social media
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By Brett Casey

It is easier to start a business today than it has ever been. Create an instagram account and start a shopify store for free and boom, a source of income is created. This simplicity presents a problem, in that it creates more competition than ever.

Everyone wants to make easy money and not many people want to put in the work it takes to create something of value.

This means that if you take the time to create a superb product, whether it be a sweatshirt, a bottle of wine, or a podcast edited to excellence, you will bypass the countless “entrepreneurs” and “self-starters” that do not truly put in the effort it takes to create something worthwhile.

In 2017, people are becoming obsessed with growth-hacking and social media marketing in an attempt to try to grow their business or brand.

However, even if you employ the most effective growth-hacking tools and strategies that drive millions of people to your page, if there is not something there that has an impact on them, they’re not going to follow you, not going to click on your link, and they are definitely not going to purchase your product. That’s just the truth.

We like to pretend that because these platforms are online, there aren’t real people behind the accounts we are targeting.

Don’t you have a social media account? Isn’t it obvious when an account is a robot and is purely a self-serving marketing tool that will never provide any meaningful interaction?

If you understand that, most other people on the site do as well.

“Hacks” are not going to survive in the densely populated social media market of the new future.

Excellent products, however, WILL find customers.

This may take more time than driving thousands of followers to your page but it will certainly pay off in the long term by rewarding you with positive customer reviews. People will even do your marketing for you. Customers that actually believe in and benefit from the thing that you are selling will spread your message and expose your product to new faces and new spaces.

Let’s take The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast as an example. Joe has consistently put out long form content for several years and has amassed an audience through being genuine, funny, unafraid, and having earnest conversations with some of the most interesting people in comedy, fighting, science, writing and academia.

Through creating TRUST with the audience Joe became a priceless outlet for companies with relevant products. This is because he “only advertises for products that he completely believes in and has tried.” He repeats different versions of this quite often as he advertises, to remind the audience of his credibility, and to remind them that the companies they are now hearing truly took the time to create an EXCELLENT product.

The point is, if you want the exposure that a top-level influencer with a no-nonsense crowd like Joe Rogan could bring you, you could only attain that if you had a product that was worth people’s time.

Rogan became such an incredible influencer because people trust his recommendations and that is because the brands he supports have DONE THE WORK. Whatever sample they sent to him was crafted with such precision and careful thought that it moved him enough to accept them as a sponsor.

As one of the top podcasts in the world, receiving over 90 MILLION downloads in a month, there are COUNTLESS brands, companies,  and startups that are trying to get a piece of the pie he has created. Because Joe has created the pie, Joe decides who gets a slice.

In this new age, individuals with tremendous power, like Joe Rogan, are going to have bigger audiences on their instagram story than CNN gets during primetime. These individuals get to their position largely through hustle and self-determination and couldn’t be more different from the marketing team that decides which ads air on CNN.

Social media is the age of no privacy, of truth, and of exposure. Any companies that are “faking it” will be exposed and they will lose out to companies producing superior products and services.

5 Ways to Ensure Your Company Breaks Through the Crowded Noise of Social Media

1. Don’t be fake.

Remember that social media is populated with real people who can become real customers. By automating comments or messages or posting cliche or unoriginal content, you can lose the attention of your audience. It is your company, so be authentic and let your customers know who you are, what your vision is, and why your company deserves their attention.

2. Create a product people need.

Uber simplified the car service industry, making it more accessible and more affordable. AirBnB simplified the process of finding a place to stay in a new city, making it more reliable and affordable. Linkedin filled the need for a professional social media site. Your product should be solving a problem or at the least making a strive forward in the field. If your product solves a problem that a sizeable audience faces, then your product will succeed.

3. Create it with intentional design and critical oversight.

Your product should be completed and all bases covered before unveiling it to this audience. In the business world, we exist in competition where quality rises to the top. There may be four new hipster coffee joints in a neighborhood but the one that makes the best coffee for the best price is going to win out in the long run. If you’re creating a product in a saturated field, you simply have to create a better product than most of the competition.

4. Be patient, as it will take time to gain customers and for the satisfaction of those customers to be shared with others.

Once this product is created, be patient. As mentioned earlier, satisfied customers can be your most effective marketing campaign. You know you’ve created a high quality product, so there is no need to fear or give up. Stick to the plan until you start seeing results.

5. Share testimonials and tag their social media: This way people will know REAL people enjoy and find value in your product.

It is hard for people to know a company is legitimate if it only started recently. Deliver on your promises and then affirm your legitimacy by creating content in which your customer attests to the quality of your product/service. Show the world of social media that real people achieved real benefit from your product.

Finally, if you need to find a manufacturer to bring your vision to life  and don’t know where to begin, start learning how at trysourcify.com . This service sends your product’s specifications to a database of licensed factories in China, returns to you with the lowest bids, and then solidifies the connection between you, the business owner, and the most relevant manufacturer/factory. This will save you the time and hassle of searching for the right manufacturer. It will also allow you to lower your production costs significantly (some have experienced as much as 65%). This will allow you to make money, grow your business, and plan for the future.

Brett Casey is a fourth year student at the University of San Diego studying communications and marketing. He is passionate about writing and innovative ideas that use current technology to enhance the way our society operates, minimizes environmental impact, and simplifies our life. He is currently on the marketing team at Sourcify, a start-up that makes it easier to find the right manufacturer for your product. Connect with him at LinkedIn.