As someone who grew up using the web, specifically social channels (I was a message board and forum power user / community manager in the 90s) I never really considered digital content creation “work.” It was just how our generation communicated.
But Mitch Joel wrote something in 2008 that stuck with me: basically, that creating any type of digital content is real work:
Blogging, Podcasting and staying up to date on Twitter, Facebook and more is real work. It’s this kind of real work that affords me the luxury to acquire new clients, build interesting Digital Marketing and Communications initiatives, speak all over the world and think ever-more deeply about this space.
And Mitch is right to this day. While I never really considered what I’ve done “work” in the traditional sense, it has afforded me similar results as Mitch – ability to advise tier-1 brands, speak at events globally and collaborate with razor-sharp teams at renowned consultancies.
The real work of social media or any digital marketing is the creation. Creation of content, ideas, stories and relationships that add value, build interest, inspire buzz and bridge connections. Which is why the other day when I saw a link on Twitter (hat tip Rand Fishkin) from Joey Roth about how people who work with ideas all choose how much to work and how much to talk about their work, I had to share it.
Joey’s image perfectly encapsulates the balance you should achieve with your creative ideas:
One who evangelizes lazy, boring work is a charlatan. His structure is quick to build, but top-heavy. It will fall with an unassuming push, or under its own weight if given enough time.
The martyr spends her time head-down in the studio. She produces amazing work, but it will enter the world only if it’s discovered by some outside force. Her structure is a pyramid- solid, but inefficient.
The hustler realizes that work is invisible when nobody cares about it, but that getting people to care about bad work is energy misplaced. The hustler’s goal is to convert people to his or her vision, thus laying claim to the next cultural moment.
Analogous to digital marketing, don’t you think?
If you keep shouting the same junk of course no one is going to care. If you spend all your time creating amazing, sharable ideas and stories but don’t tell anyone or vest effort to build a community, of course it’s not going to spread. There is a balance, and your program should strive to excel at both ends.
Of course the rub is that in marketing and PR the talk is also part of the work – but make no mistake, you need to be doing both.
Basically, you need to be a hustler to win. Marketing is a lot more consistent hands on creation than it used to be, but I say that’s a good thing. You need equal parts creativity, planning, process and to get organized around execution.
Gary Vaynerchuk brings this analogy full circle when he encourages us to Crush It.