The marketing game has changed in 2018, not just in technology, or where people spend their
time. (Social Media, Youtube vs. Television, Magazines, Etc.) But how technology has changed
the kind of content that gets NOTICED in a very noisy marketplace that no longer requires a
large marketing budget to enter. In 2018, a large budget no longer guarantees sales, for only
remarkable content is remembered and makes an impression.
Most businesses are on social media, have an email list, and have a respectable landing page.
And they should, but because of the sheer numbers of people and companies on social media,
ordinary informative posts are often ignored in a sea of “good” businesses. Good businesses,
with good campaigns, are ignored by the millions on a daily basis. To get people’s attention your
content needs to be more and more remarkable to stick in people’s minds or to even get them to
look at your post in the first place.
I sat next to young girl recently on a flight home from Florida, she seemed like a nice girl,
probably in her mid 20’s. I noticed she had the new iPhone X, so when we landed and she took
out her phone I was curious to watch her use it. (This was within a week of the X being
released) She quick texted someone (probably to notify her ride she had landed) and then she
went straight to her Instagram app, swiping and double tapping like a smartphone ninja,
scrolling through posts at LIGHTNING speed. She would swipe through 10 or more posts in less
than 5 seconds, and then pause on something that caught her eye. She would then return to
competition level feed scrolling, and double tapping (liking) of certain posts in rapid succession.
Wow! It was an amazing thing to watch.
I don’t think the way this nice girl on the airplane consumes social media is an anomaly. I
expect most young people consume content at a similar pace. But, what I am most interested in,
is why she paused, read, and became fixated on certain posts. She studied certain ones
closely, read the caption, and read the comments. I submit those posts were in fact, remarkable!
Seth Godin said, when you are driving through the country you initially may look at the cows by
the side of the road. But after a few miles, you are no longer interested and ignore the all too
common black and white cow. But, if one of the cows was purple, then you would pay attention.
You would inquire further, you may even pull over to the side of the road to take a picture and
share the “purple cow phenomenon” with your friends, or the world for that matter.
A similar point was made in a Harvard Business Review article talking about the “Blue Ocean
Strategy” making the point that a remarkable business, that can differentiate itself from
everyone else is more prone to success than a business that is simply looking for the largest
customer pool. This is especially true today, in the overcrowded marketplaces of online
business, or any kind of business.
So be great, be remarkable, but most importantly, be different! Be the person that is so off the
wall that people remember you, when they shake your hand, visit your website, open one of
your emails, or see one of your posts in their feed.