The Work Nightmare That Taught Me Everything About Clear Marketing

I had a work anxiety dream last night. Not the kind where you are in the weeds at the restaurant and the orders don’t stop flooding in, or the high school test you bombed. No, mine was far more insidious: a perfectly normal conference call that made absolutely no sense. And to know me IRL is to know that I often have the most memorable, intense, life-like dreams (in color) and with sound (ironically). I once had a dream I was running away from an orangutan wearing an Orange-U-Tan t-shirt 🤣 (while some of my dreams make little sense, more often than not I can contribute a twisted perception of something that actually mirrors reality, just in a warped dream.)

The Dream (or Nightmare)

I'm on a four-way conference call—voice only, no video. First red flag, honestly, since my iPhone captions routinely fail on voice calls and I've learned to avoid them. But dream-me didn't question it. Real me is using it as evidence to continue requesting video meeting!

On the call: a brand client, The Social Question (my company), and two other research firms. We're discussing a proposal I'd sent back in Q4. It's now Q1, and they've finally decided to move forward.

I've done everything right: screen-shared the proposal in our initial meeting, walked through the methodology step by step, confirmed it met their research objectives, answered their questions. All the things you do when you're pitching your business and trying to win work. It actually looked a lot like this case study we did for Mayflower linked here.

The research topic? Using AI to shop for clothing online. Perfect for social listening—people are constantly talking about online shopping experiences, AI tools, fit issues, returns, all of it. This is exactly the kind of organic conversation happening at scale on social media right now.

But as I start re-explaining what The Social Question does—our Content Connections methodology, how we partner with influencers, how we combine social listening with community engagement—the team cuts me off.

They're adamant: they don't want to do any social listening on this topic.

Okay, fair enough. I ask what methodology they're planning to use instead.

Their answer, delivered with complete confidence: "A Google Group."

A Google Group. With wide participation across geos and demographics, they add, as if that clarifies everything.

That's when I forced myself to wake up at 5am.

Why This Was a Nightmare

Here's the thing: a Google Group is not a research methodology.

A Google Group is a platform. A tool. A place where people can have conversations. But it's not, in itself, a research design. It's like saying "we're going to do research using email" or "our methodology is Microsoft Teams."

You can use a Google Group to facilitate research—maybe you're running an online community study, or conducting asynchronous focus groups, or collecting diary entries from participants. But "Google Group" isn't the methodology. The methodology is what you're doing with the Google Group.

Even in my dream state, this distinction jolted me awake. Because if a client thinks "Google Group" is a research methodology, we have a much bigger communication problem than I realized. I remember in my dream I cleared my throat and said something along the lines “I wanted to make sure I heard you write, remember I wear hearing aids, did you say…” 😳

The Real Anxiety This Dream Revealed

I've been running The Social Question for enough years that I should be past the "nobody understands what we do" phase. We have a track record. We have case studies. We have a clear process.

And yet.

This dream—anxiety dream, work nightmare, whatever you want to call it—revealed something true: a lot of people still don't understand what The Social Question actually does. That’s when I made the connection - I had a call with someone earlier this week talking about the elevator pitch for TSQ and our ScribeQ technology. It’s still too long winded and makes little sense to new-to-me people, researcher or otherwise.

Not because our work is confusing. Not because social media research is too novel to grasp. But because I haven't been clear enough, simple enough, or repetitive enough in my marketing and positioning.

If I'm having literal anxiety dreams about clients confusing platforms with methodologies and dismissing social listening for topics that are perfect for social media research and influencer community insights, that's my subconscious telling me: your marketing needs work.

What Confused Marketing Looks Like

After I woke up and stayed up (literally at 5am, naturally, because work anxiety doesn't respect sleep schedules), I started thinking about all the ways businesses—including mine—fail to communicate clearly:

1. We Explain the "How" Before the "What"

I talk about Content Connections, influencer partnerships, social listening, Reddit analysis, co-creation sessions... but do I lead with the simple answer to "what problem do we solve"?

Not consistently enough.

2. We Assume Knowledge We Shouldn't Assume

I assume people understand the difference between a platform (Instagram, Google Groups, Zoom) and a methodology (ethnography, sentiment analysis, survey research). That assumption creates confusion.

My dream clients genuinely thought "Google Group" was an adequate answer to "what's your research approach." That's not their failure—that's mine, for not clarifying the language and frameworks.

3. We Bury the Lead

The Social Question brings authentic consumer voices into research by meeting people where they already are: in their social media communities, following creators they trust, having organic conversations.

That's it. That's what we do.

Everything else—the specific platforms, the creator partnerships, the hybrid methodologies—is just how we do it. But I often explain the "how" first and assume people will infer the "what."

4. We Forget That People Need to Hear Things Multiple Times

I sent a detailed proposal in Q4 (even in my dream, I'm organized). I screen-shared it. I explained it. I answered questions.

And by Q1, they'd forgotten or misunderstood fundamental aspects of it.

That's not a criticism of them—that's reality. People are busy. They're evaluating multiple vendors. They're not thinking about your methodology between conversations the way you are.

If your marketing and positioning aren't crystal clear and constantly reinforced, confusion is inevitable.

The "Google Groups" Moment in Every Business

Here's what I realized: every business has their version of the "Google Groups" moment.

It's the moment you realize that what seems obvious to you—the fundamental nature of your work, the clear distinctions between one approach and another, the basic vocabulary of your field—is not obvious to your clients or customers.

For me, it's the difference between platforms and methodologies. For you, it might be:

• The difference between strategy and tactics

• Why your service costs what it costs

• What's included in your scope versus what's an add-on

• Why you do things a certain way instead of the "easier" way

Your potential clients aren't stupid. They're just not living inside your business the way you are. And if your marketing doesn't account for that gap, you'll keep having metaphorical "Google Groups" conversations where you think you're aligned and you're absolutely not.

What I'm Changing (And What You Should Too)

This anxiety dream was actually a gift. It forced me to confront the gap between what I think I'm communicating and what people are actually hearing.

Here's what I'm doing about it:

1. Leading With the Problem We Solve

Not the methodology. Not the platforms. The problem.

Brands need authentic consumer insights, but traditional research is slow and social media data is overwhelming. We solve that by bringing structure and community connection to social research and only partner with vetted influencers and creators.

That's it. Everything else is details.

2. Creating a Clear Framework

I'm building a simple visual that shows:

• Platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit) ≠ Methodologies (Content Connections, social listening, co-creation)

• What we do (connect brands with existing authentic community voices) vs. How we do it (influencer partnerships, hybrid research design)

Clarity requires frameworks. Frameworks require visuals. I'm building them.

3. Repeating Ourselves (A Lot)

If a client has been in conversation with us for three months and still isn't clear on what we do, that's on me to repeat, reinforce, and clarify.

Nobody gets mad at clear communication. They get frustrated by confusion.

4. Testing Our Messaging

I'm going to start asking some current prospects: "In your own words, what does The Social Question do?"

Their answers will tell me exactly where my marketing is failing.

I will also start leading my LinkedIn outreach messages with something along the lines of: “Your team is already investing in influencer partnerships. What if those relationships could pull double duty—driving both your marketing AND your research?”

The Broader Lesson

If you're a small business owner, consultant, or service provider, you've probably had your own version of this dream. The nightmare where you realize you've been explaining yourself for months and people still don't get it.

That's not because your work is too complex. It's because clear marketing is really, really hard.

You're too close to your own business. You speak in industry jargon without realizing it. You assume knowledge that isn't there. You explain the details before you've established the foundation.

And then you have anxiety dreams about conference calls where someone earnestly suggests "a Google Group" as if that's a research methodology.

So here's my challenge to you (and to myself): Audit your marketing like a stranger is reading it.

• Do you lead with the problem you solve or the process you use?

• Are you confusing platforms with methodologies, tactics with strategies, features with benefits?

• Would someone who's never heard of you understand what you do from your first sentence?

• Have you repeated your core message enough times that even distracted, busy decision-makers will remember it?

If the answer to any of these is "no" or "I'm not sure," then you—like me—have work to do.

Back to Reality (and Better Marketing)

I'm grateful for the work nightmare. It was my subconscious screaming: "Your marketing needs to be clearer!"

And it was right.

So I'm going back to basics. Simplifying. Clarifying. Repeating. Testing whether people actually understand what The Social Question does before I assume they do.

Because at the end of the day, having great methodology means nothing if people think you're just setting up a Google Group.

And I promise you: we do more than that.