Game of Thrones have won numerous Emmy’s and Golden Globe awards and is one of the top series being watched by people around the world, not to mention being downloaded and streamed a thousand times illegally.
Back with a new season, it promises all the drama, action, nudity and plot riveting twists it has hold on for many seasons. But, with all the savagery and vicious plot twisting events, what could this HBO series possibly teach us, digital marketers about our industry? Don’t worry it won’t leave a sour taste in our mouths.
1. Death and misfortune doesn’t do cherry picking.
The misfortunes of Tywin Lannister , Eddard Stark, the Stark siblings and even the cutting of Jaime’s arm proves that the future is uncertain for everyone. Happening even in the most unlikely time and place, like Tywin killed by his own son in a bathroom while taking a poop. In the world of digital marketing, the word “uncertain” is a cliche. We always say that to ourselves and to our clients, well because it’s the tiring truth. Even with such perfectly trimmed steps and strategies in our campaigns, not everything goes as planned. So, having an open mind to these types of situations would give us a window of hope, learning and grace to move on.
2. Don’t take small things for granted.
Consider Tyrion Lannister, Bran Stark and Arya Stark. These characters were looked down upon due to their size, height and young age. But as the series progresses, their wits, courage and brains held them high on the round table beating their more mature and taller characters, almost as if they will be controlling the future events of the 7 kingdoms. Does digital marketing have small things? Ofcourse it does. Alot. Small tasks that would make or break a campaign like simple SEO audits, right keywords, and even internal linking. With all the fuss about digital SEO and social media, we sometimes develop tunnel vision and take small things for granted.
3. Big fish eats the small fish. Not all the time.
When GOT started little did we know that the powerful characters would fall and the small ones get to call the shots. Varys (The Eunuch) and Petyr Baelish took the word “strategy” so passionately and patiently that they can now pull the strings. In digital marketing, bigger brands do get the attention and love, to the point that any SEO agency would love working with them because well, they are already known. Not much work to do. What digital marketers should learn is that, even the small fish can make a big impact. With the right strategy and patience, making these small to medium brands take a bite at the larger piece of the pie would give any marketer a proud smirk on their face.
4. What goes around comes around.
The death of Joffrey Baratheon. Pun intended. The world celebrated with much satisfaction when his life came to an end. What does this pun teach all digital marketers? Karma. Think about all those sniveling black hat techniques. If you are still in the business of empty promises to clients then better wake up soon as the pun will always find a way to catch up with you. Obviously, this lesson doesn’t need a lot of explanation.
5. “A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep it’s edge.”
Let’s finish this list with Tyrion Lannister’s famous line. Unlike his brother Jaime who has the looks and normal body structure, Tyrion will always be an imp in the eyes of many. Instead of drowning in self pity, he used the power of knowledge to get around his stature. Newbie, famous, somewhere in the middle type of digital marketer, in house or even working in an SEO agency, keeping up with the industry is definitely a lesson we all should learn from Tyrion. With all the algorithms changing every now and then and trends shift so fast, winter will always be coming in digital marketing. To keep our edge, it does pay to read, and read, and learn from those before us.
