Written by: Vickie Sullivan | October 31, 2019
What to Do When a Popular Trend Becomes White Noise
Unless you’ve just splashed down from Mars, you know that influence marketing is roaring like wildfire. This Fast Company article is an interesting (and dark) take on what happens to a white-hot trend that reaches saturation.
Let’s move past the focus on Instagram and influence marketing. This dynamic – the rise and fall of the popular – happens in our space, too. The opening line (“When everyone is an influencer, no one is an influencer”) can be applied to anything.
A current example: storytelling. When everyone tells multiple stories, do buyers tune out? When does the deluge of stories in all formats become white noise? And the bigger, more strategic question: When do you leave behind a popular tactic?
Many of us hold on to things long past their prime, accepting diminishing returns. Here’s why: We get attached to what we become good at. We don’t know what to do next, so we stick with what has worked before. Until it doesn’t.
Listen: Two Ways to Let Go of What Doesn’t Work
What I tell clients: When something becomes ubiquitous, focus on two distinctions: your role in the conversation and how to dominate a smaller piece of the territory. Taking a smaller piece of a much bigger pie will buy time that allows you to find out what’s next.
Market segments, marketing tactics, you name it – anything will fragment when it becomes too big. Buyers ignore whatever becomes a deluge. We can avoid this trap and make a smoother transition to what’s next.
Now Read This: