If you work in marketing at all then you know two things: Seth Godin, and Seth Godin’s unmatchable insight.

Just this week I was doing some client work and came across this 2016 Q&A he did on the TIm Ferriss show.

(I’m going to sidetrack for a moment to ask: do you listen to the Tim Ferriss Show? I don’t listen to every single one, but every single one I do listen to is worthwhile. Just recently he sent out the intro and first chapter of his new book Tribe of Mentors to his email list and it was so good. I’m looking forward to reading the rest!)

I pulled these two questions from the beginning of the interview because there’s so much to chew on in just these two questions. Sometimes I get so into the metrics of marketing that I forget what we’re actually doing. This was a good reminder.

How do you build a tribe from scratch?

In the modern world we can get confused because it might seem that our job is to build a tribe from scratch but most of the time that’s not what happens.

Nike did not invent the running tribe there were already runners before Nike showed up…. What we do when we lead a tribe often is we find people who are already connected and we merely show up to lead them

For most businesses, we don’t even lead them. We merely service a tribe that already exists so that when you find a group of people who share an instinct and interest a connection a leader a goal and you give that group of people something with which they can take action

The way i abbreviate that long sentence is: people like us do things like this.

What’s the one thing that most marketers do wrong?

This is easy. We’re selfish. We’re narcissists–infantile narcissists who believe that our need for more and our desire for attention trumps everything else. We justify and rationalize our work and interrupt people spam people, yell at people, deceive people and play the short term game again and again and again. Successful marketers are successful because they don’t do that. It turns out that’s scarce. The folks who are willing to build a story that’s true, to earn permission, to create a product or service that spreads merely because it’s remarkable–that mindset almost never shows up.

As we all know, traditional B2B sales have a patterning process where field representatives meet with their customers, educate them on the product and attempt to close the deal. However, that is not the case in today’s business climate. Many B2B sales are declining because they are finding it hard to adapt to the new modern, sales cycle and the several marketing channels. Let’s face it, technological innovations have changed the world around us. There are now well-designed solutions and support to obtain information about products.

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t immediately reach for their phone and start googling something that’s on their mind. We look for general information, solutions, the latest trends, celebrity gossip and last but not least the infamous consumer reviews on restaurants and products. Seriously, nowadays the internet can answer just about anything.

Unfortunately, many B2B sales organizations aren’t taking advantage of today’s digital technology and marketing. If the B2B sales organizations understood the process better, they could increase their sales and be more efficient.

Let me show you three effective ways you can boost your B2B sales all by leveraging digital marketing.

1.    Stay connected to your customers

With today’s digital technology and marketing, you are able to stay connected to your customers, educate and support them anytime, anywhere. Online content never sleeps! Consider this your 24/7 marketing depot for your business. This is very important because today’s customers spend a lot of time self-educating through digital channels. You have the ability to lead and influence your customers to make the selections and best purchasing decisions for them.

2.    Know your customers

Digital Marketing can give you access to an abundant amount of data so you can really know your target audience. With online digital channels, you can learn about the people who have visited your website, track returning visitors, show you what they viewed and even tell you what device they used. It’s pretty scary to think about as a customer but as a business owner, this is a great benefit. This can help you understand your customer’s expectations across all platforms. When you know your customers, it will be easier for you to deliver the most relevant content.

3.    Interact with your customers online

Yes, you can now interact with your customers through a website. Businesses can now build effective online tools that complement the sales process for them. So, a website can’t provide an actual sit down meeting, but it can deliver a great user experience. It’s important you personalize the content so you can extend your customer relationships. This can actually be more convenient than any “in person” sales contact.

Remember, at the end of the day, both traditional sales and digital channel process will ultimately be decided by the consumer. However, digital marketing is an essential part of any B2B sales strategy. It’s always ready to help drive sales, so use it wisely and to your benefit. Enjoy!

Why Your Business Should Be Going All In On Marketing Before 2018

We talked last month about how important it is to start marketing for the holidays months before the holidays arrive. Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, New Years. They’re all coming up fast. People have gifts to buy, sales to take advantage of, and New Year’s resolutions to spend money on! They want what you’re offering and they want a good deal.

The problem is: you’ve got competition. You’re not the only one with your product, and yours really isn’t the only one on the market.

Always Be Closing Marketing

Corporations sponsor things like conferences. Really big corporations sponsor really big things like stadiums and arenas.

Can you imagine that? You’re planning your marketing budget for 2018 and it includes a an $18B line item for stadium naming rights. How’s that for competition?

The point is: your marketing can’t just be good. It has to be better than your competitor’s.

That’s why your marketing is so important. You have to be thinking about your market, but also about your competitor. Your campaigns have to connect with your customers better than your competitor’s does. And just like in a real game, you have to always be upping your game, outsmarting your opponent, changing your strategy mid-game so that when that shot opens up, you get nothing but net.

The Year Is Almost Out. What Do You Have Planned?

Facebook ads. Influencer campaigns. Sales and sales pages and extra big discounts.

Those are great! Truly. But think about your marketing as a way to connect with your customers. You know your customer better than anyone. You know the problem your business is helping them solve. Right? (If I’m wrong here, you need to rethink your marketing strategy and ensure it includes some damn good research.)

Now zoom out a little and figure out how can you add value. What can you give these people, in this busy, crazy (but beautiful, cheery, feel-good) season that would really add value to their lives.

Or, to their Facebook feeds at least.

Put out content that’s funny, pretty, inspirational, useful, helpful—whatever’s going to connect with them.

(But, like, genuinely connect. Don’t be all smarmy about it.)

How Will You Ring In The New Year?

I’m not talking about watching the ball drop!

You’re going all in for the rest of this year, you’re killing the competition and connecting with your customers. Whatever big business goals you have for the new year, go after them in full force right now(!).

Connect with them now so that after the holiday madness has passed, you can ring in the new year with new customers.

Consumers use search engines to ask questions, find solutions and gain knowledge on a certain subject. As a marketer, you want consumers to identify with your company, products, and services. First, you need to identify what types of thoughts and search terms define certain areas. Marketers must develop a hybrid solution that satisfies both what the consumer wants and what the company is selling.

For example, people might associate any fuel-efficient vehicles with the term “hybrid”—although this term doesn’t refer to all types of fuel-efficient vehicles. A company that sells an “all-electric car,” wants to be a thought leader for fuel-efficient vehicles. But, because this company does not sell hybrid cars, they must explain that to customers somehow. For instance, they could say something like “All-Electric Car offer better MPG than any Hybrid”. By doing this, the electric car company is maintaining its position as a leader for people looking for fuel-efficient vehicles. They are not only using a solution that aligns customer needs but product sales. This helps them become top of mind for customers.

If you want to engrave yourself on the minds of your consumers you need to be there whenever they look. Choose terms that describe a customer need and go with a paid and organic search engines. The higher you rank on the search results page, the better your chances are of becoming a thought leader.

Get Email Subscribers—Without Annoying Your Readers or Playing the Guilt Card

8 years ago, I came across a site offering surely the best freebie I’ve ever encountered. It was a PDF called A Brief Guide to World Domination, and all it cost was my email address. But, even better than that PDF—if you can believe it—was the email that came after it. Chris Guillebeau, the site’s author, laid it out very clearly right off the bat:

Here’s the deal: I’m going to send important information to you, and I have one, maybe two chances to get it right. If I disappoint you, you’ll click the "unsubscribe" link and I’ll be gone from your life forever.

Have you ever read a welcome letter like that?

It’s the only one I’ve ever gotten (and why I’m still a subscriber). These days I have a whole separate email account for subscriptions I’ve gotten just for the lead magnet. I read very few of them. They’re annoying to me as a subscriber, and they’re time-intensive and costly for the companies to produce. So, let’s talk newsletters, subscribers, and opt-ins.

Getting a bunch of subscribers is the easy part. You do a great lead magnet. You host a giveaway. The better the lure, the more people will sign up.

But then what? A good open rate is about 25%. Why aren’t more opening their email? DIdn’t they sign up for it?

Maybe. more likely they signed up for the “freebie”—which actually isn’t free at all because it cost them their email address. And because they hate the email but want the freebie, they entered the address of the account they never check, which means that no matter how good your content, they will never open it. They’re not even going to see it.

Stop Wasting Your Time on Getting Subscribers

Instead of thinking about getting them, think about what they get from it. Why should they be on your list? What are you giving them? Instead of focusing on the number of subscribers, focus on the quality of your content and letting your readers know that if they like your blog, there’s even more (better!) content by signing up. You want them to want to sign up.

Delete all of those annoying pop up windows that ask for your email address the second you enter the site. I haven’t even gotten to see your damn website! Why the hell am I going to give you my email address?? I don’t know why anyone even responds to those forms, but I can tell you: you’re the only one who loses. Exit-intent pop=ups, or one that comes up at the end of posts are the only acceptable forms.

Then, always give your subscribers value. You can make money off your list, but just like with your business, you cannot let this drive your decision-making. Customers first and the rest will follow.

My favorite newsletters are consistent, brief, and high-quality. They’re enjoyable and easy-to-read, and they benefit my life. They include: This American Life. ReplyAll. Tim Ferriss. Ramit Sethi.

The reason you’re reading this right now is because you know how valuable a good email list is. Why is an email list valuable? Because of the quality people.

Never ever forget that, and you’ll have readers for years.

Should My Social Media Posts Be long or Short?

Long or short, your posts need to be good. Different platforms lend themselves better to one or the other. We’ll take a look at how to do the best content on each platform.

The Case for Short Posts

Most social media channels don’t allow for long posts. They’re made to share content that is visual (instagram), easily shared (Twitter), or FOMO-inducing (Snapchat). This works great as you can share a great visual, meme, quote, joke or thought that’s quickly viewed, engaged with and–hopefully–passed on. Keeping it brief (but engaging!) means it’s more likely to be seen or read, engaged with, and passed on.

Instagram. Instagram, like Twitter, is a platform designed for brevity. And yet, length can work to your advantage. Instagram stories allows 15-second clips with a shelf life of 24 hours and, in general, Instagram is a short-format platform. It’s mainly visual, so captions should be brief, as should talking on stories. Still, a mix of longer stories and shorter ones, like longer captions and shorter captions, is the a great way to tell stories. And telling compelling stories is a good way to increase followers and keep them engaged long-term.

YouTube Ads are my favorite thing to talk about. Many of the short ones are unoriginal and awful to sit through, but so many advertisers have gotten smart about it! I’ve sat through long ads just because they were so engaging that even once the 5 seconds had passed, I still wanted to know what would happen next. So, if you do produce video content—as you probably do if you’re managing a Facebook page— imagine you’re producing a YouTube ad and you only have 4 seconds to grab your viewer. How would you immediately engage your audience? How do you keep them watching?

The Case for Long Posts

Generally, your posts are not going to be very long. Shorter posts are great for daily sharing and conversation. Long posts are for more in-depth discussions. However, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (Medium) all have ways to publish longform content and you should use these strategically.

Blogging is the most obvious place for long posts, but you don’t have to have a blog to share a more in-depth post.

Share:

-A lesson you’ve learned from your life that will resonate with people

-An anecdote that illustrates a new idea you want to share

-A how-to or informative guide that’s relevant to your business

The thing about a long post is it has to be super good. You can recover quickly from a lousy short post, but if people take the time to read your long post and get to the end and feel like they’ve wasted several minutes of your life? That’s bad for your brand.

Whatever you decided: make them worthwhile! Just like your business is adding value to your clients’ lives, so should your social media presence. Before everything you create, ask how your follower will benefit from it. If lengthening will make it more valuable, add more content. But if it’s better with fewer words (even if you really loved that story in the second paragraph), cut it. Ultimately your posts are a service to your followers. Make it A-1.