Numbers, graphs and tables the marketers new best friend – and rightly so to inform decisions. Are we placing too much emphasis on them though?
If you know the film the Matrix you’ll know that the premise of that blockbuster is that the reality we think we know is actually a computer generated world. In the meanwhile every human on the “real” Earth is a slave to a massive alien race which is using the “power” of the human body to carry on their evil empire…or something like that.
Just stop there for a minute as you peruse the latest set of data or analytics on your increasingly full desk (so much for the paperless office of the future).
Think about the last time you were discussing your latest results on your website/ ecommerce shop or any other digitally based campaign. No doubt you talked about reach, clicks, views, bounce rates, engagement and social likes. If it went anything like the conversations I often have with clients, partners and peers then it probably involved analysing how to increase these various indicators.
Let me ask you this…did you ever once refer to the human sat at the other end of that machine?
Seriously, when did you last analyse your data and then analyse the people you are trying to influence at the other end of that mouse, touch pad or even the end of that finger pushing the coded buttons on your latest campaign?
I’m often asked how a digital campaign can get better results, can we use this system or that system or (and the digital marketing experts reading may just let out a sigh at this one) I’ve seen such and such talking about this – why aren’t we using it?
What tends to get lost sight of in these questions is that, yes there are many many systems, techniques and tricks that can aid in the success of your digital marketing campaigns, but what matters most is the human at the end of that screen.
In digital marketer terms the internet really isn’t just a set of computer across the world, it’s a set of human beings interacting, searching for knowledge and downloading or buying all kinds of interesting (and strange) things.
So next time you’re discussing clicks, views and engagement, remember each of those interactions has a human being at the end of it. It is your mission to talk to them, make them smile, make them feel loved, entertain them and create a desire in them. Only then are you allowed to talk data.
Simon Brooke is a Director and creative thinker at Happy Creative, a strategic marketing and creative branding agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk or @Happy_Creative
