are moving from local to global  as is evidenced with Apple and its  fast growing global tribe with it’s fans and fanatics. Spreading the word used to involve a telephone, a conversation at the local corner store, a chat while having a barbeque with friends, or knocking on doors. Growing a tribe involves the same elements as before but growing your tribe globally is not only easy it is inexpensive as long as you have the passion and the tools.

How do you grow a Tribe? According to Seth Godin it requires 3 essential elements to grow a tribe

  1. Motivation
  2. Connecting
  3. Leverage

So how does social media facilitate these 3 elements

Motivation

It allows you to get the message out about the mission. You can send a tweet and get an instant response. You can post a blog and receive comments. So the feedback is instant and global. The tribe needs  to be informed of the mission and its progress whether it is to launch a product or to build a bridge. Social media spreads the story fast. It lets you share the wins and the victories and commiserate in the defeats and setbacks. It allows you to keep everyone in the game through sharing  the message of the tribe and provides a constant feedback loop.

Connecting

People connect in different ways, so connecting was analog and face to face but now it is digital with Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn providing forums and platforms for all types of tribes. Studies have shown that we have 3 foundational ways of communicating, visually, kinesthetically or aurally. Social media and the web now provide the tools for this to happen easily and efficiently so the tribe can receive and spread the message in the format and medium that they enjoy and love to use.

Leverage

The medium is one to many and one post on Facebook can be seen by millions. A YouTube video can go viral and be seen by tens of millions. You can post your online video to literally dozens of video sharing sites where the ‘Video Tribe’ gathers to feast on the latest videos. The leverage of Twitter can spread a global message within seconds and start a movment.

So if you want to start a tribe, a movement or a revolution, you now have tools and technology at your fingertips that can build a global following in ways that we have only ever imagined.

How are you using social media to grow your tribe?


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  • http://www.businessesGROW.com/blog Mark W Schaefer

    Great post and a subject near to my heart.

    I would add one other element and that is “authentic helpfulness.”

    It’s easy to see why Seth missed this since he does not really intreract with the people who follow him, let alone help them, but for the 99.999% of us who are not celebrities, this is an essential aspect of success on the social web.

    Gary V put this best when he advised followers to “give, give, give, give, give … then ask.”

    My best relationships and best business benefits have come when I least expected it. I have a strategy of helping people with no expectation of getting anything in return but those hopes are constantly dashed : )

    Thanks, Jeff!

    ~ @markwschaefer

    • http://yoursalesplaybook.com Paul Castain

      Spot on Mark . . . well stated!

      Respectfully,
      Paul Castain

    • http://milasblog.typepad.com Mila Araujo

      Very well said Mark, and especially nice coming from you since you do interact with your “followers” and have always been so helpful; thanks for all you do especially the inspiration.

      There are so many levels of contribution a person can make, simply writing the book is not the end all to interaction. Its the discussion and continued evolution that follows after wards that is great. Slowly but surely, from there, you have your tribe. Tribe being very different that “fans of the book” who share no interaction on that basis alone.

      Being involved. awesome.

      Thank you for you comments Mark, and thank you Jeff for your post bringing the post across :)

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  • http://twankers.com Tommy Twanker

    Thanks Jeff. I have also read Seth Godin’s Tribes book, and although the underlying concepts are sound and somewhat common sense, some of the more detailed tips he offers dramatically up the effort, time and resource levels required to build genuine traction. They are also very theoretical. I also note, if you monitor what Seth does online with his own community across all his social channels, he doesn’t act as his book advises. Having researched online communities and the various social dynamics at play (for a number of years now), I always come back to the same root foundation. That being an online social community grows and thrives, if it is founded on a real world movement and leader. It is very rare, for an individual to become a social web leader in isolation. I can only think of a very small group and these are based upon being the first in their particular niche.

    Tommy (@TwankersUK)

  • http://www.justapinch.com Cooking Club

    Good article Jeff. However, even with these new tools it is a very rare thing for a video to go viral (considering the amount of videos that are posted daily). Twitter is a force if you are famous or your company is famous already. It’s a very difficult thing to break into social media and make it work for you if you are a small business or performer. That’s why I think it’s very akin to traditional media… the big boys are the only ones who can take advantage of it. Again, there’s exceptions, and you should use social media to “grow your tribe” – love that phrase by the way – but people shouldn’t expect to become a famous brand or name simply by using social media.

  • http://theaulos.com/ DelphiUSA

    Interesting article… Tribes are synonymous with “belonging” and the ability to share common interests, beliefs, and rituals. So too is knowledge (management) associated with storytelling, another common tradition shared by tribes, or net…works. Interestingly enough, tattoos are also similarly associated with tribes… Now, our tribes are digitally enabled and the tattoos? Twitter, Facebook, etc.

  • http://twitter.com/mvanronzelen mark vanronzelen

    Jeff you always have very insightful blogs – keep them coming!

  • Doug

    I love the analogy of the “tribe”, because social media has created that type of mentality.  The characteristics are very similar.  I am wondering when one of the platforms will actually call your connections/friends “the tribe”  Good article.  Thanks.

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