Don't get lost in the noise of social media

It's no longer enough to be present on social media. Everybody's doing it.

You. Your competitors. Your peers. Your parents. Even Granny's at it nowadays -?Tik-Tok'ing?from her rocking chair. It's just so accessible.

Everybody's using it. Everybody's a?potential listener.

But everybody is now also a potential communicator.

With big audiences, comes big noise. Noise that clutters the space.

Noise that drowns out your voice. Noise that buries potential customers. Noise that gets in the way of you communicating with your followers.

It's just become so... NOISY.

But you can combat that. You can cut through this noise. You can be the voice people?actually?listen to!

Exciting, right?

All you have to do is be?consistent,?be?present,?and implement these 5 elements:

#1: Have one key point

The clearer your message, the easier it is for people to understand.

The easier it is for them to engage, the more likely they are to respond and become a potential future customer.

The key to this is to really spend some time on "cutting away the fat" and really fine-tuning the message you want to communicate to your followers.

What do you want people to think of when they think of your brand? What makes your business tick? What is your ultimate mission??Your main purpose.

Try and keep it to just one sentence and then make sure all levels of your organisation understand this. Always keep this message in mind when making key marketing decisions. Always come back to this foundational motivator.

Make this?your company's mantra.

This will also help massively with the next point!

#2: Be authentic

People aren't stupid.

If the message you're delivering isn't a genuine one, then people will begin to see through the cracks.

Yes, many large successful companies make a living from lying and deceiving people; but do you really want to replicate that?

They also have marketing budgets bigger than most country's GDP's, so they're in a slightly different position than to us relatively smaller outfits.

That may sound like a disadvantage, but although it sounds rather cliché, being smaller can be your superpower.?Use it.

Utilise your size, demonstrate?transparency,?establish?relationships,?be?authentic.

This is much more likely to stick with someone than just being another faceless corporation that doesn't give a sh*t about its customers.

Be?different.?Be?better.

#3: Locate your audience

If your core audience are on?Instagram?then why are you spending the majority of your time on?Facebook? It makes no sense.

Yes, Facebook has a huge pool of potential listeners. But if hardly any of these listeners are interested in what you have to say, then what's the point?

"It's better to have a fully-engaged audience of 100 people than an audience of a half-arsed 1000."

Find where your content resonates best and optimise your efforts on that channel. Work to your strengths. Don't spread yourself too thin and reduce your impact.

It's better to be a master on 1 platform than being average on a few.

Yes, there's value in spreading your message across a variety of networks, but if you don't understand where your core audience lies then you're diluting your messaging.

Locate your audience and bring yourself to them.

They sure won't come looking for you.

#4: Seek support

It sounds so obvious but there's strength in numbers.

If there's 10 people in your business then this is a great position to be in.

You're small enough to get everybody on board, yet big enough to leverage several people's networks. Multiply that if you're dealing with a few platforms.

Communicate your strategy with staff and translate the value of them supporting the business on social media.

More customers = more job security

Get them to Like, Comment & Share content. Not mindlessly, but?with purpose.

If they genuinely believe that piece of content will bring value to their own personal network, then they should most definitely be sharing it. They should be letting their audience know that this could really bring some value to their lives.

By doing this, you're reaching a much larger number of people. You're adding an extra level of service to your customers. You're showing?you care.

You're doing all of the right things, basically. Always good!

#5: Be different

If your competitors are?going right, you should be?going left.

Let me elaborate.

For example, you begin to notice the vast majority of your competitors tend to share text-based graphics on?Instagram?with snippets of helpful information targeted at your mutual audience.

So, being the super unique & innovative individual that you are; you decide to start sharing videos instead.

Exact same content. Different format.

Instead of a text-based graphic with steps on "How to wash your dog in the sink?"...

You decide to video yourself talking through each step.

Or better yet, you video yourself showing people HOW to perform these steps.

Easy, right? The answer is yes.

Now you'll stand out. You're doing something different.

When people?zig, you?zag.

Give your audience a reason to choose you over the next best thing. Stand out and make your mark.

It's a lot easier than you may think.

If you're reading this blog and thinking "no, Alex. It's not as easy as you think. It's actually quite hard you condescending piece of work." Then first of all, please calm down. Second of all, I can help - I'd actually enjoy doing so. It's kinda my job.

Just drop a comment down below with your struggles and I'll be happy to assist. Or, if you're seeking something more personal, my inbox is always open! Except when I'm asleep. But I'll read it when I wake up, I promise.

Okay, I'm going now. Goodbye and happy social media'ing!