Never Try To Be The Nice Guy

There’s a common problem online with the way that people talk about their stuff. I feel that people are too nice when speaking to their customers.

Think back to when you were at high school.

Who are the people (let’s say characters) that you remember from this period?

The funny one. The one that was always good at sports. The popular one that everyone liked who had the nicest looking girlfriend, who even managed to get the teachers to like him too. Remember these people? I’m sure you do.

Remember these people? I’m sure you do.

Do you remember the quiet/nice guy? Nope.

That’s because that person was quiet for a reason. He lacked confidence. This person in business will always have a fundamental disadvantage over the other more confident person.

But the internet presents a new opportunity for that person to become a more confident person. To appear different to what he or she really is.

Think of the movie The Matrix, for example. Before Neo discovered the Matrix he was plain old Thomas Anderson. Inside the Matrix, he was ‘the one’. Hadn’t he been given the platform to become what he becomes towards the end of the movie, he would have remained the quiet software programmer he was at the beginning of the movie.

Hadn’t he been given the platform to become what he becomes towards the end of the movie, he would have remained the quiet software programmer he was at the beginning of the movie.

The Matrix gave him that platform. Just like social media can give you the platform to do the same.

On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, regular interaction with a person or brand builds trust. Trust becomes loyalty. These are all the things that trigger engagement, which is the entire point of social media. At least in my opinion.

To achieve this, you need to think about who you are. What your personality is. Because as we already know, there are certain personalities that will never be popular with other people.

Those guys from school weren’t nice. They were confident in what they did and said. Yes, at times they could be borderline bullies and arrogant.

But that’s why you should never try to be “the nice guy.” That guy doesn’t have a personality that you can remember.

Brands and businesses spend a lot of time on their values, personalities, and beliefs. But sometimes their tone of voice – the way they speak about everything – gets pushed under the table. The core principles of why a brand operates are not communicated in a way that allows other people to want to connect with them.

The core principles of why a brand operates are not communicated in a way that allows other people to want to connect with them.

Everything a brand does is marketing. Everything you do and say reflects who you are. And if you’re just a nice guy, then even if those values represent the type of qualities a customer wants in a business it will always come in second best. Second best to the confident, and sometimes arrogant person in business.

Second best to the confident, and sometimes arrogant person in business.

And if you’re just a nice guy, then even if those values represent the type of qualities a customer wants in a business it will always come in second best. Second best to the confident, and sometimes arrogant person in business.

I’m not talking about bad attitude here. I’m talking about assertiveness, philosophy, perspective and purpose.

So this is what you must do right now. Before you update your social media status.

Draw a picture of what you think your brand is in character form. Then give that person a celebrity voice. TV personalities, authors, movie stars… think of your core values and your business as a character that you want to represent it.

What is the behaviour you want to be known for? If it isn’t a confident behaviour then you’re in trouble. You want to be able to inspire your audience to mimic your behaviour and buy your stuff.

Your communication needs to have a purpose.

Otherwise, you’ll only become a nice guy. And nobody will remember you. I feel this is too common on the internet today. And it needs to change if you are to be successful.

Your confident tone of voice is essential to your success in your given market.

My advice: use it.