e Tips for B2B marketing that won’t bore your audience //
Every episode of the The Best Story Wins Podcast, we talk to marketing industry leaders in order to find out their best tips for b2b marketers and how they connect with their audience. Launch Darkly CMO Keith Messick loves a good conversation and hates boring B2B marketing.
He reminded us in the pod that one of the biggest misconceptions about B2B is the idea that it’s not emotional. This couldn’t possibly be more false. In B2B, there are many emotional drivers for buying decisions: to be better at work, to further your career, please your boss and others. Many B2B marketing campaigns treat their audience like robots. They produce generic content, which is safe, but rarely effective.
Messick believes that there will be a bigger shift in B2B, as people are not only expecting but also clamoring for B2B marketing that mirrors B2C, with all of the creativity, fun and emotional messaging that comes along with it. What does this mean? It’s time to add a little fun to your B2B Marketing if you want to stay ahead of the game. Messick has been kind enough to offer three of his top tips.
3 B2B marketing tips to make engaging content
Try these tips for capturing your audience’s interest and keeping them interested.
Use humor.
It is difficult to use humor because it’s subjective. But it can also be a great way to engage B2B marketers and make them stand out. Many brands use techspeak or are too stuffy (especially for SaaS). Audiences are prone to tuning out. Leaping with humor is an excellent way to cut through all the noise and connect with your audience.
Messick suggests that inside jokes can be very effective. Demonstrating empathy can help you prove you understand them. This type of joke also makes your audience feel as if they are a part of an exclusive community. Think of the common frustrations or problems that your audience has, and then find ways to create memes or entertaining content.
Want to be different from the competition? Content marketing can be creative and fun.
We personally dislike marketing jargon, but it is common in our industry. As a joke, we made the Marketing Gibberish Generator to help the next social-guru-rockstar-ninja BS their way through their next meeting.
You can also make B2B Marketing less boring by zigging where others zag. Consider the boring or uninspiring practices and approaches that are common in your industry. Then, think about creative ways to change them.
Messick, for example, is tired of the standard customer testimonials because they tend to sound and look the same. His team is working on revamping their videos to be more unscripted, more natural, even if this includes some bloopers.
Tip: If you are brainstorming new content, imagine the generic version you would see in your industry. What is it like? What is its sound? What is the information? Think about the different ways you can make your document stand out.
Crowdstrike’s City of Las Vegas Case Study is reminiscent of the opening of an action thriller movie.
Check out 15 B2B videos to get you inspired.
3) Make the things you do more fun than they really need to be.
Add a little flair or do something unexpected to make your content more interesting (and show off your brand personality). Messick’s favorite thing to do is to make things more fun than they should be.
You could, for example, create a quiz or game that tests the knowledge of your audience about your industry. Create a parody video of a popular movie or TV show to help explain a complicated concept. You can capture the attention of your audience by being creative and pushing boundaries.
Tip: The more mundane content in marketing is often ignored (e.g. the CTA or the confirmation email for the newsletter, etc.). Find ways to inject some personality into your emails and you will improve the customer experience. Start with our writing tips for copy that will emotionally engage your audience.
It is especially wise to do this in industries which rely on a safe or straight-forward message (think of cybersecurity). Your audience will pay attention when you turn boring messaging into something fun and exciting.
We helped Dialpad create a humorous promo video that featured a number of robots “auditioning for the new gig” when they announced their AI voice platform. This was a much more entertaining and engaging approach than a typical tech promo video.
Keep your content interesting
B2B marketing evolves constantly, so you have the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and develop stronger relationships. Here are some more tips to ensure that your content is relevant.
- Use your personality to make your brand stand out. This includes your tweets.
- Find inspiration from the professionals. It’s difficult to be inspired when your product isn’t very exciting. See how these brands turned boring products into killer advertising.
- Experiment more. Try experimenting with your content formats. You can also try out a different design style or tweet a fun tip thread. You’ll discover what resonates with your audience the more you interact with them.
Stay up to date with the latest marketing trends and tips. Listen to the Best Story Wins Podcast, where industry experts will show you how you can win marketing. Check out our entire resources library to find templates, tools and tips that will help you be more productive. The more open-minded, educated and flexible you are, then the easier it will be to succeed in marketing.
Listen to Keith Messick’s episode for more marketing tips.
The post How to make B2B marketing that doesn’t bore your audience first appeared on Colum Five.
