There is such a thing, and it can cost you!
Copywriters, Content Strategists, and Digital Marketing agencies may think that ISO isn't really their concern. After all, copywriters, content writers and digital marketing agencies don't produce anything physical in the traditional sense. So what risk do they pose? Who could they harm?
ISO Standards Affect Every of Our Lives
There are hundreds of ISO standards that cover a wide range of products and services. Medical devices, insurance policies and even shoe sizes and wine glasses have ISO standardization. They make certain, within parameters or tolerances, that the information provided by the manufacturer is accurate and reliable.
ISO standards establish guidelines that products, production methods, and services are safe and consistent and produce the same results every time. ISO regulations are important in medical devices to provide consistent and accurate results. For instance, ISO standards provide necessary details and procedures to provide consistent results in the way scales are calibrated. In this way, 73 degrees is 73 degrees by any device that is ISO certified throughout the world.
Do not remove under penalty of law
Remember the jokes about tearing off the mattress or pillow label and what would happen to you? That's ISO. If you've ever seen the tags, labels, or imprint with a quality control number on a product, you can thank ISO. These quality control measures are helpful both to the consumer and the manufacturer in deciding what products should be recalled if an issue ever arises. ISO compliance used in internal auditing can help a business in crisis by pinpointing the source of an issue through internal audits of processes and records that keep track of information.
What is ISO Anyway?
ISO is an acronym for International Organization for Standardization and is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from more than 160 countries. They are non-governmental and were established to ensure products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality.
ISO is a self-governing organization who understands that it's better for an industry itself to impose its own best practices and standards rather than give governmental bodies a reason to impose codes and laws that regulate business practices. When governments take over, there is a risk of shifting focus to satisfy bureaucrats and fulfill laws, rather than doing what's best for the consumer. This would take control out of the hands of the market and those who use it on a regular basis, and who are closer to the source, and puts decisions in the hands of politicians who are not experts in the field, and are primarily concerned with a need to satisfy a constituency.
We see this today in the cryptocurrency world. Regardless where you stand on the issue, politicians, even well-meaning ones who don't understand how the blockchain works, are inserting themselves in a discussion of a topic about which they don't fully understand. While attempting to sincerely help fix a problem and protect the consumer, they can unintentionally make it worse.
How Does ISO Affect Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing in all its facets - from copywriting and content strategies to advertising, and SEO optimization, isn't typically thought of as an ISO product, but it is. Digital Marketing does have applicable ISO standards. And, if they aren't observed, it can cost a client tens of thousands of dollars in business. It can also cost a digital marketing agency enormous fines and incur expensive lawsuits. An agency can be accused of carelessness, or worse, dishonesty, fraud and deceptive advertising/business practices. These accusations, even if untrue, can cost them their reputation in the industry. Marketing agencies can be questioned as to the way they advertise, or the data they deliver to customers. If they intentionally or unintentionally relay unreliable data, it can land them in hot water. If an agency employs ISO standards, they can point to a reliable and objective agency that will testify to the veracity of their claims.
Make no mistake! Even though ISO is non-governmental, it's very possible to break the law and be fined, put out of business, or even convicted of a crime.
Risk to the Client
At the very heart of the issue is that advertisers and potential clients rely on reliable reporting information: SEO, SEM, SERPS, CTR, CPC to make important decisions. These tools determine advertising search engine rankings, popularity etc which are used to set rates, and determine marketing strategies. Digital marketing agencies also use these tools to obtain new business by boasting competency and effectiveness that deliver results. Agencies set the fees they charge clients willing to pay a premium to those who can demonstrate results based on reliable, empirical data. The SEC has strict standards in advertising and the relaying of information.
Creating a marketing strategy for a client is the beginning of a long process that tells them when, where and how to spend their resources in order to drive and convert traffic to their client's platform. Strategists develop marketing plans which are based on performance, determined by software and tools designed for tracking analytics and data. Copywriters and content marketing are fed data provided by SEM that determines what they write, and how they write it in order to gain the most exposure. Considering the wider economic picture, there can be negative consequences if there aren't universal standards established by the industry itself rather than allowing elected officials and appointed bureaucrats looking for a headline to write regulations that are adopted as law.
ISO Application to Digital Marketing
So how does ISO work? ISO is organized and compartmentalized by markets, and products. ISO 9000 and 9001 serve as the universal basis that provides universal principles and procedures to the entire ISO structure. These can typically be applied to just about any business anywhere in the world. 9000/9001 concerns itself with business practices, quality standards, management processes and procedures, and record-keeping, to name a few. It serves as the outline and structure for a business in order to maintain consistency and accountability. This is important because if something goes wrong, or there is an accusation of inaccurate or deceptive practices, looking at the management structure can help begin to pinpoint the origin of the problem and hopefully offer clues how to deal with it.
ISO 19731 Applies to Digital Marketing
ISO 19731 contains standards of terms, definitions, and service requirements used by professionals who engage in digital and web analytics for market research. It also establishes a limited set of marketing quality controls.
These apply to the use of cookies, page impressions, and site navigation for websites. Others included in 19731: time spent on site, actions of visitors, and who visits websites and from where. It ensures this information is reliable and can be used to competently plan a strategy, allocate funds, or make decisions. It's safe to assume these standards have far-reaching implications economically because advertisers rely on these rankings to determine the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. A more thorough list is can be found on the ISO website.
19731 also applies to social media sites that collect, quantify, qualify, and analyze online comments, and user-generated content such as blogs, forums and comments on news or other sites.
These standards apply to any device connected with the web or who can access digital information on either portable or desktop applications. It can also include POS devices and security systems that often use digital analytics for head-counts and conversions.
ISO Certification vs ISO Compliant
There is a vast difference between ISO Certification and ISO Compliance. ISO Certification requires regular audits of management structures, processes, procedures, products, and record keeping. Certification can be costly because of the fees associated with implementing these processes. This can result in ISO certified products and services costing slightly more. But it assures a certain standard and quality of product or service.
Alternatively, ISO compliance simply means that a manufacturer or service provider self-determines their compliance to the stated ISO Certification Processes and Regulations. There is no outside audit or review. The business or provider is simply saying, we follow the ISO standardization procedures but without an audit that determines the veracity of their claims.
ISO Digital Marketing Standards Protects the Customer
When it comes right down to it, the primary concern is always the customer or end user. The goal of the entire ISO operation is ensuring the product/service consumer receives safe products or reliable information and services. ISO standards are designed to protect everyone, but particularly end-users or customers.
When it comes to marketing, ISO Certification isn't about producing a guaranteed outcome, but providing reliable information on which a client can make informed decisions based on empirical data.
ISO Also Protects the Business!
It would be a mistake to presume that conformity to ISO regulations are an added layer of unnecessary, costly obstacles. The system protects the digital marketing agency from accusations of fraud by unhappy clients. It protects agencies from competitors who might alter their numbers in order to get more business.
ISO Protects the Digital Marketing Industry
ISO Standards protect the digital marketing industry overall. By comparison, because of the FTX downfall, everyone is not just cautious, but suspicious of cryptocurrency. That's understandable. But if a digital marketing agency can boast ISO certification, it helps the particular company and the industry as a whole. It communicates the message that digital marketing is a reliable industry that provides valuable information that can be used to grow sales and strengthen a business's reputation.
ISO Standardization Protects the Economy
No man is an island. John Donne once said. The fall of FTX, individuals like Bernie Madoff, and countless others have demonstrated the implications of not having or following common procedures or standards (not regulation, but standards). We've already seen what misinformation can do to individual investors, businesses, industries, and even an economy. They can wipe out retirements, make the wealthy, poor, and leave hundreds jobless, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It affects market competitors who experience the rippling effects because of newfound hesitancies and suspicions of potential customers.
The Takeaway: How Do You Choose a Digital Marketing Agency?
The takeaway here is that there's a proliferation of digital marketers. It's not easy to choose one, and they can all look the same and promise the same results. The fact is, most agencies all use the same tools. Remember the old joke told by accountants, "what's two plus two?" Whatever you want it to be! ISO standards establish data integrity and processes in order to guarantee the veracity of its claims, and the reliability of their information.
How do you choose the right digital marketing agency? Ask questions. Is their information reliable? Can they substantiate their claims? How is their customer service? Do they keep you informed? Look for a partner in your business, not a vendor.
Basil Damukaitis is chief copywriter and a content marketing strategist with Interstellar Digital and Hubbard Street Marketing. He can be reached at b.damukaitis@interstellardigital.com or basil@hubbardstreetmarketing.com.
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