The Pretty Data Trap

Why you should never work for a company who claims to be fully “data-driven”

Johnny Vandal
Jul 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Instagram. Google. Facebook. When my clients start throwing around their social media “performance” numbers, my eyes glaze over like a Kwik E Mart donut. I see these PR “social media” mavens (who were all born in the 90’s and have ZERO experience working in traditional companies before the birth of Instagram/Twitter) futzing around with their analytics like a child with a Rubik’s Cube or Simon Says, generational irony intended.

The biggest problem, in my humble opinion, with digital marketing today is that so many companies claim to be data driven, but in order to be “data driven” you need to have a fairly robust understanding of statistics and social theory, which almost NOBODY who works in digital marketing has.

For example, your company could post a series of photos that receive 1.5–2x more “engagement” (insert luddite eyeroll~) than anything else you’ve posted. You blithely recommend to the company that they post/create more content in this vein. Simple right?

The problem with this is in failing to see how “the platform” that you are seeking to “exploit” (because that’s exactly what 99% of users on social media are attempting to do) is ultimately doing almost everything in their power to create a network/environment that will be in direct opposition to your own company’s best interest.

I honestly want somebody to release the studied data on what sort of people make up the bulk of Instagram activity for today’s power users and brands. It hasn’t happened because more than likely the entire “economy” of Instagram (or Twitter or Facebook) would completely collapse. All of these networks are built on the “impression” (pun intended) that you are being served up a robust network of fans and potential customers. As we have seen time and time again this is just not the case.

Going back to our small, upstart brand example, your company posted a cool photo of a the Kool-Aide man kitesurfing with Kendall Jenner in Tulum and it got over a 500 likes, which is pretty impressive since you only have 40k followers. But let’s unpack this.

Where did all of those followers come from?

Do you have a brick-and-mortar presence where you have a small but dedicated fanbase who follow you online? Maybe, but probably not.

Are your online sales so stellar that customers login and follow your every move on Instagram or Facebook. Perhaps, but probably not.

No, more than likely the bulk of your social media audience are un-vetted users who may or may not be actual human beings, with the odds of the fraction of users who are English-speaking Homo sapiens falling within the small Venn Diagram of being a potential customer for your particular brand?

F*cking .0001%

In the statistics game we would call this junk data. But you’ve now convinced your entire marketing department to start spending $$$$ on creating “content” for your digital marketing hopes and dreams based on this “junk data.”

You see, numbers are meaningless unless they are grounded in a standardized, knowledgeable baseline. Without knowing the characteristics and particulars of your sample size, any conclusions drawn are ultimately worthless.

But yet, this is how most small brands go about creating there digital marketing campaigns, futzing around on their little Rubik’s Cubes like a child who thinks he’s solved the world’s more indecipherable puzzle. But ultimately, they’re just sitting alone in their rooms, engaging in what I’m sure is a very rewarding session of mental masturbation while blissfuly wondering why their product didn’t ultimately “sell.”

That is the question indeed.

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