Online Marketing 101

Above ground, in the sunlight, grain silos provide much of our daily sustenance.

Below ground, in the darkness, hides another kind of silo.

But it is not the missile silo that is killing us. People are disappearing into the bone-dry quicksand of grain silos in less than 5 seconds.

“Once entrapment begins, it happens very quickly due to the suction-like action of the grain; Researchers in Germany found that an average person who has sunk into grain once it has stopped flowing can get out only as long as it has not reached knee level; at waist level assistance is required. Once the grain has reached the chest a formal rescue effort must be undertaken.” – WIKIPEDIA

I have my beliefs and you have your beliefs.

Belief is not a group project. But a sense of belonging, the creation of a community, and the establishment of a society have always been group projects.

Covid-19 took the face-to-faceness of community and society away from us, leaving us no alternative but to gather online in echo-chamber silos where we can hear our own opinions voiced oh-so-eloquently by others.

If we sink into the life-giving grain of these online silos, we will suffocate.

When you know a person’s silos, you know everything about them that matters.

Cambridge Analytica gained access to information on 50 million Facebook users as a way to identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behavior. Cambridge Analytica was merely an expression of Online Marketing 101.

I’m not saying it was right. What I’m saying is that when you are in a silo, you are easy to manipulate.

We segregate ourselves into silos based on (1.) our beliefs, and (2.) our activities.

The most successful online marketers are those who know their ABC’s.*

A: Identify a tribe.

B: Develop the tribe.

C: Market to the tribe.

Each of us participates in a handful of tribes. It is impossible to avoid.

Just try to remember that each of your tribes exists in a silo – an echo chamber – where it is easy to become convinced that “everyone” thinks and feels like you do.

But your silos aren’t the world. And my silos aren’t, either.

This is why I’ve been reaching out to well-spoken friends and acquaintances who spend time in other silos and have different beliefs. I asked these people – one by one – to share their thoughts on subjects I knew they saw differently than me.

I’ve enjoyed it immensely, and I suggest you do it, too.

But this is the important part: Ask and listen only. Do not – under any circumstances – offer your perspective. If you do, the whole conversation will feel to your friend like an ambush. Just ask questions and keep your mouth shut. Focus your mind on trying to see what your friend sees.

And do it by Zoom or telephone. It is much easier to focus a call – and end it – than a face-to-face meeting.

Do you have the courage to do this? Are you willing to look at the future – if only for a few minutes – through the eyes of someone who believes differently than you?

If you answer yes, you have the mind of a mass marketer with arms long enough to embrace the world.

If you answer no, my suggestion is that you focus your marketing firepower on the silos you know best. This will allow you to talk to your tribe, in the language of that tribe, according to the values and beliefs they hold dear.

Indy says to tell you “Aroo,” and that he’ll see you in the rabbit hole.

Roy H. Williams

* as taught by chairman Ryan Deiss in his class at Wizard Academy.

“A relationship seldom achieves its full potential without confrontation; but confrontation is almost always doomed to failure unless it grows out of a deep trust built on honest communication. Even then, it must be handled with sensitivity. If your friend is not convinced of your genuine concern, if he is not certain that you have his best interests at heart, he will likely become defensive, rejecting your correction.” – Richard Exley

“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Be swift to love, make haste to be kind.” – Henri Frederic Amiel

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