Hey! Happy Wednesday! Matt here from MessageUp.
I couldn’t resist using the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference for this week’s title. After all, it’s the only time we’ll issue edition “42”. The bigger question is: Should I sprinkle more of Douglas Adams’ British humor throughout this newsletter, potentially alienating most of its readers?
Since that doesn’t sound like a winning formula, I’ll content myself by including a couple more quotes from the Hitchhiker’s Guide in between the sections, since (here’s one of them) “I’d far rather be happy than right any day.”
Speaking of being right (or not), I chose an arguably even more risky formula for this week’s post on The Framework blog. Namely, Five Things Smart CEOs Get Wrong About B2B Content Marketing. Not that there’s anything intrinsically wrong with helping leaders see the errors in their thinking. It’s just that many CEOs aren’t famous for admitting fallibility, let alone that they’ve completely misjudged something. Hopefully the CEOs on this mailing list will take the feedback in the positive way it was intended…
Why pick a fight with the bear? Well, many companies are failing to embrace content marketing and implement it effectively because the person at the top is harboring one or more of the misconceptions I describe. Unless we can change a few of those minds, the businesses they lead are facing an uphill battle to grow in today’s digital-first world.
On the bright side, I’m pleased to say that my two new books on B2B content marketing are only a couple of months away from publication, and the first—Content Marketing: Mission Critical—is specifically aimed at CEOs. The second—Content Marketing: Making the Magic Happen—is for B2B marketing leaders tasked with operationalizing their company’s content marketing strategy. I’ll be providing regular updates in these newsletters but if you’d like to be one of the first to know when the books are ready for pre-order (and receive a special discount in gratitude for your interest), click the button below to join the list.
This week’s selection of relevant information from around the web includes a piece on making B2B marketing more interesting for buyers, as well as articles on PR’s contribution to B2B lead gen, some noteworthy B2B blog examples, and how to use context to help buyers avoid rabbit holes. Scroll down to What We’ve Been Reading to find short summaries and the links.
Below that, our One Step actionable tip leans into the CEO understanding issue a bit further, offering a set of questions you can use to gauge your leader’s situation and the potential roadblocks it might cause. If you are the CEO, try asking the questions about yourself to see where you might be getting in the way of greater content marketing success at your organization.
With that, I’ll wish you a safe and productive week, and look forward to seeing you back here next Wednesday for our first newsletter in March!
Cheers,
~ Matt
o/b/o Team MessageUp
Our Latest Posts on The Framework Blog
Feb 22, 2023 - Five Things Smart CEOs Get Wrong About B2B Content Marketing
Feb 15, 2023 - Avoid B2B Content Marketing Hacks and Learn to Help Instead
“The ships hung in the sky much the same way that bricks don’t.”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
What We’ve Been Reading
Here are some articles we’ve been reading this week that we hope you will enjoy and find valuable:
How to Make B2B Marketing Interesting and Engaging for Buyers in 2023
Gamification is big business, and B2B marketers can take advantage. Julie Lundfold at Playable points out that every B2B buyer is also a consumer, who—when given a chance—loves to play a game. The key is figuring out what playable experience is relevant to your target audience.
PR “Contributing to 74% of New B2B Business Leads” According to UK Study
Reporting on research conducted in the UK by Champion Communications, Martech Insights emphasizes the disconnect between how impactful marketing decision-makers claim PR to be and the number of B2B companies that don't use PR as a sales enablement tool. We’ll take the percentage of leads with a grain of salt (Champion Comms is a PR agency, after all) but the need for B2B firms to take PR seriously is real.
Get Inspired by These Noteworthy B2B Blog Examples
Although Natalie Bispham's examples are all drawn from mega-corporations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoom, and Slack) her piece for Brafton does provide useful guidance on the importance of blogging for B2B companies and how to make your blog stand out.
Use Context to Help B2B Buyers Bypass the Solution “Rabbit Hole”
What B2B buyers go through when researching a complex problem is like diving into a rabbit hole. The information can be overwhelming, making it hard to sort through the noise to find the “carrots.” Ardath Albee at Customer Think recommends creating buyer-driven experiences based on context to help prospects avoid the rabbit hole, making their experience with you informative rather than overwhelming.
“Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
One Step…
To help you detect, mitigate, or even avoid the CEO misunderstandings explored in this week’s blog post, here are 6 questions you can use to gauge your leader’s situation and the potential roadblocks it might cause. I’ve included tips alongside each question for interpreting some possible answers.
If you are the CEO, ask yourself the questions and think about where you might be getting in the way of greater content marketing success at your organization.
How does your organization attract and engage new prospects?
Old answer: Outbound sales.
New answer: Content marketing is the only way to reach digital native buyers who prefer to research and evaluate solutions without revealing themselves to vendors.
What level of priority does marketing take in your organization, relative to sales and other key disciplines?
Old answer: Marketing usually reports to sales, since it is primarily a sales enablement function.
New answer: Marketing should have a seat at the top table, at least equal in status to sales, since content marketing (in particular) is mission critical.
Who makes content marketing happen?
Old answer: Marketing takes care of it.
New answer: Effective content marketing requires contributions from across the company, so it’s a team effort. Marketing can’t make it happen on their own.
How much do you expect to invest in content marketing, and for how long?
Old answer: Not much. It’s a straightforward subset of marketing and should do its thing in 3-6 months.
New answer: It’s a major effort, requiring 12-18 months of concerted effort, and costing upwards of 10% of our target revenue.
Is your organization big enough to take on content marketing?
Old answer: Content marketing is something only big organizations do.
New answer: We have no choice, since content marketing is mission critical for any B2B company that wants to grow. The key will be budgeting appropriately for the time and effort it will require.
What is your CEO’s role in making effective content marketing happen?
Old answer: Sets high-level vision, then cuts marketing loose to make it happen.
New answer: Helps set the strategy, then champions the effort to ensure it gets sufficient priority and that the marketing team has access to the resources needed to make it effective.
If you’re struggling to answer these questions, or to get your CEO to buy into the need for change, drop me a line. I’m here to help.
“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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