Three ways to engage the groundswell

A few weeks ago, we talked about the groundswell and discussed some examples where people leveraged its power to enact some sort of change. But how exactly can we use the groundswell?

In their book “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff discuss several ways in which we can engage the groundswell. I’ll discuss three of the many ways in which we can all tap into it.

Listening to the groundswell

First up is listening to the groundswell. To be successful in the groundswell, you must understand what your audience thinks about you. As Li and Bernoff mention, “Your brand is what your customers say it is” (p.78). Listening to what your audience says about your brand will help you shift your marketing to one that better suits their beliefs.

An interesting example of a company listening to the groundswell is Domino’s. As we discussed in class, Domino’s had a fairly unique advertising campaign that rejuvenated the brand. After getting endless complaints about tasteless pizza, Domino’s decided to listen to what people were saying: that its pizza sucked!

Domino’s took the complaints to heart and decided to revamp the way the company made its pizza. And its “we suck” campaign actually worked for the company, increasing its sales by 16.5 percent for the first half of the year it ran the campaign. Because it listened to the groundswell, Domino’s not only improved its product, but also made amends with disgruntled consumers.

Talking with the groundswell
Next is talking with the groundswell. Li and Bernoff suggest that companies should actively engage with their audience to strengthen their brand identities. The authors provide four steps to talking with the groundswell (p. 103):

1. Post a viral video
2. Engage in social networks and user-generated content sites
3. Join the blogosphere
4. Create a community

I can think of no other brand that succeeds more at talking with the groundswell than PlayStation. PlayStation’s massive, engaged audience is thanks to the company’s successful engagement with its community, and the brand checks off each of the four steps that Li and Bernoff mention.

A trailer of a new game on PlayStation’s YouTube channel is bound to garner millions of views, and with over 2 billion views on its channel, PlayStation excels at producing viral content. It also has a staggering social media presence with millions of followers on multiple platforms. It even has a blog, which gives fans updates on upcoming games or lets developers talk to their fans.

Finally, PlayStation excels at creating and maintaining a community. This is evident in its occasional convention called PlayStation Experience. There, PlayStation executives, game developers, and fans gather together in the name of PlayStation. Developers announce new games and fans can play upcoming games with others like them.

Energizing the groundswell
Energizing your audience is another way to tap into the groundswell. By energizing the groundswell, you create an engaged audience that champions your brand. These champions often do so through word of mouth. Li and Bernoff believe this is perhaps the best way to market your brand for a few reasons (p.130):

1. It’s believable
2. It’s self-reinforcing
3. It’s self-spreading

Here I am with Tim Gettys, one of the founders of
Rooster Teeth's channel Kinda Funny

A company I personally champion is Rooster Teeth, an online video and podcast production company. For the past few years, I’ve watched their videos and listened to their podcasts. Rooster Teeth quickly became a brand that I began to identify with, so much so that I decided to go to a convention they held in London.

While I was studying abroad in Dublin in 2018, I flew to London for the sole purpose of attending RTX London, an annual Rooster Teeth convention. There, I met some of my favorite content creators and hung out with like-minded fans of the brand. Though I went alone, I made several friends from around the world that I still talk with today.

I — along with other Rooster Teeth fans — are part of an energized community. We champion the brand by wearing its merchandise or telling our friends about it. Rooster Teeth was successful in creating an energized base because they took the time to interact with them first-hand, making valuable memories for their fans.

Are you part of an energized base? Let me know in the comments below!