Some folks come up with REALLY creative ways to get people following their content and biulding a tribe or community online.

The goal of community or tribe biulding is to eventually monetize some sort of information product, or other products or services that you have.

What this means in effect is that eventually you want people who follow your content to buy something from you in the future.

One of such examples of community biulding I saw online went like this...

A certain guy tweeted out:

“My son swears that watching his YouTube videos will make other kids smarter. Please subscribe to his channel so that I can hear word at home.”

For the non Nigerian audience, the expression “to hear word....” should be translated as “so that I can have peace at home”.

So in other words the message was “my son’s YouTube videos will make your kids smarter. Please subscribe to his channel so that he can stop pestering me at home.”

The ploy seemed to work because a bunch of people commented below that they had followed.

One of the new subscribers was a woman in her tweens who doesn’t have kids. A few other adults followed in support and to boost the young man’s morale.

So the mission was accomplished successfully!

Or was it?

Is this the right way to get people following your content and biulding your online community?

From a sales perspective, the most effective way to get people to do something is to figure out their needs and motives and then see how your product or service aligns with that motive.

That alignment is going to become your “sales pitch”.

That’s the reason why “pure water” sellers hang out around motor parks and they don’t come to your swanky office.

They know that in your air-conditioned office, you guys aren’t thirsty because you’re cool and you have water dispensers. You guys don’t have the “thirst” motive and you aren’t dehydrated.

They go to the motor parks because there are travelers who have gone an hour or more in uncomfortable, cramped, hot and sweaty cars and they most likely will be thirsty, or maybe they just want to wash their hands? Either way, commuters always need water for one reason or another.

The pure water seller is trying to align herself with people’s motives.

She isn’t trying to go and convince everyone else that they SHOULD be thirsty, or that they SHOULD need water now.

What does this have to do with your son’s YouTube channel?

If your son’s channel is aimed at getting other KIDS smarter, then shouldn’t you be looking for kids who want to get smarter?

Does it help if you get a bunch of adults to subscribe to your kids channel which is aimed at kids? Maybe!

When all these adults sign up but don’t engage with the content (because it’s irrelevant to them), don’t you think it might HURT the channel because the algorithm will judge the channel to be ineffective and irrelevant?

That is what happens when people subscribe, but don’t end up liking or commenting a bunch on the videos.

That is what will happen when tons of adults subscribe to a YouTube channel aimed at kids.

When the YouTube algorithm makes this kind of assessment, it’s likely not promoting it to other people.

How about tweeting out instead:

“Hey parents! Would you like your kids to become smarter during the long vacations? Please subscribe them to my son’s YouTube channel which explores topics on XYZ guaranteed to make them smarter! If nothing else, support my son because you’re my friend!”

This might be the right call to action which is 1. Getting parents to subscribe their kids, instead of 2. Getting the parents to subscribe themselves.

Also, people take action, buy, like, or subscribe because of THEIR reasons and not because of YOURS.

Getting people to subscribe to something for your peace of mind might not be an effective clarion call.

Instead of saying “please subscribe so that my son stops nagging me”, how about saying “please show your support for the leaders of tomorrow by....” or “if you call yourself my true friends, then please support by....”

Because this isn’t a going concern or a business per se, we shouldn’t take this whole scenario too seriously.

But eventually we mummies and daddies decide to start a business or build a community to sell something of our own. When that time comes, these are the principles to follow.

Make sure you are targeting the right people and delivering relevant information to them.

Make sure you deliver effective calls to action that make sense to the people you’re targeting.

Realize that people only do something for their own benefit... so stop asking people to do something for YOUR own benefit.

If you notice, the pure water seller shouts “ice cold water!”

He does this so that YOU see a clear benefit for YOU... in this scorching heat. This is refreshing water to quench YOUR thirst.

The pure water seller doesn’t shout “help me pay my children’s school fees!”

Which ever messaging he goes with, both are true, but only one will be effective over the long term.

By the way, a call to action is that thing you ask a potential customer or audience to do after consuming your content.

Why is having a call to action important?

Because if after watching your videos, you don’t tell them to do something else, they might do nothing at all!