Stories are important to everyone.
Stories are important to the people you are trying to reach.
This means that stories should be important to marketers.
I’m in the groove where I am talking to at least 2 new marketers each day.
I meet them on the internet.
My process is pretty simple.
- I see someone post something about the “new way” to do B2B marketing
- I reach out and ask them if they want to be on my podcast to talk more about it
- I set up a call to meet them and listen to their passionate takes
- We record
- I have a new marketing friend and a future fan of the story that we are working on
I like creating stories because people remember them and they are easy for people to get behind.
The people that were once just great Twitter accounts to me are now helping us tell our story before we launch.
I think this is the next level of collaboration in B2B marketing.
I think this is the next level of storytelling in B2B marketing.
I know other companies are doing something similar, but have not heard anyone else talk about it.
This has been the most impactful piece of starting marketing at a company that hasn’t launched yet.
Create a point of view on your market.
Confirm or deny it every day with it’s members.
Use these learnings as the DNA of the story that you are working on.
Evolve the story as the themes change.
Any smart marketer knows that no one remembers features or functionality, but people remember stories.
That’s why I think every business should spend a TON of time creating your story and sharing it through every available channel possible.
You want an expert on B2B storytelling?
Go consume Andy Raskin’s content.
I don’t know Andy, but I have learned so much from him over the years by reading his stuff.
Maybe I should ask him to be on the 3C Podcast to talk about stories?
Last week our team had a session where we riffed on our current story and how it could get better.
This is what I heard in my favorite moments of that Zoom call:
“This is a B2B marketing problem, this isn’t just a content problem”
“People hate forms let’s pour more gas on that”
“Conversion rates are backwards how do we get from 8% to 10% when we should be asking why 90% of people leave the page”
There was a lot of passion on the call and I knew we were on to something.
We were on to a story that wasn’t about us.
We were on to a story that was about the change that was going on with B2B marketing and how we were going to help marketers solve it.
It’s going to be the most legitimate story I’ve ever been a part of because it’s real.
Supported by 100+ conversations with marketers before I got here.
Influenced by dozens more from Slack messages, Tweets, and Zoom calls with the people that I am meeting along the way.
I can’t wait to share this story with you when it’s done.
We will test it in every channel imaginable.
Like a comedian at a small club trying to see what lines work.
Or a band that’s been away for a while that wants to test out new songs to their audience.
Talking to marketers has been our story support group.
By the close of business today I will have had 30-45 calls with at least 10 new B2B marketers this week..
Each and everyone will have helped confirm or deny my perspective on the current landscape of B2B marketing.
I sent this Slack message to Jonathan at the end of the day about what I was learning and how it could help with our story:
Make sure you are thinking about the story that you are sharing with your audience.
If you have a story make sure that it is still relevant to the changes that are happening with your audience and how your company can support the changes.
Above all else make sure that you are involving your audience in the construction of your story.
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P.S. I realized that if you've made it this far I should probably pay off my Slack share and let you know what Jonathan said....we always try to keep it 💯
