Keith Jennings - Business of Marketing Podcast

Marketing’s Job Functions and Creating Social Objects with Keith Jennings

In The Business of Marketing Podcast by A. Lee Judge

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Today’s Marketer has a complex job. We have to figure out how to deliver on the functional elements of Marketing while using all of the Marketing Tech tools at our disposal. At the same time, we must stay in touch with the emotional and relational aspects that really make consumers take action.

And within that, we have a social element. How do we inject our marketing into the conversations that our consumers have with each other?

And finally, we have to align “our” systems of thinking to fit with the thinking and journeys of our consumers!

Joining me on the podcast today is the Vice President of community impact for Jackson Healthcare, where he helps leverage people, programming, partnerships and philanthropy to improve access to healthcare and the wellbeing of young people.

As a writer, he helps professionals cultivate a deeper understanding of who they are and why they do the work they do — their values and purpose.

I discovered his solid advice to Marketing and Business Professionals through his articles on BusinessGrow.com and am delighted to welcome as a guest on the podcast –  Keith Jennings!

Conversation points:

Keith, you have an article on BusinessGrow.com that I really like. In that article – You say that “Businesses hire marketing to do a variety of jobs – such as brand awareness, lead generation, SEO,  and more.
 
But you explain that these jobs aren’t limited to their functional elements.
 
They come with a mix of FUNCTIONAL, EMOTIONAL, RELATIONAL, AND SPIRITUAL, elements.
 
  • Can you walk us through those jobs of Marketing beyond the FUNCTIONAL jobs that we are accustomed to marketing delivering?
As a content production agency owner, in order to make absolutely sure that we can deliver on client expectations, the first question that we ask a prospect is – “What do you want this content to do?” or “What do you want this video or podcast to do for your business?”
 
  • So, What are some other tips you can provide to help marketers and their execs – as well as marketers and their agencies better align their expectations?
I want to pivot a bit to how consumers communicate to each other about our brands.
 
And, I want to introduce the audience to a term that I learned from you. That term that I believe dates back to about 2007 maybe when Jyri Engestrom mentioned it –  The term is “Social Objects.”
 
Before we discuss the term “Social Objects,”
 
  • Please share your definition of Social Objects with us.
  • How can Marketers create and utilize social objects for their brands? (Some examples?)
Keith, I want to talk about a common Marketing mistake that you recently wrote about on LinkedIn.
 
One of the great things about talking with interesting people like you, Keith, is that I get to benefit from books that you’ve read – that I haven’t. You referenced a Daniel Kahneman book entitled “Thinking Fast and Slow.” In his book he dives into System 1 and System 2 thinking.
 
You parallel this type of thinking in your LinkedIn article to demonstrate an avoidable “Marketing Mistake All Businesses Make.”
 
  • So maybe we should define these systems of thinking for our audience first.
  • How are marketers subject to System 1 and System 2 thinking and how can System one thinking be a mistake?
  • As a Marketer, I’ve always operated by Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think” approach by not making the content consumer think more than they need to in order to receive a message. So in that light, does System 1 Thinking still have its place in Marketing?

Thanks for listening to The Business of Marketing podcast.

Feel free to contact the hosts and ask additional questions, we would love to answer them on the show.