What do you think is the most important aspect of B2B marketing?
Marketing to people whilst they’re working is tough… the majority of people are very time short, or plan their weeks so that any new task, email, or phone call throws them off course – even if it is a solution to their problems…
If you’re lucky enough to get 10 seconds of their time to read your email, congratulations, but now you need to really use that 10 seconds wisely to get your message across, build trust with the reader, but also intrigue whilst solving a problem or pain that they have.
It’s a lot! Which is why an email alone tends not to suffice.
How important is social media for client and audience engagement?
Social media is a great tool for building brand awareness, LinkedIn, whether paid or organic content, offers a different view to share your product – it’s a level higher than a perceived intrusive email, and clicking onto a business’ LinkedIn profile as opposed to a link in an email is much more likely.
The strange subconscious thinking we have about switching from one application or even tab to another can sometimes feel like a commitment… however, the content then available on LinkedIn is that of a familiar setting and layout, the about section is there to inform the reader (without the fear of a popup box asking you to fill out a form on the website or a loud video playing without you asking), the content is in one tidy place as you’re used to and you can connect with employees or explore their full website, should you wish.
The familiarity allows you to showcase your brand with potentially more intrigue, especially if you stand out from the crowd. Direct messaging can be similar to email, but with a much more personal feel (faces help), engagement rates are much higher (16-24% vs 50%+).
How do you ensure brand consistency through multiple platforms?
As well as colours, fonts and logos – consistent layout and position of iconography and illustrations helps to play a big part for us. It adds a personal level, bring our brand colours through even more (but subtly) and helps fill up space on the page. There’s nothing wrong with having a few pages in a slide deck compared to one full of words…
It also goes without saying, but tone of voice and what you actually speak about / comment on is priceless.
If you want to be a cool, disruptor in the market, embrace the exciting values you rely on and consistently push that forward on your channels.
It’s not easy and sometimes you need to take a step back – that’s where having a comms plan is really key, for socials, email, PR and anything else internally or externally. It really isn’t easy when it’s a small handful, or just one person in the marketing team, but don’t be afraid to push back to seniors in order to get things right, it has to be done!
About Inflowing
Inflowing is a B2B marketing agency. We help B2B organisations do meaningful things with marketing – whether that’s getting more leads, more visibility, or supporting their sales teams.
We’re an experienced team of marketers with an incredibly strong background in B2B. To learn more about B2B and improving your marketing, check out our other blogs or get in touch.
