Most media companies operate on creative instinct. A more effective model is to treat content and audience growth like a financial portfolio, obsessing over data to predict outcomes and drive decisions. This brings quantitative discipline to a traditionally qualitative field.

Related Insights

A successful content mix isn't random. ClickUp uses a formula: A) Recreate your proven hits. B) Adapt what's working for others. C) Jump on relevant trends. D) Experiment with unconventional ideas. The goal is to turn "D" experiments into new "A" hits, ensuring a constantly evolving strategy.

Instead of brainstorming subjectively and then seeking data to support a favorite idea, start with audience insights. Analyzing what content people already engage with defines the creative sandbox, leading to more effective campaigns from the outset and avoiding resource-draining failures.

With engineer CEOs leading 9 of the top 10 global companies, the C-suite increasingly values analytical rigor. Marketers must evolve beyond gut-feel by embracing a hypothesis-driven, systems-thinking approach. This not only improves decision-making but also enhances communication and credibility with analytically-minded leadership.

Don't just show creatives a summary report from the marketing team. Giving designers, copywriters, and video editors raw access to performance data allows them to spot non-obvious patterns and make intuitive leaps that analytical minds might miss, leading to better creative.

Stop treating content as a purely artistic endeavor. The most successful creators apply rigorous scientific testing and investment to creative elements like thumbnails. They understand 'the science of the art,' using data to ensure creative work performs, rather than relying on trends or intuition.

Financial transactions will be deeply embedded into all forms of media, from news articles to live sports and podcasts. This transforms media from a channel for commentary *about* markets into the primary interface for participating *in* markets, creating a powerful new user engagement and monetization model for content platforms.

Instead of focusing on post quantity, measure content success by the North Star metric of "views achieved," both in aggregate and per post. A single high-performing video that generates millions of views is far more valuable than numerous low-engagement posts, clarifying the quality versus quantity debate.

While a performance dashboard is important, a data-driven culture bakes analytics into every step of the marketing system. Data should inform foundational decisions like defining the ideal client profile and core messaging, not just measure the results of campaigns.

Shift the mindset from a brand vs. performance dichotomy. All marketing should be measured for performance. For brand initiatives, use metrics like branded search volume per dollar spent to quantify impact and tie "fluffy" activities to tangible growth outcomes.

Diller asserts that in creative fields like media, relying on data for big decisions is a trap. Leaders use it to seek comfort and avoid the insecurity inherent in relying on instinct. This creates a "delusion" of safety, allowing them to blame numbers for failure instead of taking responsibility for their own judgment.