Is it Time for a Hybrid Marketing Team?

I talk to customers all the time who are struggling to employ people; yet very few tap into a massive pool of experienced talent – the over 50s. Most simply do not understand our needs …

I am over 50 and work for myself. I left the corporate 9 to 5 rat race five years ago.

According to the press I am far from alone. While I still work as a freelancer, the number of 50 to 64 year olds who are not in work rose to 3.6 million this year.

At the same time, I talk to customers who are really struggling to employ people. One position, for a senior manager, took more than 8 months to fill.

So how do you attract this untapped and vastly experienced talent? Sadly, many people really do not understand the needs of an older employee.
 
Speaking personally, I still need to pay the bills, but I was bored in the corporate world. It was the same thing day in day out. I craved change and control over my own destiny. Also, I’ve paid off my mortgage so a big salary on its own is simply not enough.

We don’t want to be tied down to the same old corporate grind. We want to be challenged, we want excitement and we want flexibility.

Be honest can you offer that? If not, can you change the job specification?

Alternatively, you could think outside of the box. Could you restructure the job to make it part time, or could you fulfil it using a team of freelancers? There are lots of us over 50s out there with a huge amount of experience but too many of you don’t meet our needs.

According to the ad industry Guru David Ogilvy only one in five people who read a headline bother to read the body copy. How can you beat this statistic?

If you are developing copy this leaves us with two conclusions. First you need to get the story into a headline of 60 characters or less for the modern generation of skimmers and second you need to hook the reader to engage with your body copy so that they learn more. Here are some tips to help you squeeze the most out of your 60 character headline:

1.      Tell the reader why they should interested.  Remember it’s about them not you.

2.      Be specific.

3.      Tug at your readers’ emotions.

4.      In this internet age, think about what your readers search for.

5.      Write your headline after the body copy.

6.      Read your headline out loud.

When you can publish whatever you like, there is a danger in loosing that cutting edge. It is why the skills of media relations are so important, after all the ultimate editor is your prospect or other intended audience.

If you have any other tips about writing a great headline, then please feel free to put them in the comments.

 

It’s time to bin the exclamation mark.

If you are writing content, then it shows that your words have failed to excite or engage – so you try and get this overused punctuation mark to do it for you.

It’s lazy. Words can be hard work and it’s tempting to fall back on it to give us a hand. But it’s a trap, we rely on them far too heavily. They are the smiley faces of the punctuation world.

F Scott Fitzgerald said, note he did not exclaim, “An exclamation point is like laughing at your own jokes.”

So when would it be permissible to resurrect this annoying punctuation mark?  Only for major life events – if you or your partner give birth or you get married because that sort of commitment deserves it.  There is nothing in B2B marketing content that springs to mind.

Let’s cross them out now!!!!!!! - see how annoying they are.

The claim that thought leadership in B2B marketing is dead as a result of Coronavirus is complete nonsense.

While immediacy is a big thing at the moment, and it’s fine to have fun, we still need to have a sense of purpose that our customers understand. B2B companies should not get blown off course just to fit the latest fashion.

What the pundits really mean is that we need more down to earth communications and be a little less pompous. We still need that big vision, but we need to deliver it empathetically and in a way that is helpful for the customer. But hang on a minute isn’t that what we should be doing as marketeers anyway?

Some issues are not immediate. I have clients working towards a more sustainable future with products and services that will drive us towards a greater use of renewables. This involves both short term messaging – how can we help you, but it also involves campaigning to change the nature of the energy market.

Thought leadership is alive and kicking, it just needs to avoid being bombastic.

Let’s not lose our sense of purpose just to be fashionable.

There’s been a lot of debate in the news about getting the message right over the last few weeks. If you want to prevent it going wrong for your business, then here are five common things for you to guard against:

1. The organisation looks at it from their point of view not the audience. Why not try it out with the audience – ask them does this make sense?

2. People try and squeeze too much detail and caveats into a message, to the point where it losses any clarity. Remember to KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid.

3. Too many people get involved, which can cause either 1 or 2 above.

4. Fear and politics. If it becomes the pet project of the MD or perhaps someone else high up, then I have seen people afraid to stand up and say, “I’m sorry but this doesn’t work”. If you are the boss listen and take criticism – it’s why you employ marketing people.

5. Employing someone who does not understand your customer base. I know some great content producers, but the art of communication is about understanding someone else’s needs and then communicating what matters to them and in the appropriate language. If you know someone who knows your market, then they can help you cut through the waffle and are also confident enough to challenge your assumptions.

If you get the message wrong, then you are wasting time and money; but worse than that If your customers and prospects don’t understand what you offer, then why would they do business with you?

When we exit into a post Coronavirus world, B2B marketing professionals need to re-examine their supply chains.

This crisis has shown that that services can be delivered by homeworkers, which incidentally is something that we freelancers have known for years. The people delivering the service have not needed the bureaucracy or hierarchy of overpaid agency owners or the buildings that they all sit in.

Agencies also tend to work in set structures or silos, it means that often you will be wedded to the staff in a team. I think a better approach for you is to mix and match people with an ideal skills mix for you.

A better approach is to find someone who exactly meets your needs. They already know your market and customers so there is no need for them to go through a learning curve. There will be a freelancer pre-loaded with that information, you just need to find them through search, social media such as Linked In or perhaps by asking a trade press editor.

Most of these freelancers will have come from an agency background and several will have years or decades of experience. Better yet if they have worked in your industry, they will know other contacts with similar experience – and there you have the basis of your perfect virtual team.

Finally, just like online retailers their overheads are lower so expect more competitive prices. If I were an agency owner I’d be scared.

 

In response to COVID 19, I have seen some businesses question whether it is appropriate to continue with business related marketing communications. My answer is yes keep going.

Of course, we are all concerned and caring, but equally we must keep the wheels of the economy turning – in fact at the moment it’s more important than ever.

There have been numerous studies showing that those businesses that keep communicating during the tough times will recover far more quickly. In fact, most customers welcome it - a study by Kantar found that 92% of consumers believe that brands should keep advertising.

While we need to show empathy and think about how we communicate, at a time when people are more engaged with media it is a mistake to turn off the communication taps. You owe it to your employees who want the company to survive and then, when we come out the other end, prosper.

All of us whether self-employed or employed need to keep selling products and services so that we can all keep paying mortgages, rent and importantly buy stuff from other people.

Inappropriate behaviour would be to make money out of a crisis - surely business as normal is now more important than ever?

Does your content marketing copy meet the 3-30-3 rule? My son is actually teaching me stuff now; I knew that fancy University education would come in handy. What is the 3-30-3 rule?

It's to do with how we make snap decisions and it affects the way we perceive information. Apparently, people use a series of thought subsets, they thin slice what they see.

The most important point in the decision comes from the first slice – it takes 3 seconds for people to make that first decision. So, if you are producing content make sure that your headline grabs their attention. Does it address your prospects’ needs?

If you get over this slice, you have another 30 seconds in which they decide whether your message deserves more detailed consideration. This is where your first paragraph and possibly subheads might grab them.

Finally you have 3 minutes to build your case – so get to the point if it's long form copy and explain why the whitepaper, guide or feature article matters to them.

Instinctively having been taught to communicate in a journalistic style I know this, but I’ve never had it explained scientifically before. Take a long hard look at your content and ask yourself, from your customer’s perspective, does it meet the mark, or will they mentally consign it to the bin?

When you create a USP for your brand it’s important to realise the difference between what you must have as a business and what sets you apart.   I see too many so called USPs that any competitor worth their salt could claim.

In my line of work, content marketing and PR, you would expect any agency or supplier to be creative or to tell the story well.

Putting myself in a B2B marketing manager’s shoes, I’d point out that you would say that wouldn’t you? Where is the proof? Client case studies aren’t enough on their own, because every agency can point you in that direction.

This is basic marketing and I’m constantly astounded by how many communication agencies don’t realise this.

If you claim to be the best – by the way what does that even mean – then show me your awards?

Or even more relevant – do you have a niche where you are an expert? Do you understand my customers who you will be communicating with?

Communication works when you understand a market. What is it that your customer’s prospects need? What pain points will you be solving for them?

Niche expertise rules in the B2B communication world. Perhaps that’s why the freelance culture is soaring with examples of loose partnerships coming together to form an ideal team. The B2B agency model needs to evolve or it will go to the wall.