How to make a movement
Movements, as the very name implies, are all about the feeling of motion. But not just any kind of motion. Motion that feels like its compounding over time. Momentum.
Movements we support, join, and love cause us to feel momentum.
In other words, the very idea that things are gaining steam creates the movement, not the fact that something is growing or something is big.
Increasingly, creating a brand people love is about creating a movement for a small number of people. Itâs about resonance, not reach. So how does that change the work for us? How do we ensure others feel the momentum? We have to become students of the change at hand, providing the language, the platform, and the central node for the movement.
A few ways to start doing that:
1. Create your âone simple storyâ as a decision-making filter or lens on the world. Tell it overtly fairly often, and use it as a filter to mold everything all the time. Your one simple story is made of three parts: A status quo (âThis was happeningâ or âthis is how weâve done itâ); then some conflict (âbut then this happened, which changes everythingâ); and finally, the resolution (âso this is the better wayâ). Your brand doesnât appear in your story. Everyone you serve â prospects, customers, employees, potential new hires, partners, etc. â should see themselves in that one simple story.
2. Use plenty of examples all the time. Find your darlings, those stories you can tell and cite and bring closer and closer to your organization as partners and friends. Grow this list constantly.
3. Repeat the terms and beliefs of your movement until you get sick of them. Like the one simple story, you should become so familiar with key terms that âweâ use that âtheyâ donât. Your belief system should be overtly written out. Why does this movement need to happen? Itâs not just the success others experience. Itâs something grander, something more transformative, something that isnât described with the word âbetterâ but rather something concrete. Describe the better way, and the belief driving your organization to achieve that better way. Donât merely say, âItâs a better way.â How? Why? What is that better way?
4. Find and elevate your true believers. Donât worry about creating a large audience right away. Donât try to âreachâ people. Again, this is about resonance. Focus on a small number of people reacting in a big way. When you see that visceral response, harness it: share what theyâre saying, give them a platform, and get to know them as people. Theyâll bring others to the movement too.
It all starts with one true believer.
I had to look this up â because #EnglishMajor â but the formula for momentum is mass-times-velocity.
In business, weâre great at talking about velocity. We forget about mass. I donât mean more resources, by the way. I mean more examples, more proof, more stories. I mean a grander vision for the world for a narrower group we serve more deeply. I mean putting in lots of reps to get great at something over time, focusing on building our body of work rather than any one-off spike in success.
Everyone seems to be seeking their movements, but too many merely tell you there is a movement. âThis is big. This is better. This is a movement.â
Meh.
True movement-makers actually show others what they mean. Want to make a movement? Help others feel the momentum.
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