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

Ahh… the hot and lazy days of summer… when we all take a couple months off until September and the B2B rush starts again – Not so fast! It’s been BUSY! And I’m happy to see that many of my clients didn’t need my usual ‘don’t let your lead generation take a summer vacation’ reminder – there has been lots of activity!

My teams are seeing solid connect rates and good lead conversion numbers this July. Plus – there has been a lot of market and industry activity recently, as you know…

GO give this song by The Black Keys a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week!

Thoughts on Threads?

The biggest news in the tech space this month has got to be the release of Threads… and it seems to be off to a solid start. By now over 110 million accounts have been created. Not bad considering that the latest figures on Twitter (2022) is that it has 450 million monthly users (240 million monetizable ones). This growth is even faster than what we saw with ChatGPT earlier this year.

All these numbers are sketchy, of course, because we don’t know how many are bots or multiple accounts held by one person. But while Twitter’s streets aren’t bare, they could be in danger. I’ve been asking my peers (remember to leverage that peer support!) and here is a short list of some feedback I’ve heard on the new platform:

• A post can be as long as 500 characters – more than enough for a microblogging service.
• Clean interface. It’s easy to use.
• Many of the people/organizations I follow on Twitter are also on Threads.
• No ads. There won’t be, says Meta, until there’s around a billion users.
• You can’t delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram one. Meta no doubt considers that a feature.
• Still no way to track trending topics with hashtags or topic searches.
• DMs. No desktop version. Not great.
• No API integration with websites (yet).

Yes, this is further fragmentation of social media, which dilutes the whole experience and power. You have to wonder how many people have signed up for Threads just because the fire is gone in Twitter and they hate what it’s become.

Some say that Threads is the new Napster… in essence, a natural and inevitable evolution of the space it’s in. What do you think?

Random Music News

We’re smack-dab in the middle of Summer Festival season – here are some quick snippets of news that might interest you:

Don’t throw stuff on the stage!

Bomb threats at a Noel Gallagher concert (not from his brother, Liam)

Elton John’s farewell tour unicorn!

The shadowy world of ticket brokers

It’s hot outside – there’s a lot going on! Pick one that interests you and give it a read. I’d love to hear how these relate to your B2B activities!

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

The post First Impressions of Threads appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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

“I quit.” That phrase has so many potential meanings. Quitting a bad habit? Resigning from your job? Or giving up on a resolution that you just can’t see through… Whatever the definition, seems like we’ve been surrounded by a lot of ‘quitting’ lately.

Give this song by Led Zeppelin a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Quitting Twitter

Even my elderly mother is talking about Twitter. It’s all over the news, and no matter your stance on supporting or leaving the platform, you can see that it’s on shaky ground.

So what are our options without Twitter? Many emergency response organizations use it to communicate – and many have built huge followings. Is there somewhere else to go?

Check out this list of potential Twitter replacements, if you’re looking to quit:

• Mastodon
• cohost!
• Discord
• WhatsApp
• Email (!)

Or… maybe you just want to stick it out with Twitter?

If you’re still saying, “I can’t quit you,” to Twitter, feel free to tweet me to let me know @rick_endrulat!

Quitting Crypto

Last week’s collapse of popular crypto exchange FTX had an impact on the NFT market, driving down crypto prices and impacting NFT valuations. Bored Ape Yacht Club hype was in full swing earlier this year as celebrities ‘aped into’ the pricey Ethereum NFT collection. Some have even used their Apes to create products, themed restaurants, live performances, and more.

But the buzz has faded now, and the price to join the exclusive club has been dropping lower and lower in recent weeks. And if owning a Bored Ape NFT like Justin Bieber was your one desire, you might want to hold off – a ‘floor’ Bored Ape, like the one that Bieber spent $1.3 million worth of ETH to buy in January, now sells for a fraction of that price point.

How does this impact B2B?

I don’t know – I’m still trying to figure out exactly how NFTs might truly impact the B2B world! However – the current crypto market is definitely impacting businesses – so maybe we need to put it down for a while and see how things play out, before getting our businesses too invested.

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

The post Is It the End of the Line for Twitter? appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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

The days are getting shorter. The air is getting colder. In spite of the emotional turmoil of the change of seasons, there’s something about the freshness and energy in the air this time of year that makes me feel motivated and alive! How about you?

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

The (premature?) death of social media

Email is dead. Outbound is dead. Social Media is dead?

I hate when the media piles on and says a marketing tactic is ‘dead.’ Every year there’s a new one – it’s all about sensationalizing.

Social media has been with us for nearly 20 years and in that time, it’s transformed the way we communicate – though not always for the better (Twitter mob, I’m looking at you).

Disinformation, nefarious algorithmic manipulation, and trolls make much of the social media universe hard to like. That’s why some people are working on new concepts that promise to free us from all that.

One such idea is “recommendation media”, which seeks to create a more positive and meaningful experience. This video from the MusicBiz channel explains it. Hint: This explains why TikTok is so popular.

How does this impact B2B? Have I got a little story for you… it’s all about getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time, right? Is it time to get your TikTok marketing strategy developed?

Forcing users to adopt Spotify

If there’s one thing computer users hate it’s being told what applications to use or being forced to use apps they don’t want. Now there’s evidence that Microsoft is mysteriously installing Spotify on Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs.

Some users report that the Spotify icon is showing up unbidden in the Taskbar. Such installs aren’t without precedent, either. The Microsoft Store has been known to give you apps you didn’t ask for.

A bug? Hardly. This could be a security flaw. Makes you think of the time Apple forced a U2 album on all iTunes users.

I already have Spotify on all my devices, so I won’t be affected by this particular unwanted installation. Have you seen this happen to your PC? Have you seen something like this happen in B2B?

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

The post Marketing Life, Death & Rebirth appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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

It seems like I spend an inordinate amount of time doing yard work – how about you? I sure hope that at some point it slows down so we can enjoy the summer! I guess it’s just a matter of consistently chipping away at it until you get into maintenance mode – steady as she goes, right?

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

Accessing B2B Influencers

In a world over-saturated with content, it’s become challenging for brands to break through the noise, control their narrative online, and gain the attention of potential customers – so how do you toot your own horn when most consumers say they find it hard to trust companies these days?

According to B2B Marketing Zone, it’s all about B2B influencers. They are just like ‘traditional’ influencers, but B2B influencers are industry experts.

Why should you consider influencer marketing for your B2B business?

• They help you tap into niche customers you wouldn’t otherwise reach.
• They can guide a customer’s purchase decisions without sounding salesy.
• They humanize your brand.

And most importantly, you don’t have to build trust from scratch!

Check out the full article to see exactly HOW to effectively partner with an influencer… and maybe then you’ll get along with even more customers!

Censorship Through the Ages

Have you had your latest amazing email copy chopped up and edited by your boss? Feeling a little discouraged? Well don’t be – as we look back in time we can see some examples of music censorship that (now) seem ridiculous. According to Alan Cross:

• In the 4th century, St. Augustine complained that the sensuous melodies of the music he heard in church caused him to “become a problem unto [him]self.”
• In the 12th century, John of Salisbury noted that the church music he heard in Paris – yes, the medieval Catholic hymns – could “more easily occasion titillation between the legs than a sense of devotion in the brain.”
• A few centuries later, the head of the Orthodox Church in Moscow ordered that all musical instruments be burned because they invited paganism.

So the next time your copy gets rejected, making you feel as though you tripped and fell, know that you are in good company!

And 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

The post B2B Influencers: Your Third-Party Horn Tooter appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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

The post Take Flight with New Marketing Channels appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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

What keeps you up at night? Do you ever wake with your heart racing, thinking about that big presentation, that customer meeting, or hitting your sales or marketing targets? It’s not a great feeling – you feel like they’re gonna eat you alive.

Give this great tune by Metric a listen as we read on and see what the experts are saying this week:

May HubSpot Data

It’s time for our usual recap of the HubSpot Benchmark Data, updated with May’s statistics:

• Deals Created in May dropped from 27% to 16% over benchmark,
• But Deals Closed stayed the same as April – 8% over.
• Sales Emails Sent hit 100% over benchmark!
• Sales Calls were 81% over benchmark – the highest yet!
• Contact Growth was 15% over – the lowest since January this year…
• Sales Conversations increased 24% (also highest since this all started).

So what does the updated data tell us? Two things: ACTIVITY levels are definitely high – sales emails, sales calls and sales conversations increased significantly. But the RESULTS weren’t stellar. Conversions were low, contact growth was abysmal, and deals created and closed decreased.

Could this simply be the usual May results? Not if we look back at May 2020. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here, but let’s see how June looks and if any trends appear. One thing I DO know – as sales and marketing leaders, it feels like May was a bit of a ‘stumble’ – can you hear my heart beating like a hammer? The pressure is on in June!

The Music Biz in the Internet Age

Have you seen the episode of HBO’s Generation Hustle on scam rap? Teejayx6 can’t rap on the beat, his music is terrible, and yet he scams his way into a big deal with Atlantic Records. Why? Because of the data!

Back in the day, record labels would work to develop talent. They would find talented people, nurture, record and promote them. Lather, rinse, repeat until the act either broke through or didn’t and was dropped. But, as we know, that’s not the way things work today!

According to Bob Lefsetz, in today’s world of streaming music, the song itself is irrelevant… it’s all about the DATA! The business changed twenty years ago, with the advent of the internet. Suddenly, all talent was available to all people. You couldn’t find someone no one else was aware of. Then it became about signing talent, rather than nurturing it. It became about the best deal, the enthusiasm. And now the actual music is irrelevant!

Social media is the name of the game now – if you get some traction on TikTok or Instagram, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got other places for people to spend their time. Send them to YouTube, where you’ve posted the full song. And once again, it’s all about the runaway data train – the song itself is irrelevant. Record companies don’t care what they release, just as long as it makes money.

How does this impact B2B? Getting traction on social channels is important – so is building an audience. Converting that into business is the trick – it can be the difference between getting wherever you’re going and getting whatever you need!

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

The post Social Media: the Name of the Game appeared first on Virtual Causeway.