Noise Reduction

September 1, 2008 · Comments

wing player What if there’s a lot of congestion in a certain market? What happens when there are too many of the same conference to attend? Robert Scoble points to the question of whether startups should attend DEMO or TechCrunch50. He cites the extra power TC50 has by way of Michael Arrington’s platform, and what that means to startups. In technology, we find ourselves with a lot more noise to sift through, and several more choices than the typical person. This example says that the possible deciding factor between two conferences is the additional media value of one over the other. I’m thinking there’s something there to consider for other situations and settings.

Standing Out

If there are five realtors in town, with one on top of the heap, sales and marketing-wise, what will you do as part of the rest of the pack to stand out? Would having a media platform behind you help? What if you built the town’s community events calendar and blog? Further, what if you became the place to go for people to see pictures and video of the latest houses on the market. Would having a media property aligned with you make a difference? I suspect it might.

The Inclusive Play

What if you’re trying to differentiate your product in a marketplace of similar products? If you’re Fast Company magazine, you might add a community website ( they did), and start promoting the people in the community around you. Further, you might run a video show that interviews all the interesting tech and business players ( they do) such that people feel like they’re part of the action at your property. Is that play working for Fast Company compared to its competition? I don’t have numbers, but it feels like it’s working.

Personality

For every pale imitation and clone out there, someone is shining bright and delivering an original piece of value. Getting there first and doing your own thing well adds value. There are many venture capitalists out there, but only one Guy Kawasaki. For every dozen investors we don’t know, there’s only one Fred Wilson.

It’s not that everyone must blog, but if you’re looking to stand out, to reduce noise, to share your perspective in a crowded space, it can certainly help.

Does every business need to make social media and dive into this space? No. But would you readily throw away a tool that helps your product or service or company stand out, help your customers feel included, and highlight the unique personalities within the organization?

What’s your take?

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  • As a mom blogger, I often feel I get lost in noise. I have three little children, so my online time is limited. I can either focus on providing good content OR marketing. If I do both, I sacrifice time with my kids. They are the most important aspect of my life. For now, I am content with a small audience who appreciates the entertainment I provide. There will be time to go big or go home once the kids are all in school. Perhaps not really what you were asking, but a perspective from a mom blogger in a sea of mom bloggers.
  • The problem is that it seems to be taking companies as long to understand and effectively use social media as it has taken many companies to realize that the Web is a completely different marketing channel than TV, print and radio. I'd say that for a long time, we'll be seeing people/companies posting stale videos, images and content in the social media space just like they do on the Web elsewhere.
  • Chris, you make very good points. As I my full time job is not blogging, I have shed the artificial need to stand out - an now focus on standing up...

    That is I write passionately about what I love, listen to a lot of input, such as this, and try to innovate in small sustainable ways.

    I could not hope to compete with the "bullhorn of Scoble" as Seidman puts it - so I don't try. He has established his place through blood, sweat, and a lot yelling about things he is passionate about... just like each one of your examples.

    So my vote is simply for impacting the world in small and meaningful ways like buying paying for a cup of coffee for the guy behind you inline - in the small hope they will pay it forward to someone else.

    Instigator of Betterment,
    Ken
  • Love the idea of this. I think the social media is begining to really provide opportunities for small, community based businesses to make a good fist of creating a community around their brand, or for most small companies (that already have a committed bunch of customers), helping to energise their market even more.

    My take, 'getting it' can certainly leverage an existing grassroots user group into a large market for the organisation to speak to. I love this gapingvoid post, on creating a micro-brand blog that creates a competitive advantage.

    http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archive...
  • Hey Chris;

    Great thoughts about standing out and getting noticed in the noise. One thing I've noticed is many people are looking for the so-called "overnight success." Of course there's no such thing as an overnight success. It takes persistence and a stick to it attitude to finally get noticed.

    As always, I find your posts thought provoking!

    All the best!
    Dr. Rus
  • There is a science to "standing out" that can increase the efficacy of your marketing efforts.

    The simplest way to apply it is to be distinctive: to assess your competitors and do something they aren't. I recently completed a film which reveals the neuroscience that explains the power of distinctiveness and how you can apply it to your brand.

    "How to Kill Your Brand"
    http://quo-vadis.tv/how_to_kill_your_brand/

    Hope you find the information valuable.

    You can't stand out by blending in.
  • Interesting post Chris.

    Like you, I think it is important to have your own unique personality and voice that stays consistent over time as you look to be "above the noise."

    Adding to this, I also think it is important that as a business or personal brand that you know who you intend to speak to...or in other terms your target market...and stay consistent in the communication to them over time.

    I think where people make the mistake is that they think they need to be all things to all people...and by trying to do that they miss the mark completely and just join all of the other people making the noise you are talking about.
  • Liz
    I find it easier to find another playing field than try to compete against people with more resources than I could ever have at my disposal. Luckily, in my world, that's not too difficult to do.

    Sure, there's the chance you might win going head-to-head with the big ones. But do you really want to lose your head, money, time, friends, family or dignity in the pursuit of being David over Goliath? Better to choose to be an original in a niche you invent yourself than a Z-list player on a well-worn playing field.

    How's that for a jumble of mixed metaphors? Sports, Bible, Hollywood, you can find rules of engagement in all of these worlds.
  • I ignored social media for a loooooong time while my betters were telling me I really needed to get into this. As a blogger, I was doing fine with content, ping, listings and comments on other blogs. But on the web if you aren't moving forward, you are moving backward, and I feel it now.

    I'm moving toward social media, but approaching it cautiously as I've seen folks burn them selves with it.

    I'm also looking beyond the social web to the semantic web, because I don't want to catch the tail of the next wave.
  • Looking forward to digging further into this one next week in Waltham.
  • Standing out is more important now than ever before. Competition in all industries is not getting lighter....but more intense. Thus everyone needs to find a way to rise above.

    Blogging is one way. But there are many many things one can do. In the end, people do business with those they know, like and trust. If you are the best kept secret in your business... you are leaving money behind.

    Nobody can build your personal brand for you. It is done via the actions that you take everyday in everything that you do.

    You are a great example of this... as you have established yourself as someone worth reading, following and listening to.
  • Nice post Chris...

    Standing Out:
    Many Real Estate people are adopting a social media/social networking strategy. Of course, there are those who do it just because they are told to and really aren't interested and conversely, there are the few who actually *enjoy* connecting with people in the digital realm. This to me makes all the difference in the world, if your gonna do it, do it in a way that you enjoy.

    Personality:
    Well, totally agree with doing *your* thing but, I don't think it is necessary to get there first. Again, IMHO, if more people would truly focus on doing the things they love, they would be much more successful at it. Everyone *KNOWS* this but few practice it. Instead most people do what they think will get them attention and more money etc.

    So, my point, (cliche) Do what you love, and love what you do.

    cheers
    Aronado
  • "Further, what if you became the place to go for people to see pictures and video of the latest houses on the market."

    I think these kinds of ideas fit neatly with some of your previous posts on content marketing. Being 'the place to go' for trusted, interesting and relevant content cuts through a lot of promotional noise.
  • I do believe one of the hardest things is standing out. It is very difficult to be different than any other people out there that already have become successful. We all do seem to find that one thing that makes us different than everyone else and hope that people like it. Great article.
  • Great advice, Chris. The trouble, of course, is that it's a boatload of work to do this kind of thing. And you might go at it for a really long time before you see any payoff in terms of attention.

    On top of that, you've got to actually have something interesting to offer. Most people do have that, but they often don't realize it, because they think of those interesting things as a mundane part of their jobs.
  • Kathy Sierra
    I really like this post, Chris--and cheers to you for inspiring the great comments. I'll second Liz on seeking a 'playing field' not already full of competitors, Mark Nagurski on being 'the trusted source' and Aronodo on the importance of doing what you love/loving what you do...

    And I'll add one small point -- you mention the importance of standing out (I agree, very important)-- and the best, most sustainable way to make that happen is to shift your focus from how *you* can stand out and instead work on helping your *users* (readers, participants, etc.) stand out.

    Thanks for this and all your other posts! You're a great example--so much of your work is devoted to helping *us* stand out, and, well, you've managed to rise well above the noise : )
  • This is the single biggest question that I get from individuals and companies looking to enter the social space.

    What can I do to get noticed among the crowd?

    Social media effort can easily be wasted unless you are setting yourself apart from the normal tone of the market. If you sound like a hundred other people and deliver all the same information then you will never rise up and be noticed and you will spin off a bunch of content, spend a bunch of time and get nowhere... Social media = waste of time.

    Your social media engagement and content strategy should be planned well in advance. Chris gives us a good example of doing this... He set out to write 100 useful blog posts on social media and did it exceedingly well.

    We have been watching how he rose to fame in this space, he literally jumped off the page going from unheard of to an industry leader inside of a few months. I never knew of Chris until the crowd started mentioning him in the past 3 months... Planned content based on community needs.

    We have logged all the networks that Chris participated in and how he engaged them... Chris Brogan and this blog can and should be back engineered as a case study in a successful "content driven" approach to social media success.

    Great post Chris! ... You have proven yourself to be a valuable asset to this industry ... keep 'em coming.

    Charles Heflin
  • Rob
    As with any business, being good at what you do or having a good product is not enough.

    Like it has been mentioned in above comments in one way or another, you have to find a unique way of presenting your business. What a business is really doing is providing enough value to somebody for them to justify the money they hand over to you.

    In other words you have to provide at least the same money's worth of value as the price you are asking. If you can present your product or service in a way that explains exactly what it will bring to your potential clients' lives (for the better of course) and if that is a true claim then you will attract the clients that do not need to be 'sold' to.
    The way to stand out therefore is to determine your ideal customers and market yourself based on your unique selling proposition, which is tailored to those ideal customers, rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

    Yes it's obvious, but many new businesses forget to do it!

    Well that's one way anyway.
  • I think personality is one of the most important factors. People need to know your company is composed of humans with families, friends, and lives similar to yours. When you take everything else away, we're all people.
  • Rob
    I agree that personality is important to get you noticed and build relationships with potential customers, but in a business sense, that will not mean anything if it is not backed up by substance.

    If you make people laugh for instance and they like your style but then you fail to meet any of their actual business requirements or expectations, like meeting deadlines etc. those people may like you as a person, but they won't do business with you.
  • @Charles- I hadn't seen your comment until now. Thanks for the kind words. I most certainly worked at delivering a value. I'm glad that it came off that way to you.

    I have more to come. There's lots more projects underway over the next few weeks, and I've got a few other ideas that matter to me that I'll roll out before the end of the year.
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