How To Stand Out Among The Noise Online
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Each month there’s a new tactic that’s supposed to be the panacea. The Thing that will “cut through the clutter and get you noticed!” And sometimes they work, most times they don’t. But that’s not the problem.
The problem is you don’t want to stand out amongst the noise.
…or you shouldn’t want to.
Playing the “how does my message stand out amongst the clutter!!” game is like being a contestant on the Bachelor.
You start making a fool of yourself in an effort to get attention.
More attention is NOT the goal if you want a successful business.
Back in the day, attention was enough to get you where you needed to go. Eyeballs meant attention. Attention meant conversions. Conversions meant SALES.
Ergo: Attention = sales.
Today, eyeballs don’t guarantee anything.
Certainly, not attention. Our eyeballs are visually assulted at all times and our brains don’t register a-damn-thing. In fact, we’ve been conditioned to ignore the barrage of messages coming at us because it’s so damn disruptive.
The few times you do get attention (let’s say, something goes viral) it rarely has the desired impact on your sales. It is great for the ego, that’s for sure. So if that’s your metric, disregard the rest of this article
But if you’d like to grow your business:
You don’t want attention. You want resonance.
Like all things in life, this is best explained through a metaphor about high school.
You’re at a party. It’s 11th grade.
You want to be the “center of attention.” The implication is that’s a good thing, but…
If you poop yourself on the dance floor, you’re the center of attention.
Which is probably not what you were going for when you thought you wanted attention. So attention isn’t exactly a specific or useful goal here, which is problem #1.
But whatever you’re looking hot and you’re a little drunk, so you’re loud and flirty and DAMMIT YOU BECOME THE CENTER OF ATTENTION.
Success. You’ve stood out amongst the noise.
What does it get you?
Laid.
(Obviously, you get a lot of attention. Mostly from dudes. And you get laid. It’s not rocket science.)
So, the attention-strategy gets you laid. Which is problem #2:
Attention gets you a one-night-stand. It doesn’t get you the relationship you’re looking for.
That comes from resonance.
And if you’re in business, you want a relationship, not a one night stand (I can’t comment on what’s best for your personal life, though. You do you boo boo.)
Let’s cut to the other 11th grader.
She’s also cute, but not into being the spotlight. She’s chatting with friends and makes a joke that a few dudes nearby hear and think is hilarious. They come over because this girl seems cool and let’s be honest this dance kind of sucks.
(That was a metaphor for inbound marketing.)
They get to talking. And what this girl is saying resonates with the group.
At the end of the night, she has a bunch of new friends and a few phone numbers.
See where I’m going with this?
Attention gets you a one-night-stand. Resonance gets you the relationship.
If you’re in business, you want the relationship.
Where attention used to equal sales, today relationships equal sales. Without the relationship you have nothing.
So, it’s not that you “can’t” stand out in a “noisy” world.
It’s, well, why would you want to?
