There is too much content being produced. Nobody can keep up with it.
A friend of mine asked, “How do you keep up with Twitter when you follow 15,000 people?” I bluntly responded that I don’t. There’s just too much noise and clutter to make sense of the content people are sharing.
Every company is publishing and sharing content, but only a fraction of it is being seen. This is a universal truth in content marketing today.
What Happened to Conversations?
Social media started as a conversation tool. In the very early days of Twitter and Facebook you could connect with people from all over the world to talk.
There weren’t any social media tools to automate the process. It was simply like-minded people connecting and discussing ideas.
Somewhere along the line that was lost. The robots took over.
Companies have embraced social media management tools and marketing automation platforms, and as a results prospects and customers are being inundated content. It’s overwhelming, and it’s annoying.
More Content Won’t Work
In 2005 the metrics were way better. Every article I wrote generated a customer, and some articles generated dozens of customers. The return on content was incredible, but that doesn’t happen anymore.
Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is the wake up call for brand building online. More content and more automation will not make you more successful.
To stand out be contrarian: publish less and engage more.
Go back to the roots of social media. Instead of using the tools to automate your content marketing, use them to engage people. Look for people sharing ideas and reach out to them. Ask them questions. Spark a conversation.
It’s that simple. Engagement is contrarian in our current social media landscape. You can make your brand immediately stand out online if you can make a concentrated effort to listen and engage with people.
People Want to be Acknowledged
Engaging people as people is brilliant marketing.
It feels amazing when a company or a person reaches out to you online. To see that someone else likes your ideas is uplifting. To be acknowledged that you exist validates why you participate on social media.
This is a brand’s opportunity to stand out. Shift your resources from publishing content, and look for opportunities to engage. Listen, connect, and talk.
Brands are built by people, and Sticky Brands are built by people who deliberately engage their marketplace.
