What You Can Learn From B2B Companies Who Are Entering the Editorial Space & Why They Are Doing It.
Wondering why there are so many businesses pursuing editorial opportunities? Below, industry experts cover this and other topics.
1. The B2B marketing sector is transforming.
According to HubSpot marketing SVP Kieran Flanagan, the B2B marketing industry has undergone four major phases in the past ten years.
A community-led strategy that makes use of media and publishing has developed from an initial focus on decision-makers. Many businesses use a strategy called "product-led growth," in which the product itself draws customers and encourages their repurchase.
According to Any Atluru, a former head of community at Clubhouse, this is ideal for utility-based products that have already received social validation or don't require a user network to succeed. Think of Calendly and Slack.
She emphasizes that a community-led business model might be more suited to brands whose goods aren't especially distinctive but gain value from the community. Consider Figma and Peloton.
The key to your success in this situation will be getting into the editorial space.
2. The advertising space is overcrowded.
Yuliya Bel, the CEO and co-founder of Notus, argues that advertisements no longer have the same impact they once did on an episode of Marketing Against the Grain.
There is a point at which marketing becomes saturated, just like anything else. She makes reference to a study conducted by eBay that found that brand search ad effectiveness had been overstated by more than 4,00%.
This raises the question: Is focusing on ads for customer acquisition and engagement the best play, given their exorbitant costs and intense competition?
She contends that the only way to guarantee longevity in the online space is to invest in creating high-quality content and distribution strategies.
Consider this: Even if you invest $100,000 in an advertising campaign, your lead generation will cease once it is over. Instead, you could use that money to hire a team to create evergreen content, which will continue to attract leads long after it is published
3. You adapt your message to your audience's needs.
Every company aspires to organically attract its target market.
Building a media engine is by far the most dependable and sustainable method of achieving this, even though social media is the most widely used method and the strategy that provides the quickest response.
Why? The first benefit is that you can now reach your audience without depending on third-party applications. What happens if Facebook and TikTok go down for a few days if you only rely on them? Or users dwindle and switch to a different app?
You'll have to constantly modify your approach to account for the platform while attempting to hit a moving target.
Your audience finds you when you build your own engine.
The second reason is that you can draw different personas by using various media.
For instance, your podcast listeners might have different needs and difficulties than your blog post readers.
You can adapt your content when you're in the editorial space to each user type and the stage of the buyer's journey. On social media, however, you simply broadcast content in the hopes that it will reach the right audience.
The problem is that social media has a quicker turn-around than the editorial space and is a long-term play. It may take months or years to see the impact of your work when developing a media arm, so for many businesses, the waiting period may seem pointless.
The most economical and long-lasting strategy for audience growth will, however, be to draw in your audience naturally through thoughtful content.
4. You become recognized as a thought leader in your field.
Being a thought leader-a company others look to for advice on trends, cutting-edge tactics, and more-is one of the best ways to stand out in the B2B market.
Kipp Bodnar, CMO at HubSpot, describes a strategy for standing out from the competition. On the Marketing Against the Grain podcast, he said, "There are a lot of technology industries where the pace of being able to innovate and create technologies is actually very fast. So, you need content and storytelling to differentiate."
For HubSpot, media has been crucial to our success, with our blog frequently serving as a lead's first point of contact. We've since added podcasts, videos, and newsletters to our repertoire.
In Flanagan's opinion, it's essential for building your B2B brand.
He claims that editorial taste will be the most underappreciated skill in B2B tech in the future.
This is a reference to the capacity to foresee what will appeal to your audience and how to carry it out.
They will believe the products you suggest to them, even if they are your own, once you have their attention and added value to their lives. Any business would do well to enter the editorial market for that reason alone.