How to Stand Out In a Sea of Noise

Do you know anyone who believes that they don’t receive enough emails or who want more information about anything? Daily you, your clients and customers and those that you want to be your clients and customers are bombarded in a sea of noise looking to capture attention. How do you stand out in the cacophony of digital communication?

Dorie Clark found in her book Stand Out three foundational elements to break through: Social proof, content creation and networking. Social proof is the reason why someone would pay attention to what you have to say. It takes considerable mental energy for someone to think, that's why most people would rather ignore you than determine if your message is credible and meaningful. Why else would explain that a large percentage of employees who are eligible for a 401k match don’t take advantage of the free money, because they can’t figure out how to invest the funds that would be given to them.

Social proof is the rule of thumb that individuals use to judge something. They base their affiliations, writes Clark, on people and brands that they trust. If a previous client recommended your showroom to a neighbor, the new customer is more likely to trust you than a competitor down the street. The lesson is to align your showroom with known entities that are respected by your client base. For example, if you take advantage of the elevation blog that BKBG produces every week, you are providing your client base with information that helps them make purchasing decisions easier and increases your credibility or social proof dramatically.

“Social proof enables others to ‘relax’ about you; they don’t need to be so vigilant in evaluating your credentials because you’ve already been vetted by others. That primes them to listen to your ideas more carefully and with an open mind.” Clark concludes.

Content creation also is essential to help you stand out from the crowd. As Marcus Sheridan explained at a previous BKBG Conference, the easiest way to create content is to answer the questions that your clients and customers ask most often. That’s why BKBG developed its smart purchasing guides that it will customize for each Shareholder. These guides make it easier for your client base to buy from you, because they establish you as an expert in kitchen and bath design and remodeling.

Leveraging your network is the third leg on the stool of standing out from a crowd. Having a vast network exposes you to different perspectives that not only can help you to generate new ideas, but also will provide you with valuable feedback. Having a wide network allows your ideas to spread more quickly, because you have a larger audience who may share your ideas with their network.

The bottom line is that if you want to stand out in a sea of noise you need to be viewed as credible, share your expertise and ideas so that you establish your credentials with those who are likely to buy from you and to have a network that will share the content that you develop.