The O.M.N.I™️ Strategy for Campaigning On Social Media — An Introduction
Every successful person is a creative problem solver. It doesn’t matter how many times they fail — they will find a creative way to achieve their objective. I call this the Omni Mentality. The Omni Mentality is not to be confused with the “Don’t give up!” mentality.
Tenacity is necessary but not sufficient to be successful. You must also develop an obsession with finding creative solutions, which requires thorough research, analysis, strategy and learning. The reality is that so many people in society have a Herd Mentality — where one merely conforms with the status quo. Breaking away from convention takes courage and purposeful action.
I’m of the opinion that we’re all born with an innate disposition that is curious, creative and versatile and yet many of us aren’t able to manifest all of our talents due to, for example, structural inequalities of opportunity or what psychologists call the Golem effect: a psychological phenomenon in which lower expectations placed upon individuals by authority figures lead to poorer performance.
Knowing where the balance lies between striving for self-actualisation (i.e. achieving your potential) and accepting the necessary limitations of being human is a matter of reconditioning the mind and strengthening our self-awareness. For it’s only once you understand who you are that you’ll be in a position to unlock who you can be.
The O.M.N.I™️ Strategy — Big Picture
The O.M.N.I™️ strategy has four parts: Optimisation, Messaging, Networking, Integration. Each foundation is distinct but intimately related.
O — Optimisation
The first step involves making the most effective use of all of the main social media platforms by adopting and experimenting with best practices. Someone with an Omni Mentality understands that to reach the largest audience you must be attuned to the consumption needs and preferences of all audiences. And that all platforms have their advantages. YouTube is great for establishing an emotional connection through video and showing rather than telling your audience who you are and why you’re passionate. Facebook is useful for building a community. Instagram is useful for triggering shares with high-quality and remarkable photos that evoke powerful emotional responses. Twitter is effective for spreading awareness rapidly through a catchy hashtag and locating news outlets. LinkedIn will help you find corporate support and philanthropists.
It also important to optimise your workflow using lean methods and agile thinking to get the best results in the shortest timeframe and minimal effort — working smart rather than working hard.
M — Messaging
Stories are a powerful tool in human communication and are very much hardwired into our DNA. Research indicates that the human brain responds to the descriptive power of stories in deeply affecting ways, influencing both the sensory and motor cortex. To read a story is to feel an experience and to synchronise our minds with the subject of the story. A fundamental requirement of virality is to tell a story that triggers emotions and embeds a compelling idea.
This requires you to decipher your audience: understand their needs, frustrations, and desires and make it crystal clear how your project will solve a particular pain point or address a wider issue.
N — Network
Leverage the people in your personal network to raise your campaign from obscurity. This means creating a network map and building a list of all the people who could possibly support your campaign: leave no stone unturned. Regardless of whether you’re starting with 5 followers or have amassed 5,000 followers you have the potential to engineer your own virality.
I — Integration
Here’s where the magic happens. Successful integrated campaigns work because they combine multiple platforms in order to promote one consistent message to a specific audience. Integration also means following in the footsteps of the people who’ve achieved what you want to achieve. This step requires you to get into the habit of studying viral content. Ask yourself: what emotions are being evoked? How were they evoked? The main goal of an integrated campaigns is to convert viewers into customers and donors. By integrating what’s worked before and adding your own unique twist you have the potential to generate mass interest without reinventing the wheel.
Question for you: Apart from emotion (pathos), Aristotle identified at least two other requirements for a compelling narrative. What are they?
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