You need to develop your online business. You’ve sharpened your supply, improved your service, and made your branding slightly sleeker. You’ve tried to be higher than your rivals.
Higher isn’t sufficient if nobody is aware of you exist.
Making an attempt to be “higher” is simply enjoying the identical recreation, barely extra effectively. It means you’re nonetheless working in the identical field, utilizing the identical techniques, sporting the identical grey swimsuit as everybody else. And in right this moment’s deafening market, that makes you invisible.
I do know, as a result of I attempted.
Final 12 months, we launched what we affectionately name “The TikTok Experiment.” Our president, Kelsey, and our advertising and marketing wizard, Andrea, got here to me and mentioned, “Mike, we have to be on TikTok.”
Now, TikTok isn’t precisely the place I imagined spreading the gospel of Revenue First. However hey, I’m pro-growth. Professional-attention. And if meaning awkward dance strikes and stylish sounds, I’m in.
So we jumped in. Andrea constructed a technique, mapped out content material, educated herself, educated me (bless her), and we hit publish.
The outcomes? Nicely…they had been one thing.
Some movies flopped. Some did okay. One had me getting roasted by teenagers for sporting Skechers (which they weren’t, not that it makes a distinction). However the largest shock wasn’t the algorithm. It was the belief that we had misplaced our voice. In chasing tendencies and attempting to be “higher” TikTokers, we forgot what made us us.
So we pivoted.
We stopped attempting to be Mr. Beast or Preston (if ), chasing viral, and began chasing actual. We made bizarre, uncooked, unfiltered content material that mirrored our true voice: sensible recommendation, instructed with coronary heart and slightly little bit of humor. No extra pretending. Simply reality, scribbled on authorized pads and captured in questionable lighting.
And guess what?
Folks seen. Not tens of millions, however the proper individuals. Individuals who want our content material and related. They commented issues like, “Lastly, one thing actual on this app.” And it clicked:
Completely different isn’t dangerous. Invisible is.
You don’t need to go viral. It’s important to go actual. That’s what cuts via the noise. That’s what attracts your individuals. Whether or not you’re posting on TikTok, sending emails, or operating a bakery, being uniquely, unapologetically YOU is the magic.
Methods to be completely different within the wild
Right here’s how one can cease mixing in and begin standing out:
- Look exterior your trade for inspiration. A canine groomer turned boudoir pictures into “Pooch Pinups”, a hilarious and heartwarming picture shoot for pets. Sudden? Completely. Memorable? You guess.
Motion: What’s trending in style, gaming, meals, or leisure that you possibly can twist into your trade? - Present your persona, even in severe areas. An accountant made quick, humorous movies explaining tax guidelines with skits and trending audio. They went from “simply an accountant” to “the humorous tax guru.”
Motion: The place are you able to inject humor, tales, or behind-the-scenes reality into your advertising and marketing? - Defy expectations. If everybody affords free consultations, strive a paid discovery session that delivers prompt worth. If others use slick inventory pictures, present uncooked footage out of your workspace.
Motion: Problem the norms. Flip the script. Do what nobody in your trade is doing on goal. - Experiment loudly
Our TikTok journey was messy. At one level, Andrea checked out me from a sea of ring lights and mentioned, “What even is our model on TikTok?” However she didn’t stop. She pivoted. That’s what actual advertising and marketing is: messy, courageous, and relentlessly human.
Closing thought:
In case you’re feeling caught within the “higher” entice, take a step again. Reclaim your voice. Stand for one thing surprising. Strive one thing bizarre. And most of all, be completely different on goal.
As a result of in a world filled with beige manufacturers attempting to be barely higher, the boldest transfer you may make is to be you.
Even when it means dancing on TikTok with a blender filled with gummy bears.
You’ve acquired this.
– Mike
P.S. Get Completely different has the roadmap for optimum advertising and marketing – you’ll be able to be taught extra about it right here.
P.P.S. Come discover us on TikTok: @mikemichalowicz
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