Monthly Archives: March 2015

March 12, 2015 · 10:40 am

The Present

Even though the snow is melting, with over a foot still on the ground I suspect it will be quite some time before I’m back on the golf course.  That won’t stop me from thinking about it, however.  If you’ve read the screed with any regularity you know that I often find business lessons in the game and today I want to point out another one which came to mind.

English: Hampstead Golf Course A lone golfer c...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the golf course I have a nasty habit of beating myself up mentally.  I might hit a few good shots in a row but the subsequent bad shot (I’m not very good so there are quite a few of those) tends to stay with me.  Rather than considering the offline shot an anomaly I take it to be an indicator that I truly stink at the game and will never be any good and I should not be out here and…well, you get the idea.  The worst part of it is that those thoughts continue as I stand over the only shot that matters on a golf course – the next one.  A sports psychologist would tell you that I’m not staying in the present – my mind is focused on something that’s done and over which I no longer have any control.  This is bad on a physical level since anger creates tension and tension is not your friend while trying to swing a golf club. Obviously it’s not great for your blood pressure either.  But it’s also bad on a mental level because I’m focused on the wrong thing – the last shot, not the next one.

We do this in business too.  We all make mistakes – it’s part of learning and growing.  The key to being really successful is to learn from those mistakes and to forgive yourself.  We can’t change the shots we’ve already hit so we need to move on mentally and emotionally.  We can’t hit “undo” on many of our business choices but we can continue to write them anew each day.  This applies to dealing with others – subordinates, partners, etc. – as well as to ourselves.  Forgive and remember, maybe?

My golf game is a constant work in progress.  So is my business life. I’ve vowed not to get angry on the course for more than a few seconds after a bad hit and then to let it go.  I’ll forgive myself for my mistake. I’ll try to figure out what happened and fix it but attempt to do so without anger or fear.  Golf is hard.  So is business. Every shot is a new chance.  So is every day in business.

You ready to try that with me?

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March 11, 2015 · 10:33 am

A New Dark Age?

Are you watching less TV than you used to? If the answer to that is “yes” then you’re not alone. Oh sure, you’re probably spending a lot more time in front of a screen, but when I ask that question I’m asking about cable network programming delivered live or watched via DVR within 3 days. That measurement, by the way, is known in the business as C3 ratings and there is not a lot of good news. Michael Nathanson, a senior analyst with MoffettNathanson LLC issued an analysis of recent data and this lede from the International Business Times sums it up nicely:

The biggest American horror story on cable last year, didn’t come from FX — it came from Nielsen. Ratings across national cable television networks tumbled 9 percent in 2014, triple the decline seen in 2013 and more than quadruple the 2 percent decline seen in 2012. To call it a crisis would be an understatement. If the trend continues, TV could be heading for a new dark ages.

Why the dark ages analogy?  You’re seeing it in the news.  Cable operators pay these networks a lot of money each month (OK, you’re right – WE pay…) but if no one is watching maybe losing those networks from their systems isn’t a big deal.  That sort of explains the stories you read about networks going dark on some systems (as I’m writing this Verizon just turned off the Weather Channel and Dish turned off Fox News for a few weeks)over what those fees might be.  Without a hue and cry from consumers who appear to be moving on to alternatives, the networks have no leverage.

While some in the industry are complaining yet again about faulty measurement methods, the reality is that people are shifting their viewing habits away from live, linear programing.  Even sports, which is supposed to be immune to this, suffered a 5% decline. You’re probably aware that HBO, NBC and CBS are launching their own streaming services. That sort of move might hasten the demise of business model that has fed TV networks with licensing fees as the cable and satellite distributors focus more on their broadband ISP businesses and less on TV.  After all, if they can distribute the programming services for free via their internet side, why pay?

Hopefully this is good news for those of us who pay for this stuff.  What do you think?

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March 10, 2015 · 10:48 am

Dark Social

I will admit upfront that today’s screed is a little wonky.  You might want to stay with me though – you might just figure something out about your business as we go.  Ready?

The topic today is what’s been called “dark social” traffic.  No, these are not teenagers cruising Main Street late at night.  It refers to people coming to your website based on a link that’s been shared to them socially.  In other words, when I see an article I like and share it with a friend via email or messaging, most web analytic systems don’t really get how the recipient got to the website (although some are beginning to).  Since they clicked on a URL and went directly to the site (not from another website), it’s reported as direct traffic which is a big dumping bin of mostly unknown sources (even though it’s supposed to be users who came by typing the URL or via bookmark).  With me so far?

I did a little exercise on one of my client’s site traffic.  I looked at direct traffic which didn’t enter the site on the home page, an indicator to me of dark social traffic since people don’t generally type in long URL’s.  11% of their traffic was dark social.  With another client it was 34%.  I did some research and it turns out that those numbers are pretty typical – The Atlantic Monthly, which receives 5M monthly uniques, reports 60% of traffic from dark social.  Smithsonian Magazine realized it was 82% of their shares. Why is this important to you?

If you’re spending time analyzing your data to make better marketing decisions – which audiences to target through which channels, which content is socially relevant, etc – knowing what’s being shared and by whom is important.  The client I checked usually has a somewhat older skew and we use that in marketing.  The dark social traffic, however, demonstrates not only a higher rate of sharing of content among younger (18-24) people but also a higher conversion rate.  Very interesting and actionable data point.

The broader point is one you’ve heard before.  We need to spend time thinking about how our customers and potential customers come to and interact with our brand.  We need to formulate good questions and try to answer them with the data.  Data for data’s sake is useless.  Using data to drive actionable business decisions is where we are right now in marketing and business, at least where I and my clients are.  You?

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