It’s a crowded world out there on the Internet. In all the hustle and bustle of content that bombards customers every single day, how do you make your brand’s message heard? How do you create content that will sift your message out of 
the silt and entice a potential customer to learn more about you?
- Find your niche. This is not just the product you are selling or the brand you are building, this is your voice. Maybe you are quirky and sarcastic, maybe you are more severe and play Devil’s advocate all the time. It’s important to not just be specific about your message, but it’s important that you know what voice your message is communicated in. That’s how you gain familiarity with your connections, followers, and potential customers.
- Get heard. Easier said than done, obviously, and something that every other person on the internet is trying to do, but the amount of eyes that will see your message is invaluable. There are several ways to go about this. Definitely going outlandish can work if it hits a nerve, but one of the best ways to pull a marketing stunt is to really put yourself into the shoes of the clientele. Examples: Tinder went to sororities and had them all sign up for the app before heading over to neighboring fraternities. When the guys signed up, there were already a bunch of attractive girls nearby that they knew or had partied with, and that made the prospect of the app really enticing. Check these links from Business Insider, about marketing stunts that put startups on the map and Time, about viral moments that turned out to be marketing stunts..
- Visual is better. Be it beautiful infographics, funny gifs, well-produced videos, or an on-trend meme, visual ways of conveying a message lead to easy sharing, and easy engagement. They circulate well, jump straight to the point. They are an incredibly powerful weapon in your arsenal.
- Focus on both current and evergreen content. Normally I don’t recommend splitting focus when it comes to strategy. Splitting focus can lead to blurred lines. In this case, however, it’s pivotal. You definitely have to work on creating ad copy, blog posts, or videos that are popular, topical, and part of the current conversation. At the same time, however, to create traffic online or a memorable ad campaign, you have to also be producing content that will be relevant to a user search in five years. That longevity will go a long way with search engines, fans of your work, and also has a much better creation time ROI.
- Be controversial? This one is up to you and your image, but sometimes poking the dragon is the fastest way to get people talking about you. I don’t mean you have to go against your beliefs or your branding, but if you find an article you disagree with, a response piece can get a lot of traction.
- Write honestly. Pretty self-explanatory, but if you don’t buy what you’re selling, no one else will. Make sure that whoever is doing the communicating -intern to CEO- is the person that has drunk the Kool-Aid. Few things catch on faster than enthusiasm. Knowledge, passion, and motivation are all readily evident in anything you make.
- Be a solution to a problem. One of the oldest adages in business. As long as consumers has problems, they will look for solutions. If you can pinpoint a problem and provide a thoughtful answer or solution, you will instantly become invaluable to anyone that also has that problem.
- Use catchy headlines, but DON’T fall prey to the clickbait trap. While dramatic and enigmatic titles may gain more clicks, they also get you a lot of bounce with people clicking right back out again when the post doesn’t live up to the title, which doesn’t indicate good things to search engines. Give it plenty of flair, but avoid the titles that say “If You Don’t Follow This One Simple Rule Your Business WIll Crash and Burn Into the Ground, Guaranteed.”
By no means comprehensive, but the above tips are a great start to get you headed down the right path towards getting your voice heard over the rest of the crowd.
Let me know what your tips are for marketing visibility below, or @stoneage on Twitter.
