Take Flight with New Marketing Channels

Thomas Krol — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:30:32 +0000

What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights!

I was sitting outside at the lake on the weekend, scrolling through social media on my phone. A huge heron caused a commotion on the shoreline as it took off. As I watched it effortlessly fly away over the water, I was enthralled and couldn’t take my eyes off of it – and that’s when it struck me.

No, nothing actually physically hit me – but I was struck by the beauty of this thing in front of me – and realized that this ‘real’ experience had so much more power than second-hand online experiences. Why waste time living through others’ experiences posted online when real life is right in front of you? But then, of course, I cursed myself for not capturing the experience quickly enough that I could post it on Instagram (hence the stock image seen here)…

Give this song by The Police a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

The Medium is the Message

Way back in my undergrad days, I remember studying Marshall McLuhan, the great Canadian communication theorist. You might have heard of him, as he coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.”

McLuhan argued that modern electronic communications (including radio, television, films, and early computers) would have far-reaching sociological, aesthetic, and philosophical consequences, to the point of actually altering the ways in which we experience the world.

I think we can all agree that he was dead on. Those of us involved in messaging and communications are intimately aware of the influence the channel has on the message. And the communication channels we love (and hate) alter how we experience the world.

Do we respect this axiom enough in our B2B worlds? We talk about the ‘right message to the right person at the right time’ – but the medium must enforce the message! Are we optimizing our messaging for the communications channel, or just screaming at the wall?

It’s All About… Commerce!

TikTok is the new radio… but it’s not about the music. Most viral TikTok hits are actually about COMMERCE! The same goes for Spotify Top 50 tracks, so they have that in common.

But Bob Lefsetz makes a good point: TikTok can teach us about creative innovation. It’s what the entire service is based on – people en masse coming up with new ideas. And ideas are paramount. Do things just like everybody else and you won’t go viral – but if you push the envelope, skew the vision a bit, and underpin it with desirable music, you’ve started on the road to success.

How does this impact B2B? More than ever, it’s easier to start a business or become a freelancer. Just like with music, ideas are paramount – and technology can help you get up and running immediately. The traditional barriers to entry have been lowered – so how can you take advantage of that? Can you walk unhindered to get new ideas to market faster? Or perhaps a new competitor is crawling to the surface without you even knowing…

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

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The Channels Prospects Run to

Thomas Krol — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 14:38:33 +0000

What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights!

As we all rush to the finish line of 2021, it feels like we are in a last chance power drive, and we’re running till we drop. Let’s give this epic song by the Boss a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week…

Which channels will your prospects run to in 2022?

According to HubSpot, too often we forget that content marketing consists of two separate words – content and marketing. Creating content is usually the most fulfilling and enjoyable part of a marketer’s job but distributing that content is just as important. If no one sees your content, they won’t (can’t) engage!

This is why it’s important to understand marketing channels and which ones you should use to leverage your content marketing goals. In short, marketing channels are the different tools and platforms you use to communicate with your target audience. So while the decision to use specific channels should come from audience insights, it’s essential to understand the values of different channels.

Here are HubSpot’s Top B2B Marketing Channels for 2022:

Social Media (LinkedIn)
Website/Blog
Email
Content Marketing

While it may seem best to focus your efforts and investments on one single marketing channel, that strategy no longer gets the job done. In fact, HubSpot research shows that 92% of marketers leverage more than one channel and 81% leverage more than three.

So if you’re still on a single-channel strategy, perhaps 2022 is the time to make a change! And if you’re not sure where to start, let me know – together we can break this trap!

Getting to that Place…

…by selling your catalogue for $500 million!

Yup. That’s right. According to sources, Bruce Springsteen sold his catalogue to Sony for somewhere between $500 and $600 million. In May we talked about how the Red Hot Chili Peppers sold their catalogue for $140 million, and you can see a running list here – the Boss is just the latest to join these ranks but by far the highest of the disclosed price points!

According to Bob Lefsetz, the logic behind making this sale comes down to a simple calculation (and anyone who thinks Springsteen shouldn’t have sold runs on emotion).

And on the buyer’s side of things? Now it’s up to Sony to figure out how to monetize their new purchase and generate a significant return. And it seems every couple of years there’s a new opportunity. Like Lefsetz says, no one saw TikTok coming! And as social media companies are licensing music, Sony has a runway to start earning.

So what’s the takeaway for us in B2B? It just goes back to that multi-channel strategy. It’s important to be nimble and to be able to adapt. As marketers, we were born to run! So when those new marketing channels become available, give them a try – it may turn out to be a great investment!