Part #5 of Spencer Wade's excellent series

Part #5 of Spencer Wade's excellent series

Originally shared by Spencer Wade

Your Brand & G+: Using Communities to Promote, Engage, and Influence “Pt. 5 Using the Velvet Rope Psychology”

In the previous installments in this series, we’ve covered ways you can turn your brand’s G+ Community membership’s activity into actionable material. Hopefully, we’ve established the fact that this is something every company should be doing; if for no other reason than the price – it’s free! But, how do you encourage your members to play their part? After all, without their activity there’s no action, so what can you do to get people more engaged?

One of the best ways to promote engagement is by using the time-tested “velvet rope psychology”. What is the velvet rope psychology? It’s the deep-seated feeling we all get when identified as a VIP. It’s the rush of exhilaration we feel when singled out for special treatment. It’s the feeling you get during a behind-the-scenes tour or when you’re handed a backstage pass. As a brand, you can use this to your advantage.

By taking advantage of the public and private nature of Communities on G+, you can create a VIP private Community for your power users and top contributors – and I use TC purposefully here. Our own roles as TCs can be seen as the perfect example of this very thing. We’ve been singled out and given special access and behind-the-scenes insights because we’ve given freely of ourselves to this mission. What further evidence do you need to prove this is a fruitful endeavor for a brand?

In creating a VIP Community for your most valuable members you show the Community at-large that you’re watching. You’re saying that membership can lead to something more – discounted product offerings, first looks at new products, access to employees, unique experiences, etc. This can be powerful motivation for increased engagement, and, like all of our ideas, costs you absolutely nothing. So create your private Community and inform your members that there’s real rewards behind the “velvet rope”.

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions feel free to ask them below or start a new post!