I am not entirely sure where this Tuesday’s 2 cents will go, as this is a genuine question – what do we marketers do when we have done all the “doing more” that we can do?
Joe Pulizzi, author of several books, including probably the seminal content creators handbook, Content Inc and co-host of the This Old Marketing Podcast – who I am a fan of, has recently been talking about how he’s all in on LinkedIn. He’s made a daily commitment to post more (at least once a day, sometimes twice) and comment more, and he’s getting results, as he shares in his newsletter (also on LinkedIn).
This is fab, like I say, I’m a fan of his work, and it’s splendid how he’s shared that he’s doing this and the results but…
What if we all followed his advice?
Personally, if all my contacts posted once or twice a day, commented and liked using his formula, I would drown, and also, in my feed, Joe would be crowded out. And that’s not because I am particularly promiscuous on LinkedIn, I only connect with people I have met either in person or virtually and done business with.
In another example of “doing more”, I get a daily email from an email marketing services company, it’s a funny, quirky thing, not especially salesy, and it has personality. But however charming their daily email is; daily is quite a lot.
I chatted with them about it, they are lovely chaps, they’ve been guests on my podcast, they get a great response and score high on all the regular email marketing metrics. It also keeps them top of mind for their audience – the daily quirky email guys. Like Joe’s example, it works.
Splendid, but what would happen if all the email marketers in my inbox jostling for my attention took the same tactic? It wouldn’t just drown out their email, the daily tsunami of shite would probably render email impossible to use.
Two small examples, but relevant as all the marketing advice seems to point to doing more. But what happens next after we do, and everyone is doing it and it no longer works? I am genuinely curious.
So, here are some quick, maybe half-arsed, thoughts:
Need the user to seek us out
If the situation I shared with Joe’s updates happened, if he got drowned out by everyone following his advice, it would be a shame for me, I like his updates – so I would have to look for them.
It would be the same for those kooky email guys, if everyone wanting my attention emailed me daily, their content would need to be SO strong, I’d need to go and find it.
And, it happens already, as I think I’ve mentioned before, Google mail and Outlook does it’s best to hide the wonderful Anne Handley’s newsletter, I have to remember how often it comes out and look for it in Outlook’s “other” or Google’s “Everything Else”.
Yes, I know I can just flag these emails as important, but this all means that as a content creator, you need to get your audience to be an active participant in their consumption of your content and do something, when you can’t rely on getting your fair share of attention.
Give them a reason
To do that, in this attention-apocalyptic world where all of us marketers and content creators are all “doing more” is that we have to give our audience a reason to seek us out.
There is something related to the brand stuff I have been harping on about here, in a world of evaporating share of attention, you need one. Whether you are a person or a brand, you need folks to have a recall to seek you out.
If all of Joe’s followers decide to follow his example and drown us all in LinkedIn updates and comments, I would hope that Joe’s brand would mean we (the people that like his work) would seek him out. It’s not just that Joe is posting and commenting that will bring all of us boys to the yard, (Hmm.. comparing Joe Pulizzi to Kelis and Milkshake, maybe taking this fan thing too far), but the quality of what he says.
It’s not all about the vanity numbers
You reading this is quite frankly f’in’ remarkable considering all the things you could be giving attention to.
If we recognise that in a world of all marketers doing all of “the more” (plus, how hard big tech is making organic reach, but that’s a different article) maybe we have to adjust our expectations of success.
The likelihood of someone seeing our content and the level of effort a consumer puts into finding and engaging with our content has changed. So, maybe we need to rethink the whole economy of content for hits. That a hit and dwell time has an even greater value?
Anyway, that’s my Tuesday 2¢ – what happens after more?
The image of a garbage truck and seagulls was created using A.I. through NightCafe Creator I thought it would make a change from pictures of me. 🙂
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.