Marketing in the Participation Age: A Guide to Motivating People to Join, Share, Take Part, Connect, and Engage
Intrinsic Motivation Theory asserts that people are motivated to seek challenges, to discover new perspectives, and in doing so, stimulate their desire to actualize their individual human potential.Marketing in the Participation Agewields this theory as a means of engagement: if a person is intrinsically motivated, he or she will choose to actively participate with your brand and find the experience rewarding. Make sure your organization's marketing programs facilitate and enable participation—rather than create disruption and disinterest.Companies that live by the principles outlined inMarketing in the Participation Agecan edge out their competitors by conscientiously planning their programs to trigger a set of motivational elements that work together to inspire people to join, share, take part, connect, and engage. The key to customer participation is to activate all three elements of the framework as you market your brand. These elements include:Discover:Excite curiosity and help your participants achieve the satisfaction of becoming competent at something new. In what ways are you encouraging participants to learn more about your product/brand?Empower:Invite consumers to meaningfully contribute to your brand and/or product. Do you invite participants to provide feedback, offer tips and suggestions, or help to create the product itself?Connect:Foster meaningful relationships among your customers and followers. Have you built a social environment that enables interactions with others who may share the same interests?Participants thrive on continually learning, feeling empowered, and providing input to the products and services they use.Marketing in the Participation Ageshows you how to nurture these intrinsic desires to motivate participation and develop meaningful customer relationships that yield greater revenues.