What I've learnt about Content Marketing by running a daily music blog

Earlier this year I started writing a daily music blog. The idea was to let iTunes randomly select one track every day (i have over 13,000 by the way), and I would then write a short post about that track. Included in the review would be two scores - based on "serendipity" (i.e. how surprising the track was to be selected) and "love" (self explanatory). Multiplying these scores together created a "Serendipity Index" with the highest score representing the track which both surprised and delighted.

I then posted the review to a Facebook Group, twitter and a Pinterest board. I also added the new track to a Spotify playlist. (You can follow all four if you like!)

Now whilst I'm a big music fan, the #1 reason I started the project was to get into the habit of writing and distributing content. Regularly. This was an exercise in marketing discipline and to be truthful I wasn't interested in building a following or even that my blog was read. I needed to experience being a content marketer.

Why?

Well, I'm a big believer that all brands will effectively be publishers in the next five years and that marketers need to respond to this challenge. We all have to get used to creating opinion-based content that talks to our company's market and not to our products. And to cut through the noise of digital marketing, we have to be interesting, controversial and/or engaging. We have to write like humans not like robots. And we have to write frequently.

So what did I learn? Well firstly, I have to admit, the process has been challenging. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find the time every day to write a few paragraphs on a song. In fact if you check the post dates on the blog, you'll see I've played catch-up a few times on a backlog of tracks! Anyway its been an interesting exercise. Here are my four key findings:

1. Great writers are to be cherished. Don't ever believe that writing is easy and that anyone can do it. Good copywriting is a rare skill. I've come to find out that words don't come easy to me and that it takes several edits just to produce a few paragraphs. So invest the time to find and retain good writers - either from outside or inside your company. And a Content/Editorial Director is a great hire should you have room on your team.

2. Having a point of view is tiring. Boy can I tell you having something interesting to say every day is hard work. Especially when iTunes throws you up an obscure track that you can't remember how it got into your music library. Good writers develop a tone of voice - this is something again not to be underrated. Marketers should have a house style or framework to refer to. Does your brand want to be perceived as serious? Knowledgeable? Impressive? Humorous? Likable? Edgy? Safe? Trusted? Innovative? Reliable? Brand guidelines help set the tone.

3. Content marketing need discipline.  It requires determination and discipline to produce good content regularly. Don't let the mood take you. Like taking vitamins, you have a get into a routine and stick with it. I know better than most as I lapsed fairly regularly! I was on a daily production schedule, but even a weekly or monthly cycle can be challenging. So setting an editorial calendar, based on themes, company events or industry news can help ease the frequency.

4. Algorithms kill creativity. If there's ever an illustration of how computers lack imagination, its iTunes shuffle. I have  13,000+ tracks by 100s of artists and yet the same (few) artists got chosen "randomly" every day. And it wasn't even the artists with a large number of tracks in my library. Even worse, iTunes served up the same tracks repeatedly. So the reality was within a few months I had to start skipping the initial suggestion. And then I made my own subjective opinions in making a selection. If I'd let iTunes do the work, I would've ended up with a repetitive blog featuring the same artists.  So my point here is, whatever the scenario, don't like algorithms drive the ultimate decision. Gut, instinct and creativity still remain a human quality. So, yes, use science but blend this with the creative and ultimately this will make your marketing cut through the crowd.

My 6 gadget heroes (and one villain) of 2014

I'm a big lover of technology generally and gadgets per se. I'm an early adopter, an over investor and a willing beta tester.

I'm no longer quite sure what constitutes a "gadget" nowadays. Some equate the term with gimmicks. Others with electronic tech. I guess for me its a combination of both.

Anyway here are my winners and losers for 2014:

 

 

Six Heroes (in no particular order)

ColdBruer Cold Brew Coffee System Arrived at the start of year, a cold brew system makes coffee by dripping iced water slowly through coffee grinds over a 10-12 hour period. The result is a smoother, less acidic brew which you can heat up, add to hot water or drink cold over ice. I'm pleased to see independent coffee shops now selling cold brew, and ColdBruer is a great way to make it at home. Unfortunately the system arrived a week after I scaled back my coffee consumption (!) but great, nevertheless.

Sonos PLAY:1. I've had a Sonos multi-room system for 8 years now. A relatively early adopter those initial years were somewhat troubled with connectivity and filseharing issues. Plus the original controller was very clunky, even though the concept was cool. Now the technical issues have disappeared and the iOS App is much cooler (and far easier to use). I already had a three room system, but I got the Play:1 to add a fourth. The form factor is so elegant, solid and well designed. It just works and looks damn good to boot. In fact, Sonos based around the Play:1 is likely up there as one of my favourite gadgets of the last decade.

Cocoon Grid-It! Organiser. Continually losing charging cables, VGA adaptors and USB sticks? Grid-It! keeps them all safe on a flat portable surface consisting of elasticised bands in umpteen configurations. Yes, you could shove everything in a zip up bag, but what i like about this is it lays flat. So I can fit it easier alongside my laptop in my laptop case or on the top of my stuff in my suitcase.

TeckNet PowerZen 15,000 mAh USB External Battery. If like me you carry and use multiple devices and get frustrated when part way through the day you're running out of juice, then this behemoth of an external battery is for you. This beauty can re-charge your iPhone or iPad up to 10 times before its drained. Plus if you don't use it for a week or so, the battery doesn't go flat. So much better than those "lipstick" USB chargers than can barely do one charge.

Apple iPhone 6Plus. I'm a big investor in Apple tech and I love my 6Plus. Its faster, has a better quality screen and a much better battery life than its predecessors. Plus I'm finding it a really useful form factor in between my iPhone 5s and my iPad Air. I'm using it more to couch-surf and when I'm travelling and downloading video content on-the-go.

Belkin Wemo Automation Switch. I dipped my toe in the water of home automation last year with the installation of the British Gas Connected Homes App which lets me control my home's heating remotely. The Wemo lets you switch anything connected to it remotely on or off and/or lets you set up on/off schedules. I've hooked it up one of our floor lamps. Useful for when you're away and want to scare away the burglars. I'm going to get their lightbulbs next - allowing you to the same, but with screw-in lights.

One Villain

UP24. I've tried to get on board the wearable fitness train. From Nike shoes that housed an Apple pedometer, to Nike+ and now to UP. From winner to sinner in a year - UP was one of my gadgets of 2013. But sadly things went downhill. I've now had three UP devices (two original and one "24" model) in 18 months. And all three stopped working. I'm not talking about they didn't quite do what  expected. Or I found the functionality limited. They just stopped working. And this for a device that only switches between active and sleep mode or is charging. Surely a Minimal Viable Product should start with just being able to be switched on. But no, 3 UP bands all stopped working (oh, and you've probably guessed i'm a city-dweller with a desk job so I've hardly put them through the mill). I would switch to FitBit but their band brings me up in a rash *despondent sigh*. So sorry Jawbone, three strikes and you're out. I tried, I really did.

Its not the "What" but the "Why" that counts in marketing.

Recently I revisited a rather excellent TEDTalk on How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek. In it he explores why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty?

In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with WHY not WHAT.

The principle is simple. Give a vision and a reason for being and you get greater buy in and emotional connection. Tell the WHAT, and you get a 'meh'.

For example, if Apple were like everybody else a marketing message from them might sound like this: "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed and simple to use. Wanna buy one?" Answer : maybe. i.e. like most marketers, they would say WHAT they do, HOW they do it and expect some behaviour.

Instead, they worked the other way round: "Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently (WHY). We challenge the status quo by making products that are beautifully designed and simple to use (HOW). We just happen to make great computers (WHAT). Wanna buy one?" Answer : Hell yeah!

So lets not forget the WHY of what we do and bring that to the fore of our marketing. You might  be sceptical that your business or service has one, but rest assured you do! Your company does stand for something, have a strong point of view on an issue/subject or have a vision for the future. It could be:

  • a better way of doing business,
  • a desire to rid the world of costs, inefficiencies, inequalities or inadequacies,
  • an opportunity to increase access to certain types of services or
  • a passion to make people's lives better.

Of course it has to be authentic, but whatever it is, bring it alive in your marketing and start with the WHY not the WHAT.

 

Why i love B2B Marketing

There’s a great initiative that’s been kicked off by the Business Marketing Collective to challenge marketers in the B2B space to say why they love B2B Marketing.  You can follow the story on Twitter at #iloveb2b.  Here’s my contribution…

I've been doing B2B marketing for a long time. And when i started no-one, but no-one, chose B2B marketing as a career. No-one ever in career classes at school said "You know what,  I have a passion for promoting considered-purchase products & services." No-one went to University with the ambition of being a B2B marketer. No-one even got qualified to be a B2B marketer. 

And lets be honest, most B2B marketers historically fell into B2B marketing. Either by deciding sales wasn't for them or by moving out of general admin roles. But that's all set to change.

I truly believe we are in a golden age for B2B marketing. The old divide between B2C and B2B marketing has gone. The reality is the exciting stuff is in B2B. You get to do all the cool stuff that you envied B2C marketers for: digital marketing, data-driven marketing, content marketing, multi-channel communication, cut-thru creative and more. But you also get to cover multiple decision makers, varying personas and conflicting needs. In short, you have a far more interesting and challenging opportunity.  Forget trying to tug the emotional strings of a mother to buy fabric conditioner. You try instilling confidence in a CFO, a CEO and a CMO that you have a dependable, reliable business service that will drive growth and deliver a customer experience that more than delights their customers.

Now, that's exciting.

Its about logic, emotion, proof, business value, entertainment, ROI, being engaging, forging long-lasting relationships, delivering on promises, exciting customers.

And the best thing? No one has done this before. There's no Madison Avenue playbook, no corporate "way". You're a pioneer. An entrepreneur. An innovator. And you're at the forefront of a new industry. 

And that's why #iloveb2b.

Judging by dmexco, reports of the death of the trade show are greatly exaggerated

Fresh back from attending dmexco (digital marketing exposition and conference) in Cologne I'm once again reminded not to discount the more "traditional" methods of marketing. This particular conference/exhibition has gone from strength to strength. Ten years ago it attracted 200 delegates. This year it was 30,000+. With 800 exhibitors, 60,000 m² of exhibition space, 400 Speakers and 250+ hours of conference program its a beast of an event by any measure.

And (before you say it) its not just students and freelance consultants. Cologne, to be perfectly brutal, is not a town with a large catchment area of business professionals. You have to make some effort to travel there, which means dmexco doesn't suffer from passing trade. Its all pretty well qualified too based on the number of pre-confirmed meetings we had set up before we even set foot in Cologne.

Of course, you have to make the most of the activity. Integrate the event with your existing sales conversations. Set a target for 1:1 meetings and schedule as many as you can before the event. The best events should do the work in getting your target audience in one place.

And don't think you can stand in Aisle 27, Hall 5 and expect to hook in some juicy leads. Get out and about. Walk the floor & get your team to strike up conversations. In fact, if budgets are tight and you can only afford a tabletop & poster, scrap the booth idea and just walk the floor. Or build your presence by some sharp social media activity. Of course, good social media practice applies as ever.  No-one likes, or indeed listens to, "come visit our booth" messages. Opinions, news and views all shared via the event hashtag are an easy start.

So events *can* play a role in the digitally-enabled marketers portfolio. After all the key to great marketing (on- or off- line) is in humanising your brand. People buy from people. And what better way to do that by good old face-to-face communication?

What a PhD student taught me about choosing the right marketing channel

Many of us like to fashionable. I know I do. And when it comes to marketing, many of us don't want to be seen as the dinosaur in the room. So it's easy to get swept along by trends, fashions and the latest shiny things. Whether its a love of the new, or a worry about not being left behind we all feel the peer-pressure to be "contemporary". And no more so than in which communications channel to use. The shift of many to social media makes it seemingly easy to decide that's the right channel for our business and have hurtled into setting up presences on twitter, Facebook, instragram and even woo woo. But hang on, have we really chosen wisely?

When I'm presenting at industry conferences I sometimes share how to best to get hold of me. The example I often give is that when I get a letter at work, I get an email from reception telling me I have something - so infrequent is the post I receive. So my advice to the audience is if you want to get hold of me (a typical middle-aged senior marketing manager in the tech industry living in West London) - send me a letter! Forget email to social media - used good old DM!

So I was delighted to get a letter a few week back from someone who'd heard this speech and sent me something in the post! It was a PhD student called Dave Noble* who was looking for sponsorship. Dave had been a career marketer in the gaming industry but had decided to switch directions do a PhD in forensic psychology with a specialism in cyber bullying.  Kudos to Dave on 3 levels:

  1. for being one of the few to actually listen to, & act upon, one of my presentations :)
  2. for taking a brave & different career path to most others
  3. for researching such an important & under-considered area of our developing online lives.

But what reminded me was how a marketer (Dave) had listened to his potential customer (me) and chosen to communicate with me on my preferred channel. Of course I had been very explicit in him helping understand that fact, but with the marketing platforms available today you can easily understand your customers preferred channels through implicit behaviours (clicks, opens, downloads etc.).

So before diving in and getting fashionable, take some time to listen to your customers and find out where they want to communicated through. You may be surprised.

* If you are someone interested in sponsoring Dave's academic career you can email him at dave.noble37@gmail.com.

What will B2B Marketing Look Like in 2024? #B2Bbirthday

Congratulations to B2B Marketing Magazine, now celebrating its 10 year anniversary.

As part of the birthday celebrations, I was asked to provide my thoughts on what B2B marketing will look like in 10 years from now.

Here they are (more views at b2bmarketing.net/2024).

What do you think?

My dream is that B2B marketing will be a discipline people aspire to build a career in, rather than fall into. And that Cannes Lions will recognize B2B marketing excellence more than B2C.

My hope is that B2B marketers will base more and more decisions on fact not gut-feel, fuelled by greater insights and automation tools to scale out their marketing efforts. We’ll be fully in the land of real time, hyper-personalized marketing based on individual customer behavior. Campaigns and content will be tested on the fly to drive dynamic content at the point of interaction. 80% of marketing budgets will be spent on digital, not events.  And marketing will be seen as driving the business not supporting it.

25 years on from graduation : career reflections from an old alumni

I was flattered to have my old University (Manchester) reach out to me to share my career experiences since graduation for their latest intakes.

On reflection a degree in computer science, a stint in sales and a curiosity about new channels to market continue to serve me well as a B2B marketer in the digital age. And I'm eternally grateful for the time I spent in Manchester, as being scientist at heart is now more than ever the foundation for a career in marketing.

Here's what i said:

What is your current job title, organisation and your main responsibilities?  

I'm currently European Marketing Director for Adobe, the creative & marketing software technology company. I lead the marketing team responsible for raising awareness and driving demand for Adobe's Digital Marketing business in Europe. Our products help marketers in brands such as ASOS, Aviva, BT, Marks & Spencer, Nestle Sky & Sony build compelling & engaging digital experiences for their customers. 

I studied Computer Science at the University and since graduation have worked exclusively in the software industry. I've thought hard about my career and have tried to progressively build it through promotions and moves. The technology space is fast paced and quite fluid, so its not uncommon to move relatively often either through mergers, acquisitions or redundancy. You learn to be quite resilient - the change and dynamism is what I love about the industry 

My first job was for a small financial services software company in London, who I found through one of the "jobs on offer" directories that made the rounds in my final year. It was a Business Analyst role and attracted me as I knew I wanted to be involved with software technology, but at a more business than technical level. They were a small business, but had a graduate intake programme, and after several interviews I was one of two graduates they took into their business.

My next step was to move into sales, then into some of the leaders in software, and then into marketing. I've worked at Oracle, SAP & Microsoft and throughly enjoyed the opportunities given to me at each. I've expanded my remit from UK to European to Worldwide, and also gained invaluable experience at smaller technology businesses in CMO-type roles. 

Recently I've majored at working in digital marketing technology - its an area I can relate to and get passionate about. Adobe lets me bring all of these experiences together - and as I always say, marketing marketing technology to marketing people is a dream job for a marketer! 

How has your degree helped you in your career?  

Invariably software companies have complex, technical products that need explaining to both IT and business folk alike. My degree has stood me in great stead, as my role as a marketer is to understand our products' capabilities and simplify them for our customers. 

Also, marketing is more analytical than ever - so having a science background is a great boost to being able to deal with large amounts of data analysis. It also gives me a natural curiosity around tech - the geek inside me just loves to try out new technology and ideas. 

What is your greatest achievement to date?  

Being awarded "Marketer of the Year" by B2B Marketing magazine. It was in recognition of the work I'd done introducing a marketing automation platform at a start-up I was working for at the time. It was the project itself that I am particularly proud of, as it transformed the ability of a very small business to reach a wider audience than they'd ever dreamt of before. It started my interest in digital marketing technology and changed my career path to one that ended up with my joining Adobe. 

What advice would you give to someone thinking of pursuing a similar career route and what skills/experience do you consider to be necessary?  

The opportunities in marketing are so far ranging - from deeply technical (e.g. SEO, analytics, web development) to project management to highly creative (e.g. brand, design, UX) - so sometimes I need people with very specific technical skills or at least adjacent technical skills. I would advise anyone interested in technical roles to take an online course in internet/digital marketing as a good first step. 

More generally though, I look for people that are strong in three main areas - Change, Curiosity & Risk. I need employees that can respond rapidly to fast moving markets (Change), can help us stand out from our competitors (have the Curiosity to try out something new or different) and are not afraid to fail & learn (are willing to take a Risk). If you demonstrate these three strengths in your experiences then you're off to a good start. 

What did you most enjoy about your time at Manchester?  

I applied to Manchester as I knew it was one of the best for the subject I studied. And I wasn't let down by the quality of the teaching and the platform it gave me to build my career and travel the world. It was also great socially - being a music fanatic I was spoilt for choice in terms of gigs and clubs.

Before you get to BIG data, don't forget the LITTLE data in marketing

I was privileged enough to participate in two panel discussions this week - one for Ad Week Europe and the other for BrightTalk*.

Both were for slightly different marketing audiences but both came round to some common topics. Namely what are the big things going on in marketing, what's being over-hyped and what can add value. And specifically, what are those things in digital marketing.

[Side note : I have to say, the concept of "digital" marketing as a standalone thing is now an anachronism. Just face it, such a thing no longer exists. We're just marketing in the digital age. But I'll leave that for another post.]

Naturally the conversation soon came around to Big Data and what that means for marketers. With the rise of huge varieties of data sources (online, offline, location/telematics, quantified self etc.), real-time behavioural information and always-on marketing, its tempting to get blinded by the science.

My point at both sessions was this : we've got enough trouble dealing with the "little data" without worrying about "big data". Too many marketers have yet to get the basics right. As my fellow panellist Adam Sharp nicely put it, there are just four pieces of data a B2B marketer needs to understand/measure to build credibility and success in their business. These are:

  • Revenue target
  • Average deal size
  • Win:Loss ratio
  • Average length of sales cycle

From these you can calculate how many deals your business needs, and therefore the number of leads you need to generate. By month or quarter. You can also focus on improvement - increasing deal sizes or reducing the sales cycle.

Get it right and you'll be a hero. You'll also earn the right to flex those creative tendencies and expand your marketing footprint. It's all about getting numbers on the table and proving the business impact of marketing. Get it wrong, and you'll never get anywhere near to iBeacons, leveraging digital "body language" and the whole world of Big Data. 

So, sweat the small stuff first!

Of course, if you want to get some best practice on marketing in the digital age you can attend our Digital Marketing Summit in May in London. 2 days packed with 200 of the finest  speakers you'd care to meet, 3,000 marketers to network with and a kick-ass party to top it all off (Jessie J was the headline act last year). It's going to be a great event.

*By the way these were two of the most enjoyable panels I've taken part in for a long while. Particular kudos to the respective facilitators - Mark Earls and Lindley Gooden. Top guys.

Image : Courtesy of Scriberia Ltd