Seth Godin’s latest thoughts on the the success of parlor trick magician Steve Cohen have a lot of relevance for brands looking to create socially-engaged entertainment:

1. He sells to a very specific group of people, people who are both willing to hear what he has to say and able to pay what he wants to charge them.
2. He tells a story to this group, a story that matches their worldview. He doesn’t try to teach non-customers a lesson or persuade them that they are wrong or don’t know enough about his art. Instead, he makes it easy for his happy customers to bring his art to others.
3. He intentionally creates an experience that is remarkable and likely to spread. “What did you do last night?” is a great question when it’s asked of someone you entertained the night before, particularly if you can give the audience an answer they can give. That’s how the word spreads.
4. He’s extremely generous in who he works with, how promiscuous he is about sharing and in his attitude.
5. He’s very good at his craft. Don’t overlook this one.

At the essence of these five thoughts are three insights that are at the core of making successful entertainment properties for the social web:

1. Find your audience. Godin’s #1 and #2 are all about finding your audience where they gather and understanding the best way to connect them to the story. And while brands have done a good job of finding their audiences in meatspace (in traditional media, print, outdoor, and guerrilla), they haven’t always done as good a job in the digital social space. Which is odd, because in the digital social space it’s actually much easier to find groups of people gathering not around artificial categories like neighborhoods or jobs, but around their passions. But unfortunately, many brands stop their social presence at a Facebook and Twitter page, instead of seeking out their audiences where they gather — on an IT techs’ forum, on a news group for advertising creatives, in the blogrolls of mommy bloggers. And only a brave few have begun the process of creating compelling entertainment designed specifically with those niche destinations and audiences in mind — to, as Godin puts it, “tell a story that matches their worldview.”

2. Make it awesome. No matter how good your audience insights and digital connection planning is, if your story sucks, it’s DOA. For branded entertainment to be successful, it has to be entertaining first. Period. Because the win for a brand is not just getting another brand impression, and it isn’t just engrossing the viewer for the 3-5 minutes a webisode plays. It’s in creating an ongoing universe the viewer wants to delve in, wants to share with their friends, and can’t wait to visit again with the next episode.

3. Be promiscuous. Infectious performers like Gary Vaynerchuk or Steve Cohen encourage spreadability of their thoughts through their generosity and approachability.They make people want to share what they say. Why? Because people value what they are saying and the fact that they are the ones saying it. That’s what creates believers. People who want to see you succeed. In the syndicated, social web, it’s simple to create distribution systems that make it easy for viewers to share your story. But if you can also make it easy for them to want to share your story? Well, that’s the true magician’s secret behind spreadable media.