The Lederhosen Unicorn (or, how to engage your audience)

We all struggle with "engagement" issues, right? Not the marrying kind – but the reaching out and being noticed kind. I’m challenged by it right now (would you rather be reading something else?), and I’ll wager that you come up against it when promoting a concept or a solution or just a regular communication to your customers. The point is this: if we are convinced that we have something valuable to offer, how do we let the other side know? Well, I learned something from my yoga class this evening, which I think could help us all. First off: I don’t always enjoy going to yoga. Sometimes, at the end of a day pounding the keyboard, it takes a lot of discipline to get in the car and just go through the motions. But tonight was different, and it was different because the teacher introduced her Lederhosen Unicorn. In truth, she was explaining why she had a black eye, and that had something to do with a Frisbee competition that was part of an Oktoberfest party on the beach (yes, Floridians celebrate Oktoberfest, too). She won the competition, but in doing so she also caught a Frisbee in her eye and walked away with a total shiner! But it was all worth it, she said, because she also walked away with the top prize: a kitschy Christmas tree ornament of a Lederhosen Unicorn. And that little box stood proudly by her feet throughout the class. [inlinead] Now, she may have just been filling in airtime while we were going through the postures. But what she did was give the class a different context. The point is, she engaged us. She turned something we've all been doing for years into a completely unique experience. And unique experiences are what we are all trying to drive through to our customers, whether internal or external. As I had 90 minutes to think about all this, I found myself wondering how I could use this Lederhosen Unicorn when engaging my audience. It's not about the unicorn. It's about taking the same old message and giving it a twist. Like a visual trick, or a mental hook. I know you get dozens of emails a day; I know everyone is trying to sell you something; or promote their solutions; or advertise a webinar. But I also know that if I succeed in catching your attention, if I can get you to recognize the value of our articles, blogs, and whitepapers … if I can get you to engage with us, then you'll have a better experience, which leads to me having a better experience (honestly it does, I count your readership clicks!). So when you send out the next communication to your customers, or your stakeholders – would it be worth trying to engage them by doing just one thing differently? The same message in a different context? Illustrated in an unusual way? A success highlighted by referencing something outside the company? A mistake rectified by an anecdote? To help you along, I'm sharing the Lederhosen Unicorn with you, to use as you will. If nothing else, you won't forget the story, or that you read about it on SSON. And that’s already a big step in the right direction. P.S. if you really have to have one - click the image. There's even a video. Turns out, the Unicorn has quite a following...

The Lederhosen Unicorn (or, how to engage your audience)

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