CEO at The Outloud Group, a full-service influencer marketing agency that creates & executes strategic campaigns at scale
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Influencer marketing, when executed properly, is a particularly effective way to drive quality traffic and customers to your brand. And mimetic desire can give you a key insight into understanding why that is.
What is mimetic desire? Simply put, it’s a framework that comes from 20th-century philosopher René Girard that argues that imitation of other humans is at the center of human behavior. Mimetic desire says that as humans, we prefer to use trusted role models to help us simplify our decision-making and inform what we think we want.
As much as we think we are rational creatures first and emotional creatures second, our actions suggest otherwise. We typically will make decisions with our emotions and justify them with our reason. This impacts major aspects of our lives (belief systems, politics, relationships) but can also impact more day-to-day-level things like the products we buy.
We all have deep and shallow desires, and we are always looking for relevant role models to define ourselves. Think of deep desires as something that aligns with the most important value we have as humans and shallow as something that reflects a moment-in-time desire.
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What Does That Have To Do With Marketing?
In short, marketing is the cultivation of desire at scale. And when you begin to understand how mimetic desire works, you realize that when your audience’s role models begin advocating for a product, that audience becomes more inclined to purchase it.
Now the next question that someone will inevitably ask is: “Will this work for anything or any role model?” The answer is no. A trusted role model that is most relevant to the audience is key. And what evokes their trust? In our experience, it’s actually being more transparent with some of those deep desires.
For example, when trusted role models are open about wanting to chase their dreams or provide for their family, they are highlighting substantive, meaningful desires, which in turn humanizes them and makes them relatable to their audience. In contrast, when a role model sticks to thin and superficial desires—like wanting more followers or to make money for the sake of their own personal wealth—it forms a weaker bond between the role model and their imitators. It may work in the short term, but it makes for a less loyal audience.
This is often why we advise creators to not pursue being a creator for its own sake, but as a means to advocate for something they are truly passionate about. Ironically, it’s the creators that care more about their passion and audience than about “being a creator” that end up most successful.
Why It Works
When any creator associates themselves with a brand, psychology tells us that it forms an unspoken promise in our minds. We begin to associate that brand with an identity we desire. You know what I mean? It’s that emotional promise you feel—If only I had those Air Jordans, then I’d really become a better basketball player.
Influencer marketing works because we naturally want to organize ourselves into groups that make us feel safe and normal within them. Ironically, we like to buy into communities that promise to make us different, but our actions suggest that this isn’t actually what occurs. At the end of the day, we seek out role models that will help us feel at home with others that share a unique behavior with us.
In fact, is it any surprise that one of the most successful campaigns from one of the largest and most successful brands out there deliberately bound their brand to the “crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels” (Apple’s iconic ’97 commercial)?
The more influential and relevant the role model, the more quickly they will begin impacting social norms. This is the power of influencer marketing. If you want to bring about a mindset shift that will help a larger audience understand their need for your solution, using an influencer is often one of the most effective ways you can do that.
Marketing With Mimetic Desire
So, how do you apply all of this to your influencer marketing?
Here are some of the key lessons you can take away from this:
• Understand what drives them.
Does a creator act like they’re more interested in building or monetizing their audience than in providing value to their audience? If so, run away as fast as you can. The sincerity and authenticity of creators that are passionate about their topic are infectious and can translate well to brand sponsorships with the right brands.
• Know that a loyal audience trumps a large audience.
Do they have a large audience but only a handful of them engage with each post? That’s evidence of a disengaged audience that won’t drive results. Meanwhile, loyalty, while more intangible, is often a good indicator that they are a strong role model for their niche.
• Look for brand advocates, not brand parrots.
Approach a relationship with an influencer like a partnership. Try to collaborate on how to talk about the product and don’t limit them to your brand’s talking points.
Do their other sponsorships look like infomercials or like honest product reviews? We’ve seen over and over that campaigns that look more like a satisfied review from a real customer consistently perform better for brands.
Who Are Your Role Models?
While it can sometimes be a lot to accept, once you look around you through this lens of mimetic desire, you’ll start to recognize it everywhere. If you’re honest with yourself, you probably have seen it in your own life. Which trusted role model helped you make your last decision?
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Author: Bradley Hoos, Forbes Councils Member
