Happy New Year! 

I know, I'm only 4 days late but hey- it's been a while. I should have probably finished this series before the holidays but things just got crazy busy here (crazy is good)and the blog got put on the back burner. But alas! I have returned to finish this mini series: Cutting Through The Clutter. Here's a quick recap of what we discussed in the previous posts:

• Of all the social networking sites out there, less than 5% really matter to your business
• That 5% of the pie is also important to 95% of your competitors
• Your 5% varies on your industry, location and culture- so make sure you get it right
• Bottom line: everyone's putting all their eggs into the same basket
• The goal: cut through the clutter and rise above your competitors to reach your audience

      

Dave Siekanowicz

I recently heard someone begin a presentation on social media and the importance of social networking to a prominent group of business individuals with these words, "There are over 1000 social networking sites out there". Insert furrowing brow coupled with a classic case of face palm.... HERE. Social media is a bit of a weird devil with its own set of rules and exceptions. I feel that if I was to ever write a book on social media and business over 3/4 of every page would be footnotes with explanations and exemptions. Well, I doubt I'll get around to writing a book so why not address some concerns I have in a mini-blog series entitled, Cutting Through The Clutter. 

Firstly, there are more than 1000 social media websites (I'm combining networking based sites and new media sharing sites in this statistic). Wikipedia (arguably one form of social media) has put together a large lists but cites that it's not exhaustive, rather limited to notable, well-known sites. Yet despite this list of "well-known" sites, I would bet money that any individual reading this blog can only name about 5 of the listed sites and has probably actively used less than 5. This is one of those footnote sections that highlights how unique the world of social media is. Follow me here for a second:

Let's say there are a 1000 social media sites out there, yet only the top 3 really matter to your business. Naturally you would think wow, that's better- now I only have to focus on 3 and not remaining 997. Sure- you and 95% of your competitors; because you see the only 3 sites that matter to you, also matter to everyone else.  So now you have to leverage these 3 social media sites in a way that let's you cut through the millions of competitors who are fighting for your audience. You are essentially a needle in a haystack- unless you have a strategic plan and consistent method of implementation you will remain that needle, and nothing more. That's where we come in ;). Shoot us an email and we'll see what we can do. 

That's long enough for now, join me next time for part 2 of Cutting Through The Clutter: Wait, where am I supposed to be?

Dave Siekanowicz