No, the blog hasn\u2019t been hacked. Yes, I\u2019m\u00a0sort\u00a0of\u00a0obsessed\u00a0with\u00a0analogies lately. I thought of another fun one for you, but I\u2019ll let you think about the answer first: what do fishing and poker shown on TV have in common with digital marketing?<\/p>\n
Answer: \u00a0fishing and poker on TV show the results, but not work the work that went into achieving them. The same with any\u00a0truly<\/em>\u00a0successful digital marketing campaign that involved\u00a0building a community. Only those behind it know what went into it, and any talented fisherman, poker player or community manager will tell you the same thing: there are no shortcuts despite any glamorization done by media.<\/p>\n On a typical fishing show, it\u2019s constant, fast-paced action, at least the parts shown on TV. They show fish after fish being caught and the fisherman \/ crew celebrating the whole episode.<\/p>\n What don\u2019t they show? The hours of research before heading out to sea, gathering of live bait, exploration using a\u00a0fishfinder\u00a0to find the perfect spot, the team waking up at 5am to gear up. Oh, not to mention the years of effort to become a skilled fisherman and learn the craft. Of course they don\u2019t show that because that\u2019s not entertainment: it\u2019s just instant fish zen.<\/p>\n It also sets the completely wrong expectation for any new fisherman. They are taken out on a boat and expect to be constantly catching fish. They don\u2019t realize the waiting and hard work that has to happen before you actually hook one.<\/p>\n One of my friends has a pretty good joke about the reality of fishing: they shouldn\u2019t call it\u00a0fishing<\/em>\u00a0they should call it\u00a0waiting<\/em>. As a note, a committed fisherman enjoyes the whole process, even the waiting (being on the water is enjoyable on its own).<\/p>\n Similarly, on a typical poker show: it\u2019s also constant, fast-paced action, again at least the parts shown on TV. They show hands after hand of bluffs,\u00a0bad beats\u00a0and the players celebrating success or agonizing in defeat.<\/p>\n What they don\u2019t show? The hours of folding and stolen blinds, arduous effort spent studying pot odds to play\u00a0data-driven\u00a0cards and countless time spent studying psychology \/ body language in order to read opponents not savvy enough to cloak emotional responses. Not to mention the years the top players have played to gain enough experience to be able to compete in tier-1 tournaments.\u00a0Again, poker shows don\u2019t show this because it\u2019s not entertainment: what people will watch are the highlights.<\/p>\n This also sets the completely wrong expectation for any new poker player and is why a lot of players go to Vegas and are dominated by pros. They watch poker on TV and think every hand is an exciting, all-in showdown because that\u2019s all they show on TV. New players don\u2019t realize the skill set the pros have is one that takes years to achieve, one which balances psychology, statistics and personality.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a great quote on poker credited to 2006 World Series champion\u00a0Tom McEvoy: \u201cNo Limit Hold\u2019em. Hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror.\u201d Indeed, this is a more accurate description of a real tournament than what is shown on TV. But reality does not make for as great entertainment as clips. Especially in a world\u00a0conditioned to skim. Although again, similar to fishing I think the really passionate poker players who have a genuine love of the game don\u2019t mind this time in between. It\u2019s an organic element to the process which breaks up the action.<\/p>\n For digital marketers who build online communities, it\u2019s not really so different. To those on the outside looking in at your successes, they only see the results. This creates a lot of false expectations for marketers who haven\u2019t\u00a0gone through the process\u00a0themselves. Like someone who has never played a poker game or gone fishing yet watched it on TV, they come in expecting excitement the whole time as well as instant results. But like the nascent player or fisherman, they have to commit long term and have a true passion if they hope to make it.<\/p>\n I especially like this analogy because I fish, play poker and am a digital marketer. I see not just how poker and fishing are portrayed on TV I see how this has influenced some new fisherman and poker players. New fisherman get bored and give up before trying enough spots. New poker players lose all their money by going all in and not having enough patience or ability to play data-driven cards infused with the right amount of psychological insight.<\/p>\n Further, I see how case studies, blogs and conferences which showcase social media marketing results have instilled the wrong mindset in a lot of marketers. They see results from others and either want the same thing for their brand instantly and\/or have expectation it\u2019s easy, all glamorous and going to be a savior for their marketing. Of course,\u00a0experienced digital marketers\u00a0know better and are doing their part to manage expectation and guide their company or client in the right direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No, the blog hasn\u2019t been hacked. Yes, I\u2019m\u00a0sort\u00a0of\u00a0obsessed\u00a0with\u00a0analogies lately. I thought of another fun one for you, but I\u2019ll let … <\/p>\n