The Santa Barbara Web Design and Marketing Blog

When Everyone Zigs, You Zag: Unlocking Hidden Opportunities by Embracing the Opposite

In the ever-evolving world of marketing and web development, there’s one golden rule that often gets overlooked amid the relentless pursuit of the next big thing: when everyone is doing one thing, you should consider doing the opposite.

It might seem risky or even counterintuitive at first. After all, isn't there safety in numbers? If everyone’s flocking to the latest social platform, design trend, or digital strategy, shouldn’t you? The pressure to conform is real—especially in a world where yesterday's innovation is tomorrow's cliché. But after three decades in this industry, I’ve learned that true opportunity is found not by blindly following the crowd, but by thinking critically and strategically about what the crowd is leaving behind.

Let’s dive deep into this philosophy and explore how you can leverage it for sustained marketing success and innovative web development.

Spotting the Herd Mentality in Business

One of the most fascinating dynamics in marketing is how trends build momentum and create waves of mass adoption. Whether it's a new advertising channel, a web design layout, or a catchy social media tactic, you can watch entire industries pivot almost overnight.

For example, take Facebook. Years ago, Facebook was the dominant platform where every brand, influencer, and business clamored for attention. Then, as newer platforms like Instagram and TikTok rose in popularity, some thought leaders declared Facebook "dead." Suddenly, swaths of marketers and businesses jumped ship, pouring their time and resources into mastering the new darlings of the social media world.

But what often gets missed in these shifts is the opportunity that’s left behind. When an exodus occurs—when the crowd rushes in one direction—a void is created in the area they’ve vacated. Instead of running with the herd, ask yourself what’s being neglected. Who’s being left behind? What proven tactics or audiences are suddenly wide open for the taking?

Boredom Does Not Equal Ineffectiveness

Here’s a truth that’s hard to swallow: people, especially marketers and business owners, get bored with what works. It’s astonishing but it happens all the time. An ad campaign may deliver great results for months—or even years. But eventually, someone on the team gets tired of seeing the same message, the same graphics, the same process. Internal teams convince themselves it’s time to “freshen things up,” fearing that what feels stale to them must surely be stale to the audience.

But the reality is different. Customers—especially new ones—experience your messaging for the first time. They don’t feel the fatigue that you do internally. In fact, famous advertisers like David Ogilvy have said that a well-performing ad should be run until it stops working, NOT until you get tired of it. This applies not only to advertising but to platforms, content formats, and even website layouts.

Dropping what works, just because you want something new, is the business equivalent of leaving money on the table. As your competitors move on in search of novelty, they often abandon proven methods and established audiences. For the shrewd marketer, this is the moment of opportunity.

How to Identify Hidden Opportunities

So, how do you recognize and act on these overlooked chances?

1. Monitor the Competition—But Think Critically

Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing, but look beyond their obvious moves. Are they suddenly posting less on a certain platform? Have they stopped running a particular style of ad? Are they abandoning a segment of their customer base or ceasing to serve a certain niche?

Ask yourself:

- Is this shift due to a real decline in performance?

- Or are they moving on just for the sake of novelty?

If it’s the latter, don’t assume the abandoned territory is no longer valuable. In many cases, there’s still an eager audience waiting for someone—maybe you—to serve them.

2. Look for the Voids Left Behind

Every mass migration in the marketplace leaves a vacuum. When major players pull resources from a channel, two things happen:

- Costs and competition often decrease (think: lower ad prices, less noise).

- Audiences underserved by the new trend become more receptive to what’s still available.

This creates prime opportunities for those willing to “zag” while others “zig.” Maybe you maintain your Facebook presence while others chase TikTok trends. Or you double down on email marketing while others invest solely in social media. The void is your oyster.

3. Inspect What’s Working—Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken

It can be tempting to overhaul your website just because it’s been a few years, or to change your messaging because you want a new look. But before making big changes, genuinely measure your results.

Consider A/B testing or split testing rather than a wholesale switch. Run the old and the new simultaneously to compare their effectiveness. In many cases, you’ll find the original still outperforms, or serves a critical segment of your audience.

Television Ads: A Case Study In Unnecessary Change

Think about TV commercials. Major corporations are known for retiring highly effective ad campaigns—not because they’ve stopped working, but because the creative team (and perhaps the audience) want something new. How many times have you seen a catchy commercial disappear, only to be replaced by a much less memorable one? And often, sales figures dip as a result!

Rather than cutting successful campaigns off at the knees, progressive companies run both the “classic” and the “new” at the same time. This way, they can measure performance and keep the winner, instead of assuming the latest idea is necessarily better.

This type of strategy applies to all forms of digital marketing as well. Don’t abandon your email list, paid search campaign, or proven website funnel simply because you feel like mixing things up. Test. Measure. Analyze.

Case Study: Returning to Facebook When Others Left

Let’s take a practical example. A few years ago, many businesses pivoted away from Facebook, lured by the high engagement numbers on Instagram and TikTok. But what often went unnoticed was that Facebook’s advertising platform became less crowded and more cost-effective for many niches, especially those targeting older demographics who still spent their time primarily on Facebook.

As competitors funneled all their budgets into newer platforms—where, by the way, costs climbed rapidly due to increased competition—a few savvy marketers stayed the course. They saw their Facebook campaigns become more affordable while still converting reliably. Their audience (which hadn’t changed platforms) was suddenly being underserved by their competitors, making it easier than ever to gain attention and market share.

This is the upside of contrarian thinking: by resisting the pull of the herd, you have room to claim territory that others have foolishly deserted.

Don’t Confuse Your Preferences with the Market’s Reality

As professionals, it’s easy to conflate our own experience of brand fatigue with that of our customers. But new prospects aren’t inundated with your old campaigns. In fact, they’re encountering them for the first time.

The most important question to answer is: Is this still working? If the numbers are strong, let data—not boredom—guide your decisions.

Split Testing: The Overlooked Superpower

Whenever possible, employ split testing or A/B testing. This means running two versions of your ad, landing page, or campaign to directly compare effectiveness. For example:

- Run your current Facebook ad alongside a new variation.

- Test your existing homepage against a redesigned version.

- Split your email list and change only one element of your messaging at a time.

This way, you let the market—not your gut—decide which stays and which goes. Often, your “old faithful” will outperform new concepts, confirming that pivoting too quickly can be counterproductive.

Harvesting the Low-Hanging Fruit (and the Crumbs!)

Sometimes, doing the opposite doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. It’s simply about picking up “crumbs” that others discard. This could mean:

- Claiming expired or abandoned PPC ad slots.

- Reaching out to audience demographics competitors no longer serve.

- Repurposing content on a platform everyone else has given up on.

It’s not glamorous, but this type of opportunistic thinking results in real, measurable gains.

Creative Contrarianism: A Source of Sustainable Growth

The art of doing the opposite is not about being contrary for its own sake. It’s about creative, critical thinking and a willingness to exploit the opportunities that others miss. Whenever you feel pressured to jump on the latest bandwagon, pause and consider:

- What’s being left behind?

- Why did it work in the first place?

- Are the fundamentals still sound?

- Can you gain an edge by doing what others won’t?

Consistency Wins in the Long Game

Consumers value reliability, and proven channels remain powerful long after they leave the spotlight. The keys are consistency, data-driven testing, and a willingness to exploit gaps left by your less-disciplined competitors.

Every business school teaches students to “follow best practices,” but history shows that the greatest successes come not from copying but from smartly zigging while others zag. It’s about knowing when to ignore the hype and capitalize on the fundamentals.

Action Steps for Marketers and Business Owners

1. Audit Your Marketing Channels

Identify which efforts are delivering returns. Don't axe what's working just because it's no longer "trendy." Keep nurturing proven channels while testing new ideas in parallel.

2. Monitor Your Competitors’ Moves

Use tools like SimilarWeb, SEMrush, or simple manual audits to see where they’re investing—then look for what they’re ignoring and why. Opportunity often lies in the neglected.

3. Experiment and Analyze

Run controlled tests before making sweeping changes. Split test campaigns, measure results, and let data inform your next step.

4. Serve the Underserved

Are there customers or audiences being overlooked because everyone else has jumped on a bandwagon? Reach out to them directly. Their needs haven’t changed just because trends have.

5. Build in Resilience

Don’t build your entire strategy on a single platform or fad. By diversifying—and by investing in some “contrarian” channels—you hedge against market volatility.

6. Stay Curious, Stay Creative

Think critically about every shift you observe. Is there a hidden opportunity? Is it time to zag when everyone else is zigging?

A Final Word: Embrace the Power of Opposites

We're all creatures of habit and, to some extent, followers of the crowd—especially in the fast-moving world of digital marketing. But the best results come when you push against the grain just enough to find opportunities others leave behind. It's not about rebellion—it's about pragmatism, strategy, and data.

So the next time you see your industry stampede toward the Next Big Thing, pause and look at what they're leaving behind. The crumbs they drop—audiences they neglect, strategies they desert—are often more valuable than the supposed gold rush up ahead.

Keep innovating, stay curious, and don’t be afraid to do the opposite. The hidden opportunities are there for the taking.

If you've got questions about web development, marketing, or how to apply this contrarian approach in your business, leave a comment below or reach out directly. I’m your Santa Barbara Web Guy, and I’ll see you next time. Thank you.