The obsession with metrics, optimization, efficiency and automation in tech marketing is a forest-for-the-trees problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They’re missing the bigger picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, they should focus on their brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brand building isn’t about instant gratification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s about long-term value creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But try telling that to a VC-backed startup racing against its burn rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The irony?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of these “innovative” marketers are reinventing wheels that have been spinning for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scope creep, anyone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They’re creating new jargon for old concepts, simply because they never learned the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But marketing isn’t about reinventing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s about understanding human psychology, which has remained largely unchanged for the past 50 years or 500 years, for that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best marketers aren’t inventors; they take timeless principles and apply them to new contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They understand that brand is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So why are we so obsessed with short-term metrics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because they’re easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They’re comforting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They give us the illusion of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But great marketing, like great art, isn’t about control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s about influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s about planting seeds that may not sprout for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some things can’t be optimized in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They need time to marinate, to percolate, to resonate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if, instead of chasing daily active users, we focused on creating daily active advocates?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1000 true fans ring a bell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if, instead of optimizing for clicks, we optimized for conversations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if, instead of measuring engagement, we measured enchantment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These aren’t metrics you can track on a dashboard, but they’re the ones that build empires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask Jesus; he didn’t have a dashboard, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need to stop treating marketing like it’s engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s not about building features; it’s about building feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s not about user experience; it’s about human experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what if we:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This isn’t just fluffy talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s strategic thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a world of infinite choice, a brand is the ultimate differentiator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s what makes people choose you over a competitor with identical features and pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s what turns a product into a movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, to all the metric-obsessed marketers out there, I say this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By all means, measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don’t forget to matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Count your clicks, but make your clicks count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Optimize for algorithms, but humanize for people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because at the end of the day, we’re not marketing to machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’re marketing to humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And humans don’t fall in love with metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They fall in love with brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liam Moroney<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0original post on LinkedIn here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n