Of Relevance

Everyone is being social, right? Or it sure seems like it. More than 40% of the United States is on Facebook and 88% of the country is aware of what Facebook is. More than 87% of Americans are aware of Twitter. It's a real liability in the professional world if you aren't on LinkedIn. There are zillions of blogs and with this first post I'm adding one more.

Even before the social media explosion, advertisers and marketers created plenty of clutter and were always trying to figure out how to cut through it to capture people's attention. Now, any individual with a laptop is able to express, opine, editorialize, persuade, influence and say just about anything they want about just about anything they want to.

So isn't it all just adding to the clutter? It depends on who is doing the talking and whom they are trying to talk with. If it's a third-party or a company that one isn't emotionally invested in or loyal to, then they are likely to get tuned out. But if it's a connection on Facebook or a favorite athlete that's Tweeting, or a brand someone has a passionate affinity toward, they will have an audience. The addition of social media is simply more channels for disseminating information and opinions. Just like traditional channels such as TV advertising or billboards, people will pay attention when something - or someone - says something useful and relevant.

Relevance is the ultimate currency that anyone must use to get people's attention. Some of my posts will be about business and marketing and may appeal to professional colleagues and a portion of my friends; others will be about common interests I have with my family and other friends such as movies, college football and basketball, TV shows and pop culture. My hope is that at least some of the posts on this blog will be relevant to those who visit.