I have often heard that the clock is set back one hour in the fall and your scale should be set back 10 pounds during the Holiday season.

‘Tis the season for holiday parties. There are cookies everywhere. There are cookie exchanges because you can't get enough. You can't eat all your own cookies (well I guess you could if you tried hard enough).

Making and baking cookies is an art. Just like a guitar, effects pedals, and a mixing board creates a unique sound of music – flour, butter, spices, cookie cutters, and a baking pan can create unique tastes, shapes, and well… cookies.

Richard Smith who sold us our house (along with his wife Jo) is also a dessert chef. There is a difference between the art of a chef and store-bought cookies. I have had the opportunity to taste many of his creations and they are rich, delicious, and unique. I am sure the leftover cookies are left behind on purpose I often leave a party with a goodie bag of leftovers that I will inhale and enjoy days later.

The nice thing about cookies is that they are small. You eat one, then taste another, then try more. But we rarely sit down with a plate full of them, right?

Marketing Cookies

Marketing is a lot like cookies. It can be unique and tasty, or it can be just junk food. It all depends on the recipe and the artist mixing it up and baking it. If you think about it, you eat marketing cookies every day in your browser.

Cookies are little bits of code that are dropped into your browser when you visit a website. Those cookies not only remember what you browsed but can also be used to retarget you.

Have you ever looked at a product (maybe a couch) on a website, and then start seeing Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other ads for furniture of all kinds? Those digital sprinkles on internet cookies act like a trail of crumbs to remind you that you were once interested in the item.

Why do they do that? because it works. While you were looking at that couch, a call or email may have taken you away, and they just keep reminding you that you were interested at one time. Maybe now is the time you should act and buy.

Cookies on the internet are just like their baked counterparts. When left out too long, they just go stale.

If they did not go stale, our minds would go numb. Imagine seeing all the things you have searched for in the last week or month as ads. You would want to change browsers (most people don't know how to clear cookies). But just like real cookies, small tastes are always best to keep you interested and not feeling too full, too fast.

The Recipe

To make good B2b marketing cookies, you need good ingredients. People's eyes and noses are key to getting them to consume cookies. Good marketing has to appeal to people's eyes and hearts.

So what's the main difference between store-bought (generic) cookies, and gourmet ones? The look and the smell.

Good quality ingredients like flour, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, or nutmeg attract people to consume cookies. Ingredients like pictures, headlines, and creative writing appeal to people's emotions and attract them to consume your content.

All cookies start out with a mixture of ingredients put into a bowl and mixed together to form a dough. Then it is spooned or scooped out onto a baking sheet, leaving enough room for them to expand and form the final product. Then, they are garnished with powdered sugar, sprinkles, nuts, or more to finish the presentation.

But even the best recipe, ingredients, mixture, and garnish, can't hide if your cookies are half-baked. You need to put them in the oven at the right temperature and watch them so they don't undercook or burn.

The Content Recipe

In B2b marketing, your content is your cookies. Some businesses try to use browser cookies and other ad techniques to attract buyers, but with B2b marketing, you will find that the websites customers visit (like LinkedIn) don't use consumer-style cookies in their advertising. So, you have to use a great recipe, and quality ingredients to attract people's eyes and hearts.

As mentioned before, the headline and the writing are the flour and butter building the base of your recipe. Think of the images as a garnish that makes the content appealing to the eyes. Think of eBooks and webinars as the big bowl of dough. Then it's spooned or scooped out in the form of blog posts, emails, graphics, bite-sized videos, and social media posts onto your cooking sheets (websites, inboxes, and social platforms).

Finally, it has to be baked (heated up) and monitored (for comments and engagement), so don't just set it and forget it. You want to participate and watch for signs (analytics and reports) that it's appealing to the eyes and hearts of your audience.

Consuming

How do you know when you have baked good cookies? People talk about them and ask for more. How do you know when you have baked good content? When people talk (comment or engage) and ask for more.

Think of people sharing your content as a cookie exchange. When people like what you say, they share it. Heartfelt and emotional content can confirm their beliefs and help them express that to their audience.

In B2b marketing, you know you have baked good content when it strikes up conversations between your sales team and your customers or prospects.

Finally, most people eat cookies after a meal and as a treat. If the cookies smell and look good, people will often eat less just to savor your treat as a sweet reward. If your content appeals to their eyes and hearts, people will look for your content cookies and leave room for them in their schedule.

Final Thoughts

Is your content being dished out as treats or is it just a meal with no room for a little decadent delectable? I am a fan of a good meal but little bite-sized morsels often leave people wanting to come back for more. Make your content sweet and appealing to people's eyes and hearts and you will find it's the perfect ending to an enjoyable party!

“Baking is how you start kids at cooking in the kitchen. It's fun whether it's baking bread or cookies. With baking, you have to be exact when it comes to ingredients”

– Sandra Lee

Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about the marketing (or sugar) cookies. What are your favorite holiday cookies? Do you have a B2b marketing or baking recipe you'd like to share? How do you make your content appeal to the senses (eyes, nose, heart)?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast