FROM INVISIBLE TO IRRESISTIBLE IN 30 DAYS
YOU’RE DOING GOOD SO WHY DON’T PEOPLE CARE?
Whether you’re working to improve people’s lives or the planet in some way, what you do matters, and folks should care about it. But, if you’re working hard and not seeing the results you’d like, it can feel like you’re invisible.
Maybe you’ve heard blogging or social is the way to build a community, tried it, and quickly realized that you have no idea what to post (or how anyone has time for it). Or, maybe you looked at someone else’s website, video, or print piece and thought, “If I had something like that, I’d be attracting more people for sure,” only to get one of your own and see the same lackluster results.
The root of those disappointing results isn’t the marketing activities you’ve tried or the things you don’t have.
You’ve just been trying to solve the wrong problem.
Some branding and marketing firms will take advantage of that and make whatever snazzy thing you think you need. They’ll fill your request, rather than figure out what will work for the brand, leaving you in a cycle of trying to solve the wrong problem. It’s how they make money...you asking them later to make more stuff you think you need. Other firms will solve part of your problem, which seems great at first. It is progress, after all. But, when you realize you only have part of what you need - and there’s a whole other to-do list to tackle, it can be massively confusing, frustrating, overwhelming, and expensive.
You’re too good for all that.
IT’S TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WILL WORK FOR THE BRAND
Remember, a brand is a relationship between an organization and people.
Most socialpreneurs misinterpret that definition and think to themselves, “Yes, a brand is all about relationship building, and I am trying to build a relationship with a bunch of people.”
It’s a very common misunderstanding, and it’s likely preventing you from getting the results you’d like (and deserve).
Thinking about building a relationship with a bunch of people positions you to unintentionally push an identity on others - rather than share an identity with them.
It positions you to focus your efforts on figuring out what to communicate to them, share with them, and offer them. It leads to using the word “our” when talking about community members (e.g., “our” donors, “our” residents, “our” board members, etc.). It’s why you’ve probably been thinking about the best way to tell the organization’s story. And, it’s why you likely use the word “we” or “us” in at least one of the following ways: “We invite you to…,” “We need your help…,” “Join us…,” “Help us reach our goal…,” “Check out all the great things we’ve been doing…”
These actions create and signal an “us” (the organization) versus “them” (the people we want to reach) mindset.
That means you’re likely thinking of yourself as the organization. That’s a problem because even if you started or are an employee of the organization, you are not the organization.
An organization - be it a business, association, town, cause, or other effort - is an idea. It’s not tangible, and it’s definitely not a person.
So, to figure out what will work for the brand, you’ll first need to shift your thinking from “me” (the organization) to “we” - all of us who have a relationship with this idea.
BECAUSE, TOGETHER YOU’RE ONE BIG “WE”
This concept of “we” - all of us who have a relationship with this particular idea - is the building block of community.
You, all the people who work for the organization, and all the people who in some way engage with the organization - together, you share an identity.
You just haven’t uncovered or activated it, yet.
Communities think and act collectively towards a common purpose. They have similar goals, values, beliefs, and dreams, which enables them to develop a spirit of - what researchers like John Gottman call - “we-ness.”
The more “we-ness” in a relationship, the more likely it is to thrive. Since a brand is a relationship…you guessed it…the more “we-ness,” the more likely the brand is to thrive.
“WE-NESS” IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT OF IRRESISTIBLE BRANDS
“We-ness” is what creates belonging.
It’s what makes people say to themselves, “This is SO me. Why haven’t I done this yet?!”
Without “we-ness,” you haven’t given people a reason to urgently care.
Of course, it’s a whole LOT easier to continue believing that you just haven’t made the right “thing” or found the right marketing channel.
But, you’ve tried that.
So, before you waste more of your limited resources building another website that’ll look nice but fail to turn browsers into community members, creating social ads that people will ignore, or sending enewsletters and print pieces that’ll end up in the trash, first make sure you’re operating from a place of “we-ness.”
URGENTLY GOOD CAN HELP YOU FIND THAT PLACE OF “WE-NESS”
It’s an intensive, real-time, all-in-one approach to building a brand, and it’s not for everyone.
But, when “we-ness” guides everything you do, say, and create, the results can be pretty irresistible.
So, if you’re:
tired of being invisible,
eager for something good to take off,
in need of expert guidance figuring out how to make it happen, and
willing to set aside what is to embrace what’s irresistible,
Urgently Good can help you uncover and activate the “we-ness” that’s waiting to take flight. It’s where good brands take off - FAST…as in 1-5 days kind of fast.