You can’t do that in B2B marketing?!

The title/subject line of this edition generalizes consensus I get when I’ve suggested deviating from the “traditional” content marketing playbook and the greatest source of my frustration as a B2B marketer today.

It wasn’t always this way.

In the late aughts, a handful of thought leaders came forth with an audacious idea: B2B companies should think like publishers. They claimed the internet had changed buyer behavior and brands had a golden opportunity to build trust and credibility through online content.

For many, it’s difficult to imagine how ridiculous this idea sounded at the time. But blogging was strongly associated with personal journaling and other unsophisticated, informal topics — not something a serious business would consider. As such, getting buy-in for content marketing in those early days wasn’t easy.

But within a few years, CEOs who believed blogging lacked the professionalism and gravitas of traditional corporate communications started changing their tunes. The biggest contributing factor for their change of heart was the easily measurable impact. Unlike traditional marketing methods (cold calling, direct mail, and ads), businesses could track the performance of their content and understand their ROI thanks to new tools.

We all know how the story unfolds from there. I wouldn’t be here on my couch communicating with you telepathically from my couch in San Francisco if it weren’t for the “crazy ones” who dared to challenge the status quo back then and convince the naysayers saying “you can’t do that in B2B marketing?!”

It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, too

Today, marketers find ourselves in a very similar predicament to the one marketers faced in the early aughts.

• We have an outdated playbook: The “traditional” content marketing book was written when platforms funnels traffic to websites. Those platforms are doing everything in their power to prevent people from leaving but will happily send buyers who are ready to buy your way for a price.

• Customer behavior has changed drastically: Buyers are almost never in the market for whatever it is we’re selling and increasingly consider our content sucks. Oh, they no longer hang out online in the same places they did a decade ago, too. They’re all over the place and trying to stay the hell away from us.

The only thing different this time is there’s a lack of audacious ideas. Most of what we see is an iteration of the ideas brought forth nearly 20 years ago — or, worse, the same ideas rebranded and positioned as novel.

I’m not saying B2B marketing hasn’t innovated. There are definitely trailblazers testing truly nascent ideas. But unlike the movement we experienced in the early aughts through the mid-2010s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a playbook as detailed as the blueprint we got back then. The best you’ll get today are thin case studies that offer as much practical guidance as the “How to drawl an owl” meme.

And if I’m being completely honest with you, it’s hypocritical for me to complain about all of this.

For years, I’ve held my audacious ideas close to my chest, only parsing out bits and pieces in closed door conversations and the occasional podcast appearance — never once with a clear cut case study. Why? Because I felt it was necessary to prove them first and despite getting the buy-in to reshape content marketing twice, both times were cut short by two layoffs in two years.

The self-actualization that I’m contributing to my own frustration was a wakeup call I needed and became the fuel propelling me to prove everybody wrong.

And now for something completely different in B2B marketing

In two weeks, I’m doing something that you’re not supposed to do in B2B marketing and launching the Marketing Under The Influence podcast.

If you haven’t already heard me talk about the podcast, you might assume the “under the influence” bit hints that this will be your typical B2B podcast, where a host asks the same questions every other host has already asked guests about their work but with a drunken twist. But it ain’t.

In fact, Marketing Under The Influence is guaranteed to be nothing like you’ve ever experienced in a B2B podcast. Here’s the spiel:

The series isn’t just a neat idea that I wanted to do for shits and giggles. I mean there’s some truth to that but, come on — I’m trying to make a sizable dent in the history of B2B marketing.

I actually developed it using a strategic blend of traditional media programming techniques and extensive market research to offer a professional audience a novel experience that stands apart from the current slate of B2B podcasts and goes beyond asking guests the same questions about their work for 45 minutes.

To learn the job-related interests of marketers, I spent two years studying their multifaceted interests — incorporating data from Sparktoro's audience research platform, social media engagement analyses, and direct interviews with marketers — to reveal a significant commonality: a shared interest in media consumption and discourse.

From there I started to ask brilliant and respected marketers to join me on this audacious journey as a guest. Each were given the following set of prompts/questions to consider:

1. Can you name a book, movie, or song that had a profound impact on you growing up? How do you think it influenced your world view or shaped your character?

2. Was there ever a moment when a piece of media (book, film, TV show, song, etc.) made you reconsider your beliefs or changed your perspective on an important issue?

3. Can you think of a character from a book, movie, or TV show that you strongly identified with or admired? How did this character influence your behavior, thoughts, or decisions?

4. Has a piece of media ever inspired you to take action, big or small, in your life? What was the media, and what action did it inspire?

5. Can you think of a time when a piece of media comforted you during a difficult period in your life? What was it about that specific piece of media that provided solace?

6. Looking back, can you identify a piece of media that was influential in shaping your career choice or personal interests?

7. Is there a quote from a book, film, song, or other form of media that you carry with you as a personal mantra or guiding principle?

8. If you were to recommend one piece of media to your younger self, what would it be and why?

The intent of these questions/prompts isn't for guests to answer them all but instead use them to think about the influence media had on their life and find a story worth telling.

So far, three marketers have shared their stories with me and more are scheduled to tell theirs over the coming months. Some of these guests you already know and love but many you’ll be meeting for the first time.

And it’ll all begin with Annette Cardwell, VP of Brand and Comms at Lattice in two weeks.

I’ll share more behind the scenes details about developing, producing, and launching Marketing Under The Influence in due time.

For now, though, I’ll see you in two weeks.

♥️ Ronnie