• If you ask me to re-tweet something, even if you ask really nicely, you’ve missed the point.
  • If you’re putting something out there in the pursuit of “likes”, you lost me.
  • If you tell me you need a 9 or above on your satisfaction survey when it comes through, why bother?

To me, they are all symptoms of the same problem: you seek validation instead of value.

Sure, someone might be judging your campaign based on likes/reach/impressions, but is that enough for you to just whip something together to try to game that result?

I saw a link today on Twitter to a course on a subject I am really interested in. The content is free for me to access. I can download the nuggets of valuable information for free for a limited time. I was all over it. Not only did I register my personal information, I re-tweeted the link and they didn’t even ask me to.

Value. Valuable. Worth my time.

You don’t have to ask me to do anything, you just have to serve up great stuff. Maybe that means you don’t create with the frequency you might think you need, but whatever you do, please create with value in mind. It might mean that you have to just be great at your job and over-deliver so you can confidently know that satisfaction survey is going to pass with flying colors.

Your validation will come when you see over time your base growing, your platform extending further than you even thought possible.

SIDE NOTE: for those leading in the digital marketing space, STOP CARING ABOUT WORTHLESS METRICS. It starts and stops at the top. Re-educate, re-enable your team to care about value over validation. Sure, it’s nice to know fun little facts, but elevate the expectation within your group so that the true ROI of a campaign or the long-term value is more honored than the fleeting pursuit of thumbs up.

Photo credit: joeshlabotnik
Author

With over a decade of experience, I have managed online marketing for a wide range of industries including biotech, high-tech, financial, higher education, non-profit, manufacturing, hardware providers, and startups. My specialty is helping business make the right turn with their online efforts focusing on lead generation and analytics.

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