Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:10 — 11.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | RSS

Is Google Analytics ruining marketing? Samuel Scott (@samueljscott)makes a persuasive case that it is in this longish essay on TechCrunch. The gist of his argument is that if you let metrics drive strategy, then you’ll only do what it takes to yield the desired metrics. The result is unimaginative, repetitive sales pitches that alienate prospects and stifle new ideas. Our hosts think he’s got a point.

Kelsey Meyer (@kelsey_m_meyer) tells how her company, Influence & Co., hired 30 people in one year by using content instead of ads. She argues that if you slip your recruiting message into otherwise engaging content, then you’ll arouse their curiosity on a different level. They’ll be interested in what you do rather than just what the job requires or how much it pays. That’s a better engagement point.

Twitter Fails to Harness Its Importance, writes The Wall Street Journal. In contrast to all the criticism that has been dumped on Twitter lately over trolls and stagnant subscriber numbers, this article makes a salient point about an architectural problem that handcuffs Twitter’s business: Much of what people read on Twitter they get through third-party services that Twitter doesn’t control and can’t monetize. This is the result of strategic decisions Twitter made a decade ago that it can’t easily unmake, and it may be an unsolvable problem.

About Paul Gillin

Paul Gillin, host of FIR B2B, is a veteran technology journalist and a thought leader in new media. Since 2005, he has advised marketers and business executives on strategies to optimize their use of social media and online channels to reach buyers cost-effectively. Full bio

About David Strom

David Strom is a former editor-in-chief of Network Computing and Tom's Hardware who has written two computer networking books and thousands of articles about B2B IT.