Joshua Nite

21 New Marketing Jokes for Unprecedented Times

Joshua Nite on Feb 9th, 2021
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Why write jokes about marketing?

Why write, to be specific, 101 jokes about marketing over the last five years?

I came to marketing from the comedy world, and was genuinely surprised back then at how little personality there was in B2B content. Back in 2015, people were still asking whether B2B marketing could be funny — whether it would torpedo a serious brand to come out with humorous content.

Now we’ve finally admitted that B2B buyers like to laugh just like everyone else. And we’re seeing that humor can be a powerful way to bring people together. Used the right way, it can illustrate the shared human experiences that unite us all, showing that our trials and triumphs make us more alike than we are different.

21 New Marketing Jokes for Unprecedented Times

5 Ways to Humanize Your B2B Content Marketing – And Why It Matters

Joshua Nite on Jan 27th, 2021
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Never underestimate the corporate world’s ability to take something that should be intuitive, and make it weird by overthinking it.

Case in point: We used to say, “B2B doesn’t have to be boring.” Which indicates that for a long time, folks truly believed that B2B did have to be boring — that B2B buyers were a unique species of creature that operated without emotion and wanted the driest content possible.

Now we’re talking about how we need to “humanize” B2B content. And doesn’t that sound like some kind of filter you run your content through after you make it? I picture something that looks like a fax machine, where you load the content in the top, and push a big red button marked “HUMANIZE.”

5 Ways to Humanize Your B2B Content Marketing – And Why It Matters

How B2B Marketers Can Get Closer to Their Customers

Joshua Nite on Jan 7th, 2021
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

Last year I finished up my fifth full year as a B2B marketer. A lot has changed in that half decade.

When I started, there was a growing movement: “B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boring.”

Now we’ve finally moved on to, “B2B marketing can’t afford to be boring.” We’ve finally acknowledged that B2B buyers are people — they want useful information, they want to be entertained, and they’re just as bored by corporate-speak-laden white papers as everyone else.

To our credit, I think marketers already knew this. We just had to convince the rest of the organization.

For the most part, we marketers have more leeway to choose the best way to reach our audience. And, of course, with that freedom comes responsibility.

How B2B Marketers Can Get Closer to Their Customers

Five Can’t-Miss Sessions from Virtual Pubcon 2020

Joshua Nite on Oct 13th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences, Pubcon

The one silver lining in our current reality is the “virtual event.” Sure, we’re all stuck at home, but at least we can have several entire marketing conferences beamed directly to our laptops.

Granted, there’s a distinct lack of cocktails and networking opportunities. You have to supply your own drinks and try to convince your own pets to follow you on LinkedIn (currently mine are still mulling it over).

“Sorry, we only have Facebark.”

The latest conference to go virtual is industry stalwart Pubcon, celebrating its 20th year. This search-centered event never fails to round up fascinating speakers with a ton of experience in search and content marketing.

Here are my top five can’t miss sessions for Pubcon’s Virtual 2020 Conference.

Five Can’t-Miss Sessions from Virtual Pubcon 2020

B2B Marketing Subject Matter Experts & Industry Influencers: Which Should I Choose?

Joshua Nite on Sep 1st, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

What does being an influencer really mean in the B2B world?

The classic B2C influencer is someone with a big following on social media, someone who makes a living doing makeup tutorials or cosplay or skateboarding tricks. Brands who want to reach their audience can simply provide free products or sponsor a post — it’s inherently transactional.

But for B2B, the question is a little trickier. B2B influencers are very rarely celebrities with millions of followers. For example, given enough time and money, you could get Taylor Swift to endorse your hybrid cloud solution. But would her endorsement really persuade your audience?

You can’t judge influence in B2B by follower counts alone. There are multiple ways that people can be influential in the B2B space. Which type of influencer your project needs will vary depending on your goals.

B2B Marketing Subject Matter Experts & Industry Influencers: Which Should I Choose?

How to Nurture B2B Influencer Relationships During the Pandemic

Joshua Nite on Aug 11th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

I’m so glad that I went to B2BMX this past February.

For one thing, we did some amazing interviews with some very smart marketers. The very idea of these interviews seems weird now — we were just sitting! Three feet apart! With no masks! At a giant marketing conference at a hotel!

The cancellation of in-person events means I’ll miss one or two conferences this year. But for folks who make a living as keynote speakers and thought leaders, it’s a massive adjustment. And that includes a sizable subset of B2B influencers — those who are primarily keynote speakers and in-person consultants.

As an agency, we’re true believers in B2B influencer marketing (see our latest report to learn why). But we have had to adjust our strategy as influencers’ needs change. Like everything else in 2020, influencer relationship-building takes a different approach than you might be used to.

How to Nurture B2B Influencer Relationships During the Pandemic

6 New Rules for B2B Marketing in the COVID-19 Era

Joshua Nite on Aug 4th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing

I was supposed to go to an Alanis Morissette concert this July. When the pandemic hit hard in March, I wasn’t ready to cancel my ticket yet. Surely, surely we would have it sorted in time for an outdoor concert four months from now. I held out hope. Then, in June, she rescheduled for July, 2021. And now I’m wondering if that will be enough time.

Isn’t it ironic?

Don’t you think?

All of which to say: This pandemic has been around for longer than we thought it would, and is looking to linger far longer than we would like. What seemed like a brief, surreal interlude to be gotten through has now become a reality to live with, at least for the time being.

6 New Rules for B2B Marketing in the COVID-19 Era

How B2B Marketers Can Get the Most Out of Webinars in 2020

Joshua Nite on Jul 28th, 2020
B2B Marketing

There has to be a word for the creeping dread B2B marketers have been feeling this year, preferably something German with a ton of umlauts.

As we watched events in the spring cancel, postpone, or go virtual, we held out hope that summer would be different. Then July’s events moved out. Now it’s looking like the type of large-scale events B2B marketers depend on will have to wait until 2021… at the earliest.

But we don’t have to despair! We can close the gap with virtual events. The speaking gig at an industry conference can become a webinar, as can a planned panel discussion or product demonstration.

The good news is plenty of people have more spare time than before to watch your webinar.

How B2B Marketers Can Get the Most Out of Webinars in 2020

Break Free B2B Marketing: Dell Outlet’s Andre Ortolon on Microinfluencers for Hyper-Relevant Content

Joshua Nite on Jul 16th, 2020
B2B Marketing

In our part of the country, there’s a phenomenon called the “Minnesota goodbye.” It’s when you’re leaving a social gathering (remember those?) and you say goodbye, walk to the door… and keep talking to your host. Then you step outside the door, and continue the conversation. Then you walk to the car while keeping up the chatter. All told, a proper Minnesota goodbye can last up to an hour.

All of which to say: We may have already wrapped up season two of the Break Free B2B series, but it’s time for the Minnesota goodbye.

Back in February, I talked to Andre Ortolon from Dell Outlet about their micro influencer program. It’s a fascinating campaign because it was something of a B2B/B2C hybrid: Their target audiences included gamers, content creators like vloggers, and small business owners. The messaging was dramatically different for each audience. But they all had to live on the same landing page.

Break Free B2B Marketing: Dell Outlet’s Andre Ortolon on Microinfluencers for Hyper-Relevant Content

From Mechanical to Meaningful: How to Optimize B2B Case Studies

Joshua Nite on Jul 9th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing

When was the last time a B2B case study made you feel something?

I mean, something besides mild interest or boredom.

I ask because, in theory at least, B2B case studies should be exciting stories. There are millions of dollars at stake, people’s livelihoods and professional reputations hanging in the balance. Each one is a three-act story arc of overcoming adversity and solving a problem.

That sounds like a riveting read, right?

Or at the very least, they should be useful stories. They should help someone with a similar problem be able to find a solution. Yes, even a solution above and beyond “buy our product.”

Here are a few ways that B2B marketers can make their case studies more human, more compelling, and ultimately more effective.

From Mechanical to Meaningful: How to Optimize B2B Case Studies