Why blog?

May 12th, 2008

First, let’s back up and talk about what the goal of marketing really is.

Behind all of these concerns lie bigger issues of visibility and budget. Every business and every community service organization works with the same challenges.

We all want to influence our customer’s or audience’s behavior somehow; to use our services, to support our cause, to buy our products.

As a young man, I read Bertrand Russells’ Power: A New Social Analysis, in which, I recall discovering that power (influence in our case) is gained by doing things that are, at once,

  • Relevant
  • Visible
  • Unique

For instance, if, in a community with an food shortage, I anonymously donate books on farming to the library, that’s a good thing, but won’t necessarily gain me power or influence in the daily functioning of the town. On the other hand, if I drove a truck full of food into the middle of town and started handing bags of rice to hungry people, I would immediately begin to enjoy increased influence in the community.

All three components are required. People televised on Jerry Springer or Cops are visible and unique, but not relevant to most of our lives and therefore gain little from their exposure. Anonymous givers gain no influence from their gifts (which makes them all the more worthy of the praise they will never receive).

We’ve got relevant and unique, now what?

Increasing visibility on decreasing budgets

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