Vanity Matters
Scott Stratten, bestselling author of “Unmarketing” recently told a story during the United Marketing Conference in Nashville, Tenn., about metrics that really matter. The general gist was that many of the metrics of a video he created were not only misleading, but distracting from what really mattered.
Stratten saw remarkable click rates, views and “likes.” He was able to go even deeper into the analytics and determine that his overall “vanity” metrics were pretty high. But he also noticed that he never received a spike in sales or inquiries from his speaking.
Vanity metrics are driven by the need to validate. Whether it’s the CFO who wants to confirm that every dollar spent turns into something greater than a dollar, or the Millennial marketing coordinator who wants to prove a level of intelligence, validating existence plays a major role in marketing today.
This really is one of the best times to be in marketing. Technology, tools data, information, ideas and innovation abound. But as a result, prospects and customers are feeling a massive overload. The vanity metrics matter less and less each day, and the world craves to connect on a deeper level. This may mean doing things that simply do not scale, being more vulnerable and doing some real soul searching around what really matters to move the needle.
Marketing must be more than a series of e-blasts married to an automated drip campaign that most of us can smell a mile away. Marketers need to harness all the available tools to optimize efficiency, but also be able to directly engage with people to seek an understanding and trust that traditional marketing practices don’t allow.
Due to noise within the channels, people don’t necessarily want to be marketed to anymore. Therefore, brands are desperate to determine how to create engagement and conversations at every consumer touch point. Buyers have all the control today.
This month’s Connect Magazine speaks to that very point in the cover story “Orchestrating Business.” The second piece “Touchy Feely” speaks to customer intimacy and reminds us of the ownership people take when sensing things through touch.
The magazine is a must read for marketers, this month. The current economic climate is such that people want more connection to one another and print is still a great example of developing intimacy. Dr. David Eagleman’s work on the neuroscience of touch supports both pieces.
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