One of the eight elements of Ideas Marketing is the ritual. Whilst we normally associate rituals with religions, they also work in Ideas Marketing to presence your big idea on a daily basis. This is crucial because our ultimate goal is to have our fans and followers live our big idea everyday.

Today I wanted to share seven examples of rituals that you could build:

1 Prayer

In a religious sense a prayer is a practice for communicating with your higher power.

TIP: You can create a ‘prayer’ for your big idea by creating a practice for contemplation or simply bringing your idea alive.

2 Shaking Hands

Shaking hands is a welcoming gesture for meeting someone for the first time or upon seeing them again. The origin of the handshake was to create trust by showing that you didn’t have a gun or knife in your hand when you came in close contact with someone. Given most people are right-handed, this is why we shake with our right hands. This could also be a hug or a kiss depending upon the person you are meeting and your relationship with them.

TIP: How do you greet your fans? Is there a secret handshake?

3 Meditation

For many people who meditate their goals is to relax. However, if you go the core of the practice it is about focus and contemplation – relaxation is simply an enjoyable side effect.

TIP: What are the moods and emotions that you want to spark around your big idea? Meditation is an internal focus.

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4 Saying Grace

Typically we say grace before a meal to say thanks. Gratitude is a powerful practice that is acknowledged as being helpful for happiness.

TIP: What are you thankful for? And, when do you want to be thankful? What would be something simple that you could say at this time to be grateful?

5 Singing

Sometimes we sing because we want to… er, sing. Do we need any other reason? Sometimes we sing to presence our big idea. For instance, in church a hymn is sung to presence God. And, we sing our national anthem to acknowledge our country and our respect for it.

TIP: Do you have a song for your big idea? When would you sing it?

6 Gifts

Giving flowers to someone can have a very different meaning depending upon which type of flowers you gift. For instance, red roses are generally a gift of love and passion. Whilst you love your mum, you don’t usually give red roses to your mum – more likely to your lover or partner.

TIP: What gift could you give to forward your big idea? It could be as simple a printed card, a small coin or a badge. Remember it’s only a gift if you expect nothing in return.

7 Awards

Whilst an award is an artifact, the presentation of it can be a powerful ritual. One of the most powerful presentations is that of an Olympic Games gold medal and the playing of the national anthem. Alternatively, after 5 years of study at university all I’ve got to show for it is a bit of paper with the University seal and the words ‘Bachelor of Architecture with Honours’ written on it.

TIP: Awards are all about acknowledgement. What and whom do you want to acknowledge? What will be the award? And, when and how will you present this award?

COMMENT: Which of these rituals do you practice regularly? What other rituals could we add to this list?