What did you read online today? What adverts did you see? You can probably remember a few things – the pieces that really resonated with you – but it’s more likely that much of what has passed by your eyes has either gone completely unnoticed, or you just didn’t care enough to read on.
What we’ve got today is an incredibly noisy society. There is a vast amount of content for people to digest, and ultimately much of it is a distraction, making us lose track of the things that really matter. There is simply no way we can absorb everything we see and hear in a day.
So that gives marketers a problem. If your marketing is going to work, then you need people to see it. But how can you stand out in an ocean of content?
Words Count not Word Count
If you want to stand out, then posting relentlessly on social media and placing adverts everywhere will certainly get you seen. But what if people know your name, but don’t know what you stand for? They might know you exist, but if they don’t understand what you do or, more importantly, the value that you can offer them, then it’s all for nothing. What a waste of time. Or worse, they might consider you to be that annoying person who keeps distracting the flow of their news feed. It might actually turn them off from what you want to say. This approach also takes up a huge amount of time.
So instead of just putting yourself out there lots, why not think more strategically? Rather than having loads of content, why not make your message very special, aimed specifically at your key target market, using language that will immediately capture their attention. Then why don’t you just repeat this message to your audience until they can’t help but listen.
Smarter Thinking
It comes down to that old notion of working smarter not harder. It’s actually about doing less work overall, but the effort is focused on the thinking in advance rather than the need to constantly be talking.
Give yourself something to say, and then stick to it. And make sure that it drives into the value you offer customers, not a list of things that you do. In our busy world, we haven’t got time to find out about the many strings you have to your bow, we want to know if any of those strings is of benefit to us. Tell us that straight away, and if we’re still interested, then we’ll read on.
It might seem crazy that less content is actually going to be better, but ultimately fewer words that immediately strike a chord with people will always get you heard far more than lots of nattering. So if you don’t have a marketing strategy, then take a step back before you next move forward. If you do it right, it will be steps worth taking.
