Communities have long been the domain of anthropologists, sociologists, and political scientists.

Most recently, management scientists and marketers have started to seriously study this
phenomenon. And in the past decade, technologists have taken over the game. “On-line
community” is practically a cliché nowadays.

Communities are nothing new to us; and it’s certainly not foreign. We know that communities
are powerful. We already have a sense of belonging to one (or more). And the communities to
which we belong inevitably shape our thinking and habits.

Remember that charisma is not of the person, but of the relationship. Likewise, we can cite the
charisma of groups. Durkheim called it “social effervescence.” We may call it fervor, buzz, or
peer pressure. It is this “irrational emotional” connection – or spiritual energy – that makes
communities powerful.

Communities were once associated with geography, ethnicity, and other traditional
demographics. But with mobility, globalization, and its related technologies, such confines have
eroded. Social psychologists XXXX define communities as XXXX.

At its most fundamental, communities are groups of people who share the same psychography.
A psychography is the common mindset, beliefs, and attitudes. It inevitably leads to habits,
which we can more easily witness.

In fact, we can learn a lot about communities from our own experiences. Think about the
communities to which you belong. More to our point, are you loyal to any brand name products?
We can easily see the fanaticism of Harley-Davidson riders, Apple Mac and iPod users, and even
Starbucks or instead to independent coffeehouses.
Many strategists recommend corporations to congeal their own brand communities. But how can
we harness this power for our personal brand? A personal brand community is nothing new; in
fact, it’s older than the recently-coined “brand community.” For decades, we’ve been calling it a
cult of personality, or more safely, a “fan club.”

We’re going to get to the heart of our fan club, study the different types of fans, and how we can
encourage them to do what we want. What do we want? Ultimately, we all want loyal
customers and raving fans to recruit more.

Some studies focus on the catalysts for community, like connectors, influencers, and blogs.
Obscure psychology journals can help us understand why people gravitate to communities,
personalities, and more recently, brands. I’ve cited references on-line www. A great layman’s
translation has been made by Douglas Atkin in his book, “The Culting of Brands.”

Using the controversial metaphor of religion and cults, Douglas helps us understand why fans
join brand communities. From my politics study, I remember it’s what Karl Marx cited as the
catalyst for the Revolution: “Alienation.”

While this is how a brand community begins, there is more to cultivating allegiance. Primal
Branding by Patrick Hanlon goes into specific elements. While he uses an anthropology
metaphor, his book is direct and simple. It helped me realize that we’ve already explored much
of the process.

Both pivotal books overlap. Yet both miss one or two aspects found in my research. Moreover, I
wanted a holistic process that explains how we can share our Persona, nurture allegiance, and
encourage recruitment. All the research alluded to it, but I find it central: The Anecdote of
Allegiance.

The emotional, spiritual power of stories... be content reference... and then the aspects. And then
afterward the mavericks, fans, customers, comrades, and aristocrats.
THE ANECDOTE OF ALLEGIANCE & ADVOCACY

THE UNIFYING ANECDOTE!

For more on the power of anecdotes, read “Be Content”

Your Persona’s
1) ASSOCIATES: Assistants/Agents ... are part of your Brand community, but not necessarily
“fans.”
Provide resources and ADVICE. They are the real people who are your
Advisors
Distributors
Vendors
Investors
Complementors, and
Employees.
Who your brand is associated with is extremely important. They are a direct reflection of you. If
they may be in conflict with your persona, they should be kept hidden. Though, in today’s age of
information, personal brand associates are easily found out. So use it to your advantage; this
may be an opportunity for Star Power.

2) ABOUT your typical fan: Typical demographics... age, gender, income, marital status, title,
geography, habits, and other noticeable/measurable characteristics.

3) ALIENATION: Adversity/Aspiration ... What makes your fans different from others? How do
they feel different from most? Why do they feel alienated? What’s the frustration that your
community may alleviate? Emotional & Rational.

4) AFFRIMATION: Action/Advice ... What’s the credo and battle-cry of your “fan club?” Your
persona is the Hero: Charismatic Patriarchs are the “foremost” embodiment of the Community
Affirmation (like a Platonic Form). Charismatic Populists are “further along,” and may accept
and encourage others to live to these ideals even more.
5) ADVANTAGES/Achievement of membership. Membership has its privileges. Fans wave
flags. True fans are “in the know” like esoteric scholars.... through SCLR: a/v Secrets: Symbols,
Chaco (comm. tools, to reach each other: blogs, meetings), Lingo, & other Rituals (privately
and/or with each other).

6) ANTAGONISTS: Adversaries/Antithesis ... Who “we are not like.” Demonize the opposite of
our ideals... 1) Enemies, 2) Traitors, 3) Competitors, and 4) Non-believers. (pyramidal)

7) ARISTOCRATS: Always emerge in communities... “better/bigger fans” consume more (pay

more). They have their own ARISTOCRATIC ANECDOTE: A)A/A/A(A. Patriarch
communities should accentuate Aristocrats. Populist communities should attenuate Aristocrats.
But its development is a positive sign – and should be promoted by fans. (pg. 48 – culting)

You need to serve your community. It is the focus factor. It is a corralling force to round up the
mavericks. (A maverick is an unbranded cow. I love mavericks. But in today’s world, we’re all
branded with what SHE calls “brain tattoos.”)