Astroturfing

Astroturfing

The idea of Astroturfing and its potential uses in different spheres

Imitating the advice of a leader without having any second opinion is a very common trend in the recent political world. However, the same practice of Astroturfing can be observed in the world of business also. Referring to a brand blindly is a perfect instance for this term.

Though, the term is widely used in every sphere of the political and business world negatively. But, with a positive aim, this concept can generate wide popularity along with other benefits within a very less period. This concept got its name from fake grass or grass mats because of its natural tendencies.

Creating a false impression is the prime object of this matter thus this concept is widely accepted in the political domain. But, in campaigns, companies can also take the help of this concept to increase their product conversion rate while showing fake pictures of their holdings.

The generation of an original or genuine image of the company is the prime target of this concept. Sometimes, business hides their resources or use an artificial image of their resources to attract customers. You can use this concept for your business but it would stay for a very short time.

Here are some points mentioned to cover the concept by analyzing different aspects.

• Having one or several fixed agendas is the prime requirement, which needs to develop this concept. Frequent changes in the agendas are completely eliminated in this concept. 
• Political parties have primarily used this concept initially to defeat their opposition. But nowadays, profitable business organizations along with non-profit organizations use this concept to reach more audiences. 
• Moreover, this concept is also used to build an image of an individual in the public domain. Hence, this concept is equally efficient in the creation of brand names for individuals. 
• But, grassroots attention, which is an illusion, is very much essential in this concept. This concept is actuary used in the process when other options are no longer in existence. 
• Essentially, the support of the majority of people despite illusions is the main key point of this concept. Businesses use the majority of consumers’ viewpoints and political organizations use the majority of supporters’ viewpoints to win the game. 
• But remember that, the use of this formula in political campaigns is somewhat accepted in many parts of the world. But, this practice in business organizations is restricted in many counties including the USA. 

In a general sense, people started imitating the thing that their neighbors or friends are doing. The creation of an illusion is created, which would also act as a scarcity. In GenZ’s words, the creation of FOMO (Fear-Of-Missing-Out) acts as the base level for this formula to enter people’s minds.

You can see the word “fake news” is very much popular nowadays and would appear in news often. To have a clear view, you must know that fake news is the latter version of this formula of creating illusions. After finding the reason, you would find fake things if the organization used this formula for its campaigns.

Puppet leaders

The spread of fixed propaganda is the main aim of puppet leaders as it would help to nurture peoples’ movements. The creation of an online identity and following it up with a lot of facts and information is another characteristic of using this formula.

• Sometimes you can observe that some organizations are coming up with fresh ideas to protest something. They will bring up the facts and reasons for their protests. 
• The causes and the facts behind their protest would seem very convincing and neutral from a beginner’s perspective. Hence, a few people would also feel to join the protest because of the organizations’ influences. 
• These organizations would have some faces, which would act as leaders to lead the movement or protest. With their words, people tend to believe in them and their thoughts. Gradually, the leaders would catch more people for the movement. 
• These organizations would use all social media platforms along with optimal use of the search engine to lead their movements. You can find their blogs, articles, and other posts interesting and feel genuine concern for your connection.

However, the leaders would have a fixed agenda, which may be establishing a new political regime, defaming the existing structure, or anything. These organizations use persona management to create this impact in public. They are well aware of strong public policy and other related things.

Some vested factors would act as a leading force to initiate the movement. But, these organizations would appear as independent bodies, which are concerned about the general people.

You can spot some of these things in businesses also but in different forms. Bloggers or vloggers sometimes do not show what they have got from companies for promotion. As they do not refer to their content as a promotion but as genuine content for the public.

Lead a group

Sometimes, many groups would appear in the public domain with a general agenda, especially for public health and other issues. These groups are leaded by a big organization but anonymously. These groups will create awareness among the public related to some bad things or good things.

• These groups can suggest you some products but would tell you that they are not promoting a brand. They will talk about the benefits of the products with evidence.
• Eventually, people would buy some of the products also because of the influence. Hence, business organizations would successfully use the formula to penetrate their products in the market. 
• But because of tough competition in the market, these groups cannot stay in the field for a long time. Competitors would reveal the group and take this issue to their advantage to promote their products. 
• Hence, these groups are used for a very brief time and would get disbanded after hitting the target. 

Finally, this formula is a very efficient medium to gather public opinion under one roof. But, a strong marketing team and experts would be required here to sustain it. Using the formula under restrictive terms would be fine for businesses too.