SEX! – GOTCHA. NOW, HOW DO I KEEP YOU?

Grabbing and keeping attention amidst the chaos that is social media.

In the increasingly fast-paced and populated social media realm, getting attention is hard enough, keeping it is this decades elusive prize. There are so many different facets competing for our ever-fleeting attention that we are growing increasingly weary of new efforts, and so much more demanding of whatever holds it. It is a lot of pressure, and few are now measuring up.

It wasn’t so long ago that diving into social media was enough.  No longer. If you haven’t yet tested the waters, you now face a very strong current.

To grab someone’s attention, you have to speak directly to them. If you are not a recognizable face or entity, you have some fast talking to do. To first get someone’s attention, you will have to stand above the crowd. Yelling won’t do it. Everybody else is – incessantly. And they are all wearing bright, pretty colours.

Choose your words carefully

Clearly, messages abound. To stand out, they have to matter. They have to be smarter, wittier or more captivating than the rest. They have to offer information that’s novel or funny or compelling but ultimately, valuable. It has to be worth repeating.  Online currency is measured in “forwards.”

Real estate company sells home in downtown Toronto…Whatever. Real estate company sells home in downtown Toronto for more than $420,000 above asking price…What!?

Small company one partners with small company two… Don’t care. Technical expertise of one company combined with the software of the other  leads to huge advance in specific field …Tell me more.

Government announces $9 million project…So what? New government project will improve traffic flow in my busy neighborhood…How?

Now you have my attention. To keep it, you will have to prove that you are worthy of something that is even more precious – my time. What’s in it for me? If you can answer that question – clearly, succinctly and eloquently – I’ve got a little time for you. I stress little. With so much competition, you are going to have to make it quick. Unless you hold Shakespeare’s pen or are privy to the most riveting news of the last few months, you better say what you have to say in few words. Take this article for example. I suspect that you are pretty quickly ready to move on to another.  Get to the point quickly and above all else, tell me what’s in it for me.  Don’t make it about you or your company, no matter how great you think one or the other are. It has to be about the reader. How can you make his or her life easier, more lucrative or just all round better. Tell me that, and you are a keeper… I may even share you.