Yesterday @TerryBean asked a question via twitter that many entrepreneurs worry themselves sick over (and thereby hamstring their success), not just on Twitter, but on many Social and New Media Marketing channels.

Terry asked; “Do you worry about losing followers? If so do you think you lose them from not tweeting enough or tweeting too much?”

My multi-Tweet reply addressed a core issue WAY more important than too few or too many updates. I answered Terry:

• Msg 1 “If your not strong enough to turn some people off, you’ll NEVER be strong enough to attract a Tribe of true Loyals (cont)”

• Msg 2 “You need to establish your Persuasive Selling Platform - then stand boldly on it. Too many/few Tweets is least of concerns. ;-)”

My first statement there got picked up and used by Ken Burbary in a post yesterday discussing unfollow tools and their impact: “Twitter: Unfollow me, it’s not personal.” Ken correctly touches on the fact that Twitter has a “culture.” But that point has much larger ramifications to the way you do business. In fact; emotions and interactions tangled up in “culture” is the entire basis for Tribal Marketing.

Unfollows will never hurt you, but beating yourself with sticks will break your business bones

“Twitter culture” is no different than any other human interaction, online in New Media or off-line face-to-face. People with jobs dabbling in Social and New Media to gain friends and “converse” can afford to get sucked into a never-ending downward spiral of narcissistic analysis.

But for entrepreneurs, marketers and business owners; analysis of this type without a benchmark or platform against which to judge reactions creates a self-imposed profit killing death sentence.

Contrary to what you’ve heard? Not surprising when most Social Media “experts are corporate refugees with a worker mindset, brainwashed to “get along” at all costs.

Here’s the danger in that “careful not to offend anyone” approach…

If business people begin altering their behavior, words and statements to avoid “unfollow sting”, the ramifications are no different than trying to fit into a high-school clique. Even if the group accepts you, you will always be the outsider… the poser. NOT a good position for an entrepreneur who is (or should be) looking to be seen as a knowledgeable leader.

To attract and retain a Tribe of raving fans (Loyals) means taking strong positions. The stronger your positions, the stronger the bond between you and your Tribe… and among the Tribe members themselves. It’s human nature that the mundane and the luke-warm are either ignored or spit out.

Only in politics every two years do “moderates” get any attention. And when we look at their actual numbers (average only 2% of voters via Battleground Poll for the last 10 years) — we see the fact that the vast majority of people DO have opinions. They just may not have the kahonas to state those thoughts.

The entrepreneurs and business people who take strong stands in their niche or industry, who make bold pronouncements for the benefit of their Tribe — they will get the respect, loyalty and patronage that people are waiting to shower on a true leader.

The question is not “too many or too few Tweets.” It is “do you know your Tribe?”

YOUR Tribe, YOUR Loyals — they are ALL that matter!

If you don’t know your Persuasive Selling Platform well enough to know what may have turned someone off, (and to know that, in many cases that unfollow is a good thing) — then any “tool” like Qwitter http://useqwitter.com/ that lets you know what words triggered an unfollow will only serve to further shake your confidence and throw you off track.

If you have your Loyals Profiles and Tribal Factor firmly established as two of the four foundation stones of your Persuasive Selling Platform, the ability to keep your focus allows you to be in total control of your emotions.

That control for you can mean ignoring, or even celebrating unfollows as you continue on a profitable path of New Media Marketing. But YOU are in control… not some tool or technology.

What’s your take?

• How do unfollows on Twitter or friend drop-offs on FaceBook or MySpace impact you?
• Do you just ignore those unfollows, or do you revel in the fact they’ve occurred?
• How do you know when an unfollow is a good thing vs. a “learning opportunity”?

Leave your thoughts in some graffiti down in the comment area below.

Saturday night Deb and I stopped at Ala Moana mall before heading out to dinner in Honolulu. As Deb was doing her “shoppinnnng” thing I was on the hunt scouting for examples of Tribal Marketing. I found it at our second stop — the Jimmy Choo store.

With my shoe fetish in control I “dragged” Deb into the store. (Yeah, kicking and screaming. lol) And within two-minutes I was struck by a Tribal Seduction marketing principle I failed to pick up on in previous visits. The profit-producing power of story.

Why is that Jimmy Choo shoes command $400 to $4,000 and more?

Sure Jimmy Choo shoes are hand made (first in London by Choo himself, then after 96′ in Italy.) And yes Jimmy Choo Ltd. has a team of four designers who’s only job is to create to-die-for shoes and handbags.

But what’s the real profit power behind the Jimmy Choo brand? It’s something that as a Jimmy Choo lover you might not have realized, because it’s something that is never said. It just is. (A key in effectively using Tribal Seduction marketing.)

Ultimately the Jimmy Choo brand is not only the story of the man behind the name, but also the fortuitous linking of his story with the greatest real-life fairy tale of the 20th Century.

Jimmy Choo was born in Malaysia in 1961 to a family of shoe makers and made his first shoe when he was 11 years old. OK, authenticity. Good start for a story.

After attending college in London he opened his own workshop in 1986 and gained international fame when his creations were featured in a record eight pages in a 1988 issue of Vogue magazine. Public recognition of passionate pursuit of excellence. Another good element of the story.

But the real boost in the Jimmy Choo story comes with the loyal patronage (and vocal sharing of passionate love for hand made Jimmy Choo shoes) by Princess Diana. The real-life fairy tale Princess became the catalyst for dozens of other celebrities to become Jimmy Choo Loyals as well; spreading the story, passion and love of shoes even further.

Jimmy Choo = beauty, elegance and sexiness… protected by price

Today the Jimmy Choo philosophy, as stated on jimmychoo.com is:

… to create exclusive shoes and accessories that are both luxurious and practical for all occasions, while at the same time creating a look that’s instantaneously recognized as “Jimmy Choo”. The understated distinctiveness of the brand, and its integrity, is controlled with the limited distribution of the products to a few select retailers.

Jimmy Choo shoes are void of obvious labels and logos. Yes, you are marketing and reinforcing the brand when wearing the shoes. But with a Tribal Marketing approach it’s subliminal and seductive, not in your face. It takes a true shoe lover to know and recognize Jimmy Choo’s. You know you’ve met another member of your Tribe when someone recognizes your Jimmy Choo shoes.

The story behind the brand is protected and kept intact by the unique use of materials and exclusivity of both pricing and distribution.

Sure customer service and the experience of buying Jimmy Choo shoes is part of the aura. But the true profit-producing power of the brand remains the authentic story of the founder imperceptibly linked with the fairy tale stories of the rich-and-famous Jimmy Choo Loyals. It happens when you first slip your foot into the shoe… or watch your lady slip her’s into a pair.

What about you?

• What’s your story? Have you given thought to how it relates to your business?
• Do you agree that the Jimmy Choo story teamed with the fairy tale is a big part of profit-producing power of the Jimmy Choo brand?
• Are you passionate about Jimmy Choo or any other brand because of the story behind it?

Share your thoughts in some graffiti below.

We recently added a free bonus download for new subscribers to the Seducer’s Journal here at TribalSeduction.com — the Tribal Marketing Playbook We sent a download link to all current subscribers last week, but if you missed that email we’ll be resending that in a follow-up email later today — so keep an eye out for it.

In the Tribal Marketing Playbook you’ll learn:

• What the Tribal Marketing construct is

• Why seeing your target audience just as one Tribe will short-change your results

• How to use the Tribal Marketing Power Matrix to leverage your time for bigger returns with less effort

• How using only the "obvious" approach to marketing to a Tribe can cost you more time, effort and money than the Tribal Marketing Influence Pathway

• Why the Influence Ladder is your key to high-leverage persuasion (online or off-line)

• And lots of interactive strategy sheets to put ideas you get into action. (Why it’s called a "Playbook" )

You definitely want to grab this Playbook and devour every page as quickly as possible. It will open your eyes to an entire new way of marketing and growing business. One that’s more fun and profitable!

So as a current subscriber to watch for your direct email later today. And if you like what your Tribal Marketing Playbook does to expand possibilities for you and give you new actionable ideas for marketing your business, please invite your friends to subscribe to the Seducer’s Journal.

If you’re not yet a subscriber to The Seducer’s Journal, you can grab a free 6-month subscription by registering at the top of the left-hand sidebar, or on the home page.

Enjoy!

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.

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”)

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

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