A friend of mine and I promised ourselves 180 minutes together to watch The Wolf of Wall-Street since last year. It finally happened on Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed it (as well as all the nibbles during it) but I’m not sure what to think of the Wolf himself. A cross between Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko and Goodfella’s Henry Hill, it’s a film that is both fascinating and revolting at the same time.
I love the movies. I’m a sucker for them – I laugh at the funny bits, I cry at the teary bits and I hide behind my fingers at the scary bits.
And you know what it is that truly gets me (and probably you) about the movies – drama.
It doesn’t matter the category – romcom, action, murder, horror. The most memorable of movies has drama in it.
And what does me watching The Wolf of Wall Street on a Sunday evening have to do with marketing? Well everything really.
I’m a marketer & copy-writer which means I work with business owners on all aspects of their marketing and communication. I see a lot of business owners who approach their marketing – whether its social media or traditional – in the same boring way. Often imitating or keeping up with what their competitors are doing..or worse still….matching what their competitor is doing but lowering their prices.
From this springs fear – fear of being different, fear of charging too much and fear of not upsetting anyone.
It’s the same when you go to networking events. Think back to the last one you went to. People nodding, exchanging the same chit chat, talking about the food, the weather but nothing really noticeable. Nothing that adds a bit of drama to things.
I don’t mean that you have to run naked around a networking event to add a bit of drama but if you think of the movies, if the main character got the girl every time with no challenges, then it would be a very boring movie.
So the question then is, how do you add a bit of drama to your marketing – whether it’s digital or traditional?
And the answer really is by being you.
Not saying the same thing over and over and over as your competition. Show yourself as an expert by giving opinions. Not the same as everyone else. And if they are similar as others, use different language, different mediums, different idiosyncroncies.
I personally believe that business owners do not spend enough time thinking about ‘what’ or ‘why’ they are saying; rather they concentrate on the ‘how’ of saying it. Business owners ask me ‘how do I write a press release that a journalist will pick up’ or ‘my facebook page isn’t working..help!’
But these are methods, the ‘how’ rather than the ‘why’s – your messages which is key to your success. You need to work on the inside (values, core message) before you work on the outside (facebook, press, website etc). Some marketers will work with you on the outside and wouldn’t give a hoot about the inside. So that’s challenging for me – but it also makes me stand out. Some people react to it and want to work with me ASAP. Others might take a bit of encouraging.
Same thing could happen with you when you start discussing what you really believe. Not everyone will like what you say. People who don’t like what you say will stay away, and those who do like you will be attracted to you.
So the next time you want your customer to say to you “you had me at hello”, start attracting them with a bit of drama. Just be yourself and say what you think…not what everyone else is saying.
Don’t be fearful of the 1% that will disagree with you, speak to the 99% who want to hear what you want to say.
Just don’t forget to tell me how you get on.
