“I gotta have more cowbell!”

It has become one of the most popular skits in Saturday Night Live history. When Chistopher Walken played The Bruce Dickinson in a skit that had Will Ferrell playing Gene Frenkle from the band Blue Oyster Cult, the need for more cowbell was born. It was a good skit, but the absurdity of enhancing the song with the obnoxious sound of the cowbell really hit home and made it memorable.

In social media, that’s the whole point.

When you look at the various posting styles that businesses employ on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and others, there’s something normally missing. Few are taking advantage of the use of the cowbell. No, it’s not about being obnoxious. It’s about being memorable. It’s about standing out from the rest of your competitors. It’s about having something unique that nobody else in the industry is peddling and that resonates with the audience.

It can be funny, but there are always risks with going after humor. What if your humor doesn’t match your audience?

Another tactic is to go after something more relevant to your business. If you sell a product or a service, try to position it in a way that’s different from everyone else. Today in the car business, for example, there are plenty of dealers that post pictures of their happy customers. While this is a valid strategy, it’s not inspiring and is definitely not going to help you stand out when half of the dealership pages nowadays are doing the same thing. Instead, find a different angle, something that nobody else is doing. You can have a particular spot where the pictures are taken that has an iconic background. You can take pictures of your customers as they’re driving away rather than simply standing in front of their vehicle. You can have them hold up a sign of some sort. There are plenty of options available that are only limited by your imagination.

“Guess what. I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell.”

While you think about how to stand out, watch the skit itself. It probably won’t inspire you but it might make you laugh.