The Power Of An Enemy (Or Threat)

September 4, 2014Comments Off on The Power Of An Enemy (Or Threat)

One after another, SEO professionals took to the stage and attacked Google. 

Google is working in mysterious ways.

'It broke authorships!'

'It's changing our rankings!'

'It's punishing and attacking us!'

You might think this breeds an atmosphere of enmity. SEO is, to some extent, a zero-sum game. If I rank first for "online communities" then you can't.

This should build a deep well of distrust and suspicion. 

Yet the opposite happens. It's the common enemy that brings the crowd closer together. Of the events I've attended, few (if any) had the sense of community felt by those at MozCon. They're all in this together. They're all the little guys being picked on by a bigger enemy (an enemy they need to survive, no less). 

When you have a common enemy that is perceived to be constantly attacking you, when you can genuinely perceive yourself as the weaker guy in the fight, you will find you feel a strong connection to others in that same position. You feel a greater sense of unity with them.

It stands to reason then, that if we can create a plausible enemy to our group – someone whose beliefs or actions conflict or threaten our own efforts – if we can make the group feel we are being constantly attacked by a bigger threat, the sense of community should significantly increase. 

That's not easy to do (it's risky too). Yet we see this is what Apple did to IBM and then Microsoft. This is what fresh, healthy, foods do to McDonalds.

It works best when it's something large, in your field, and is a threat to your audience.

You can gradually drop in negative references to the enemy in content, discussions, and other material. It's less difficult than you might imagine. 


On October 29th to 30th, the world's top 250 community professionals are going to SPRINT in San Francisco. Will you be one of them?

http://sprint.feverbee.com

Comments Off
©2023 FeverBee Limited, Apartment 2410, 251 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 6FN England FEVERBEE

We’d like you to join us.

We’re a group of community professionals who push each other to the cutting edge of our work. Every day we share our experiences, highlight new expertise, and push one another to become the best community builders we can be.

The day you join, you’ll get access to 1000+ practical tips, dozens of resources, and unlimited access to the top experts in our space. You’ll also get to see how we go about building a community amongst our own audience.

It takes just 30 seconds and doesn’t cost a thing.

CLICK HERE AND JOIN FEVERBEE

Level Price  
ALL COURSES $750.00 per Month.
Select
Community Development Program $1,100.00 per Month.
Select
Director of Community $8,770.00 per Month.
Select
Free Trial - Accelerator Program Free.
Select
Community Accelerator (founding members) [annually] $250.00 per Year.
Select
Community Accelerator and FeverBee Intelligence [monthly] $45.00 per Month.
Select
Community Accelerator and FeverBee Intelligence [annually] $450.00 per Year.
Select
Full Community Upgrade (Large Enterprise Only) [monthly] $750.00 per Month.
Select
Full Community Upgrade (Large Enterprise Only) [annually] $7,600.00 per Year.
Select