The opposite of Standing Out

ByKirryn Zerna InUncategorized

What is the opposite of Standing Out?

I would say the opposite is being invisible.

Unnoticed, perhaps irrelevant.

The opposite is not when you fail. When you have a go, and fall over, then have another go.

It’s being completely absent.

Could it be true as Oscar Wilde phrased it,

“There is only thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Look I get it.

There are many valid reasons for wanting to stay away from social media and posting your professional and personal life away online.

I’m not saying that it doesn’t come without some risk.

What about reputational damage?

How do you recover when you or your team uses social media inappropriately?

I discuss this approach in one of my keynote presentations – are you people helping or hurting your brand with their online interactions, and how could you lift their capabilities to become your online ambassadors (while also building their personal brand)?

How do you manage its overuse?

How do use social as a tool to build a brand without being consumed by its addictive identity-validating nature? How do we balance that?

How do you measure credibility?

And perhaps your mind goes to the many people and brands out there today who are very present, and yet you question their credibility, or their right to be speaking on these things. Is that better? To be heard, and full of hot air? Maybe you see them sharing their news and views on social platforms and you think “I know that they don’t have the experience that I have, I could be helping those clients whereas I’m nto sure they’re even qualified.”

And yet…

Simply by being present, and doing it consistently, THEY are the ones who are attracting a community.

They’re the ones connecting with new business opportunities and future employees and getting known as the expert in their industry and beyond. And they may only know half of what you do.

So imagine, what would be possible if it was you??

Someone with the credentials and the capabilities?

It’s time to stop worrying about those people who you think aren’t the real deal, and time to consider what value that you could be adding. Which people that could you be serving, what community could you be fostering. And then just do it.

The hardest part is starting.

As Guy Kawasaki said, “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”

So come on friend, what if we managed to find an approach to help you to stand out without selling out, that added value to your business and your industry?

I’ve been working away for the last year and I’m almost finished my book on this very topic and I can’t wait to share it with you.

In the meantime, I wonder what is one thing you could start doing today?

“Your online presence will speak for you, whether you’re present or not”.

About Kirryn Zerna

I’m on a quest to help ideas, leaders and brands stand out (without selling out) in this age of online influence. I’m a conference speaker, a masterclass presenter and creator of the Stand Out Effect: a modern-day quest to uncover what makes brands stand out without selling out. What’s unique about me is that I understand the nuance of business from a large corporation to a small business and can translate the challenges and opportunities of the power of social media in each context. I draw on deep experience of working within corporate and public sector environments, and I also have had the privilege of working with over 1,300 small businesses and entrepreneurs through state and federal funded programs in the last year.