I’m busy blowing through emails last week and I stumble upon an article titled: “Can a financial advisor improve your sex life? ” and I stopped cold…I’m totally clicking on this! [I even joked with a colleague of mine that I couldn’t believe I saw this.]
Disruptive marketing techniques always intrigue me and Rodney Ballance did just that – he disrupted my usual day with a title that literally reached out and grabbed my attention. As I clicked the link I just kept thinking, “I hope this delivers!” And it did!
We don’t have to get into the actual content of Rodney’s article because you really should go out and read it – he makes a valid argument to his point. What I’m truly interested in and want to make sure we don’t make light of is using different marketing tactics to grab attention. We have mere seconds to be in the face of someone – are you sure you’re content is resonating?
Some ways you can do this are easier than you think. Let’s start with Stopping The Lovefest! One of the things I study is behavioral metrics of people. Basically, I look at normal human behavior and then qualify and quantify how you do what you do in face-to-face engagement vs. online. For example, if you open Facebook, your eye immediately darts to the upper right hand side to see if you have any notifications. Much like Starbucks has taught you how to order a coffee in their language, Facebook has taught you the importance of notifications. The higher the number, the more “thrill” you feel. Kind of lame, right? But it’s how we process information – and that’s important to understand. This is where the lovefest has killed our curiosity! Aren’t you sick of “Likes” at this point? Don’t you like it when someone disagrees with you? We like to engage and we can’t engage with a Like…so stopping the lovefest is a way to be a disruptive marketer.
Instead of agreeing or writing all this lovey-dovey crap, take a stand on something and spill your guts on why. People love it! It’s refreshing to experience a point of view instead of an ‘atta boy!’ You’ll likely get more engagement and depending how you go about it, more respect. Be mindful, I’m not saying you should be a jerk. I’m saying you should pick a topic and explain your why. It’s ok to disagree – just be diplomatic!
Another way you can be disruptive is to Expose Your Vulnerability! Guess what? We don’t know everything. So find something you don’t know a lot about and start asking your connections for information about how something works, where something is located, how something tastes, etc. Let your followers and friends be the center of attention. They will enjoy telling you what they know and you will engage them in a way that makes them feel good. Win – win!
You could even Compare Notes with your fans. You have a Fitbit and so do your friends and family, then start a thread talking about ways you are using your Fitbit and invite them to the conversation. This is sort of a lovefest chat, but you’re not controlling the conversation – they are, and that’s what you want! It could be anything: books, cars, workout gear, etc. Avoid personal things that relate to religion and politics. You want this to be a fun conversation, not an emotionally draining one.
So again – my hat is off to Rodney Ballance for jumping out of my emailbox last week. He inspired me to write this article and I hope his article inspires you to do something different too…and be sure to tell us what you’re going to try!
Be bigger, better and more BIONIC today!