"Liz is the #1 marketer to follow on LinkedIn." - Her Mom | Owner Content Phenom | SaaS Investor | contentphenom.com
Dangerous words from a marketer: “I don’t like ______. So we won't do that.” Example: "I don't like TikTok ads. We won't try run them." You are NOT your audience. 👉 Be unbiased. 👉 Study your audience. 👉 Try new strategies. Don’t let your personal feelings dictate your marketing strategy.
Good example with TikTok—very common nowadays. Though hard data shows that it outperforms Instagram in terms of engagement.
I've found that it's the CEO or some other exec who does or doesn't want to utilize a marketing channel. Sometimes, it's based on perceived cost, but more often and to your point, it's based on their interpretation of its audience. Marketers must utilize what's right for the brand, not just what other execs prefer.
In my experience, most marketers are open to ideas and experimenting with different channels, but senior leadership teams struggle with it and let personal likes/dislikes dictate what they will sign off on. Phrases like “Explainer videos don’t work” and “I don’t see the point in PPC” still ring in my ears. You might be right, but let’s base it on real data and customer feedback instead of personal preferences!
Great point! 💯 It's crucial to remember that our personal preferences don't always align with our target audience's. As marketers, we must be open to new trends and platforms, even if we don't personally "like" them. By understanding our audience and staying open to experimentation, we can uncover effective strategies that resonate with them. It's about data-driven decisions and strategic thinking, not personal opinions. After all, the goal is to drive results and achieve marketing objectives.
I try to ban "like" and "don't like" from my conversations or when giving feedback. Your opinion doesn't matter. Instead, use phrases like "This will work, because...". It's constructive, clear, and forces you to think about your audience and why we're doing what we're doing.
funny thing, i once had a CMO who told me I make my feedback too personal by saying things like "i don't think we should do that because of X", and yet his feedback was all "i don't like this" and in a brief to an agency wrote "what I want to see is..." I never try to do what I want to do, I do what I think is right for the brand or the product at the time, problem is trying to get other people to also do the same and see the bigger picture rather than just creating stuff that they would personally like to interact with despite them not being the target for the brand or product.
Back in the 90s, I started the first publishing program for ebooks at a major publishing house. This one literary agent, who represented many of our company's top authors, refused to discuss it with me. I ran into him at a conference, and asked him why he wouldn't consider it. He said, "Who wants to read books on a piece of glass? Stupid idea. I wouldn't." "Oh!", I said. "I get that. I hate audiobooks. I like to hear the character's voices the way my head creates them. Not how some performer wants them to sound." "But," I continued, "There are millions of people out there who are willing to pay me to listen to audiobooks. There is a new market of millions who want to read on glass, and pay us for the privilege." He had me send him contracts for his clients as soon as we got back to the office. Made him and his clients a ton of money. I saw him a few years back, and asked, "You reading ebooks yet." "No, but I love cashing the checks."
Your feelings are irrelevant as a marketer. What matters is what YOUR audience wants. That's how to be successful in the game.
Great reminder! If we limit ourselves based on what we like, we miss out on connecting with potential customers in the way they truly engage.
content marketing ¦ branding ¦ marketing project management
1moThis is so true, but unfortunately happens on so many levels. First you have marketers saying "I hate that channel, we are not doing it." Then you have the same thing coming from the managers, then from stakeholders etc. But it all comes to listening to the audience, and above all, trusting the experts with their jobs which unfortunately doesn't always happen in company, don't you agree?