What is S.O.S and How To Avoid It

What is Shiny Object Syndrome and How To Avoid It

When it comes to owning a business, there are so many things to focus on. And as an entrepreneur and business owner you are constantly looking for an edge for your business. How can you get a leg up on the competition? How can you find that next great tactic to take your business to the next level and increase the bottom line. This motivation is understandable and is what makes entrepreneurship so exciting. However there is a drawback to constantly researching ideas and techniques. and trying to find the next great thing. S.O.S

What is S.O.S and How To Avoid It

So, what do I mean when I say you need to avoid the S.O.S? Well, S.O.S stands for “Shiny Object Syndrome.” And this is something many entrepreneurs and business owner suffer from. Shiny Object Syndrome is when you are constantly researching and learning, And once you find a new technique, marketing approach, or idea in general you jump into it and you start 100 percent into that new idea, or shiny object.  Like a fish attracted to a shiny lure, you start to abandon anything you were currently working on. And this is a problem. Shiny Object Syndrome causes you to constantly be leap-frogging from one approach to the next, and that in turn means you never get the previous approach or marketing campaign done. You never get your previous internet marketing strategy completed. And if you never get your previous strategy completed, you will never be able to analyze the strategy and then benefit from the results of it.

So, what can you do to avoid S.O.S or as I call it Shiny Object Syndrome? First thing to keep in mind, is that every tactic, strategy or marketing approach needs to have a goal. What is the current goal? Would you run in a race if you never know where the finish line is? That is impossible to do. Set goals. If your goal is to increase followers, or increase Facebook post impressions, then set a tangible goal. And make sure you keep the focus on your current strategy to hit the goal. These are tangible goals, so they are easy to track and see if you would keep working on them.

If you start a campaign with no specific goals, where is the finish line? You will never know, and you will never get there! And add to that problem, the fact that you have Shiny Object Syndrome and one or two weeks in you will see a new strategy or tactic! And you mayl abandon what you’re currently doing and start the new “shiny object” campaign or strategy. That is a big problem, and that will destroy your follow through on all of your marketing tactics!

Do you have shiny object syndrome? How many different ideas have you acted upon in the last month or two? I like to limit myself to only two to three strategies for a month, and sometimes I feel that is even too much. I would say, if you are just getting started marketing your business online, or even offline, focus on one medium and one strategy and one set of results. You cannot finish the race without knowing where it ends. You need to know what your strategy is and it’s objectives. That is one of the most common marketing strategy questions. What is the objective?

Set Out To Defeat Shiny Object Syndrome

My call to action to you for this coming month, is to choose a strategy, know your objective, and make sure you do your reporting on that strategy. Hold yourself accountable. If you are not accountable for what you are doing, who is? And if you do not know the desired results, how can you be successful implementing them? Shiny Object Syndrome. This is the killer of all productivity and is something every online marketer and small business entrepreneur has to deal with.

Are you currently dealing with shiny object syndrome? If so, let me know your thoughts Below in the comments and let’s discuss the techniques you use to prevent yourself from getting a bad case of S.O.S, Shiny Object Syndrome.