HBO’s new show, Silicon Valley is not just a hilarious comedy; it also has profound insights for digital marketers. From its early success to the importance of practicing what you preach, this 10-lesson guide will help take your skills from amateur to pro. Silicon Valley is a satirical comedy show that has been on the air since 2014. It’s about the tech industry and how it’s changing our society. The show has ten lessons digital marketers can learn from HBO’s Silicon Valley. Do you like binge-watching TV shows? It’s not something I do regularly. Almost seldom, in fact. But, yes, it’s something I’ve done before. It’s one of life’s basic joys for me. Now and then, I’ll come across a series that is really “binge-worthy.” It can drive you insane, mainly if you spend most of the night glued to the television. But it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Silicon Valley, an HBO series, is one of the most binge-worthy. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, it follows a group of young IT entrepreneurs as they build a company named Pied Piper. Along the process, the program tracks their accomplishments and mistakes.
It’s hilarious and ideal whether you’re interested in starting a business or just like geeking out on technology. However, I believe the play has some valuable lessons for digital marketers. After all, although being a comedy series with some bizarre events, it has a lot of reality. I’ve spent a lot of time in Silicon Valley, so I’m familiar with the events shown in the program. The show is authentic. Even a comedy like this may teach you something useful, whether you’ve been doing it for years or are brand new to it.
Some things we can learn from HBO’s Silicon Valley:
1. Flexibility is a significant plus.
You’ve undoubtedly heard that eight out of every ten companies fail within the first 18 months. While this statistic is controversial (the US Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that half of all new enterprises survive their fifth year and one-third stay to their tenth), many businesses fail. However, if you’re adaptable and agile, you can adjust your strategy to account for changes and unforeseen curveballs along the road. For example, the team’s first concept was to build a music app for composers to verify they weren’t violating any copyrights. However, after receiving comments, they rapidly understood that this plan was doomed to fail. So what exactly did they do? They used a different strategy and created a “compression cloud” solution, considerably expanding their demography.
Adaptability in business is crucial in real life, just as it is in the program. It’s not always about who’s the brightest or has the most money. Success may often go to those who are best at adapting to change and making the required changes. If it’s evident that a specific digital marketing strategy isn’t producing the desired results, you may need to shift course.
2. Don’t create enemies or destroy bridges.
Erlich Bachman is a witty individual. However, he can be pretty obnoxious at times.
He has a horrible tendency of pissing off venture capital companies, resulting in missed possibilities for investment. You certainly don’t want to do that as a company owner or marketer. Relationships are significant. Your connections (or lack thereof) may make or destroy you in many circumstances. Please don’t take anything for granted with them. Even if you don’t always agree with everyone, try to maintain a professional demeanor. Don’t criticize your coworkers’ ideas, even if they’re terrible. Instead, keep a level of decency.
3. Don’t forget about the laws.
We live in a society where lawsuits are a way of life. Silicon Valley has it both on-screen and in real life. There’s this man, thankfully:
He’s a jerk, but he understands how to protect the company from being taken advantage of by attorneys. It’s a good thing, too, since “each year, nearly 100 million lawsuits are filed in US state courts.” In Silicon Valley, the law is a frequent issue, particularly regarding intellectual property. When it comes to digital marketing, you’ll want to have a rudimentary understanding of branding and trademark law to ensure you’re not infringing on anyone’s brand identification. For additional information, see this resource from Branding Strategy Insider.
4. Be wary of obnoxious publicity.
“Any publicity is good publicity,” as the saying goes. This isn’t always the case, however. As a result, Erlich attempts to manufacture notoriety for himself and Pied Piper shamelessly.
He squanders large sums of money in the process, almost bankrupting the firm. The lesson is to be cautious about how your brand is portrayed and who you choose to partner with. And, let’s face it. It’s not challenging to smear your company’s reputation. A few unpleasant remarks on review sites and social media may soon send the walls crashing down. Even though you can’t completely control how the public views your business, try to avoid rash PR stunts that may end up doing more damage than good.
5. Creating a brand is a lengthy process.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as an entrepreneur, it’s that patience is a great asset. Instant gratification has become the norm in today’s microwave society. When they don’t see immediate results, many marketers get irritated and disillusioned. When it comes to branding, however, this is not the case. It will take some time. It might take a long time for any apparent benefits to appear. Before Pied Piper became a household brand in Silicon Valley, the crew went through many ups and downs.
So, keeping the course is a significant part of making it. You must have the mental strength to keep pushing forward and take things one step at a time. But the snowball effect, in which a brand becomes larger and larger over time, is something I like about branding.
While your brand equity may be negligible at first, it will continue to increase to the point of explosion. When things seem grim, and you’re tempted to quit up, remembering that branding is a process that takes time can keep you going.
6. Be open to making errors.
This remark from Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek is one of my favorites: You’re not working on complex issues if you don’t make errors. And it is a colossal blunder. This implies that making errors is an unavoidable aspect of learning. I’ve learned not to be too hard on myself if I make a mistake or even make a foolish error. I put it up to the passage of time. People make errors all the time in Silicon Valley, but they constantly fight to overcome them. You’ll almost certainly make a lot of blunders in digital marketing. I’m sure I did (and still do). However, as long as you learn from your errors and use what you’ve learned to grow, you should be OK.
7. Aim for a good work-life balance.
It’s all well and good to work hard and have a strong work ethic.
It shouldn’t, however, come at the expense of your happiness. Because I have workaholic inclinations, I am all too aware of this. Richard tells his doctor that he’s been suffering night sweats due to stress in the play. According to the doctor, this may be a forerunner to bedwetting, which is never a healthy thing. It’s incredibly humiliating.
Allowing yourself to get overwhelmed with your marketing operations is a bad idea. Instead, strive for a good work/life balance and take time to replenish your batteries. This will make your marketing more successful, and you won’t have to worry about being a bedwetting grownup.
8. Keep your gaze fixed on the prize.
In business and marketing, it’s simple to become sidetracked. There are constantly fresh approaches and tactics to divert your attention away from what you’re excellent at and what’s working. For example, the team is compelled to work on a non-core product at one point throughout the program, which proves to be a big distraction. As a result, they hit a stumbling block on their way to success. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try new things, but you should emphasize your skills and keep the end aim in mind.
9. The most important factor is quality.
Gavin Belson, the CEO of a competitive firm, gives a presentation on his company’s new product, Nucleus, which turns out to be a terrible catastrophe.
This serves as a constant reminder that quality should always come first. It would be best to devote enough time and effort to guarantee that your audience has the most satisfactory possible experience. It’s best to prioritize quality over quantity when writing blog material or to execute a social media campaign. Taking short routes is never a good idea.
10. Make the best hiring possible.
If you’re putting together a marketing team, you need to do it correctly. Don’t hire someone haphazardly without confirming they have the skills to fit into the company culture. Terrible hiring may ruin your mood and put a stop to your efforts. In the long term, this may lower morale and undermine team dynamics. I recommend reading this Wired article for recruiting and building an excellent team.
Conclusion
Although Silicon Valley is a comedy, there are numerous lessons about digital marketing and business in general. I believe this play has a great deal of insight. Silicon Valley lessons may help you become a better digital marketer in a variety of ways, whether it’s learning to adapt to an ever-changing marketing landscape, learning from your failures, or just not being a douchebag.
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- pied piper silicon valley
- silicon valley characters