Within any social network, marketing or business networking event, it’s always easy to observe the audience and by their behaviour, classify them into two distinctive groups. The noise makers and the difference makers.

Noise makers are those who fit in conveniently to make the numbers adding to the background chatter. The difference makers on the other hand are the ones whose voices we listen to. They are influential and according to my previous article; they can provide insight, recommendations, introductions and opportunities.

So, which group do you belong to? Hopefully not the marketing noise one.

Without doubt, everyone desires to be part of the second group, the influential marketing “gods” and difference makers. Unfortunately, reality is rarely close to the case. For every few businesses who make noise with their marketing, there are thousands others who make noisy marketing. However, it is very straight forward to discern.

The easiest approach for us to establish whether we really belong to the second group or not, is for us to ask ourselves the following difficult question in all honesty:

If I go offline, will people ever miss me?

Think about it. The marketers who are in a constant struggle for attention, are usually the noise makers. We don’t notice them where it matters, neither do we miss them when they are absent. Their marketing script reads as if their main objective is to be more popular than they are relevant.

• They dial our phone numbers with no prior arrangement only to hit us with a sales pitch without asking if we are happy to talk.
• They spam us on social networks and add our emails to their newsletter list without us opting in to their marketing campaigns.
• They are never social and always about pushing their product to us on Facebook and Linkedin.
• They hound us at networking events, feigning interest in us, just waiting to sell their product at any instance without our expressive permission.
• They are just annoying and they think like this: If I can pester everyone, then maybe someone will listen. In short, their approach to marketing is distinctively noisy.

Instead of creating a more captivating narrative, they push a dull bland story louder and harder without ceasing.

There is a better way

A more effective approach, is to concentrate on making a difference. Steve Jobs approached the marketing stage with a difference hence the market gave Apple attentive focus. When your approach, work and ideas make a difference, the market will talk about you, in a positive way.

They will enquire about your methods, ask you about your ideas and take interest in your work. The market becomes engaged with you. They will manage to talk about you and make references to your work to their own networks in your absence.

Yes, making a difference requires a more imaginative rationale than pestering the market to the point of annoyance. Making a difference is a lot easier and less stressful.  It works!

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