Three metaphors in B2B content marketing and how they can lead you astray. Content Marketing is guided by the language we use to describe our activities. So metaphors can really shape our thinking. ...
Three metaphors in B2B content marketing and how they can lead you astray. Content Marketing is guided by the language we use to describe our activities. So metaphors can really shape our thinking. Three in particular are widely used and can be misleading.
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Three Poisonous B2B Marketing Metaphors Presentation Transcript
THREE POISONOUSMETAPHORS INB2B MARKETING.
METAPHORS AREPOWERFUL THINGSTHAT HELP US MAKESENSE OF THE WORLD.
BUT SOMETIMESMETAPHORS STOPWORKING. AND LEAD US DOWN THE WRONG PATHS.
THIS IS ABOUT THREEMETAPHORS THAT ARECENTRAL TO B2B MARKETING.
METAPHORS THATARE BROKEN BUTARE STILL BEINGUSED EVERY DAY.
IT’S IMPORTANT BECAUSEPEOPLE TEND TO FORGETTHAT METAPHORS AREJUST METAPHORS. SO THEY END UP ACTING AS IF THE METAPHORS WERE TRUE.
AND THAT LEADS TOLAZY MARKETING. MARKETING THAT MAKES FATAL ASSUMPTIONS.
THE FIRSTPOISONOUSMETAPHOR…
THE FUNNEL.
IN SOME WAYS,THE FUNNEL ISAN EFFECTIVEMETAPHOR. AFTER ALL…
THEREARELOTS OFPOTENTIALBUYERS INTHE WORLD…
AND ONLYA FEW OFTHEM KNOWANYTHINGABOUT YOU…
AND EVENFEWERACTUALLYMAKETHEMSELVESKNOWN…
AND EVENFEWERENGAGEWITH YOURSALESPEOPLE…
AND AVERY FEWEND UPBUYING.
SO WHAT’SWRONG WITHTHE FUNNELMETAPHOR? TWO THINGS.
REAL-WORLDFUNNELS BENEFITFROM GRAVITY.
A FORCE THAT,IF YOU DO NOTHINGAT ALL , COMPELSEVERYTHING PUT INTOTHE TOP TO FLOW OUTTHE BOTTOM.
THE B2B MARKETINGFUNNEL WORKS INEXACTLY THEOPPOSITE WAY.
THE FORCES ACTINGON PROSPECTS TAKETHEM AWAY FROM YOU,NOT CLOSER TO YOU.
B2B MARKETINGFUNNELS SHOULDREALLY BE SHOWNUPSIDE DOWN.
WE NEED TOCOUNTER THENATURAL FORCESTHAT DRIVEPEOPLE AWAYFROM US.
REAL-WORLDFUNNELS ALSOHAVE HARD SIDES.
THERE’S ONLYONE WAY OUT.
B2B MARKETINGFUNNELS DON’TWORK LIKE THAT.
THERE ARETHOUSANDSOF WAYS OUT. AND ONLY A FEW THAT LEAD TO YOUR SALES PEOPLE.
SO IF YOU MARKET AS IFTHERE’S SUCH A THING ASGRAVITY AND BELIEVE THATYOUR MARKETING FUNNELIS HARD TO ESCAPE FROM…YOUR MARKETING WILL SUCK.
ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE WILLTUMBLE DOWN YOUR FUNNELUNTIL THEY BUY SOMETHING ISJUST PLAIN WRONG. IT’S JUST A METAPHOR.
THE SECONDPOISONOUSMETAPHOR…
THE PURCHASEJOURNEY.
YES, PURCHASE PROCESSESARE KIND OF LIKE JOURNEYS.
PEOPLE WHO END UP BUYINGSTARTED OUT REALLY FARAWAY AND NOW THEY’REREALLY CLOSE. LOOKS LIKE A JOURNEY RIGHT?
NOPE.REAL-WORLD JOURNEYSHAVE SOME IMPORTANTTHINGS THAT B2B PURCHASEPROCESSES DO NOT.
PEOPLE ON REAL-WORLDJOURNEYS START WITHINTENTIONS.
THEY KNOW WHERE THEYWANT TO GO BEFORE THEYEVEN SET OFF. THEY BUY A MAP. THEY PACK A LUNCH. THEY PEE THE KIDS.
REAL-WORLD JOURNEYSARE SELF-MOTIVATED. PEOPLE GO PLACES BECAUSE THEY REALLY WANT TO GET THERE. THEY NEED NO EXTRA INCENTIVE.
IN CONTRAST,B2B PURCHASERSDO NOT INTENDTO BUY YOUR THEIR MOTIVATIONPRODUCTS. DOESN’T INCLUDE YOU (UNLESS YOU DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE THAT).
B2B PURCHASERSARE GROPING AROUNDIN THE DARK. THINKING ABOUT THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.
OCCASIONALLY,THEY STUMBLE OVERSOME KIND OF LUMP. THAT LUMP IS YOU.
THEY MAY OR MAYNOT INVESTIGATETHE LUMP. PROBABLY NOT.
IF THEY DO,THEY MAY OR MAYNOT GET IN TOUCH.
AND EVEN IF THEY GETIN TOUCH, THEIR ‘JOURNEY’HAS JUST BEGUN. MOST OF THEM WILL STILL WANDER OFF.
NOW YOU MAY CHOOSETO CALL ALL THIS GROPINGAND STUMBLING A JOURNEY. (I WOULDN’T.)
BUT IN B2B, BUYERS ARENOT HEADING YOUR WAYALL ON THEIR OWN. THEY DON’T HAVE A MAP. THEY HAVEN’T PACKED LUNCH. THEY DON’T KNOW YOU EXIST.
ASSUMING THAT PEOPLEARE ON A JOURNEY TO YOUIS A FATAL ASSUMPTION. IT’S JUST A METAPHOR.
THE THIRDPOISONOUSMETAPHOR…
THE “FOLLOWER”.
WHETHER IT’S ON TWITTER ORFACEBOOK OR LINKEDIN OR GOOGLE +,YOUR ‘FOLLOWERS’ AREN’T REALLYFOLLOWING YOU AND THEY’RE NOTYOUR ‘FRIENDS’ AND YOU’RE NOTREALLY IN THEIR ‘CIRCLES’.
THOSE AREMETAPHORS.
IN SOCIAL MEDIA, THERE’SONLY ONE WAY TO GETPEOPLE TO REALLY FOLLOWYOU AND REALLY BE YOURFRIEND AND REALLY INVITEYOU INTO THEIR CIRCLES.
YOU HAVE TO EARN IT. WHICH IS A LOT HARDER THAN GETTING THEM TO CLICK ‘FOLLOW’.
YOUR ‘FOLLOWERS’ ARESTRANGERS WHO HAVEGIVEN YOU – AT BEST –A MICROSECOND EVERYMONTH OR SO TO GET ONTHEIR RADAR. THAT’S ALL THEY ARE.
IF YOU’RE BUSY COUNTINGYOUR FOLLOWERS ANDCOLLECTING ‘LIKES’, YOU’REIGNORING THE THING THATREALLY MATTERS.
THE THING THAT REALLYMATTERS IN SOCIAL MEDIA ISEARNING A REPUTATIONAS AN INTELLIGENT,CONSISTENT, ENTERTAININGSOURCE OF INSIGHT.
IF YOU CAN DO THAT, TEN OF YOURFOLLOWERS WILL BE WORTH THEMILLION PHANTOM FANS OF THAT‘PERSONAL BRAND GURU’ WHOPUMPS HIS BANAL EFFLUENT INTOTHE TWEETOSPHERE EVERY HOUR,ON THE HOUR. YOU KNOW THE GUY.
‘FOLLOWERS’AND ‘FRIENDS’ARE METAPHORS. LOOK BEHIND YOU. SEE ANY EAGER FACES, AWAITING YOUR NEXT POST? I THOUGHT NOT.
LET’S REVIEW.
FUNNELS AREN’TREALLY FUNNELS. THEY DON’T HAVE GRAVITY AND THEY DON’T HAVE HARD SIDES.
PURCHASE JOURNEYSAREN’T REALLY JOURNEYS. YOUR PROSPECTS AREN’T SKIPPING DOWN THE YELLOW- BRICK ROAD TO YOU.
YOUR FOLLOWERSAREN’T REALLY FOLLOWERS. THEY’RE JUST PEOPLE WHO ARE DESPERATELY LOOKING FOR FOLLOWERS.
SO WHAT DOESTHIS MEAN?
IT MEANS YOU HAVE TOCREATE THE GRAVITYIN THE FUNNEL. THE FORCE THAT IMPELS PROSPECTS TOWARDS YOU.
AND YOU HAVE TOBUILD THE HARDSIDES THAT KEEPPEOPLE ENGAGED. MAKING IT HARDER FOR THEM TO WANDER AWAY.
AND YOU HAVE TOTURN THE LIGHTON SO THEY SEEWHERE THEY AREAND WHY THEY SO THEY STOPNEED YOU. GROPING AND STUMBLING AND START LISTENING.
AND YOU HAVETO EARN THEREAL ATTENTIONOF YOUR SOCIALMEDIA CONTACTS. SO THEY SIT UP AND TUNE IN WHEN YOU TWEET.
AND YOU DO ALLTHIS WITH ONEEASY-TO-SAYBUT NOT SOEASY-TO-DELIVERTHING… DRUM ROLL…
YOU DO IT WITH CLEAR,COMPELLING, INTERESTING,USEFUL, PASSIONATE, FUN,INTELLIGENT, ARTICULATE,BEAUTIFUL, LOGICAL,DISCOVERABLE, MAGNETIC…
CONTENT.
CONTENT THAT HELPSPEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS,SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS ORSEIZE THEIR OPPORTUNITIES.
THAT’S THE ONLY THINGTHAT FILLS FUNNELS ANDINCITES JOURNEYS ANDINSPIRES FOLLOWERS.
SO DO MORE OF THAT.(AND LESS OFEVERYTHING ELSE).
THANKS FOR CLICKING.
COME AND GET SOME.B2B Content Marketing The B2B Marketing The B2B Content The Holy Trinity ofStrategy Checklist Manifesto Marketing Workbook Technology MarketingGreat content marketing A tirade against the A short primer on the single The three questions you havestarts with a sharp content reactionary forces of most important weapon in the to be able to answer (quickly)marketing strategy. This traditional marketing. A wake B2B marketing arsenal: if you’re a B2B marketer. It’sChecklist will help you up call. Okay, a bit of a temper content marketing. It’s hot! pretty simple, really.sharpen yours. tantrum.
ColinGodefroy
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