Seth’s Blog: Can’t top this: “Getting someone to switch is really difficult.

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So, you don’t get someone to switch because you’re cheaper than Walmart. You don’t get someone to switch because you serve bigger portions than the big-portion steakhouse down the street. You don’t get someone to switch because your hospital is more famous than the Mayo Clinic.

The chances that you can top a trusted provider on the very thing the provider is trusted for are slim indeed.

Instead, you gain converts by winning at something the existing provider didn’t think was so important.”

Winning at something the existing provide didn’t think was important. That sentence captures it all. Too many social media experts but very little to differentiate them. They all claim to be ‘the’ expert.

They can’t all be ‘the’ expert. They can certainly be experts in some area. Sure, there can be lots of folks that are great at recording videos. Maybe another thousand are great at podcasting. Likewise, there are thousands of great photographers.

The ugly truth? As consumers and businesses acting as consumers, we chose who we know. Alternately we chose the most well known or safest choice. That means that you, that person not being Chris Brogan for example, my company, we aren’t choosing you first as a generalist.

The upside? Chris is no expert in video or podcasting. He’s certainly no expert in French cuisine in Portsmouth. That is something you may well be.

The lesson? As basic as it sounds, do what you know. The key is not to get lost in being an expert at making videos in general. Those are a dime a dozen. Be an expert at filming French cuisine in Portsmouth. Make our mouths water with food we can actually have.

St. Louis suffers from this. We have plenty of bloggers. We have several tech focused bloggers. Only a few really stand out. Why? They have given up trying to be the tech experts and instead focused on their passions. They are getting the biggest communities and feedback.

Which are you doing? Challenge yourself today to narrow your focus. Pick your thing to be an expert at. If there are more than a dozen folks with the same focus as your site, consider focusing even more.

Oddly, by abandoning too much, you may discover your get more in return.
Cheers,
Todd