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.

You might also like

I've had my share of car buying experiences, most of which have been mental beatdowns. On one occasion, I was talking with a salesman who was really pushing me to buy.
​
At one point, I asked his team to run some numbers on what a particular vehicle would cost me every month. 

"Am I going to get your business today?" he asked.

"Not quite sure yet."

"Well, I'd hate to have my guys run these numbers and do all of this work if you're not even sure about buying today."

"But...isn't that your job?"

(Silence)

"Well, yeah."

It was clear this was much more about what he would get out of it than me, it and would be totally reasonable for me to have left right then. 

This is one of the many reasons people hate the car-buying experience. They've had so many experiences like this that they practically expect the sales team to do what they can to benefit themselves over the consumer.

The same is true online.

People are used to misleading clickbait, disappointing content and corporate marketing that they've become cynical. Brands must find ways to break that cynicism by writing and producing content that clearly conveys a genuine interest in their audience - no strings attached.

If you've already sat in a car dealership for 2-3 hours, you may tolerate a little more selfishness because you've invested time in it. However, it's much easier to form a negative opinion and disconnect yourself from selfish content.
​
Getting to know everything about your audience and customer takes some time, planning and strategy. However, there are some things you should already know just by living the human experience:

• People don't want to feel like someone is trying to trick them
• People don't like the idea someone is taking advantage of them
• People don't like to take extra steps when their needs are simple

Finally, when it comes to human behavior online - if you give them a wrong impression, they will instantly go elsewhere.

​Here is a quick video sharing three examples of content that will look selfish to your audience.

When I launched my first podcast in 2011, I created a Twitter account to help me promote episodes. Twitter was a pretty good platform to promote a podcast - if you knew how to generate interest in your copy.

It was not uncommon for me to see very generic and simple episode promotions from other shows. They would read something like this:

Our new episode is out now! Listen here!

Episode 233 is now live! Listen here!

​We just dropped our latest show about cow-tipping. Get it here!

Okay, I made up the cow-tipping post, but it represents a limited explanation of an episode. You can insert any topic there.

​I interviewed movie and television actors in my first podcast, and instead of "cow-tipping," I would highlight who I interviewed in each post. 

I thought dropping names would be enough.

I was wrong.

For example, I interviewed Anthony Michael Hall, and we talked about his early success, John Hughes and modern comedy.  It was an enjoyable discussion, and I was anxious to share it with everyone. 

So, when the time came, I promoted it on Twitter. I can't remember what I wrote in the first Tweet, but it was something simple, like:

In the latest episode of the show, I talk with Anthony Michael Hall - (link)

I might have added another minor detail. Either way - engagement was extremely low.

I knew my copy needed something more. In a lot of ways, my post wasn't any different from saying, "Check this out! - (Link)"

So, I thought about the conversation.

What was one of the more intriguing questions and answers?

What was a question that I couldn't wait to ask?

Then it hit me - What was it like for a kid your age in 1985 (17 years old) to play Kelly LeBrock's love interest in Weird Science?

So I created a post that said something like:

"Anthony Michael Hall describes what it was like playing Kelly LeBrock's love interest as a teenager in Weird Science..."
​

• Engagement went way up.
• I picked up more listens.
• And Kelly LeBrock followed the show on Twitter.

It was true then, and it is still true today (especially with all of the other podcasts promoting episodes now) - Give people a reason to click.

​"Check it out" and "New episode!" aren't the best examples.

Think about your audience.

Keep it simple, but be specific.

Finally, make it more appealing than a greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray.

As another holiday season appears in the rearview mirror and companies begin thinking about their marketing, messaging and branding strategies for 2022, I'm hopeful that a visit to 34th Street inspired a few people. The original 1947 film is always on my watch list during the season, but there are three important lessons brands can remember throughout the year.

​When kids shared what they wanted for Christmas, Santa was supposed to tell the parents how they could buy specific toys at Macy's. When Santa meets Peter, he tells Santa he wants a fire engine for Christmas, not just any toy fire engine - A fire truck like the big ones only smaller, with a real hose that squirts real water.

His mother tries to tell Santa it's impossible to get because nobody has them. So, when Peter is told he'll get one for Christmas, she's not too happy about it. When Santa tells her she can find those fire engines at ​Schoenfeld's on Lexington, that all changes.

The head of the toy department hears Santa tell her and others where they can buy toys - outside of Macy's. 

Did they hire a Bad Santa?

Did they lose a chunk of revenue as Santa helped parents find the right store and price?

Indeed this madness had to stop, right?

That is until Peter's mom said putting the spirit of Christmas ahead of the commercial was wonderful, and she would now be a regular Macy's customer.

That was an even bigger shock to the manager, but should it have been?

 If you took this quote and replaced "kids" with "customer," would you say that's your brand's philosophy? If so, what Santa did was completely logical.

The toy manager thought the only way for Santa to earn revenue and loyalty was to tell them what to buy. It's instant gratification - like knowing what's in a wrapped package before opening it. 

Macy's didn't get an instant buy that day, but the purchases Peter's Mom will make as a loyal customer will more than make up for it.

Much of today's marketing and advertising continues to be rooted in a desperate attempt to get that instant gratification despite research that shows consumers don't want sales pitches and don't want to be told to buy on social media.

Peter's mom assumed (and rightfully so) that any employee or representative of Macy's would care about their own interests (in this case - sales) over the customer's needs. Remember, for Mr. Kringle to be a "good Santa," he was instructed to suggest overstocked toys to kids.

There is plenty of skepticism about the motivations of brands today. The difference is that in 2021, customers are in a much better position to demand companies act more like Santa and less like the toy manager. 

What will you do in 2022 to communicate to customers that you have their best interests at heart?

In his book, They Ask, You Answer, Marcus Sheridan talks about how CarMax shook up the car buying industry by saying they would differentiate themselves by addressing the typical customer's complaints about going to the dealership.

The car dealers didn't take them seriously. They knew they were the big dogs that had been around for years.

When people want a car - they go to them. 

In their minds, nobody was going to change that - until they did. They changed the rules, and car dealers had to adjust.

Macy's nor Gimbel's would have come up with a holiday shopper strategy without Santa's customer-focused heart because they would assume it would hurt them (a company-focused mindset).  However, once Macy's did something new, Gimbel's took notice and had to change their thinking (or hearts).

However, if you're a consumer, how does that look to you?

You have two brands with a lot in common in their industry - including their business, marketing and public relations strategy.

One brand does something TOTALLY DIFFERENT and blows the minds of customers. Suddenly, everyone's talking about it, and it's a game-changer for their company.

Then the other brand suddenly makes a significant effort to say, "Hey! US TOO!  We believe in that too!"

Would you still be attached (maybe even more loyal) to the company that did it first?

It's not uncommon for competing brands to watch each other and do what the other one does - especially in marketing, branding and public relations.

The only differentiator is each brand is trying to tell customers that:

• We do it better!
• We know more!
• We care more!
• We're bigger!
• We've been around longer!

What good does that do?

As digital marketing consultant Mark Schaefer will tell you - If you're #2 in your industry, you can't be doing things the way #1 does things.

How will you differentiate yourself from your competition?

So be good to your prospects and customers.

Anytime a brand can get a solid celebrity endorsement, it can give its promotions and messages a boost. However, it is still important to utilize the opportunity to carefully consider how the celebrity and the message will be used.

Rob Gronkowski is a big NFL star with a big personality. USAA offers military veterans competitive rates on financial services like banking, investment and insurance.  The two have come together to produce some TV ads to promote their special offers to veterans.

​The word "hero" is pretty prevalent in our culture, and occasionally I will see good reminders on social media about its use. For example, there's a difference between a "sports hero" who plays a game and a "military hero" who risks his or her life to protect the nation or others.

During an election season, it's not uncommon for candidates to talk about new ways to better care for our veterans - especially after they come home from the battlefield. We can do a lot more because they're generally not making NFL salaries like Gronk.

So, the optics in this commercial has an NFL veteran and millionaire trying to get an army veteran who is working at a little shop to get him the same benefit as he gets from USAA.

Why would Gronk need this discount?
Why would Gronk try to convince a veteran to get USAA to make an exception and give him the special military rate? "You love me, right?"

They have another ad where he's trying to trick a customer service rep into giving him the membership and rates.

​It just doesn't look good in that context. 

When I was a single guy, I remember hearing that women would often judge men based on their relationship with their mothers. This approach included considerations on how they talk about and communicate with their moms. The idea is that they could potentially get a good feel for how someone would treat another woman in a relationship.

Can a similar principle apply to how a company communicates with (or even treats) its audience?

Similarly, how you talk about customers within your own company could impact how that same organization communicates with them publicly.

If someone asked you how people within your company talk about customers or prospects, what would be a fair assessment?

• We believe our audience is gullible
• We believe our audience needs to have everything explained to them
• We believe we know what the audience wants, but we want to learn more
  

​​Do you see a correlation between internal and external communications?

​Several years ago, a company hired me to help them develop some new copywriting ideas. When I was hired, I was invited to the office to learn more about the business and its messaging challenges.

When they were showing me around, they pointed out the copywriting team.

That threw me off a bit.

“If you have a team of copywriters, what made your hire someone like me?” I asked.

The response was, “We just need some fresh ideas.”
​
The company offered free online access to a service and wanted customers to pay for additional services via a monthly subscription. They sought to increase paid opt-ins and keep customers on their subscription plans.

Recently, many people would get what they wanted and opt out.

Then I found out what needed “fresh” ideas.

After people filled out the form for the free service, they were asked for credit card information.

I sat in on a meeting where an entire creative team discussed how a new website with photos of friendly-looking people would make users more comfortable with the last-minute credit card request.

Why?

Because the website looked nice and the photos looked like credible people - duh!

I was stunned by this.

It reminded me of My Cousin Vinny when Vinny asked his fiancé what pants he should wear to go deer hunting. She asked him if he was a deer, and some guy showed up and blew him away – would he care about what kind of pants the shooter was wearing?

​I asked a similar question in the meeting.

“If any of you were told you’re getting something free, and you filled out a form to get the free service…but you were then asked for credit card information…would you really care how nice people looked on the website?”

As Ralphie Parker once said – They looked at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears.
​
This company viewed its audience as gullible people, and their external communications proved it.

I’ve attended trade shows and seen vendors with backdrops that are so loaded with information that the text extends from top to bottom. Many people wouldn’t stop to read it all, and those who did would stop and confusingly ask, “What do you all do?”

Having the internal belief that your customers and prospects need everything explained can put strains on your business. These days, customers know their problems and understand what they want out of a solution.

​Too much explaining on a website, email or other materials can:

1. Give an impression you’re trying too hard to make a sale vs. provide a solution
2. Waste time by explaining a problem they know they have
3. Leave little room for a message to resonate and inspire someone to contact you

Dr. James E. Grunig (public relations theorist and Professor Emeritus, Communication at the University of Maryland) developed the "excellence theory" in public relations. The development of this concept was pretty wide-ranging, to say the least:
​

• The Future of Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management called it the “most comprehensive research project done in the field of public relations.”
• In Public Relations Scales: Advancing Excellence Theory, Alexander Laskin said he thought this theory had identified weaknesses in the original constructs of public relations.

Excellence theory takes what’s known as a symmetrical two-way communication approach. Now, what does that mean, and how can it apply to culture, communication and audience?

Let’s first look at other examples of communication and see how they could be applied to examples already discussed.

One-way communication – Think of this as an approach that an agent or publicist might take. The communication is focused on one side. Messaging will always be constructed or spun in ways that make the best possible impression on the audience for the subject's benefit.
​
Two-way communication – This is about considering the audience in the messaging. However, if it's asymmetrical, the benefit is still focused on the messenger because there is a layer of “scientific persuasion” used in communicating with the audience. In other words, they may listen to what the audience has to say about something, but the result will still be to persuade them for the sender’s benefit.
​
A two-way symmetrical approach like excellence theory is focused more on mutual benefits for the sender and the audience.

One of the big mistakes marketers make in their strategies is they think like marketers (and not consumers). Grunig believes public relations has to be more than just external marketing and PR communications by:
​

• Enabling PR to communicate internally with executives and decision-makers
• Creating a consistent approach to communication with equal recognition of value among all employees of different races, cultures and genders

A key takeaway: If organizations already have a genuine interest in communicating in a mutually beneficial way, that can translate well into how that same company communicates and views its audience.

This approach can work for everything from businesses to academic institutions.

Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), a 1,200-employee industry-funded company, wanted to convey not only environmental responsibility, but also a high standard of ethics and integrity in their public reputation.

In a 2016 evaluation of the effectiveness of excellence theory within the organization, AER achieved one of its highest scores in ethics and integrity. Public Affairs contributed to the organization's success (and public opinion) through communication and professionalism messaging and response.

A 2019 study focused on web, social and internal communications of universities around the world. It concluded that "Research on public relations activities at public universities in the era of public information disclosure has found that public relations activities have well supported public services in accordance with the principles of good governance."

Excellent communication doesn’t have to be academic. While excellence theory provides a good example of the advantages of a consistent internal and external communication approach, do we need to study to understand why that makes sense?

If a company culture has internal communication challenges, is it tough to see how that could impact how the organization communicates externally?

If a company culture is primarily focused on how great they are and how the world needs to listen to them, do you think that could create challenges in how it creates external communications?

If marketing strategies are rooted in ways to overexplain, trick or lecture their audience, what does that say about a culture’s view of their most valuable assets?
​
Finally, if a company culture believes there is mutual benefit to be gained with the public (gaining insights, providing value, building relationships, being transparent, etc.), how can that hurt the organization?

If my mom asked me what type of communication I believe in, I wouldn't want to throw out terms like two-way symmetrical communication, but I'm sure she would be pleased to hear "mutually beneficial."

My wife (who is also in marketing) would be pleased as well.

Imagine you attend an event covering a topic that is very important to you.  Let's also imagine you chose to attend because you were seeking to get something meaningful from it.

Maybe you went because you want to learn something new.
Maybe you went because you want to learn how to take action.
Or maybe you went to get energized about something that means a lot to you

Perhaps you attended the event for all of these reasons.

Yet, while you're there, you have to sit through someone who is there to promote themselves and thinks everyone should be excited about him. 

• Would you pretend to be engaged?
• Would you zone out?
• Would you leave?

After all, this doesn't represent what you want or what you're seeking to find.

In the 1988 film Coming to America, there was a big crowd at a local Black Awareness Event, and you have to think they all wanted something of value from it (including some of the "good stuff" from McDowell's). 

Yet, they had to sit through a musical performance from a local actor who played Joe the Policeman in an episode of That's My Momma. Despite everyone's (minus one big fan) lack of interest, Randy Watson thought everyone should be excited to hear him and his band perform.

Randy is an iconic character from the film, but he also presents us with a great analogy about a common mistake people make in their content strategy.

When Reverend Brown said he had a "special treat" for the audience, they probably expected better.  When users are looking for value online, one of the most frustrating things they experience is clickbait.

In other words, they see a headline that makes them think they found something of interest.

So, they click on the link.

​Then, they're disappointed to find that the content features a company talking about (or frequently linking) to itself or a brand promoting their product.

Randy didn't get the reception he likely thought he would get. So, he thought he could boost the reaction by telling the audience that they looked lovely.

However, it generated the same response.

That didn't stop him from promoting his band and telling people how great they sound:

"They play so fine. Don't you agree?"

While in front of his audience, all Randy managed to do was:

• Use a half-baked compliment to boost response
• Ask if they agreed that his band was great
• Provide them with unoriginal content - singing someone else's song

Then, despite lack of engagement, he stomped his feet and yelled out the name of his band:

"SEXUAL CHOCOLATE!"

At the beginning of his act, the lack of response should've sent a signal that his plan wasn't going to work with his audience.  He could've adjusted and spoke to the them about something they care about or tried something different. Yet, he persisted in making it about him and his band.

A lot of brands will do something like this in their content, and you'll see it on everything from their websites and social media to their emails and blogs.

It's all about them, and they might as well be stomping their feet and screaming the name of their company at you.

Additionally, despite a lack of meaningful amount of clicks, shares and responses, they don't change their strategy.

If that's your strategy, you'll need all the prayers Reverend Brown can give you.

Also check out:

Forbes:  Want To Be Successful With Content Marketing? Teach, Don't Sell

​Forbes: Four Reasons Why Content Marketing Is Hard

​If I was new to the planet and asked you how humans feel about the car buying experience, what would you tell them? I assume you wouldn't describe it the same way you would a Caribbean cruise. However, there are too many people that don't mind infusing the annoyances of car buying to their LinkedIn marketing strategy.

When you walk onto a car lot, you know you're going to have someone approach you and talk to you about buying a car, but why is that so bad? Marcus Sheridan points out:

"Imagine you walk onto a car dealership lot and a salesman comes striding out. Do you expect that salesman to have your best interests at heart, or are you anticipating the whole 'Have I got the perfect car for you' routine?"

In other words, you feel like the conversation is going to be driven (no pun intended) by what benefits them - not you. 

How are people getting a similar experience on LinkedIn? You can find plenty of promotion-filled sales lots filled with robotic salespeople communicating through canned and repeatable rhetoric.

Many LinkedIn profiles are full of brands talking about themselves and their perfect things for the audience. Their pages are the equivalent of having a bunch of wacky waving inflatable arm men in a used car lot, and both are about equally as effective in inspiring someone to buy.

​
​You'll notice that when LinkedIn announces their best page announcement winners, it's all about the ways brands are providing value and building trust. For example:

1. ​Teleperformance shares "quick-hit content that is short, snackable, and easily digested even without sound. They humanize their brand by featuring company leaders in the video content and establish credible thought leadership through the use of third-party stats."
2. CVENT proves it is "not product-first in their content — they genuinely want their content to be useful and relevant to their audience."

If you're wondering how to evolve your LinkedIn page away from a "car salesy" theme to a value-based and trust-building one, you can find several ideas for unique LinkedIn posts. You just have to decide which ones are right for your brand.

​Poor Bert Healy. He just wanted his script to sound like a natural conversation, but it's more than evident that Mr. Warbucks is reading a prepared set of sentences. It didn't help matters when Warbucks closed with, "Did I just do a commercial?"

However, Bert had a good excuse. It was the 1930s, radio was big, and he had a captive audience. Yet today, people are willing to follow a similar formula using LinkedIn messages, and it's not as funny as this scene. In fact, it's annoying, lazy, unprofessional and sad.

Like a stereotypical used car salesman, they may greet you in a way that seems like it's an attempt to get to know you, but once you respond, it's all about their benefit. 

It starts with a disingenuous connection request
Disingenuous reasons for wanting to connect generally include an interest in "expanding a personal network and wanting to connect with like-minded people." Or the more amusing invitations to connect are the ones where they tell you upfront that they think you're stupid. 

For example, they tell you your recent "great blog or post" that "showed up on their feed," drew them to you. Granted, they aren't going to tell you specifically which post it is because this is a  cut and paste script that goes to several people. It's the car lot greeting before things go into sales mode. Once you connect, you'll get more cut and paste messages that signal no real interest in connection, conversation, value or trust.

Because it's not about you. If it was, things would sound a lot less scripted and the conversation could be very different. As Marcus said in his blog, your content (or communication) could say:

“Why HubSpot is right for you.”
or
“Is HubSpot the right fit for you?”

One shows bias, one does not.

Creating value, starting a conversation or building trust means avoiding what Chris Brogan would call treating people like purses and wallets. One of the simplest pieces of advice I've ever gotten about social media marketing is - You have to give to get.

• You have to give value to get value.
• You have to earn trust to get trust.

People assume a car buying experience is going to be more frustrating than fulfilling. They expect similar frustrations while spending time on LinkedIn.

Prove them wrong.  It will benefit you both.