Plurk, Jaiku, identi.ca. All New Media marketing channels. Services that are trying to topple the king of the micro-blogging hill — Twitter. But they’re all falling short. And understanding why they’re failing will help you attract, grow and protect your business — no matter whether you’re selling widgets in Peoria or downloads worldwide.

New Media marketing with Twitter

See — it’s not just the Twitter API or its coding that is insulating Twitter.

Nope! Far from it.

And it’s not all the cool apps that have been built around Twitter (like Summize, Twemes, Twhirl, etc.) They help solidify Twitter’s position. But they’re all actually a RESULT of Twitter’s leadership, not the cause of it.

The reason Twitter still stands as the top choice for the #1 choice of micro-blogging for New Media marketing goes much deeper than coding, apps or APIs.

It’s all about seduction…

Three Tribal Seduction™ principles keeping Twitter at #1

Let’s take a look at the real reasons for Twitter’s current ability to fend off all comers, and see how you can apply these lessons in your own business.

1) Fantasy (or “story”)

New Media marketing with the Twitter bird

Twitter, Tweets, the Twitter Fail Whale and the entire cast of cartoon-like characters in Twitterland — they all make using Twitter fun. It’s engaging and entertaining.

It’s a fantasy land where you can make up your own stories.

2) Insider language

If you use Twitter you’ve probably grown accustomed to using terminology like Twemes, TwitCast, TwitAholic, follow, @, DM’s, and more.

It’s an environment we can escape into using a language that “outsiders” just don’t understand. That’s key in Tribal Seduction for the same reason it’s key to the power of cults. It makes members of the Tribe “insiders.” You’re in-the-know and everyone else is on the outside.

But most importantly…

3) The Tribal Factor™

The Tribal Factor™ is something that’s bigger than you, your product or your service.

  • It can be a movement (like the “green” movement.)
  • It can be an ideological-based loyalty (like Apple / Mac users.)
  • It can be a life-enhancing value that’s accessed and reinforced by subconscious social beliefs. (Like Twitter, where connection and attention are attained AND retained by popularity. Much like your high-school days.)

    • Of course it can be all three blended together, which is even more powerful. Event then the Tribal Factor™ is much deeper than these individual approaches, but they at least give you a good idea.

The bottom line is —

Seduction trumps function every time!

Benefits. Functionality. Value.

BLAH! Fagedaboudit!
Go flush that crap down the toilet!

Listen, true value only comes when you take a core function (open source or proprietary), add a human interface that leverages embedded psychological triggers and wrap it all in a blanket of Tribal interaction.

At a quick example to really bring it home

A service like identi.ca is the result of the typical left-brain dominated techie-geek mindset of the open source community. Plurk tries to be different, but its interface looks like the result of a night coding by some drugged-up hippie programmer. Jaiku, well we won’t even go there.

The bottom line is in all the cases of Twitter wanna-be competitors, they’re missing critical Tribal Marketing principles. The story, the language, the Tribal Factor, the embedded social triggers — they’re all missing!

Why loyalty is king of the hill

All three of these Tribal Seduction™ principles have more impact on loyalty than you can imagine. Twitter has attracted, seduced, and gained the loyalty of a Tribe.

marketing w New Media, riding the Twitter fail whale

And that’s pretty powerful when you consider the fact that users of Twitter experience regular downtime and frustrating “Fail Whales.”

The Twitter Twibe may have many bands and clans within it. And many will test competitive services as they come along. But they’ll only leave Twitter when the rides at another amusement park are more fun and exciting.

The question you have to answer for yourself is —

how will you seduce your Tribe and turn your marketing, brand and business into an amusement park your Loyals will rave about for life?


John Paul Micek is a co-founder of the international business coaching company RPM Success Group ® Inc. He and his partner Deborah Micek are authors of the hit book Secrets Of Online Persuasion, and creators of the BLOG i360™ New Media Marketing Site Creater.
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