We are all living in interesting times. Life, technology, and the world are moving at lightning speed.
I remember sitting in my living room in Bolingbrook, Illinois. I was sick, so I was home from work. A special report came on the TV. It was the beginning of the first Gulf War. CNN’s historic live broadcast from Baghdad began at 2:30 AM local time on January 17, 1991, marking the first live television coverage of war as the bombing campaign started. War had just morphed into entertainment, watching bombs blowing up buildings in Baghdad.
Today, social media and the news can show what is happening in real time. Even if you are mesmerized by the entertainment, not everyone is watching or even paying attention, and if they are, they may be getting a different perspective from what you are watching.
What's important is that we are in tune with what real people think and feel. They want to be informed and not just be entertained.
Hard Is Easy and Easy Is Hard
In marketing, we all want to be seen or heard, and see the results in real time. We are all in a competition for attention, clicks, and results. There are two main parts to this battle.
First, you have to create content. Without quality content, you have little to no chance of getting attention. Second, you have to distribute that content. You have to get your content in front of your audience. You also have to do that where they are hanging out, and you have to compete for their attention with everyone else who is marketing. That marketing may or may not even be to the same audience, but there is a war for people's attention.
Facebook has become almost unusable. You have sponsored ads that show up almost every other post. Then you have these new ‘Follow' posts for people and groups (sponsored) and reels (with Ads embedded). I joined Facebook to connect with friends, but I would say only 10-20% of all posts I see are from them. I can only imagine that my posts are the same. It will notify you (and your friends) of likes and comments, but that is just to get you to go back and spend more time consuming ads.
Not too long ago, you could run a business page and get seen. Now, that's almost impossible without buying ads. You could post as a person, and hundreds would at least see it. Now, you have to dig through the weeds to find a blade of grass, and no matter how hard you try to hide, unfollow, and the like, the more you see new stuff that will replace it. I am missing the fun pictures, jokes, or just staying in tune with my friends.
It used to be easy to get attention, but now it's hard.
When the Hard Is Easy
Face it—creating content is hard. Creating great content is even harder. I define great content as content that gets noticed and acted upon.
I often find content that looks great. I have had many a customer be surprised that a blog post years ago gets more clicks than current, more timely content. That content is usually a generic overview or basic concept post.
We will then add a call to action to track the action taken with that post. The hits keep coming, but the action is minimal. That tells you that search is showing that post, but the people clicking are not real potential customers.
As I have said before, just because a piece of content gets a lot of clicks, it may not be targeted and useful for your current prospects and client base. You can toil over writing new and interesting content, or take the shortcut of having AI do it for you, but either way, if it does not get action, then it's not great content.
Getting REAL
The best thing you can do is focus on current customers. Get them into your email broadcast list. Connect with them on social media (LinkedIn for B2b). And keep creating timely content.
That content should be based on real conversations about what is keeping them up at night or stressing them out. Then, offer ways to either solve those problems or lessen the pain.
How do you have those conversations? Listen. Ask your sales staff if any issues or problems are mentioned or hinted at by your current clients. Work the counter in a store or pick up the phone to answer calls. You need to have REAL conversations with real people to understand their real issues.
You may think you can see it through AI and Analytics, but you are looking at history and not current affairs.
Closing Thought
I honestly believed that world events would hurt or at least hinder business this year, but I am finding the opposite. This year has been as good or better than last year.
Your current clients are your niche. Once you understand them better, you have the ability to create timely content that can and will attract more people like them. Guessing or counting on past results is wish marketing.
It's always good to be informed, but it's better to be in tune, in touch, and intentional. Keeping people, not data, as the main focus of your marketing (even if the numbers are not as exciting) is the best way to maintain and build new business today!
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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.
