Surprise, Surprise… Some Things Never Change

It amazes me that after thousands of years of evolution, sometimes the most primitive way of doing something remains the most effective. For example, when a plane entered the no fly zone in DC, people were told simply to run. And that piece of advice, need I remind you, has come after billions of dollars and countless man hours invested in our Nation’s homeland security.

The same can be said of word of mouth. As illustrated in The Influentials and The Tipping Point, people accept, respect, and follow the advice and suggestions of others. Word of mouth suggestions are product placements or candidate endorsements given with a personal and meaningful Seal of Approval.

As Seth Godin stated, two centuries ago it was all about farming. One century ago it was all about building efficient factories. This century, it is ideas.

“Ideas are driving the economy, ideas are making people rich, and most importantly, ideas are changing the world… An idea that just sits there is worthless. But an idea that moves, grows, and infects everyone it touches… that’s an ideavirus”.

This way of thinking reminds me of why people enter into the stock market… to make their money work for them. Similarly, an ideavirus does all of the work as opposed to a marketer, and frankly, does a better job of that. The imprint on the market is no longer done through interruption ads that are impersonal. It instead has progressed to a deeply convenient and personal approach. “That’s why focusing on a geographic, demographic, or psychographic group is a common practice among successful idea merchants”.

With that said, my best piece of advice is make it local, make it personal, make it effective, and do it cheaply; target Influentials and make your idea work for itself.