I’ve attended, liveblogged and presented at a plethora of marketing and technology conferences in the last year. After attending enough, you start to notice common trends in questions, presentations and even personalities. One of the most common, recurring questions asked is: “what’s one thing I can do right now?” Or perhaps a variation, “What’s one thing I can start doing today?”
Something never sat right with me about this question, but today it struck me why: it’s exactly the wrong thing to ask.
It’s the wrong question to ask because….
- It’s looking for an easy way out
- You could just as easily Google it
- It’s seeking a silver bullet
- It assumes everyone is the same and should start the same way
The answers inevitably suck, because…
- They will invariably be common
- Generic questions inspire generic answers
- Without a full understanding of the current situation you can’t answer it anyway
- It’s tactical advice at best
What’s the point of doing one thing right now? What one thing you could you turn around today that will have impact? Let alone increasing returns?
The question of “what’s one thing I can do right now?” or “what one thing can I do today” is asked by someone who already has the wrong expectations.
It’s a question asked by marketers of a previous generation who want results yesterday. They want turnkey solutions and a quick fix. That’s not the answer to any sort of digital marketing or PR that matters, is sustainable or likely to result in greater prosperity.
I actually had a pretty clever answer to that question I was going to end this post with, but that ruins the point of addressing it.
The truth is there is no one thing you can do right now that really matters – that’s just not how the web works.
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The Future Buzz is a blog run by communications professional Adam Singer. Adam has experience as both a digital PR strategist and online marketing manager for some of the top-rated brands globally
Lesli (3 comments)26 March 10
Adam – you know I agree with you for the most part, but this time I do not.
To someone on the outside who is not as well-versed in social media and the “Great Conversation” as you are it can be very overwhelming to make the decision to join in. Although I do agree some people want the “quick fix” or “silver bullet” as you put it, some may be asking for your expertise on the right way to begin. What they may want is your help to quell the apprehension of the whole idea by giving them a starting point. They’re asking you to give them something small to focus on, something they can handle.
It can be a humbling experience to begin blogging and trying to bite off more than you can chew can get you in some hot water. Asking, “what’s one thing I can start today?” is showing they want to blog smart and they want you to show them how to take it one step at a time.
Consider it a sign of respect that newbies are coming to you for advice
Ken Kadet (14 comments)26 March 10
I see your point — but I wouldn’t pick on anyone for asking.
I’ll back up Lesli on this… one of the biggest barriers to effecting change is taking the first step. Anyone who has been stuck in a bad place, doing unproductive, counter-productive activities over and over — whether eating too much junk food or, say, pouring money into a website that is failing to deliver — eventually learns that the first step to getting out of the bad cycle is simply to “do something” to break the cycle.
It might as well be something productive that puts you on the right path.
To your point, it’s not necessarily a “question asked by marketers who want results today”, although that isn’t completely false.
I would consider it a question asked by marketers who know that they have an uphill battle to effect change in their organizations. They know that the only way to get bottom-line focused executives to think different is to create small successes that they can point to and champion…opening the door to a more far-reaching strategy.
A productive answer simply wouldn’t answer with a tactic. How about: “Good question…tell me this: Who do you want to reach to move your business? Where are they? What do they do online? What kinds of conversations are they having? What do they search for when they want what you have to sell? How do they interact with you and your competitors today? Answer these questions, and then let’s see if we can find a good place to start.”
Shari Weiss (18 comments)26 March 10
Ken, I love your final paragraph with the questions the “client” should ask him/herself.
However, why not offer a One-Thing-To-Do as — Making certain to understand the Big Shift and how the Business World has changed forever.
That means, to me, that any organization that wants to find success in the future must change its mindset from “Business as Usual to Business as it must be to accommodate more empowered and informed customers”
Adam Singer (303 comments)27 March 10
Hey Ken – agreed with the importance of taking the first step (see this one: http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/05/04/the-first-step/ ) – however I see that as different than “what can I do right now” or “what can I start doing today.” Only when you have a path and direction should you begin — not just from one thing.
Lucas (3 comments)26 March 10
Perfect timing – I actually met with a new client (small nonprofit) two days and this is exactly what she wanted to know. She had been attending nonprofit events and panel discussions for months without ever being able to get what she found to be an acceptable answer. She said that it was always these lively discussions about the limitless amount of things social media could do for nonprofits and about all the great things it had been used for already. At the end of all of these discussions she would raise her hand and ask what she could do right then to get started in social media. Every time, without fail, her question was greeted with a sort of blank look and then more “fluffy” social media talk.
Based on that client’s experiences, I’d have to lean more towards Lesli’s take on this recurring question. While I agree with you that it’s a sign the questioner is approaching it with the wrong frame of mind, I think you overlooked an important fact – they’re the client, we’re the professional. This person is looking for a way to sift through the information overload social media produces. I think Lesli’s got the right idea. In fact, this scenario should be viewed as a good thing: it shows that the questioner is willing to take concrete action.
Since my experience is solely with nonprofits, I can absolutely confirm your suspicion that all of these questioners who are in the nonprofit sector are looking for a “silver bullet.” The workloads that most nonprofit workers have to shoulder is enormous. Taking on additional responsibilities is not something they can afford to take lightly. I’ve seen over-worked marketing/communications directors turn green at the thought of being assigned more duties because the organization decided to “join that social media stuff.”
With regard to them being able to just Google it – shhhhhh. Talk like that could put a lot of industries out of business. Or lots of people could find themselves with the same results I got the time I decided Google equipped me with all the knowledge needed to render the home renovations industry obsolete in our household. (My wife still loves to tell the story about the crooked shelves.)
Chris Grayson (1 comments)26 March 10
“What’s One Thing I Can Do Right Now?”
You can start working on your strategy.
AHA (5 comments)6 April 10
Simple thing: define core purpose of yourself or your project. This is hard for most people though, but a simple thing that will reap huge benefits in the long term.