I never understood what the creator economy really meant until I logged on as employee #2 at The Juice for the first time on January 4, 2021. I had left my previous job where I had been for 4 years to take a gamble on a new start-up that set out to solve some really substantial problems in the B2B content marketing space.
I connected with the problems that we were looking to solve.
It was a pain in the ass to learn from brands in B2B.
I didn’t want to jump through hoops to land on your keyword stuffed blog posts anymore.
I was tired of having to fill out forms to download an ebook around a topic that I was researching.
I was done with being put into a sales cadence that made me feel like I was just another name in a database.
I have spent my entire career as a B2B marketer and will put my hand up and admit that I was responsible for some of these “me” centered marketing tactics in the past. Joining The Juice was my chance to cleanse my past mistakes and dedicate myself to a mission of doing things the modern way.
I knew a lot had changed. I did not know exactly what those changes were yet.
I decided to explore.
I wanted to find out what modern day marketers and brands were doing to win the hearts and minds of their audience.
The list of items identified is never-ending.
There are 2 significant macro themes that I’ve observed over the past year that have helped brands outpace their competition.
I’m going to outline those themes and share why we launched Creator Pages today to support these trends.
How Modern Day Marketers and Brands are Winning in 2022
Content Distribution
There’s not a topic that has come up in more of my conversations over the past year than content distribution. No one has it completely figured out and everyone knows that it’s important.
What’s content distribution?
Through my research and analysis there has been no bigger advocate for content distribution than Ross Simmonds who is the CEO of the innovative content marketing agency Foundation. Their team defines content distribution as the following:
“Content distribution is the act of taking your blog, ebook, infographic, YouTube video, etc. and disseminating it across the web. If done right, it gives your business the potential to ensure that every new asset you develop reaches the right audience.”
I’ve learned a lot from following Ross and consuming his content. Every time I read his content I feel like I am getting my MBA in content distribution. It might sound crazy now, but this could actually become a thing based on where we are headed.
Content distribution is important because of the mindfulness it puts on the consumer. This is not a batch and blast strategy. This is a concept that takes thought, research, and great copywriting to execute.
It’s anti-”me” centered marketing. It forces the creator to think critically about the channel and customize messaging around that piece for that audience. Being great at content distribution takes time. It’s likely not just the job of the content marketer either.
Think about the old way to do content marketing for a second?
Remember when you felt like you had to write a blog post every other day, stuff it with keywords, and hit publish at 8:00 AM because that’s what Google likes?
The old way was reactive and always reminded me of a content factory.
Content distribution is the new way because it pushes creators to sacrifice quantity to focus on quality. A focus on distribution puts an emphasis on other channels outside of Google.
SEO is still an important piece of your content strategy, but it doesn’t have to be the only piece of your content strategy anymore. Modern day marketers who are having conversations about content distribution, testing, and doubling down on what works are not only getting more eyeballs, but building better relationships with their audience.
Rise of the individual creator in B2B
During my exploration of the modern day marketer nothing stood out to me more than the rise of the individual creator in B2B. This is a topic that I am still studying, but I can confidently tell you that B2B brands are giving their creators the runway to build their personal brands and benefiting from it.
Remember when I said that I don’t want to jump through hoops to learn from your brand anymore?
I don’t have to because I am meeting creators on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Slack communities and content is being exchanged in the DMs. Brands that are 7 steps ahead of their competition realize that their people are their most powerful distribution channel and letting them do their thing.
People want to learn from people. The rise of the individual creator allows brands to gain trust at a human level. There’s a reason why we read books from our favorite authors, watch specific news channels, or even follow the people we do on Twitter. It’s a trust thing and it’s been incredible to watch it evolve in B2B.
Take Goldcast for example. They are a virtual / hybrid events platform. If you can imagine this is an extremely crowded space with what’s happened to the way we work over the last couple of years.
Goldcast refuses to be just another commodity. They not only create amazing content (check out their Weekly CMO Diaries), but let their marketers create human connections.
I was mindlessly scrolling through LinkedIn last week and a post from Meisha Bochicchio created a pattern interrupt for me. Wait a minute…a real person, on video, promoting a topic that is relevant to not only me, but the entire community?
Creators are brand builders.
Creators are the face of your company.
Creators are in the business of winning hearts and minds.
Brands who realize that this is happening are not only gaining new customers.
They are creating long term relationships with them.
Try building an attribution model around that!
The Launch of Creator Pages
Today, we launched Creator Pages at The Juice.
Creator Pages brings together the rise of the individual creator and the power of content distribution in one platform. This is a beta launch. We hand selected 20+ creators to help us go-to-market on day 1.
Leah Friedman is the Director of Content Marketing at Guru. All it takes is one click on her page to see her portfolio of work. I don’t have to dodge a bunch of unhelpful posts, gated content, or hot takes that we get on other platforms to learn. It’s all right there and by spending time on Leah’s page I have a really great idea what type of person Guru is building for.
Now let’s talk about distribution!
Every modern day marketer that I know has a distribution checklist when they are getting ready to publish a new piece of content. We optimize our content for delivery on Twitter, LinkedIn, Slack communities, Reddit, and a myriad of other channels.
Now The Juice can be one of those channels. Creator Pages gives marketers the ability to add their new piece of content to The Juice. This is content distribution to our audience of B2B marketing and sales professionals who joined the platform to learn from creators like you.
Also, we’re providing creators insights on the types of people consuming their content.
This is insight that creators can use to better inform their next piece of content or take back to their team during planning sessions.
Are you a creator who is looking for a new channel where people are ready to learn?
Are you helping humanize your brand?
We are in beta right now, but will be granting access for more creators very soon.
You can search for your name and request to claim your page if you show up.
If not, you can request to be on the waitlist by telling us here.
Until then, become a member and start following the incredible group of creators who are helping us launch and distribute helpful content to our audience.
