Underground B2B Content Marketing tips from Joe Chernov

Our guest today is Joe Chernov. He's VP of Marketing @InsightSquared. He also lends a hand to startups and wildlife causes when he can. Diving right in, he says, "It's unbelievable what you can get done if you don't care if you get fired!" Talking about his experience at Eloqua, "If we were to publish something that is valuable, we could edge our way into deeper coverage by the media." 

Scorecard - even though we're not supposed to keep score: 

16 articles after spending 2 years developing a product and writing up the release.

An infographic got 800 articles. Very eye-opening.

Joe says, "Content marketing is what happens when a marketing department shifts its thinking from knowing that the company that signs their paychecks needs to shift to the customer signs the paycheck." That shift in mindset turned collateral into an ebook, a self-serving whitepaper into a more valuable, lengthy piece of content.

Shifting strategies from serving the executive to serving the buyer changes everything.

Q. Is there a concern we are flooding the world with content so much so that it will no longer work at some point?

A. There is more content marketing happening which makes it more and more difficult for signals to be heard, but that's only the surface. 50% of a company's content never gets used. It puts more pressure on originality. We've rested on our laurels a bit. 

Definitive guides, whitepapers - been done years ago by the industry leaders.

Q. What are the ways you distinguishing your efforts at InsightSquared to stand out?

A. Trying to apply some of the ethos that makes good content marketing - serving the BUYER. Applying it to direct mail. Rather than a coffee mug or t-shirt with logo on it. Something more original. If we close loosely - demo, in funnel - we try to accelerate them coming back. Postcard: Come Running Back - link on back to enter your shoe size. Gets them a pair of Nikes WITHOUT logo. The deal isn't done. 

Think creatively. Be memorable. Keep the conversation, interest and value going.

Hear more solutions, reveals and ideas in the full replay.

Get to know our guest, Joe, a bit better.

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