Check out what Robert Rose, founder and chief troublemaker at Big Blue Moose (who helps marketers become storytellers), has to say in Chief Content Officer…I am so blown away because it’s making me think, think, think, and the below is merely a reaction to pages one and two of the article!
His headline had me at the top — “Why a hyper focus on measurement and incremental gains makes marketers average.” Really? That’s awesome.
If you know me, you’ll know I kick and scream all the way to analytics, and that includes measurement. Now, don’t tell Shonali, Rebecca Dennison or Neicole Crepeau I said that.
What Rose says is that everyone is striving for best practices and that’s about it.
Can I repeat that? Here’s what Rose said in Chief Content Officer, and it’s all appropriately attributed:
“Content marketers in particular seem to be in the grips of ROI monomania. …What we’re really looking for are best practices; they’re safe. Whenever we’re trying something new like content marketing, we become so focused on following best practices that we forget our real job is to be innovative.”
I love this insightful approach to best practice. When I worked in a hospital, each service line was oriented to best practice. Put the solution into action, perfect it, and then travel the country lauding its inner workings so others can emulate it.
Think about how that works — you get the recipe for a best practice, execute on it while following the formula, and call it a day. Infrequently, do people exceed or push the limits of the best practice because really all that’s required is to meet expectation.
WOAH.
In this day and age, when status quo has eroded, it’s imperative we always push the boundaries and exceed comfort levels to earn a level of excellence not previously attained. That’s the essence of what Rose is saying, “…we are saying that we’re satisfied with being average.”
Do you agree?
Rose offers a list of six tips that help you turn the status quo on its head, and I’m not going to recap them because they’re really good and I have to come up with my own. Basically, here is what I recommend to heed Rose’s counsel and buck the average:
>Stand on your head. What’s north is south, and what’s south is north. Change up the bird’s eye view and put on the rose-colored glasses.
>Delete all your followers; how’s that working for you @ChrisBrogan? When you make an extreme change with gusto, you’re bucking best practice and changing it up.
>Stop commenting on the same blogs day in and day out; in fact, stop commenting. What will happen? Will you have an epiphany that you really do like the social webs and can’t wait to get back? Or, will no one miss you at all, and you’ll burrow deep into depression and hibernate for winter? You’ll certainly learn about personal behavior if you do this exercise.
>Find a new hang out. There are groups and cliques and alliances and networks; doesn’t matter how they’re labeled. If yours is inactive and you’re bored to death, then switch on outta there and find some new energy! Align with those who boost you up and not with those who bring you down!
>Get zany creative during a campaign. I read somewhere a young ad agency account rep actually brought kitty litter and her cat to the pitch (they were pitching kitty litter). When her cat used the product, the client was turned off but the agency VP thought it quite clever.
>Go out on a limb and then break it. If you stick your neck out, and you’re really heading out on a limb, keep going until you push the boundaries a few times. Get comfortable and then do it all over again.
Measurement
Another final observation, and this one may have me going out on a limb…heh. is about measurement. I’m going to blame Chief Troublemaker Robert Rose for this ramble:
When peeps are so focused on proof of campaign smarts, they need tried-and-true deliverables with measurable tactics.
If a new tactic is incorporated into a best practice, can it be measured immediately? Won’t new metrics have to be established and proven over time? I’m asking…
So, maybe content marketing programs aren’t required to have direct ROI. With best practices and average innovation, measurement has a solid place to do its thing; when new concepts are added to the mix, measurement gets thrown a curve ball. Time is required to clock and tick and tally to incorporate innovative ideas into an even better best practice.
So…maybe, just maybe…measurement should be relegated to the sidecar for awhile? Just sayin’ and askin’ all at once…what say you?
Aaaah! No, you can’t put measurement to the side! Way before social media, measurement has been at the core of good PR, and I know you and I agree on that, Jayme. See, here’s the thing; you don’t have to forego creativity for measurement. What you (we) need to do is set a benchmark and then track and measure consistently… AND be creative and flexible with your strategy along the way. The whole point of measurement is not to measure per se but to make our programs/campaigns better and achieve impactful outcomes, right? How will we know if we’re doing/not doing that if we’re not measuring that?
OK, you’re right. I know this to be true. Now, I want to ask…is measurement for marketers different than measurement for PR?
Your comment, “make our programs/campaigns better” suggests that’s a possibility although you may not have intended to imply that? In PR, we look for what works, what makes a program better, yes, and then we implement that proof point and emulate that while innovating other ideas. I rarely use “best practice” to describe PR b/c those case studies become the foundation to build a program with always new elements.
Measurement is measurement. Whether one has a marketing focus, or a PR focus, for me it all starts at the end. What are we trying to achieve? More sales? More revenue (and there’s a difference between “sales” and “revenue”)? Better position in the marketplace? Better reputation? So depending on that, *what* and *how* we measure will differ… but it’s gotta start at the end. But that’s just me. 🙂
This is it! The topic I’ll write about for my GP on your blog! Yay! Stand by; hold that thought!
Well, now I’m going to read Robert’s article. I think analytics and measurement are good, but only if you’re confident that what you’re measuring is accurate and has meaning for your business. Also, I’m a little surprised that marketers are locking into best practices in a field like content marketing that is so young–best practices should come from years of companies trying different techniques until solid, clearly successful tactics emerge. We haven’t had time for that to happen. So, I’m guessing these best practices are just the current norm or what some “experts” recommend, which isn’t the same thing. Thanks for writing, Jayme!
Now this is fascinating to me, Neicole. Content marketing is too nascent to have documented measured results. I hope some more peeps stop in here to lend some thought to this discussion. I’m intrigued. Thanks.
So true, Neicole. There are many who jump on the content marketing train and before it’s ever reached the final destination, claim total mastery of the tools and the metrics. I think the track is still being built…
I gotta be honest – I still don’t understand the “delete all your followers” thing. What are we accomplishing with this?
I’m with you, Emma. I’m not clear on that one either. I still think they did it for attention, but since I don’t know them personally, can’t judge. 🙂
I don’t know myself! I’m sure the Twitter stream with that many followers was absolutely unruly and unusable. So, maybe a yearn for the good old days, but what happens when people want to re-follow the dude and they try and does he say no thanks? I also wonder if the dudes leading the pack are just plain bored and need to switch it up to see what happens — you know, buck the status quo.
Hi, Emma!! 🙂
I completely understand why Chris Brogan deleted all his followers and started fresh. I’m running several social media profiles — our own, plus client projects — & have become a slave to communications over the last two months. The lines between my business and private hours have become completely blurred, and the boundaries have fallen for now. I’ve been at my desk for 9.5 hours straight, with just a couple of breaks to go get something else done, & I still have a lot of folks to respond to. Not complaining; I love it! But there comes a tipping point, y’know?
However, being relatively new to social media (2009) compared to Chris, I have the benefit of having learned a thing or two from those who’ve gone before. I don’t automatically follow back as he seems to have done, and I use lists for those I do choose to follow. Not everyone makes it into a list, either. I also have private lists that no one sees but me — those are potential clients, and my “Favorite Follows” (Jayme is in that one!). I’m generally careful about who I connect with now, thinking like a marketer, looking for connections that will benefit our company or the companies/nonprofits we work for. I’m not shy about admitting that!
I think it’s wise to only follow back carefully and thoughtfully. Every social media user will have their own criteria. I don’t know what Chris’s standards are, but I’m certain he’s being thoughtful about it now. He’s been at this social media thing for a while, and has likely learned a lot about best practices for his own business. 🙂
I think it’s all about BALANCE. You know that I can get quite zany about metrics and analytics, but I also go with my gut and what feels like a hit. However, when I’m working on someone else’s dime, I am a bit more careful and check the metrics. I go out on a limb, but not so far as to throw their money away in the process. I think we can find ways to measure those innovative approaches, but shouldn’t abandon the metrics in the zeal to do it. As with anything, we can get too focused on one item over another and forget why we’re doing it to begin with! I also think folks are guilty (myself included) of putting the wrong metrics with the right approach.
Very thought-provoking post, Jayme.
I’m beginning to have the sinking feeling that much of what I do is innate. Not sure that’s a blessing or a curse; not sure I’m going to change it up; Not Sure! Like I said, this whole thing kinda just blew me away. Thanks for stopping in during all your zaniness, Erica!
G’Day Jayme,
I keep telling my clients,”Measure everything you do” As I run a B2B blog, I’m in no position to comment on general blogging. But I’ve long believed that so-called “best practice” and” benchmarking” are intellectual indulgences.
Unless, of course, that the benchmarking and best practice you’re comparing is of a business that’s almost exactly the same size and in the same stage of development as yours. I think that it was Al Ries who said something to the effect that there’s no point for a business like mine to try to emulate Apple.
I should try to discover what Jobs and Wozniack were doing when they were working out of a garage. and adapt that.
It’s a gorgeous Spring morning here in Sydney, Avagoodweegend and have lots of fun
Regards
Leon
Ahhh, yes. You’re having spring,and I just did a crisp walk through the woods this evening still in shorts but could’ve worn leggings.
You make a fabulous point and it mirrors what Michelle said after you…my business is not the same as yours nor is it the same as the boy next door. My goals vary over someone else’s business, yet we’re all in business to make money, right?
Perhaps we small fry don’t need to measure how WE make money, but when we’re representing clients, we ought to take a look.
Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, dear Leon!
Jayme
Hi, Jayme!
You and I had this chat on the phone a few months back! Have your goals for your blog changed? Have your goals for your social media activity changed? If you’re still not in this social media realm to market your business and make sure people know who you are so they’ll hire you, then I still don’t think metrics are worth worrying about. Just have a good time, be cool, reach out, have fun, and the people you want to be in community with will come along — as they have!
But for those of us who ARE online to connect with potential clients and referrals, who think in terms of conversions and whether or not our marketing message, however soft, is getting through, well, we have to keep an eye on a few things. And it’s different for each of us.
Whichever route you choose to go — “Tried & True [so far] Best Practices” or “Let’s Bust This Baby Out &Try Something Crazy” — what you do online should always start with your goals. Always.
You helped me come back from the edge. Indeed. That’s exactly what is wrong with me…not yet…goals haven’t changed…still yakkin’ about whatever inspires the thinking cap and the measurement of such is pretty much nil. Now that I have Clicky, however, I can see the material people are seeking and that is drawing me in to develop that content. Funny.
Thanks for your Friday evening answering blogs. And, let me tell you…I’ve met no one more intense and supportive and thoughtful in comments and posts on the interwebz as you…that’s where your time is spent…being kind and thoughtful to all.
Really like your thought process here, Jayme. I think that measurement certainly has its place. But sometimes, it just feels like we do things that are easy to measure so we can go to the client and say “See! Look how well this worked!”. I’m not saying we should abandon all metrics, but sometimes the most innovative approaches are difficult to measure, or at least right away.
The good news about working with small businesses is that you can FEEL the difference. Even without complex analytics and metrics, you can see when things work and when they don’t. You can easily see if your revenues are going up. You can tell when the phone is ringing more.
I think the crux of the problem is a lot of times folks are measuring the wrong thing. I always hated when PR folks tried to use advertising equivalencies for PR placements. Or now, there’s a lot of talk about number of impressions through social media or other PR placements. That’s all fine and good, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to drive sales. If you’re not doing that, millions of impressions will get you nowhere.
Laura, interesting thoughts yourself! Do you think PR drives sales? I’d say PR influences sales, or have we fully crossed the line into marketing? We’re blurring the lines so much; impressions as a metric suggests the digital side of marketing might own that (is that advertising?). I’m as confused as anyone about measurement. At the end of the day, public relations has to measure the success of a campaign. For me, that’s oriented to messaging and strength of repetitive delivery of the approved corporate language. Storytelling has never really been a PR function, if you will, although we’re well equipped to share that story in a feature.
I applaud all the measurement peeps pushing it hard to try and get some cred for PR. Maybe this is more significant for a corporation with larger budgets than it is for a small law firm that just launched ( 🙂 )?