The marketing guru Seth Godin has some useful advice for you communicators out there today.
He offers 20 reasons why people will spread ideas to others.
Here’s the first five below, the full list is here, and worth a read.
Corporate communicators can pick up some good tips on how sustainability messages can be spread around consumer groups from this list, I would imagine.
1. I spread your idea because it makes me feel generous.
2. …because I feel smart alerting others to what I discovered.
3. …because I care about the outcome and want you (the creator of the idea) to succeed.
4. …because I have no choice. Every time I use your product, I spread the idea (Hotmail, iPad, a tattoo).
5. …because there’s a financial benefit directly to me (Amazon affiliates, mlm).
Another fifteen reasons are listed here.