Just recently, we were discussing a social media plan with a new client when they asked,

“So how do we break through all the noise in social media?”

“What makes people pay attention to OUR product?”

This is a great question and really caught me off guard a bit. I was so wrapped up in explaining the technical details of the social media plan we had put together, I had to stop and think for a moment. I’ve actually heard this question asked before in many different ways:

“How do I get more Twitter followers?”

“How do I get more Facebook Likes on my page?”

“How do I get more people to read my blog?”

“How do I get more people to sign-up for and read my newsletters?”

These are all basically versions of the same question, “What makes my product or service stand-out and get attention online?”

The answer is….drum roll please….what makes your product or service stand out online is YOUR PRODUCT or SERVICE! It’s not your use of social media in some special way that breaks you through, it’s your product. Social media is only the medium (i.e. the TV, the radio, the book). It’s your product that fills the pages, the stations, and the channels. Yes, there are best practices for using social media, but in reality, the better your products and services, the more attention you are going to get online. Miley Cyrus didn’t get a million followers on Twitter because she re-tweeted and followed the right people, she got a million followers because she’s a famous actress and pop-singer. Miley has a great product for her target market and uses Twitter to communicate with her fans and remind them about that great product.

We know social media can be frustrating to learn, especially when you are just getting started. Try to see it, though, as a free channel to broadcast your passion and expertise to the world. See it as a free outlet to let the world know about your amazing widget or discover your incredible service. This can be done through words, pictures, videos, or any way that works best for you. The trick is just to do it!

Luckily, these days, the most important social media services have already been established so we already know where you should have a presence. There are also tools that allow you to monitor each service and update them simultaneously from single interfaces (even via email or texting). This makes using social media much simpler and much less time consuming than it has been in the past. So I guess the only question left to ask is, “Are you ready to get your great product or service discovered online?”