Embracing the Full Spectrum of Marketing: My New LinkedIn Headline

Today, I made a small yet significant change that felt internally controversial. I updated my LinkedIn profile headline.

Now, I've started and stopped short on stories like this because for the most part, who cares. Your personal transformations are your own business, and I'm busy...you're busy, we're all busy.

This isn't your diary.

So, that said I promise, this is not a navel gazing mini-memoir.

However, I do need to tell you some of my personal story to help you understand the bigger picture here...so you understand why I'm telling you all of this.

I'm sharing through my own lens, but this is not about me.

Breaking Down Marketing's Binary

When it comes to marketing, the public at large perceives two dominant camps: the analysts (quants) and the creatives (differentiators).

The former (quants), guided by quantitative data, believe that clarity and truth emerge from rigorous testing and iteration. With enough data and a little Python, we can solve all of the world's problems.

The latter (creatives), more akin to the Don Drapers of our field, thrive on creativity and inventiveness. Coining terms like 'conversion science' or 'growth hacking,' they're also behind overuse of the words, "redefined," "reinvented," "reimagined"...and of course, "innovation."

Binary Problems

The problem is that working within this binary, each has their own unique (albeit predictable) downfalls. Both are subject to perfectionism and their own brand of self-righteousness.

Creatives can sometimes lose sight of reality, inventing problems because they have a solution to sell (solutionism) or seeking validation for their creative genius through bizarre, or overly aspirational campaigns.

Quants, meanwhile, can rely on cycle after cycle of vanity metrics. They'll bury themselves into the minutiae of data for the sake of number crunching, ascribing meaning where there is none, and forgetting the subjective nature of interpretation. There is a very real case for data-based decision making, and I'll never say otherwise, but data is just the starting point.

So, experiencing this binary again and again, I've had to reflect on my own identity as a "marketer." I’ve played devil's advocate on either side of the coin depending on which type of marketer I’m sitting across from. With their own sense of pride about their convictions, I've felt the need to offer balance. But, it's always felt a little absurd.

I mean, I can't be some magical unicorn.

I can't be the only person who considers myself equally balanced.

Why am I telling you this and how does it relate to my headline?

My Journey: Beyond Labels

The college I chose offered an Interdisciplinary program, where I could design my own curriculum and emerge with the "Bachelor's Degree" credential. This was the my ideal so regardless of all other considerations, this was the path I chose.

I was battered, angsty, and yet idealistic. So, I needed to understand the science behind inexorable cycles of human despair. If history repeats itself, and human history includes the Holocaust and the 2008 Economic Crisis, how many times have we been here?

Are there patterns that we can leverage to change course in the future?

Why do people make choices that work against their own interest?

How does technology and political influence activate these forces? Can we leverage these forces for good, if we just commit to it?

How does the media work its magic into the hearts and minds of the unwashed masses?

What messaging, and cultural artifacts do we have, that we credit with creating this level of influence? Why were they effective?

Beyond despair, I wanted to understand the Sociology of Influence.

I wanted to understand how the tapestry came together to create cycles of reality, and how communities and ideas affected outcomes.

...but, there wasn't really a degree program for that.

So, I was compelled to create my own.

After College

Naturally when I went out into the job market, the "Interdisciplinary" part of my experience was a feature; or so I thought. I really underestimated how much sales would go into playing up this trajectory since I didn't just have a "Chemistry" or "Business" degree. I mean, getting my degree was in accordance with the rules of engagement for employment, so what was the problem?

As a walking disruptor to the natural order of things, I moved around a lot. Going from South Florida to New York City to Los Angeles and eventually to Austin, I found my place in the startup ecosystem.

In Austin, at those nightly startup meetups, I rubbed shoulders TechBros and investors. Aspiring (mostly male) founders dismissively high-fived me, when I told them that I was a Social Scientist. As if my title were some self-invented quip on "social media marketing."

“Social…scientist? Hah. Niiiice.”

But it's not.

It was (is) a representation of the body of knowledge that I had cultivated.

When I was worked in-house, I was quickly sidelined. Investors questioned every piece of "Interdisciplinary Social Scientist."

I needed to be more siloed - Marketing, Sales, Operations, etc.

Never mind the absolute relevance of political propaganda in marketing and sales. This is where the challenge in my headline has come about.

Talking to No One

In marketing we say that when you try to craft a message that resonates with everyone, you end up talking to no one. This is why they say, "The riches are in the niches." So, I've tried again and again to reflect on the needs of my audience in order to meet them where they are.

But ultimately, my experience and the application of my skills is more about methodology than discipline. I can apply my toolbox to anything from stormwater regulation to adaptive clothing...and I have.

Thus, the controversy.

Thus, the internal dissonance.

How can I suggest a best practice that I, myself, reject in conveying my own expertise?

Sure, calling myself a "growth marketer" might be more, ahem, marketable but it doesn't really say anything (anymore).

Saying that I "do" SEO might get me more Profile Views.

And while, of course, I can go a mile deep on SEO -- that's strictly because it's a juicy exercise in analytics.

I have the skills to analyze data and to pull together the subtext of search intent.

I have the framework to assess user interaction.

I understand the methodology behind organizing an experiment into iterative sprints.

Opting Into My Own Expertise

So, I've decided to opt-out of the binary and instead opt into a framework oriented around my expertise, as best as I can without going completely off the rails.

Yes, I'm a scientist, but I'm not interested in a career as an academic. I don't need to express ideas that the public can ignore, and the politicans can reject.

I want to work where the real power is.

I want to be where the people are.

I want to influence how they vote with their dollars.

Search engine marketing, user experience design, and conversion rate optimization is not a destination, it's a part of that journey.

Here's why...

Because, the Internet or The Most Magical Place on Earth

Let's call things what they are.

The internet is a wiiiild social experiment. Social media is cuh-razy when you think about the access that people have to speak as an authority on literally ANYTHING, and largely in an uncensored capacity.

I don't think I have to go into the political and behavioral economics of social media. They've proven themselves through movements like "The Arab Spring" and the Jan 6th Siege on the Capital.

Beyond that though, some of the greatest minds in human psychology and sociology are tasked with figuring out how to get people to click, "Buy Now."

Billions are invested in inventing software that tracks where your eyeballs are moving, to understand what you value. Then in how to merchandise devices and apps that subtly integrate this technology for consumer consumption.

Data families create connections whereby your sister-in-law has a conversation about Disney so you start to see ads about Disney, so that your desire can then feed hers and eventually you can both buy your kids matching Minnie Mouse ponchos during the Florida monsoon season while you're at the most magical place on Earth.

Kinda puts a new lens on the concept of "magic" if you ask me

.

But, I'm not terrified.

I'm fascinated.

If you knew how easy it was to optimize your content for voice search, it would blow your mind. Like you could almost accidentally do it. I'm serious.

The Battlefield

So, I’m not a "quant" or a "creative."

I’m both.

I’m neither.

Ha. Haha.

Marketing is a Social Science

Anyhow, I hope you'll join me in reframing the work of activating economic activity as the "social science" of marketing.

Because people are complex.

Understanding why they make choices is complex.

And being tasked to help them make good choices in a digital ecosystem?

Well, that's a true conundrum.

Reaching your audience effectively isn't about choosing between data and creativity. It's about using both harmoniously. It's about using it to overcome unconscious biases. We need to interpret data with a lens of imagination and infuse our creative strategies with empirical evidence.?

It's not more art than science, or vice versa. It's equal parts of each.

It’s not just clicks and conversions.

It’s grasping the 'why' behind them, with a dash of enthusiasm and an eye for abstract, unforeseeable connections.

Abundance of Experience

The idea of scarcity is the foundation of a majority of economic theory, but a lot of our economic scarcity is actually manufactured. I won't get into a manifesto on abundance here, but I say so strictly to make the case for abundance.

Let's thinking about the people we serve.

Let's dial into the abundance of the marketplace and the reality that there's enough room at the table for every good idea.

Let's focus on serving humanity in a way that affords excellence, happiness, and prosperity through clarity, authenticity, and passion.

Marketing is Advocacy

Marketing just isn't the same game anymore. It's not about creating problems to sell solutions...or at least it shouldn't be.

If we ever hope to thwart cycles of human despair at the mercy of "the invisible hands," we have to abandon the binary of "us" and "them;" the war between quants and creatives.

Hence, my new LinkedIn headline is not just a set of keywords. It's a stand against the keyword trends, clickbait, and internal controversy.

It's advocacy for the human element in all things business.

It’s a commitment to a holistic, ethical approach with an intentional design.

I don't need to optimize for every keyword, for every aspect of marketing that goes into my methodology.

I don't need to enhance my personal brand using "CEO" or "Founder." (As a matter of fact, these titles will absolutely ruin my inbox with prospecting bots selling app development or insurance.)

So, I'm done following directions and best practices. I'm ready embrace my own complexity and to honor the experience that I've intentionally cultivated. And if that means that you're going to be turned off because I don't have the right keywords on my profile, then we're probably not working to accomplish the same things, anyway.