October 29, 2008 93 Comments

You Cant Just Have Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter and Jelly Say it with me. Peanut butter and… Right. You can’t just have peanut butter. It’s wrong. It’s a freak of nature. It’s an amputation of our sensibilities. It’s like cookies and … It’s like Day and … It’s like Batman and… Oh, I guess you can have just Batman these days. But you can’t have just peanut butter. It doesn’t work.

Ditto social media for business. You can’t have just social media: the blogging and podcasting and tweeting and social newtork use. It’s great that you’re doing all that stuff, but you need your jelly, too. And in this case, the jelly to social media’s peanut butter is measurement.

Measurement

If you’re blogging, is it improving your search ranking? Is is helping you move prospects from thinking about a project towards taking a meeting to start a project? How are you judging your success? Simply by watching your RSS subscribers or page views go up?

If you’re trying to improve awareness, how many comments are you getting on various sites? Are you tracking sentiment? Can you get as granular as specific product elements versus just the product itself? What counts as a win for that awareness? Are you counting digital ink? Press clippings? What’s the measure of it all?

Are your web pages converting? Do you have some kind of call to action to provoke a certain action? How many visits versus how many conversions have there been?

Cue the Dead Horse

Why beat this particular horse, you wonder? Because there are more and more people feeling pressure from the economic downturn who are turning their web design shops, their writing consultancies, and their extra agency cycles into a social media practice, where it seems that they’ve got the “join the conversation” part of the dogma just right, but not the “must do something to help a business” part.

Hold me to measurements if you hire me. Hold me to tying this all into your primary business. This is no longer the shiny object. If you’re in this for business, let’s work it that way. It can (and should!) be lots of fun, but let’s make sure we are all disciples of K.D. Paine and that we measure.

True story: there’s no jelly in my house. It’s a very sad day.

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  • http://www.momcentral.com Kara

    Great post Chris! The questions about measurement come up more and more in relation to social media. Yes it is interesting, yes it is fun, yes it is engaging, but how does that persuade companies that their marketing dollars should be spent on social media plans? Great tools are coming out to help us listen, with numbers. I think it is important both to the future of social media and marketing practices that we find a way in order to show how conversations through social media lead to greater brand awareness and therefore profitable.

    I did always only like peanut butter sandwiches as a kid though…

  • http://www.momcentral.com Kara

    Great post Chris! The questions about measurement come up more and more in relation to social media. Yes it is interesting, yes it is fun, yes it is engaging, but how does that persuade companies that their marketing dollars should be spent on social media plans? Great tools are coming out to help us listen, with numbers. I think it is important both to the future of social media and marketing practices that we find a way in order to show how conversations through social media lead to greater brand awareness and therefore profitable.

    I did always only like peanut butter sandwiches as a kid though…

  • http://www.momcentral.com Kara

    Great post Chris! The questions about measurement come up more and more in relation to social media. Yes it is interesting, yes it is fun, yes it is engaging, but how does that persuade companies that their marketing dollars should be spent on social media plans? Great tools are coming out to help us listen, with numbers. I think it is important both to the future of social media and marketing practices that we find a way in order to show how conversations through social media lead to greater brand awareness and therefore profitable.

    I did always only like peanut butter sandwiches as a kid though…

  • http://thisblogismyblog.com larzini

    When Social Media and Peanut Butter Collide.

    I’m loving the comments on this post because not only is there an engaging dialogue regarding the meat and potatos of the post, (Why not continue the food metaphor?) but the peanut butter lovers have converged, and “I’m not eating your damn jelly!”

    I met someone at Blogworld ’08 and had long conversation nwith them, because I overheard her discussing her peanut butter love, and taking tablespoon to the peanut butter jar sometimes constitutes breakfast. I knew I had met a kindred spirit.

    The underground peanut butter community has spoken loudly and carried a big spoon in through your comment section. Clearly we need our own social network. What’s this say about the jelly folks? Where are they?

  • http://thisblogismyblog.com larzini

    When Social Media and Peanut Butter Collide.

    I’m loving the comments on this post because not only is there an engaging dialogue regarding the meat and potatos of the post, (Why not continue the food metaphor?) but the peanut butter lovers have converged, and “I’m not eating your damn jelly!”

    I met someone at Blogworld ’08 and had long conversation nwith them, because I overheard her discussing her peanut butter love, and taking tablespoon to the peanut butter jar sometimes constitutes breakfast. I knew I had met a kindred spirit.

    The underground peanut butter community has spoken loudly and carried a big spoon in through your comment section. Clearly we need our own social network. What’s this say about the jelly folks? Where are they?

  • http://thisblogismyblog.com larzini

    When Social Media and Peanut Butter Collide.

    I’m loving the comments on this post because not only is there an engaging dialogue regarding the meat and potatos of the post, (Why not continue the food metaphor?) but the peanut butter lovers have converged, and “I’m not eating your damn jelly!”

    I met someone at Blogworld ’08 and had long conversation nwith them, because I overheard her discussing her peanut butter love, and taking tablespoon to the peanut butter jar sometimes constitutes breakfast. I knew I had met a kindred spirit.

    The underground peanut butter community has spoken loudly and carried a big spoon in through your comment section. Clearly we need our own social network. What’s this say about the jelly folks? Where are they?

  • http://www.needish.com/people/emily Emily Williams

    Great post, even though I don’t like peanut butter :) This is something that I really need to start focusing on. I think I’ve given myself enough time to get into the flow of the conversation, and now I need to thnk about how to measure what I’m doing. I’m learning that this is the really hard part! Thanks for this reminder.

  • http://www.needish.com/people/emily Emily Williams

    Great post, even though I don’t like peanut butter :) This is something that I really need to start focusing on. I think I’ve given myself enough time to get into the flow of the conversation, and now I need to thnk about how to measure what I’m doing. I’m learning that this is the really hard part! Thanks for this reminder.

  • http://www.needish.com/people/emily Emily Williams

    Great post, even though I don’t like peanut butter :) This is something that I really need to start focusing on. I think I’ve given myself enough time to get into the flow of the conversation, and now I need to thnk about how to measure what I’m doing. I’m learning that this is the really hard part! Thanks for this reminder.

  • http://www.allabout-energy.com Amy Flynn ~ allaboutenergy

    Chris,

    Great meal here! I love (as it appears does everyone else) the PB&J metaphor.

    Now I shall go ruminate on my metaphors.. I mean measurements..

    Energetically,

    Amy

    @allaboutenergy

    http://allabout-energy.com

  • http://www.allabout-energy.com Amy Flynn ~ allaboutenergy

    Chris,

    Great meal here! I love (as it appears does everyone else) the PB&J metaphor.

    Now I shall go ruminate on my metaphors.. I mean measurements..

    Energetically,

    Amy

    @allaboutenergy

    http://allabout-energy.com

  • http://www.allabout-energy.com Amy Flynn ~ allaboutenergy

    Chris,

    Great meal here! I love (as it appears does everyone else) the PB&J metaphor.

    Now I shall go ruminate on my metaphors.. I mean measurements..

    Energetically,

    Amy

    @allaboutenergy

    http://allabout-energy.com

  • http://www.roederstudios.com/publicity.php Laura Roeder

    When I read the beginning I thought you were going to say the “jelly” is your website. I agree with metrics, but I think anther overlooked “jelly” is what all that social media is driving people to – your site. Sometimes you will see people who are very active, popular tweeters with ugly, confusing, or poorly-organized sites. I always tell people to focus on the site first, because that’s what all your online marketing is leading to. I dod recognize that this can be a budget issue though, as social media is generally free and websites are generally expensive.

  • http://www.roederstudios.com/publicity.php Laura Roeder

    When I read the beginning I thought you were going to say the “jelly” is your website. I agree with metrics, but I think anther overlooked “jelly” is what all that social media is driving people to – your site. Sometimes you will see people who are very active, popular tweeters with ugly, confusing, or poorly-organized sites. I always tell people to focus on the site first, because that’s what all your online marketing is leading to. I dod recognize that this can be a budget issue though, as social media is generally free and websites are generally expensive.

  • http://blog.tomabonciu.ro/ Toma Bonciu

    @Laura Roeder totally agree. Your website or your blog should be your main concern. It’s like your home and when the guests arrive you don’t want to be found with the dirt in the middle of the room.

  • http://blog.tomabonciu.ro/ Toma Bonciu

    @Laura Roeder totally agree. Your website or your blog should be your main concern. It’s like your home and when the guests arrive you don’t want to be found with the dirt in the middle of the room.

  • http://blog.tomabonciu.ro/ Toma Bonciu

    @Laura Roeder totally agree. Your website or your blog should be your main concern. It’s like your home and when the guests arrive you don’t want to be found with the dirt in the middle of the room.

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  • http://www.quired.com/blog J. .Paul Duplantis

    I agree with Chris. In the rush to harness the power of social media, the business owner does need to treat the new medium as they had the old which is to measure and adjust.

    There are no magic bullets in business we all know that (Don’t we?).

    Take the time to read his article and make certain you pay attention to the traffic coming in as well as the content that is going out.

    I posted this message and linked to Chris’ post on http://www.quired.com/blog.

    Chris certainly seems to have the pulse on Social Media.

  • http://www.quired.com/blog J. .Paul Duplantis

    I agree with Chris. In the rush to harness the power of social media, the business owner does need to treat the new medium as they had the old which is to measure and adjust.

    There are no magic bullets in business we all know that (Don’t we?).

    Take the time to read his article and make certain you pay attention to the traffic coming in as well as the content that is going out.

    I posted this message and linked to Chris’ post on http://www.quired.com/blog.

    Chris certainly seems to have the pulse on Social Media.

  • http://www.quired.com/blog J. .Paul Duplantis

    I agree with Chris. In the rush to harness the power of social media, the business owner does need to treat the new medium as they had the old which is to measure and adjust.

    There are no magic bullets in business we all know that (Don’t we?).

    Take the time to read his article and make certain you pay attention to the traffic coming in as well as the content that is going out.

    I posted this message and linked to Chris’ post on http://www.quired.com/blog.

    Chris certainly seems to have the pulse on Social Media.

  • Carter

    Hey Chris,

    Great post and interesting timing. I was just discussing this yesterday with a friend; she’s into SEO, Digg, Stumbleupon and I’ve been using (primarily) social media to build relationships and all but ignoring SEO.

    Thanks for the kick in the butt and great advice-I’m now on the sites mentioned above and plan on learning more.

    It’s great to point out and remind people that there’s no one right way and to touch the most people you need to use multiple (and measurable) avenues. Even if it takes extra time…

  • Carter

    Hey Chris,

    Great post and interesting timing. I was just discussing this yesterday with a friend; she’s into SEO, Digg, Stumbleupon and I’ve been using (primarily) social media to build relationships and all but ignoring SEO.

    Thanks for the kick in the butt and great advice-I’m now on the sites mentioned above and plan on learning more.

    It’s great to point out and remind people that there’s no one right way and to touch the most people you need to use multiple (and measurable) avenues. Even if it takes extra time…

  • http://indyawesome.com Colin Clark

    I know I’m weird, but I kind of like plain peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly). I also wanted to relay a conversation I had with mike seidle the other day.

    He argued that sometimes measurement isn’t necessarily as important as some people think. He said that sometimes it’s cheaper, for example, to just try many different approaches as opposed to trying one or two and measuring the crap out of them. (at least I think that was his point)

    I’m torn between the two. I do think that there is no substitute for metrics, but it is also good to have as much out there in as many different arenas as possible.

  • http://indyawesome.com Colin Clark

    I know I’m weird, but I kind of like plain peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly). I also wanted to relay a conversation I had with mike seidle the other day.

    He argued that sometimes measurement isn’t necessarily as important as some people think. He said that sometimes it’s cheaper, for example, to just try many different approaches as opposed to trying one or two and measuring the crap out of them. (at least I think that was his point)

    I’m torn between the two. I do think that there is no substitute for metrics, but it is also good to have as much out there in as many different arenas as possible.

  • http://indyawesome.com Colin Clark

    I know I’m weird, but I kind of like plain peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly). I also wanted to relay a conversation I had with mike seidle the other day.

    He argued that sometimes measurement isn’t necessarily as important as some people think. He said that sometimes it’s cheaper, for example, to just try many different approaches as opposed to trying one or two and measuring the crap out of them. (at least I think that was his point)

    I’m torn between the two. I do think that there is no substitute for metrics, but it is also good to have as much out there in as many different arenas as possible.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    Okay, so a few things:

    @Craig – I didn’t say measure=quantity. There are great qualitative and sentiment tools. Those are a great measure. Christopher S. Penn measures on dollars, and that’s a nice measure. Easy, at least. I don’t think the masses are my target. Nope. I just want the right 1000. (Was that Kevin Kelly’s line?)

    @Laura- I don’t entirely agree. I think a site is part of it, but I have a post about outposts in your media strategy that conflicts with that thinking a bit. In my mind, media has atomized, and it’s all over the place. Yes, there should be a home base, but the outposts are now just as important because that’s where the fish are. (such as it were).

    And for all of you “stuck” on the food analogy: I can eat peanut butter plain, and have many times, so there. Have you tried bananas?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    Okay, so a few things:

    @Craig – I didn’t say measure=quantity. There are great qualitative and sentiment tools. Those are a great measure. Christopher S. Penn measures on dollars, and that’s a nice measure. Easy, at least. I don’t think the masses are my target. Nope. I just want the right 1000. (Was that Kevin Kelly’s line?)

    @Laura- I don’t entirely agree. I think a site is part of it, but I have a post about outposts in your media strategy that conflicts with that thinking a bit. In my mind, media has atomized, and it’s all over the place. Yes, there should be a home base, but the outposts are now just as important because that’s where the fish are. (such as it were).

    And for all of you “stuck” on the food analogy: I can eat peanut butter plain, and have many times, so there. Have you tried bananas?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    Okay, so a few things:

    @Craig – I didn’t say measure=quantity. There are great qualitative and sentiment tools. Those are a great measure. Christopher S. Penn measures on dollars, and that’s a nice measure. Easy, at least. I don’t think the masses are my target. Nope. I just want the right 1000. (Was that Kevin Kelly’s line?)

    @Laura- I don’t entirely agree. I think a site is part of it, but I have a post about outposts in your media strategy that conflicts with that thinking a bit. In my mind, media has atomized, and it’s all over the place. Yes, there should be a home base, but the outposts are now just as important because that’s where the fish are. (such as it were).

    And for all of you “stuck” on the food analogy: I can eat peanut butter plain, and have many times, so there. Have you tried bananas?

  • http://www.gamerrazzi.com Dominick

    Great post Chris. I can have and do have just peanut butter on a regular basis. I know, that makes me a freak of nature!

  • http://www.gamerrazzi.com Dominick

    Great post Chris. I can have and do have just peanut butter on a regular basis. I know, that makes me a freak of nature!

  • http://www.gamerrazzi.com Dominick

    Great post Chris. I can have and do have just peanut butter on a regular basis. I know, that makes me a freak of nature!

  • http://bilimaxcreativegroup.com Susan

    How about some nice slices of strategic decision making & tactical adoption support with that?

    Well, you can always throw peanutbutter and jelly around the office and see where it sticks, I guess. Good luck with that method. :)

    Susan

  • http://bilimaxcreativegroup.com Susan

    How about some nice slices of strategic decision making & tactical adoption support with that?

    Well, you can always throw peanutbutter and jelly around the office and see where it sticks, I guess. Good luck with that method. :)

    Susan

  • http://www.genxor.com Karl Hadwen

    Peanut butter hmmm, come to think about it I’m hungry =D, nice blog will be reading more for sure!

  • http://www.genxor.com Karl Hadwen

    Peanut butter hmmm, come to think about it I’m hungry =D, nice blog will be reading more for sure!

  • http://www.genxor.com Karl Hadwen

    Peanut butter hmmm, come to think about it I’m hungry =D, nice blog will be reading more for sure!

  • http://twitter.com/franswaa frank

    My mom eats peanut butter right out of the Jar … i always thought it was just wrong :) …

    It goes to show you that there’s never one way to do things and people will always push the envelope and break out of the box!

    What I’m taking away from this post is that we need to measure what we are doing to know if we are being successful, but those measurement are not the same for all of us or for all businesses.

    Question that i have …

    Does anyone out there measure your impact in social media in terms of developing thought leadership & professional development for employees/staff?

    I’d LOVE to hear from Chris and/or some of the community here?!

    –
    http://twitter.com/franswaa

  • http://twitter.com/franswaa frank

    My mom eats peanut butter right out of the Jar … i always thought it was just wrong :) …

    It goes to show you that there’s never one way to do things and people will always push the envelope and break out of the box!

    What I’m taking away from this post is that we need to measure what we are doing to know if we are being successful, but those measurement are not the same for all of us or for all businesses.

    Question that i have …

    Does anyone out there measure your impact in social media in terms of developing thought leadership & professional development for employees/staff?

    I’d LOVE to hear from Chris and/or some of the community here?!

    –
    http://twitter.com/franswaa

  • http://twitter.com/franswaa frank

    My mom eats peanut butter right out of the Jar … i always thought it was just wrong :) …

    It goes to show you that there’s never one way to do things and people will always push the envelope and break out of the box!

    What I’m taking away from this post is that we need to measure what we are doing to know if we are being successful, but those measurement are not the same for all of us or for all businesses.

    Question that i have …

    Does anyone out there measure your impact in social media in terms of developing thought leadership & professional development for employees/staff?

    I’d LOVE to hear from Chris and/or some of the community here?!

    –
    http://twitter.com/franswaa

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