Thanks to email, Nigerian princes, loud announcers, Facebook, 50-years of “urgent” TV ads and telemarketers… it’s no longer enough to just have an incredible idea/product/service/business. Today you have to prove yourself worthy of attention BEFORE your idea even gets a glance.
In a recent post Seth Godin puts it this way:
“Before your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person (and who isn’t these days?) is going to triage it to find out if it’s even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures.”
Your message and marketing is getting pre-screened:
- Do I know this person?
- Did someone I trust send them over to me?
- Where does this person work?
- Is she famous? Award-winning?
- Are there typos? Is the design sloppy?
- Do I already follow this person online?
- Who else is referencing or working with this person?
- Is it too good to be true?
It’s not enough to be brilliant. Today more than ever, you have to also be connected. As marketeers our job is help you make the connections between you and your contacts, that will push your brilliance out of the noise.