When was the last time an algorithm bought something from you?
Your customers, and mine, are human beings. Ultimately what we do and write and share on social/digital platforms has a final aim – real people.
Not formulas.
It is easy to get all caught up with the automation and reach elements of social and digital communications. SEO. Backlinks. Content generation.
These things certainly have value. But we can slip into writing and producing media for the machine.
Google is not your ultimate customer.
Especially if you are a small business, take a step back and sketch out where your revenue is coming from. I’ll bet it’s a pretty small group of human beings, right?
If you’ve been in a job transition, where did your best opportunities come from? Keywords stuffed on your resume, or human connections?
Metadata is a means to an end. It’s not an end in itself.
I do understand the age-old marketing practice of pursuing reach. For some types of businesses, that’s the heartbeat of growth.
But is that the case for yours? Is your progress going to come from the number of eyeballs, or the depth of your connections?
Don’t forget to speak human. We’re your customer.
(also see Tom Martin‘s excellent post, Six Reasons You Need to Stop Focusing on Click-Thru Data)
photo credit: By imagerymajestic via Free Digital Photos