Joshua Nite

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

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

How To Level Up Marketing Content From B2B Influencers

Joshua Nite on Jun 18th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Why do you even need a content person for influencer marketing?

After all, the influencers are providing the content. You just have to collect their pearls of wisdom, make them look pretty in a PDF, and you’re good to go, right?

I’ll confess, on my first influencer marketing project, I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing there. Over the last few years, however, I’ve come to understand the role that content marketers can play in shaping influencer content.

It’s the content lead’s job to shape the conversation with the influencer. We have to ask the right questions, and provide a structure and framework to elicit thoughtful, detailed responses.

How To Level Up Marketing Content From B2B Influencers

Break Free B2B Marketing: Sofia O’Malley of Dell Outlet on Creating a Global B2B & B2C Marketing Team

Joshua Nite on Jun 9th, 2020
B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing

Okay, marketers, here’s your content marketing challenge for the day. Your target audience includes the following:

Small business owners
Gamers
Teachers
Lifestyle bloggers
Young professionals/Entrepreneurs

All you have to do is come up with messaging that will resonate with each of these groups, while repurposing as much content as possible for maximum efficiency. Some of these segments are B2B, some are B2C, and some ride the line between the two, so plan accordingly.

Oh, and while you’re at it, we need versions of your content for multiple regions around the world. So make sure your Super Bowl metaphors are converted into World Cup references.

Break Free B2B Marketing: Sofia O’Malley of Dell Outlet on Creating a Global B2B & B2C Marketing Team

Break Free B2B Marketing: Julie Brown of Johnson Controls on Proving the EBIT of Your Marketing

Joshua Nite on Jun 2nd, 2020
B2B Marketing

For decades, marketers have measured success differently than the rest of the organization. We raise awareness, increase share of voice, generate impressions, deliver MQLs to sales.

Meanwhile, the success of the business itself is measured in….well, money. Revenue. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT).

But this disparity is changing as marketers are becoming more data-driven — and being increasingly accountable for their direct contribution to revenue. It’s not enough to show a return on investment; it’s not enough for marketing to not be a cost center. The marketing department needs to be a powerful engine for generating revenue.

Break Free B2B Marketing: Julie Brown of Johnson Controls on Proving the EBIT of Your Marketing

20 Marketing Jokes for Marketers Working from Home

Joshua Nite on May 28th, 2020
B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing, Content Marketing

I’m not here to lie to you: Sheltering in place is getting pretty old.

I do count my blessings, of course. My family and I are healthy. My wife and I both can work from home; our kids are pretty great; we actually enjoy each others’ company.

Still. There are only so many loaves of bread you can bake, puzzles you can solve, board games you can play before the ennui sets in.

If you’re like me, you could use a laugh right now. And I need to exercise my comedy muscles before they atrophy.

And in a world where people are still writing articles called, “Should You Include Humor in Your B2B Content,” we need constant reminders that people like jokes. People like to laugh. Laughter brings you closer to your audience and creates a connection.

20 Marketing Jokes for Marketers Working from Home

Break Free B2B Marketing: Latane Conant of 6sense on Reinventing the CMO Role

Joshua Nite on May 19th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing

What’s in a job title? In my tenure as a marketer, I’ve met gurus who don’t live on mountaintops, ninjas who don’t know martial arts, and evangelists who don’t preach on Sunday.

At worst, these creative job titles are pure puffery. But at best, they serve as a statement of purpose. I’m thinking of titles like Shep Hyken’s Chief Amazement Officer, or Ann Handley as Chief Content Officer: They tell us something about what the person — and their organization — values.

Latne Conant from 6sense has a subtly unusual job title: Chief Market Officer. She dropped the ‘ing’ from ‘Marketing,’ and that tiny change signals a major shift in the way she approaches her job. Instead of focusing on the verb of marketing — what tactics to deploy to reach an audience — her job is to deeply understand the market, the people her brand is trying to reach.

Break Free B2B Marketing: Latane Conant of 6sense on Reinventing the CMO Role

Break Free B2B Marketing: Danny Nail of SAP on Creating a Global ABM Platform

Joshua Nite on May 12th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Video Interviews

I wrote a special song just for you:

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday, dear reader of the TopRank blog,

Happy birthday to you

Are you emotionally moved or impressed by my effort? Probably not. Even if I used a little tech wizardry to insert your name in there, you likely wouldn’t be blown away by the level of customization. It’s just filling in a template, not creating something new.

In theory, account-based marketing (ABM) should mean delivering hyper-relevant, custom content to your most relevant accounts. In practice, however, it tends to mean coming up with ever-more intricate Mad Libs. We end up templatizing everything to scale up our efforts, losing the immediacy and relevance that makes ABM work.

Break Free B2B Marketing: Danny Nail of SAP on Creating a Global ABM Platform