Have you seen the latest blockbuster movie Avatar? You know, the movie that is breaking all the sales records at the theater box-office? I saw it last weekend. It’s a prime example of the pillar of influence called social validation. This simply means that the more people that see the movie, the more we think that it is proof that the movie is good.

One form of social validation used in marketing is called “social proof”. You will see this in the form testimonials and case studies. When we see that someone else like us is using the product or service and is happy with it, we have a strong desire to join them. The more people participating, the stronger the desire to participate.

You will see marketers using social validation when they broadcast that an event has sold out (or is about to), or that they have surpassed their goals. You see, that means that more people liked what they are offering than even they expected and the implication is that you will like it too.

When you add in some validation from authority, you up the ante. You see, when people perceive someone as an authority figure, they have a higher tendency to do what that person says. Think “4 out of 5 doctors prefer”. That is an example of a marketer using the perception of authority to promote their product.

So, when you go to the movies this weekend to see Avatar, let me know if you liked it. Then let me know WHY you liked it. did you like it because it was a great story line? Did you like it because the graphics were amazing? Did you like it becauase everyone else did (social validation)? Or, did you like it because it got good reviews (authority)?

Want to know how to build community for your business? Here’s a great example. Check out the website for the movie Extraordinary Measures. And go to their “Quilt” page. Here you will see all kinds of submissions of home movies about charitable causes. I was directed here from a link posted to a friend’s Facebook status. A friend of that friend has a son with a deadly genetic disorder and posted a video in the contest. The video with the most votes wins $10,000 for their cause.

Why do I think this is great?

First, I had no knowledge of the movie before being directed here. Even after landing here, I simply watched a couple of videos and could pretty much guess that the movie was about a family fighting to save their kids. The nature of the contest was inline with the theme of the movie. It completely supported the plot. And, even better, it attracted the kind of people who are likely to want to watch the movie; people who know people who are living under extraordinary circumstances.

Can you see the viral effect? All you have to do is notify a couple of charities about the contest and it spreads like wildfire. They notify everyone in their organization, who notify all their friends and family, who notify theirs. Who wouldn’t want to win some money for the cause they are championing? Who wouldn’t want to support their friends in contributing to their cause? Of course we are going to spread the word.

It also helps that the site makes it easy to spread the word. They integrate Twitter, Facebook and other social networking tools right into the site to make it easy for people to spread the word.

This is a great way to build community because it engages your customers, gets them involved in a way that supports the product. It attracts their ideal customer to them and creates awareness virally. People are committed to the movie because they are committed to their cause (or that of their friends). If they make a video or vote for a video there is a part of them that wants to act consistently with that choice and actually see the movie. The movie is supporting them, why shouldn’t they support the movie?

There is a lot of goodwill generated with this contest. You get a warm, fuzzy feeling from the movie because they are supporting their customers. Here is where the psychological trigger of reciprocity kicks in. They do something to help us, so we want to do something to help them.

So, take a look at the Extraordinary Matters Quilt and let me know what you think. What do you like or dislike about it as a method of building community? What other examples of great community building would you like to share?

What drives the Black Friday Sales frenzy?

Why do people line up at 5 am, 3am or even 1 am to get the Black Friday Deals? What possesses people to stay up all night and wait in line in 30 degree weather? I personally classify this as insanity. Yet people all over America do it. Why?

When I was at Microsoft, we were able to create that same frenzy around a product launch. There was always a big launch event every time a new product or service was released. And, people would wait in line for that item, and frenzy was created.

I had colleagues that used to say, “We don’t do sustaining marketing. We launch products!” but what did they mean by this? What does Black Friday have in common with these “Product launches”?

Let’s take a look…

It all begins with the psychology of scarcity. People have some sort of innate reaction to the fear of losing access to something they desire. As an item or opportunity becomes less available, we lose our personal control over that item. The desire to preserve our freedom of choice and maintain control makes us desire that item even more than before.

So, if we limit the quantity, have a time deadline, or create a perceived competition for the item, that item becomes more attractive to us because we think we can’t have it. Our need for control takes over and we wait in line in zero degree weather at 5 in the morning to get it. And there you have one of the primary driving forces behind Black Friday.

Scarcity: Specific Deadline

To apply this in your own business you need to create a compelling reason why a customer can only have access to a particular item by a specific deadline or they will lose the opportunity. This is often portrayed as “Act Now while supplies last.” And “Offer ends Dec. 23rd”. Black Friday Deals are usually only available one day only.

Scarcity: Lost Advantages

A second method of creating a Black Friday-like scarcity is to point out what people will lose if they don’t take advantage of an opportunity. To do this you would identify for them their “lost advantages”, rather than focusing on the benefits they gain. What are they going to lose out on?

Scarcity: Competition

A third method of using scarcity to drive sales in your business would be to create the perception that if you doesn’t do this thing then someone else will and one will lose their chance of doing it. For example, “we only take the first 50 people”, or “Limited supplies available”. This suggests that their will be competition to get those spots and if you don’t act quickly, you will lose your chance to participate. Again, these are common techniques used to create a Black Friday Sales Frenzy.

Scarcity is a powerful tool of persuasion. Once you are aware of it, you can use it to improve your sales in your own business and even create your own version of a Black Friday Sales Frenzy.