5 Ways To Be Irrelevant

In a world where we can’t escape marketing messages even in a restroom stall; where breaking news is no longer a big deal, it’s a given; where celebrities are the ultimate influencers and influencers are the ultimate celebrities; relevance is currency. If you are not relevant, you won’t show up – you can’t even begin to compete. If you want to be heard, seen, or respected, you need to keep up with news, with culture, with social media. You need to make sure that your messages are relevant in the big picture and that people can make a connection between what you have to say and offer, and what matters most to them.

But hey, maybe you’re tired. Maybe you just want to be left alone. Maybe you don’t want to connect with a customer. Maybe you think you’re overexposed. (You’re wrong by the way. Overexposure just isn’t possible anymore.) Who are we to judge? We’re in the service business; we’re here to help. So if any of these statements describe you, your brand, or your company, we give you 5 ways to be irrelevant.

1. Continue to assert that social media is just a bunch of people posting about what they had for breakfast. Go ahead state your expert opinion about something with which you have little to no experience. “Twitter is a waste of time.” Really? And you know this how? Because you signed up three years ago and never followed anyone back? Keep ignoring the fact that news breaks on social, that markets move on social, that candidates campaign on social. Don’t ever consider that it’s only people like you, with eggs for profile pictures, who think all the posts are about scrambled with a side of bacon.
2. Pretend you’re above it all. C’mon, tell us how you couldn’t name a single Kardashian even if we paid you one million dollars to do it – and be proud of that fact. The truth is, none of us really want to use our precious brain cells knowing which one is Kim and which one is Khloe. But we do. We do because these women have influence. They sell product. They set trends. And like it or not, the Kardashians are what people are talking about. But don’t you talk about them. You’re too cool…and irrelevant.
3. Operate in a bubble. Here’s another great tip for being irrelevant: fly solo. Tell us you don’t have competitors. Tell us your idea, product, company is like no other. Don’t use analogies. Don’t make connections. Definitely don’t fit into any categories that help people understand who you are and what you do. FYI: the opposite of stand with is not stand out. It’s stand-alone.
4. Don’t cross over generational lines. Go ahead boomer – keep bashing those millennials. Make derogatory comments about their trophies. Continue to ignore their size, their purchasing power, the way they are sculpting society. And hey you, recent college grad. Act like you know it all. Ignore those dinosaurs that sign your paychecks. What could they have possibly learned from building a business? And if you’re part of Gen X – don’t sweat it. No one thinks you’re relevant anyway.
5. Play it safe. “I don’t talk about politics.” Okay, well, the whole rest of mankind does, so how’s that going for you? We agree the world doesn’t need more people sharing partisan posts to their walls all day long. And we concur there are spaces and places where some conversations are never okay. And no, we don’t all have to argue like cable news pundits. But sharing a few memes or a clip from a late night talk host every now and again is typically well received. But it’s not for you. You just keep on refusing to acknowledge the biggest media story of 2016. That should keep you as irrelevant as you want to be.