Gordon Glenister, influencer marketing specialist, author, and founder of Membership World, on why the psychology of following and belonging connects influencer marketing to membership communities, why the best influencers are storytellers rather than content machines, and how the CEO acronym applies equally to associations and creator communities.
"We tend not to remember lots of facts. But we will always remember a joke or a story."
Why the psychology of following and belonging is the foundation of both influencer marketing and membership communities
Gordon Glenister has lived in two worlds simultaneously for the past several years: influencer marketing specialist, author, and podcast host on one side; and founder of Membership World, a community of 7,000 trade associations and professional membership bodies, on the other. Most people assume these are unrelated. Glenister argues they are expressions of the same underlying human psychology.
In this conversation Glenister explains why people follow certain voices, what the CEO acronym reveals about what members really want from associations and communities, and why the most commercially valuable influencers are the ones who have mastered storytelling rather than content volume.
"There is not an association that does not want to become influential. And there are many content creators and influencers that actually build communities and memberships. The two sectors interlock because they are both built on why people follow, why people belong, and why people keep coming back."
Glenister makes the connection explicit: both are about human psychology, not technology or format.
"I have been fascinated about why we follow certain people, why we hit subscribe, why we engage with content. It all comes down to relatability. We want to find somebody that is like us, that we like to listen to. We want to be educated, we want to be inspired. Increasingly we want to be entertained."
Glenister identifies four pillars of following behaviour, with entertainment increasingly important.
"When we launched MESA, the Meetings and Events Support Association, I wanted to create something people could remember. I created CEO: Community, Education, Opportunity. All I wanted members to remember. When they were telling other people about us, if they could remember those three words and create their own narrative around them, they are more likely to get people to say, that sounds really interesting, where can I find out more?"
The CEO acronym solves a real communication problem for associations.
"The most successful influencers are really just great storytellers. We tend not to always remember lots of facts, but we will always remember a joke or a story. That is how the influencer space has grown so hugely. And it is also why people stay with membership associations for years."
Story creates memory. Memory creates loyalty. That applies in both sectors.
"We now want to feel almost like a sense of belonging. Why do you belong to a tennis club or a political party? Because you want to find something you can align to, you can relate to, that you can engage with. That is why people stay with membership associations for years."
Belonging is the deepest form of community engagement and the hardest for competitors to replicate.
"There is not an association that does not want to become influential. And there are many influencers that build communities and memberships."
Host You work in two sectors. Tell us how they connect.
Glenister There is not an association that does not want to become influential. And there are many content creators that build communities and memberships. Why? Because the psychology is the same. Why do people follow? Why do they belong? Relatability, education, inspiration, entertainment. CEO: Community, Education, Opportunity. That is what both sectors are built on.
Host Why are the most successful influencers storytellers?
Glenister The most successful influencers are really just great storytellers. We tend not to remember facts but we always remember a good story. That is how the influencer space has grown so hugely. It is also why people stay with membership associations for years.
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