Hi there! Matt here, with your weekly missive from MessageUp.
Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of attending a reception with U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón, who also read from her latest work, The Hurting Kind.
I’m not a regular reader of poetry, although my dad enjoyed writing poems and I did have one published while in high school. So, color me skeptical before my encounter with the country’s ambassador for the form.
That color changed quickly.
It began to shift when, over a pre-event cocktail, I met both the Texas Poet Laureate, Lupe Mendez, and the colorful, hilarious Houston Poet Laureate, Emanuelee Bean.
And it was obliterated when Houston’s newly appointed Youth Poet Laureate, Ariana Lee, took to the stage and gave a jaw-dropping performance.
Ada Limón had yet to leave her seat, except to join the standing ovation for Miss Lee.
Then we were treated to ten examples of Ada’s work, interspersed by witty asides and candid—often emotional—commentary on when and why a particular poem was written.
By the time University of Houston professor, Roberto Tejada, stepped up to lead a fireside chat, the entire room was spellbound. And yet, he coaxed even more insights and wit from our illustrious guest.
Her closing remarks were a legitimate mic drop. She pointed out that people who hear a song they dislike don’t switch it off and say they hate music. So why, she asked, are people so reluctant to explore poetry in search of the kind they like? In her indisputable opinion, poetry isn’t just for professionals or academics. There’s a poem for every person and every situation.
This made me think about the power of the written word more broadly, as well as the narrower application of that power to my current focus area: content marketing.
I’m not suggesting you start writing B2B poems or worry about the rhythm and meter of your next LinkedIn post. But you should definitely produce a piece of content for every member of your target audience, in whatever situation they find themselves amid their buyer’s journey.
The first product of my cogitating is this week’s decidedly prosaic post on The Framework blog, 11 Critical Tasks Content Marketing Can Accomplish for Your B2B Business.
Look for a deeper reflection on the power of words in future posts, once my head has stopped spinning.
In this week’s What We’ve Been Reading compilation, you’ll find links to four well-written pieces. They cover B2B stats every marketing pro should know, privacy questions every B2B marketing pro should ask, how to write a strategically valuable listicle, and how content marketers are putting the brand in branded content.
That last piece, which explains how companies are managing to increase brand mentions without driving away readers, includes a really useful chart explaining when and how to use different types of branded content.
And finally, as much as I wanted to tie this edition’s One Step actionable tip into writing poems, I decided to lean in on another feature of Ada Limón’s work: her ability to describe the quotidian things of everyday life in ways that render them noteworthy and remarkable.
And with that, I’ll give the creative half of my brain a chance to rest and wish you a productive and beautifully worded week. See you next Wednesday!
Cheers,
~ Matt
o/b/o/ Team MessageUp
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My books—Content Marketing: Mission Critical, aimed at CEOs, and Content Marketing: Making the Magic Happen, for B2B marketing leaders—are almost ready for publication!
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Our Latest Posts on The Framework Blog
Mar 08, 2023 - 11 Critical Tasks Content Marketing Can Accomplish for Your B2B Business
Mar 01, 2023 - The Six Defining Characteristics of the B2B Content Marketing River
What We’ve Been Reading
Here are some articles we’ve been reading this week that we hope you will enjoy and find valuable:
Top B2B Statistics Every Sales and Marketing Pro Should Know in 2023
Jennifer James has compiled a handy list of high-level B2B marketing stats that can come in very handy when explaining what you do—and why—to fellow leaders and other stakeholders. Be sure to click through to the linked source before citing a stat anywhere critical, since context is always important.
5 Privacy Questions That Every B2B Marketer Should Ask
The topic of data security lies outside our primary area of interest but is of critical importance to anyone working in the digital domain. Karie Burt, Chief Data and Privacy Officer at Anteriad, provides a summary and some helpful prompts in this piece for Demand Gen Report.
What is a Listicle? How to Write One For Content Strategy Value
You probably know what a listicle is, but do you think it can deliver value? As Sudipto Paul writes for G2, there are many low-quality listicles on the internet but that doesn't mean all listicles are bad. He shares some tips on when and where to use listicles for strategic good.
2023 Trend: Content Marketers are Putting the Brand in Branded Content
While mentioning your company and its solutions too frequently can make your content seem salesy and cause readers to bounce, there are ways (and good reasons) to include your brand in high-quality, engaging content. This article by Tom Needham, executive director at The Business Journals' content studio, shares his learnings from editing thousands of pieces of B2B content—including a helpful chart that explains when to use which type of branded content.
One Step…
Ready to write a poem about your favorite product features?
While that might indeed be a distinctive way of grabbing your audience’s attention—so go right ahead, if you can pull it off in an authentic manner—it’s probably not going to work for most B2B brands.
Instead, let’s borrow a different page from Ada Limón’s playbook: her ability to describe everyday things in ways that make them noteworthy and remarkable.
This is a talent she has honed throughout her life, beginning when she was a child observing coyotes, snakes, trees, and birds around her childhood home.
You’re also immersed in everyday things, including the seemingly mundane aspects of the industry you service, the solutions you provide, and the challenges they solve.
Here’s today’s first step:
What aspect(s) of your industry, solution(s), and the challenge(s) they solve seem boring to the outside world but are fascinating to an expert in the field?
Your content isn’t written for everyone. It’s written for an audience that’s interested in precisely that industry and those challenges. In many cases, it will be an expert audience.
So, write about those mundane aspects as seen through expert eyes, in all their glory.
Get into the weeds, explore the minutiae, lament the nuanced differences between mediocre solutions, and delight in the elegant ways you’ve made progress.
Content that’s written by experts for experts is impactful and helps to establish your domain authority and, if it’s sufficiently original, thought leadership.
Quotidian. Your word for the day. Use it wisely.
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