FIGHTING FOR ATTENTION

rusticsimpledesign
Apr 7
3 min read

Technology is advancing at rates we've never experienced before. We used to have time to get used to new products or software before the next best thing came along. We used to have more time to think. This new rate of speed has a large unsettling effect, where everyone is left fighting for attention, hoping to be seen.

I know we all feel it. Even as consumers where on social media we used to go to see what other people were up to has turned into people monetizing everything they do. It's both a blessing and a curse. The average person can receive advertising money that used to only go to companies and now they get paid for their influence. But that has evolved into everyone trying to monetize something for themselves and it makes interactions feel less authentic & more staged.

The part that many don't pay attention to is that because there is so much noise, consumers start to check out. With their time limited, they don't want to hear another sales pitch. So they ignore most new content unless it's providing them value. People are starting to auto-sort quicker. You have a shorter time to prove your worth to a potential customer. You have to offer something of value in the beginning or they won't stick around. They'll label you "salesy" in their mind and ignore anything you produce. So how do we balance our need to be seen with their desire to not be sold to?

You start by thinking from the customer's perspective. If you needed your products or services, what would you need to see or believe about the company to be ready to purchase?

Providing value content is easier than you think. Blogs and podcasts are prime tools for this type of content. It gives your audience a chance to hear your voice and see what you're about. They're longer-form content than what can be quickly consumed on social media. They also naturally either inform, inspire, or entertain which are the main tenants to any good content strategy. (I repeat this often because it's that important.)

What about social media? I know just how frustrating it can be. You spend a bunch of time creating content that either isn't seen or isn't being engaged with. The good news is that the old model of posting daily isn't effective. It is so much more important to stick to the same tenants of inform, inspire, or entertain. Selling should feel like an extension of those things. You inspired someone by using your wallpaper to decorate a room; oh, you want the link to the wallpaper, here you go. You shared your method for making your own cards; oh, you love & want to buy the card I made, here's the link. You made a mess of the project you're working on & know others will find it funny; here's a link to the tool that saved my project. Let your work encourage the sale, not the other way around.

The last step is to think ahead and create with intention. Because creating in batches is how you can produce valuable content without feeling like that's the only thing you ever get to work on. I always think about the end goal. I know what my customers need to believe about me & my products and services and so I create content that helps them get to that point.

Anyone still selling the daily reels content is outdated. If you were going to do anything daily (even the algorithm likes every other day these days), the only thing I would consider is behind the scenes. Let people see the messy non-staged behind the scenes so they can see your work and feel inspired.

Most importantly, because things are always shifting, you have to think about your long game. Decide what you want to be known for. Find keywords that people would type hoping to find you and build those in to all of the content you produce. Then when they go looking for that thing, they'll find you. And the more people that click through to see you, the more people the algorithm will send your way.

Stop expecting immediate results. Be okay with building something silently on your own for a while and know that good things take time. You're in it for the long game.

Warmest regards,