Let’s be honest: You’re reading this article because your brand needs help. You wouldn’t be here, otherwise.
The problem that you’re having is that nobody is talking about your brand, period; not online, and most likely not offline, either.
Now, why is this?
When you speak with a content marketing agency like Content Boost, you’ll learn that a big reason why brands struggle to generate interest is because of a lack of lead generation, and a lack of brand awareness. You’ll learn that you need to be producing blog posts, case studies, e-books and email messages if you want to garner attention for your company.
This is all very true. But there could be a deeper issue as to why your brand is suffering.
Your brand may not be doing anything remarkable.
Master marketer Seth Godin shed light on the issue of remarkability in a popular TED talk titled “How to get your ideas to spread.” In the talk, Godin made the point that being remarkable means more than just being “neat.” It also means—unsurprisingly— being worthy of being mentioned.
In other words, a product needs to be different in order to capture the interest of the general public. It has to attract attention. Otherwise, the middle market of consumers will most likely ignore it due to the multitude of other options they have to select from, regardless of how much you spend on advertising.
Godin gave a great example, for instance, of how Silk—a popular milk alternative— was able to generate attention by strategically placing its product on store shelves. Someone, he said, decided to put the product—which does not need to be refrigerated—next to the milk in the refrigerated milk section.
What happened? Silk’s sales tripled.
“Why?” Godin said. “Milk, milk, milk, milk, milk—not milk. For the people who were there and looking at that section, it was remarkable. They didn’t triple their sales with advertising; they tripled it by doing something remarkable.”
As Godin explained it’s not always about your idea itself, but how you spread that idea that counts. Sliced bread, he explained, did not become popular until Wonder learned how to market it. In fact, the product took 15 years before people caught on and it turned into the example which all other great ideas in the world are compared to.
“People who can spread ideas, regardless of what those ideas are, win,” Godin said.
So, how do you win in this tricky game of marketing, where you need to be—as Godin explained—like a purple cow in a field of normal heifers in order to attract attention?
First, go back to the drawing board and figure out everything that your product is doing right so that you don’t adjust the wrong component in your attempt to be different. In Silk’s case, for instance, the brand didn’t tweak its recipe or change its label. It simply put the product in the right spot at the grocery store. What you’ll want to look for is the one variable factor that if you adjust, will excite consumers.
If you do this correctly, all of your digital marketing efforts will fall into place. Your website will experience more traffic; your social content will get more likes and shares, and your blog will get more clicks.
By working with a content strategy vendor like Content Boost, you’ll gain access to more than just professional digital assets for your website. You’ll also gain access to a team of strategic thinkers who will delight in helping you discover your brand’s own inner purple cow.
Are you ready to think about your brand differently?
