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I was sitting outside at the lake on the weekend, scrolling through social media on my phone. A huge heron caused a commotion on the shoreline as it took off. As I watched it effortlessly fly away over the water, I was enthralled and couldn’t take my eyes off of it – and that’s when it struck me.
No, nothing actually physically hit me – but I was struck by the beauty of this thing in front of me – and realized that this ‘real’ experience had so much more power than second-hand online experiences. Why waste time living through others’ experiences posted online when real life is right in front of you? But then, of course, I cursed myself for not capturing the experience quickly enough that I could post it on Instagram (hence the stock image seen here)…
Give this song by The Police a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…
The Medium is the Message
Way back in my undergrad days, I remember studying Marshall McLuhan, the great Canadian communication theorist. You might have heard of him, as he coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.”
McLuhan argued that modern electronic communications (including radio, television, films, and early computers) would have far-reaching sociological, aesthetic, and philosophical consequences, to the point of actually altering the ways in which we experience the world.
I think we can all agree that he was dead on. Those of us involved in messaging and communications are intimately aware of the influence the channel has on the message. And the communication channels we love (and hate) alter how we experience the world.
Do we respect this axiom enough in our B2B worlds? We talk about the ‘right message to the right person at the right time’ – but the medium must enforce the message! Are we optimizing our messaging for the communications channel, or just screaming at the wall?
It’s All About… Commerce!
TikTok is the new radio… but it’s not about the music. Most viral TikTok hits are actually about COMMERCE! The same goes for Spotify Top 50 tracks, so they have that in common.
But Bob Lefsetz makes a good point: TikTok can teach us about creative innovation. It’s what the entire service is based on – people en masse coming up with new ideas. And ideas are paramount. Do things just like everybody else and you won’t go viral – but if you push the envelope, skew the vision a bit, and underpin it with desirable music, you’ve started on the road to success.
How does this impact B2B? More than ever, it’s easier to start a business or become a freelancer. Just like with music, ideas are paramount – and technology can help you get up and running immediately. The traditional barriers to entry have been lowered – so how can you take advantage of that? Can you walk unhindered to get new ideas to market faster? Or perhaps a new competitor is crawling to the surface without you even knowing…
As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.
Looking forward,
Rick
Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat