They say imitation is a form of flattery, but in the world of consumer relationships, we need additional context. 

• What if someone interprets the "imitation" as a rip-off of something?
• What if someone interprets the "imitation" as a lazy excuse for not being original?
• What if someone reacts to the "imitation" with exhaustion because it's been copied so many times?

If there was ever a place where consumers typically don't view imitation as a form of flattery, it's content and marketing. After all, we're not trying to flatter the people we're imitating. We want to engage and inspire an audience.

But why does so much content look and sound the same, and why do people create so much overlap? Let's examine some examples.

Creativity and Value
My first podcasts were focused on movies, television and fandom. This started in 2011, and there were tons of podcasts centered around these topics. Most podcasts simply involved an opening, followed by people talking about a movie, TV show, or other pop culture topic, and then it would end.

I could do that too, but why would anyone add me to their listening routine? I figured the creators listened to other people and designed their show based on what they heard.

It was as if their approach was to copy that because "that's how podcasts sound" instead of thinking about how to stand out while competing for attention and engagement. I went on to make a few successful shows that were known for their quality and unique presentation, including:

Geeky Meeting Show
One show opened with a "Meanwhile at the Hall of Justice"-like opening narration where listeners were invited to a fortress to join the hosts for an assembly of geeks meeting. It was like a city hall meeting, only the agenda was about what was happening in geek culture. However, there was always something happening at the fortress. So, it was part story (with music and sound effects) and part talk show.

A Geeky Game Show
Imagine ESPN's Around the Horn only with nerd culture as the central theme. Three nerds (me and two others) competed to become The Geek Supreme (inspired by Sorcerer Supreme) by sharing opinions and competing in challenges for points.

The show ended a few years ago when the scorekeeper couldn't participate anymore. Yet, I received an email from a former listener last week who told me they missed the show and wanted to know if I could recommend any other podcasts like it.

​I couldn't think of any.

Think about that kind of impact:

• It was so different - they couldn't find anything else like it. 
• When it was gone, they couldn't find anything that unique.
• They were still thinking about it years later.

I would think content creators and marketers would want their consumers and customers to feel the same way about their content. 

​Today I host a marketing/communication podcast, and I don't have to tell you there are plenty of shows in the marketing space. When I first started listening to marketing podcasts, I wasn't getting any actionable insights or enough depth on topics.

It's even more interesting to consider when you think about the importance of testimonials, storytelling and social proof in marketing today. Listeners called the station to express how much they loved hearing the stories told by their fellow listeners and supporters.

Some of the more successful concepts and strategies came from ideas that broke away from fundraising drive messages and content that listeners were used to hearing.

​Like podcasts, it's been amazing watching YouTube become a search and content powerhouse. It used to be more of a fringe idea, but now all kinds of businesses and content creators have a presence there.

And you'll see an absurd amount of overlap in style. Some of the most prominent examples are:

• Screaming "What's up everyone/guys!" at the viewer (Side note: It's best to act like you're talking to one person)
• Telling people to like or subscribe BEFORE you get to the content
• Telling people what you're going to talk about in the video (despite seeing the topic in the title)
• Over-the-top shocked-like faces on the Thumbnail image

That last one might work against you if you're trying to be professional.

I see new people entering the TikTok space all the time and often see them doing what everyone else does.

For example - If they give advice, they have to do that thing where a graphic appears with a tip written on it, and they point to it.

Why?

I see the graphic when it appears. Why does the content creator have to point at it?

Because they've seen others do it? Well, that's not a good reason, is it?

Content imitation and repetition isn't just limited to videos and podcasts. It's also all too common to see companies follow into similar blog content traps. There is a ton of repetition in written content, and with every copy - the reasons to read drop dramatically (maybe below zero).

Maybe people look at what others are doing and copy it because it's "safe" without realizing the drawbacks of blending in. Maybe there's a fear that doing it different might mean doing it "wrong."

The irony is you risk copying things that are becoming increasingly "wrong," annoying or predictable. Ethan Beute and I discussed how this contributes to digital pollution on Get the Message.

Maybe people copy others and just don't realize it.
​Psychologist Dan Gilbert coined a term that might fit - it's called kleptomnesia. He says it's when you "generate an idea that you believe is novel, but in fact, was created by someone else. It's accidental plagiarism, and it's all too common in creative work."

Wharton Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant explains it this way:

Kleptomnesia happens due to a pragmatic, but peculiar feature of how human memory is wired. When we encode information, we tend to pay more attention to the content than the source. Once we accept a piece of information as true, we no longer need to worry about where we acquired it.

​This reminds me of the psychology that might explain an unwillingness to evolve marketing terminology. The brain accepts an acceptable view of something and then decides it doesn't need to consider anything else. This is known as habituation.

Embracing Creativity Over Conformity 
To be clear, I'm not suggesting you have to be 100% totally original, and you can't let someone else's idea inspire you. However, as you do this, you should know how to put your stamp on it and understand what ideas won't align with your business.

In other words, you don't have to dance because that's what you saw people do on TikTok.

It is estimated that there are over 600 million blogs out there today. As you think about how much that could grow in 2023, consider how AI-generated blog content will contribute to that trend. If you're looking to launch or improve a blog for your business in 2023, it can seem impossible to compete with all of that content.

At least that's how you should look at it.

Despite all of that content, your blog can still build trust, inspire reactions and generate sales. However, it is very easy to fall into the void of endless blogs that consumers ignore.

​The key is avoiding the two big traps:
​
1. The Obvious Marketing Trap
2. The SEO Keyword Trap

To help you avoid these traps, let's take a closer look at them.

I am continuously amazed how many brands are comfortable with generic and duplicated content. Now, when I say duplicated, I don't mean they're writing the same thing over and over in different places. I'm talking about writing content that everyone else in their space is writing.

For example, I've worked with SAAS companies in the contact center space. Speech analytics is a big part of today's product solution. So, they write blogs about it. If I search some common speech analytics topics on Google, here are some of the blog topics I see:

How Speech Analytics Can Benefit Call Centers
Benefits Of Speech Analytics For Customer Support Call Centers
The Benefits of Speech Analytics for Call Centers
10 Unique Benefits of Speech Analytics in a Call Center
Benefits Of Speech Analytics For Customer Support Call Centers
6 Benefits of Speech Analytics For Contact Centers
8 Impressive Benefits of Speech Analytics
Top 8 Benefits Of Using Speech Analytics For Your Business
The Value of Call Center Speech Analytics

If you're planning on launching a blog or writing new blogs in 2023, do you think you need to write one on the benefits of speech analytics?

At this stage, what's the point?

But you might be asking why (or how) did so many repetitive blogs get written in the first place?

The simple answer is: Because marketing.

A marketing mindset can create walls that keep marketers from recognizing a lot of important details. This is one of the reasons why I recommend changing marketing into a sparketing mindset.

A marketing frame of mind is already thinking about promotion and selling a product.
In fact, if a marketing department or business views the blog as nothing more than a broadcasting and promoting tool, the trap is already set.

In our example, speech analytics is a key part of a SAAS contact/call center solution. So marketing defaults to content that explains to the consumer why they want the product.

​The problem? That's not how you spark interest in a product.

Just ask Guy Kawasaki, who explained in his book Enchanted why this approach failed when he worked on Macintosh Computers.

"The fundamental flaw of our approach was that we did not understand what potential customers were thinking. Indeed, we believed they should leave the thinking to us"

The real solution went beyond thinking (like a marketer).

"We were so enchanted by our own product that we could not understand why everyone else did not feel the same way. That’s when I learned that one must understand what people are thinking, feeling, and believing in order to enchant them."

In the blogs I listed, they all want to tell potential customers about the benefits of speech analytics. But what if the potential customer already knows about the benefits? Why are they going to read ANOTHER blog about that topic? If they've seen more than one already, it will probably seem stale or generate a "been there, done that" reaction.

Even worse, many of the blogs are probably written with a very similar style, tone and format because writers likely base their approach on other stale business blogs that they've read. It's almost as if they think, "That's just the way you do it."

Plus, if the content had a salesy/promotional tone that conveyed an interest in making money over serving the consumer, why would they think reading a blog with a title like:

Benefits Of Speech Analytics For Customer Support Call Centers
would it be any different than reading:
The Benefits of Speech Analytics for Call Centers
The Value of Call Center Speech Analytics?

It reminds me of my first advertising job back in the early 2000s. I worked for a recruitment advertising agency, and print ads were still a big thing back then. Our office had a "Wall of Shame," and it featured ads that used tired and cliché marketing headlines.

The most common headline that got the biggest laughs and eyerolls:

Come Grow With Us

It's as if marketing departments all over town felt that's what you write when hiring. Forget how much it's been used or whether it seems tired and cliché to the reader - that's what you write!

The worse news - I still see this headline used today.

I think cliché is a good word. Brooke Sellas uses it in her book Conversations That Connect. The context is focused on social media, but the reasoning can definitely be applied in a blog or other content context. 

She said customers are "tired of cliché content that feels like more noise; just fluff and regurgitation; replication and redundancy."

Marketers are also customers and consumers. Why aren't they tired of it?

It's time to get tired of it and avoid the trap.

Even though it's 2023, my wife still uses an iPod Nano (created in 2005) to stream music and podcasts. Her way might seem outdated, but it still provides some value because it still does the job. The Nano just doesn't offer the same value to most people.

SEO is the same way today.

When you look at our contact center SAAS blogs, you see many of the same words, and we can bet the copy will also feature many of the same words. That's because the marketer mindset thinks more about old SEO ranking concepts and perceived business advantages and less about reader value.

SEO can still do some good, but it isn't providing the same value as it did ten years ago. One of the key reasons points to something we've already talked about - there are millions of blogs out there.

In 2012, it was estimated that there were 42 million blogs (compared to the 600 million now). Back then, thought leaders were answering questions like - Is social media a threat to blogs?

An SEO report from 2016 told readers that Google was blocking more attempts to game the system by killing keyword-stuffing and low-quality content spamming (though clearly, some haven't noticed).

Things have changed even more since then.

Due to the explosion of content and other trends, SEO has lost some relevance.

People are noticing changes in SEO for the SAAS industry.

Google is focusing on the user not only on finding content but their overall experience when they find it. The release of Google's Helpful Content Updates encourages an emphasis on "people-first content." They also advise avoiding search engine-first content that:

1. Uses extensive automation to produce content on many topics
2. Leaves readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources

And...(drumroll)...
    3. Summarizes what others have to say without adding much value

Now that you know how to avoid the traps, let's examine what you can do with your blog. Your first steps should include:

1. Learn more about your customers and potential customers
2. Look at the competition and focus on what they're NOT doing
3. Find out what people are talking about (and not talking about) in your industry
4. Make connections with like-minded professionals and thought leaders
5. Show personality, and get away from that stiff style that everyone can copy

The Customer Focus
I've seen instances where a marketing team puts extensive time and effort into creating content that explains and promotes something they think is necessary, only to have it not resonate. In one particular case, a member of the sales team said the potential customers he talked to didn't care about what marketing promoted. All they cared about was cost, support and flexibility.

Get to know your customers and potential customers by:

• Using social media to ask questions and engage in conversations
• Getting insights from sales team members and others who talk to prospects
• Conducting original research featuring consumer insights in your industry

The Competition Factor
Don't be one of those companies who spends too much time trying to do what their competition does - only better. Instead, find gaps in their content strategy and fill those gaps. 

If they fall into the traps we've covered here, that's a huge opportunity!

Like SEO trends changed, consumers have changed how the competition should fit into a content strategy. For example:
​

1. Your blog should not be afraid to answer questions about cost, product comparisons and other transparent topics.
2. You should not be afraid to occasionally link your competition's content in your blog.

​Sometimes, others in your space will create something great (or better than you), and sharing that provides value. It also shows your consumer that you are so dedicated to giving value, you'll link competitors in your content.

Consumers want to see your humanity and proof you're in the business of serving your customers over anything else. This is one of the great ways to prove it.

The Connect and Collaborate Factor
Social media isn't a powerful marketing tool because you can promote stuff on it. It's a powerful marketing tool because a "social" presence can supercharge your marketing efforts. If you build a community of engaged customers and advocates on social media, they'll do some of the marketing for you.

It's even better when you find thought leaders, influencers and respected professionals who align with the opinions and values of your organization. 

Build relationships with them and invite them to contribute to your content. The process might look something like this:

I would definitely have interest in a blog like this over one that I expect to see from a company in any industry.

The Personality Factor
I almost wanted to call this the human factor because some might confuse the idea to simply mean creating a style. However, a company can choose a "style" that sounds stiff, corporate, soulless, salesy, selfish and typical. 

I've seen what some branding guidelines might call a "friendly-style" tone with copy that could easily be read as a commercial. Again, companies might use this style because they've seen other companies write that way.

Think more like you're writing a letter to some friends - friends you're trying to help. Inevitably you want to generate an emotional response that makes them feel good about your efforts. Later, that emotion can become a reason to buy something from you.

If that is the goal:

• Don't fall into traps.
• Don't repeat what's been done for over ten years.
• Be different. Stand out. Think differently.
• Serve your consumer. Provide value. Build relationships.
• Produce a meaningful blog in 2023.

If I can help you develop meaningful blog content that resonates with your audience, let's talk.

I'm not saying "lead nurturing" campaigns are doomed to fail. However, it can fall into an unhealthy emphasis on numbers that disrupt opportunities to build relationships. Ethan Beute explained the issues this causes in email campaigns during our conversation on Get the Message.

"And then all of a sudden, it takes new stat updated. It's 15 touches to get a prospect reply. And now it's like 21. And then what's the logical conclusion? Are we going to get to 65?"

He points out that businesses focus on more of everything, including touches and posts. This looks like a classic case where the brain tells people they need to succeed by constantly focusing on the numbers. ​

That leads to increased odds of getting blocked and ignored. It also contributes to what he calls "digital pollution." If more businesses added that term to their terminology (as something to avoid), it could dramatically improve consumer results. So instead of focusing on numbers, sparketers can focus on people and long-term success.

Ethan said the key to a change for the better is focusing less on how much is achieved by aligning the odds of success with extensive lists of names and spending more time on getting the most out of quality engagements.

For example, he says if a goal is ten deals from a list of 8,000 people by automating all of the touches or closing ten deals or ten transactions, try spending human-focused time and energy cultivating better lists and messaging by making more personal, specific engaging touches.

When re-thinking the process, Ethan says it's about lifetime value as the thoughtful approach to a hundred or a thousand people instead of the automated machine-driven system to 8,000 or 10,000 people to get the same initial closes, number of closes, and the same value. 

​Website A/B testing specialist Chris Dayley has conducted tests with website colors that are so over-branded that they blend so much that color-branded CTA buttons get lost.

Instead, a CTA with a completely different color generates better responses. Even though it doesn't "perfectly match" the brand colors - it stands out. 

And remember what Ocean Spray learned from Nathan Apodaca. He created something that wouldn't have fit their "branding" per se, but it did wonders for their sales, stock and awareness.

Two good reasons for branding are to help consumers recognize a brand and associate it with certain qualities. However, if those qualities include building relationships, having conversations, being people-focused, showing humanity and standing out, a different word may be needed.

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Old-school and traditional marketing attitudes focused mainly on secrecy and rivalry when it came to competitors. It was easier during a time of captive audiences, and people expected to have brands compete for their attention via ads and commercials.

Now, things are different:

• Consumers are likely to ignore brands that are trying to outshout each other
• Consumers are often looking for information that brands "hide" from their competition
• Consumers don't care about rivalries. They care about their wants and needs

So what should today's marketers do now?

• Compliment your competition on social media
• Include your competition in your content
• Doing this can actually improve your status with consumers and boost sales.

​In this video, I explain how this works.

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I am a Harry Potter fan, and I own two wands - one that "picked me" at Olivander's (Universal Studios) and the one that belonged to Professor Snape. Most days, they sit on little wand stands in my office.

However, sometimes, I wish I could use them in my marketing work. 

Specifically, I wish I could use it to remove some of the thoughts and memories about marketing that hinder many of today's businesses and marketing departments. 

For the last several years, I've been talking to companies about avoiding the failures of forcing old-school marketing strategies into the digital marketplace.

​Most of that advice is rooted in "traditional" or outdated thinking that is corrupting marketing departments today. That corruption is usually present for one of two reasons:

• The department is run by someone who worked in marketing back when radio, print and TV advertising were the primary marketing channels.
• The department is run by people who've seen others use ineffective and outdated marketing strategies, and they view it as "the right way" to do it.

However, the internet wasn't created yesterday.  In fact, it's been around long enough that some of the common digital marketing strategies we've heard over the years are becoming "old school" as well.  So much so, that it's time to remove them from our memories and re-think our approach.

I'm not saying get the idea of blogging out of your head. I am saying get the idea of blogging out of your head if:

1. You don't know the needs and wants of your audience
2. Your primary goal for blogging is to promote your products and services
3. You're blogging because "that's what companies do today," and you fill it with generic content

Remove the thought that this is a promotional tool
When I look at many of the company blogs today, I find myself asking, "Why would someone read this, and what would it inspire them to do?" 

Like social media, companies can take a very one-sided approach to their content and focus on how it will benefit them. Here's the problem:

1. Consumers aren't actively looking for ways to be sold.
2. Consumers look for answers they want, and they move on when they don't find them.
3. Consumers already believe brands likely don't have their best interests in mind and will bail on you at the first sign of proof.

You might be asking, "What kind of proof would validate their skepticism?" 

Two of the top reasons would be:

• You link to yourself in the first paragraph
• Your content is filled with generic "information" that looks like window dressing around a CTA

What are some of the new thoughts and ideas that will serve you better today?  Let's answer that by removing another old thought.

When marketers started to really dissect what would help them in the digital marketing world, SEO was front and center. It was all about keywords and infusing them into your content.

However, people attempted to game the system, and quality started to suffer. Suddenly, thought leaders were telling marketers to quit over-stuffing their content with keywords. For one thing, some people were getting so bad at it, that it became obvious when someone was aiming for more keyword benefit than consumer value.

Over time, algorithms and consumer behaviors changed, making harder for keyword stuffing strategies to work.

Now, several years have passed, and there are 600 million blogs on the internet. Plus, it is estimated that 7.5 million blogs are published per day. 

Remove thoughts that view SEO as THE strategy
If you're in a crowded industry where every company uses the same keywords, you could drive yourself crazy trying to win that battle.

For example - How often does the healthcare industry use the word "care," or does the university system use the word "student-centric" in their content?

However, that's not the only reason you can't think of SEO as a standalone "strategy" today.

Eli Schwartz, author of Product-Led SEO says, “If content is the product of a website, and the goal of the website is for readers to consume that content, … words for the sake of a word count or keyword goal is an utter waste of time. Product-Led SEO requires thinking of the reader and why they should spend their precious time enjoying the content.”

In other words, when we have to consider everything from consumer attention spans and skepticism, finding the content isn't enough.

Why are they going to read the content?  What's getting them to take action or convert?

Instead of making it all about keywords and risk duplicating generic content that is all over the internet, consider focusing on customer questions or "spiky" content.

If you're in a crowded space, you might find it way more beneficial to spend less time, energy, money and energy trying to outrank a competitor.

Instead, find ways to fill the gaps in your space. Think about what we've gone over in this blog, and then look at your competition.

• Are they writing keyword-forced generic blogs that provide information you could find in several other blogs in your space?
• Do you find most of their content to be promotional and self-serving?
• Is their social media automated without any engagement or conversations?
• Have they not expanded their content to include podcasting or video?
• Are there questions your prospects ask that they're not answering in their content offerings?

You can gain a lot more impactful ground by filling those gaps through:

• Writing and producing content that explains how much something costs is not risky; it's valuable to the prospect who can't find that information from competitors ALSO too scared to share it. 
• Offering transparency- If your pricing is more expensive than theirs - explain why. 
• Sharing information without worrying about the competition - Marcus Sheridan often encourages companies to share their "secret sauce" because everyone knows it's thousand island dressing. So, you might as well share it. If a consumer understands more about you because you share more, the competition has already lost.

Remove thoughts about your competition as nothing more than a threat
Marcus once created a blog that featured his competition in a "top pool businesses in the area" style blog when he was in the swimming pool business.

Some would think that was crazy, but the competition shared his blog.

Also, if your competition wrote or produced an insightful piece of content that adds value to something you're creating...add it! If it's a link, make sure it opens in a new window so the consumer doesn't leave your site.

It's about value. If you're so invested in providing value that you would link your competition in your content - that doesn't go unnoticed (assuming the consumer even knows or cares that it's from a competitor).

If you can remove these and other fading, old-school thoughts from your marketing mind, I think you'll find that it opens you to a whole new world of possibilities in the digital marketplace.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Dumbledore shares advice about dwelling on the past in ways that can distract him from the present and future:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

While it's imperative to create conversations with your audience on social media, most of the "humanizing" advice revolves around the content. However, if we really want someone to reply or engage with our brand, does it create a barrier if consumers feel like they're talking to a logo?

I think it does (especially with a significant presence of tweet bots). It may not be a huge challenge for the big and globally-known brands, but what about the rest of the world?  I thought about this for a while and came up with an idea:

What if your social media manager could be the face of the brand on platforms like Twitter?  This would require a simple tweak in the photo and the title/name space on the platform. If you try this before your competition, it could be a differentiator.

How does it look? Check out this short video to find out.

Developing a social media strategy for a small business can be challenging, especially if you have limited time, resources and people to make it work. When you consider the number of social media platforms, choosing the best one can be stressful - but it doesn't have to be.

When businesses first started realizing there could be marketing opportunities using "social" media, the strategy was was just to figure out how to create a profile on all platforms and start promoting.

However, that was before:

• You had an easy way to track social media ROI
• You could find studies showing that "advertising" on "social" media wasn't effective
• You had tools to help you with social media optimization

Nonetheless, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start, but let's simplify the process by starting with deciding which platform is best for you.

A few years ago, I was working through an online Social Media Marketing Certification program from Northwestern University. The lead instructor, Randy Hlavac, shared a story about a question he got at a conference.

A new social media platform had just launched, and a couple of attendees asked him if they should put their business on it.

He asked them if their target audience would be on that platform.

They said no.
​
They answered their question.

• You don't have to be everywhere.
• When you have limited time, money and resources - you can't be everywhere.
• If your audience doesn't consume content on a platform - you don't NEED to be there.

You can find plenty of reports on which demographics are on what platform, including this 2022 Social Media Demographics report from Hubspot.

Many small businesses would have an immediate advantage when they launch their social media pages - if they chose to utilize it. It's incredibly likely others in your space view social media platforms as advertising billboards while putting all of the rest of their attention on SEO ranking and automation.​

As Mark Schaefer points out in Marketing Rebellion, most marketers aren't evolving as the marketing world changes. 

"They think they are because they’re attending conferences about artificial intelligence, blockchain, marketing automation, content curation systems, social media war rooms, virtual reality, voice search, and other technologies changing the business landscape."

Couple that with his insight on old SEO optimization vs. new competitive advantage opportunities, and suddenly - a social media strategy becomes less stressful.

Once you find out where your audience consumes content, find ways to create engagement, relationships and community. If you can do that, your audience will ignore the automated sales pitches of your competition and trust you with their needs and challenges.

Ideally, they'll turn from customers to advocates who talk about your brand on social media. When that happens, they're doing some of the marketing for you.

If I can help you develop a social media strategy for your small business, let's schedule a time to talk about your business and specific challenges (free of charge).

Just reach out, and we'll schedule a time that works best for you.

In the movie There's Something About Mary, Ted (played by Ben Stiller) picks up a hitchhiker (Harland Williams) who pitches his brilliant new business idea: 7-Minute Abs.

He says, "​Think about it. You walk into a video store, you see 8-Minute Abs sittin' there, there's 7-Minute Abs right beside it. Which one are you gonna pick, man?"

If that wasn't enough, he had a plan if people still liked 8-minue abs:

"If you're not happy with the first 7 minutes, we're gonna send you the extra minute free. You see? That's it. That's our motto. That's where we're comin' from. That's from A to B."

Whether you've seen the movie or not, you're likely smiling or laughing because the idea is pretty silly.   For one thing, you have to ask yourself - How much of a difference will one minute make?

That's a reasonable question.

While it's a silly idea, many businesses are wasting a lot of time applying that thinking to their content strategy. They look at what their competition is doing and try to beat them with a better spin, message or concept.

That approach is likely worse than the hitchhiker's video store comparison strategy. Instead of focusing on a better way to get better abs, it's healthier to cover the areas of the body they're not talking about and provide your "better abs" methodologies in different ways.

In other words, don't build your content strategy with ideas focused on what you're competition is doing, instead focus on what they're NOT doing.

Since you're likely not looking to stand out in the video store space, let's think in terms of contemporary content. Maybe they're spamming their 7-minute abs content on Twitter with repetitive graphics and CTAs.

The last thing you want to do on your Twitter feed is promote your similar offering in a similar way, with the thought that it just "sounds" better.

These days, if a competitor is top dog in an industry, they are likely to be complacent in their content and/or social media strategies. They probably have a lot of it automated because they're Number One and feel they can just keep cruising without any effort.

Two critical things to remember:
1. The landscape is consumer-controlled, and the key thought leaders and experts are telling businesses to focus on relationship marketing.

2. As Mark Schaefer points out in his book Marketing Rebellion, despite research as far back as 2009 pointing to the consumer disruption in traditional marketing, many brands still haven't made enough effort to evolve their strategies.

I've also heard Mark encourage people to differentiate themselves through what their competition is failing to do (as opposed to copying them). He said, "If you're Number 2 in your industry, you shouldn't be doing what Number 1 is doing."

If you're both creating similar content and distributing it in a similar way, how does that help? Instead, think of ways to take advantage of weaknesses in your competitions approach. Examples include:

If your competition doesn't engage in conversations with audience on social media - you should do it

If your competition doesn't repurpose content to reach more people - you should do it

If your competition doesn't produce videos or podcasts - you should do it

Suddenly, you'll find yourself gaining new followers, customers, prospects and advocates in a way that might get your competition's attention. However, by the time they respond, it will be too late to connect with those people.

Marcus Sheridan (The Sales Lion) provides invaluable insights into taking advantage of a competition's weaknesses.  You may wonder what he means by talking about what others don't discuss in your space.

Well, one example is writing a blog about what your product or services cost.

You may think - We can do that!  We have to control that narrative. We have to wait until they contact us to discuss price because then we can provide assurances while making our pitch. That's dangerous. It could scare people off.

Yet, there's the opportunity:

1. You competition may not share that information for the same reason
2. When consumer's see your content -they probably aren't ready to buy
3. If they're searching for answers on pricing, and you're the one who provides the answers - you just took a big step in becoming the voice of trust

When people respond with, "What if my cost is more expensive than my competition? Won't that hurt us?"

Marcus says no - if you can explain WHY it costs a little more. 

Talk to your audience. Answer questions. Be transparent. Build trust.

If you're in crowded space, it can be tough to compete in the realm of SEO. However, your 7-minute abs strategy could be focusing more time filling gaps in the content, communication and messaging in your space.

In the time it takes to write tons of content in an attempt to move up a rank, you could be having conversations on social, understanding customer challenges, providing answers and building trust in a way that generates a faster (and perhaps greater) impact.

Your can demonstrate a lot more value to your audience by turning your focus away from doing what they do (only better), and filling the gaps in your space where they can find you, talk to you and trust you. That's how you flex your muscle.

If I can help you develop content ideas or strategies to help take advantage of your competition's weaknesses, contact me today.

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I began building my experience in audio production in 2007. I was hired by the North Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, Sherman) NPR affiliate to create content and messaging to help improve radio fundraising drives.

My production work included everything from short audio stories and testimonials to live and pre-recorded fundraising shows with popular names. When I left the station in 2011, I launched my own podcast.

While I had experience producing high-quality radio content, I still learned some podcast lessons the hard way. However, once I figured some stuff out - I couldn't wait to use what I learned to help others.

It was important to produce podcast content that stood out even back then.  Today (with the increased saturation of shows), it's essential.

I talked with Lyndsay Philips about creating a show that stands out on Leverage Your Podcast.

According to Forbes, the growing interest in podcasts is not slowing down. Here is a quick list of stuff.