Well… this article will probably earn me a few marketing buddies. Or a few enemies. Either way, I couldn’t care less. Fries, steak, mayo… whatever.
Yesterday, I was reading an article about visibility. Ah yes… good old visibility. Everyone wants it. People want it so badly they’d happily write complete nonsense just to get it. Evidence is literally everywhere. Some would do absolutely anything for love, I would do anything for love. You’re welcome. And attention.
We always want more. More views. More followers. More likes. More shares. Faster. Louder. Again. And again.
Well… actually… I’m not always comfortable with that.
If you’re already charmed by these first paragraphs… and for some reason you’d like to get in touch…
Just press the button.
Three. Two. One. Here we go.
I’m launching the World, International, Entire-Universe Championship (yeah, I know, that doesn’t mean anything) of “Look at me!” or “Hey! Look at me!” And yet… you don’t start a business thinking your biggest dream is to get 12,000 views on LinkeDream, Faceboook or Trick & Truk.
At least… I hope not.
If you start a business, or work for one, it’s normally because it solves a problem. It brings something to someone. Yeah… that sounds weird too, but I’m leaving it because I know what I mean. Maybe it stands up for a cause. Maybe it shares expertise.
Anyway… in that case, visibility should serve the mission. Not become the mission. You see what I mean?
Have you ever heard of Megaphone Syndrome?
You may already know that I’m a singer. And if you don’t… well, I’m a singer.
Now imagine I decide to perform a song with my face about two inches from your ears. Just so you know… I’ve got a powerful voice. I could sing the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard, but after about four and a half seconds, you’d be completely over it. It would be too loud. You wouldn’t catch half the lyrics. It would feel more like an assault than a performance. And in the end, would you remember the song? Or would you just feel like screaming, “Would-you-please-stop-yelling-in-my-ears?!”
And when you think about it, isn’t that exactly what’s happening everywhere? There’s no point in shouting. Eventually, everything becomes loud. Everything is urgent. Everything is important. Critical. Game-changing. Groundbreaking. Shocking. Revolutionary. Catastrophic. Scandalous.
When everything is extraordinary… nothing is.
No wonder we’re so hard to surprise these days. Things have to become almost irreversible before we finally pay attention. That’s where we’ve ended up. You know the story of the boy who cried wolf, right?
So… stop turning up the volume.
Growing doesn’t mean getting bigger
Because, you see, centimetres and kilograms aren’t quite the same thing. And don’t even get me started on maturity…
No, not everyone is your customer. I know… that stings a little. But trying to reach everyone is probably the best way to reach no one.
Personally, I believe the strongest messages are the ones that fully own a point of view. The ones that attract some people… and naturally push others away. Yeah, it’s uncomfortable. But that’s exactly how identity is built.
Growth is often reduced to numbers. We always want more. More followers, sometimes even before having more customers. More customers. More revenue. More market share.
More. But what about the other kind of growth? The one that comes from deepening your expertise. Improving your products and services. Strengthening, not your visibility, but your relationships with your colleagues, partners and customers. Becoming more useful, more relevant and more genuine. Isn’t that what growing is really about?
Maybe I’m wrong. But…
I believe marketing has sometimes forgotten its original purpose: helping something genuinely useful reach the people who actually need it. Or maybe that’s just my perspective, and I should find another job. LOL.
I know we all have to make a living. But maybe we could do it without manufacturing noise or constantly feeding the algorithms. Maybe we could stop this worldwide, international, galaxy-sized competition of “Look at me!” and “Notice me!” Because, let’s be honest… it’s getting pretty ridiculous.
Of course, you can work on your visibility. You should.
But before you do, ask yourself one question:
What do you actually have to say that’s worth someone’s attention?
That’s it
Anyway, I’m going back to work on my message. My visibility can wait another five minutes.
But if you’d like to talk about it, don’t hesitate.