Joshua Nite

Optimizing ABM with Influencer Marketing at #B2BMX

Joshua Nite on Feb 27th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Account based marketing (ABM) is the hybrid sales/marketing/revenue discipline that is shaking up the status quo for marketers and sales pros alike. There are as many definitions of ABM as there are accounts to target, but I’m partial to this one from LinkedIn’s Megan Golden:

“ABM is a strategy that directs marketing resources to engaging a specific set of target accounts. Instead of casting a wide net with their lead-generation efforts, marketers using ABM work closely with sales to identify key prospects and then tailor customized programs and messages to the buying team within target accounts.” Megan Golden, Group Manager, Global Content & Social Media Marketing, LinkedIn*

Optimizing ABM with Influencer Marketing at #B2BMX

The B2B Marketer’s Journey To Experiential Content at #B2BMX

What makes an experience an…

Full disclosure: I am not on the design team at TopRank Marketing.

But you know what I mean. You’ve eaten dinner at dozens, if not hundreds of restaurants in your lifetime. But there are likely one or two that stick out in your memory. What makes them memorable?

That question drove an intriguing presentation at B2B Marketing Exchange, led by four expert marketers:

Ryan Brown, Ceros
Darius Eslami, Carbon Black
Paige Gildner, Bluecore
Sharon Shapiro, Bluecore

Short answer: What makes experiences different and memorable is if they’re really good… or really bad. Anything in the middle tends to blur together in our recollection. Only the extremes stand out.

The B2B Marketer’s Journey To Experiential Content at #B2BMX

5 Ways to Humanize B2B Content Marketing

Joshua Nite on Feb 13th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

“You’ve really got to put yourself out there. Don’t be too stiff.”

“Be honest and sincere!”

“Be vulnerable and relatable… and it doesn’t hurt if you can make ‘em laugh.”

Is this advice for a middle-aged man trying online dating for the first time? Or is it advice for B2B marketers?

Given the proximity to Valentine’s Day, can’t it be both?

The point is, as good as this advice may be for marketers, it’s as vague as it is omnipresent. We talk about “person-to-person” marketing and “humanizing the brand.” But what does it really mean to humanize a brand?

Yes, these were the original Michelin Tire mascots.

In some cases, apparently, it means high-octane nightmare fuel. So, maybe don’t try and make an adorable mascot for your software-as-a-service solution.

5 Ways to Humanize B2B Content Marketing

What B2B Podcasters Need to Know About SEO

Joshua Nite on Feb 4th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Podcast Marketing, Podcasting

There are few things more satisfying than clicking “Publish” on a shiny new podcast. All the hours of planning and recording are done. You ran down your podcast launch checklist. Now it’s time for the world to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

You can sit back and watch the downloads roll in, right?

Well… it depends on whether people can find your podcast. While the podcast market isn’t oversaturated yet, it’s still a crowded playing field.

Post-launch, your podcast promotion plan will likely include a mix of paid promotion, influencer amplification, and social media marketing to help build your audience. But before you record a second of audio, your organic strategy can help ensure your podcast is found and treasured.

What B2B Podcasters Need to Know About SEO

The Universal Translator: How Marketers Can Improve Communication with Internal Stakeholders

Joshua Nite on Jan 28th, 2020
B2B Marketing

Star Trek is one of my favorite franchises. It’s a beacon to guide humanity to a brighter future: One without wars and scarcity, dedicated to discovery and enlightenment.

(Can you tell I really loved the Picard series premiere?)

(He has a PIT BULL named NUMBER ONE.) Photo Credit: CBS

But the best tech in all of Star Trek isn’t the transporter, the replicator, or even the holodeck. It’s the universal translator, a gizmo that can process language in real-time and convey every nuance and idiom.

We have a similar technology right now, but… well, it could use some work.

“Shivers down my spine” turns into “chicken skin?” That kind of margin of error would cause some serious diplomatic crises in Starfleet.

The Universal Translator: How Marketers Can Improve Communication with Internal Stakeholders

B2B Content Marketing Lessons from 2019’s Nerdy Film & TV Franchise Finales

Joshua Nite on Jan 8th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

2019 may be remembered as the year we reached peak nerd.

When I was growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, nerd culture was still underground, something for weird kids and weirder adults. Now our biggest entertainment franchises are what used to be nerd stuff: High fantasy, epic science fiction, comic book heroe,s and horror movies.

But 2019 was the year that cracks started to show in even the most lucrative franchises. Several high-profile series came to an end — and only one of them really stuck the landing. Let us take solace in the words of Jedi Master Yoda himself:

Marketers can learn a lot from each of the year’s biggest nerdy swan songs.

B2B Content Marketing Lessons from 2019’s Nerdy Film & TV Franchise Finales

What You Can Learn from Competitive Research to Improve B2B Content Marketing Performance

Joshua Nite on Dec 11th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Pablo Picasso famously said: “Good artists borrow; great artists steal.”

Except that he probably didn’t come up with that zinger on his own. It’s been attributed to everyone from Mark Twain to TS Eliot.

Which proves the point: For memorable content, steal what you can and make it your own.

Your content is competing for your buyers’ attention. To make an impression, you have to be more informative, more entertaining, and more engaging than your competitors, both direct and indirect.

We’re not suggesting plagiarism here. We’re encouraging you to get a deep understanding of the landscape by conducting some competitive recon. Here’s how to use competitive research to bolster your B2B content marketing strategy and ultimately improve performance.

What You Can Learn from Competitive Research to Improve B2B Content Marketing Performance

For a More Effective B2B Content Strategy, T.H.I.N.K.

Joshua Nite on Nov 25th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

What would you do with an unlimited content marketing budget?

Oh, the eBooks and infographics and blog posts you could make! Video and audio, whitepapers, research papers, guides galore… endless money means endless possibilities.

Okay. Deep breath. Snap back to reality.

We’re all working with limited resources to create a finite amount of content to fit into a crowded editorial calendar.

So how can you make sure you’re making the most of what you have?

How can you know for sure that a proposed content project is worth your while — worth time spent researching, creating, amplifying and optimizing?

It’s simple: T.H.I.N.K.!

Let me explain. My wife is a middle school teacher (a moment of silence for her service). She has this poster on prominent display in her classroom:

For a More Effective B2B Content Strategy, T.H.I.N.K.

B2B Podcasting: 20 Stats that Make the Marketing Case

Joshua Nite on Nov 21st, 2019
B2B Marketing, Podcast Marketing, Podcasting

Good grief, Josh, why can’t you shut up about B2B podcasting? Does the world really need another think piece, blog post, or webinar about the potential? Don’t people get it already?

I hear you, theoretical reader. And yet, I persevere.

B2B podcasting today is where content marketing was a decade ago. It’s emerging as a marketing discipline. People are starting to get sophisticated about deploying and measuring podcasts. We’re seeing new tools to make it easier to launch, promote, and monetize. And despite the thousands of hours of audio out there already, there’s no sign that the market is satiated.

I believe that if you’re not already thinking about podcasting for your B2B brand, you should be. But if my beautiful words can’t convince you, let the data tell the story:

B2B Podcasting: 20 Stats that Make the Marketing Case

Class Is In Session: 8 Opportunities From the 2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks Report

Joshua Nite on Oct 23rd, 2019
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing

Anyone who went to public school as a kid remembers Report Card Day. Sometimes, it was a day to celebrate — to see the results of our efforts written down in black and white, suitable for framing. Sometimes it was a sobering reminder of a misspent semester cutting class to browse the local CD shop (or was that just me?).

I get the same vibe from the annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America Report from Content Marking Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs. We can rejoice in big improvements and gains. (More of us are documenting our content marketing strategy! Good for us!) And, of course, we can also see where we could benefit from study hall.

Class Is In Session: 8 Opportunities From the 2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks Report

10 Crucial Steps for Launching Your B2B Podcast Into the Wild

Joshua Nite on Oct 14th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Podcast Marketing, Podcasting

Hey, friend, have you heard the good news about podcasts?

Given the most recent stats, it’s highly likely you have. Over half of all Americans over 12 years of age have listened to at least one. Podcasts have well and truly hit the mainstream. In other words, the gold rush is on for brands looking to connect with a highly-engaged, long-attention-span audience.

However, getting a podcast up and running isn’t as simple as publishing a blog. We recently published an entire B2B podcasting webinar to walk you through the entire process, from conception to publication. This post will zero in on the choices you need to make and the steps you need to take to release your podcast into the wild.

10 Crucial Steps for Launching Your B2B Podcast Into the Wild

5 Unexpected Content Marketing Benefits of B2B Podcasting

Joshua Nite
B2B Marketing

We all know by now that podcasting is a fantastic content marketing tactic, right? To review:

Over 81 million people listen to podcasts (Edison Research)
80% finish the majority of every episode on their favorite podcasts (Edison Research)
Most people who listen to one podcast are likely to pick up more (Edison Research)

In other words, there’s an enormous audience out there, ready to spend multiple hours with your quality content. And now they can get your episodes right on the Google results page.

So, since you’re ready to start your podcast anyway, how can you use it to elevate the rest of your content marketing efforts?

5 Unexpected Content Marketing Benefits of B2B Podcasting