Doing a daily podcast isn’t easy...but over the last 18 months, we’ve figured out our rhythm and we’re making it happen.
Now that we’ve figured out the logistics of producing a daily podcast, my next goal is to figure out creative ways to get the show in front of new eyes and ears.
A few weeks ago I decided to take lessons learned from each episode that went live in the previous month, and roll it into a single article for this column.
Hopefully a few of the people that are mentioned below will share this article with their network, and voila...new eyes and ears will discover our podcast. :)
With that said, below are 21 lessons learned from our podcast (B2B Growth) in the month of August. Enjoy!
21 Lessons Learned
1) James Carbary (one of our rare solo episodes)
This episode was focused on Bill Hybels’ one question that can drastically increase your productivity:
What are the six greatest contributions you can make to your organization in the next six weeks?
Link to the episode: How To Be Way More Productive In The Next 6 Weeks
2) Sam Biardo
Feel swamped with emails and phone calls to get on the same page with your operations team?
Consider integrating your entire customer experience from start to finish into your CRM to be on the same page without constant emails and phone calls.
Link to the episode: Everything You Need to Know About CRM Integration
Create a value based framework.
When you understand how your customer sees their own problem, you are able to communicate your solution in a way that they are ready to receive.
Link to the episode: How to Use a Value-Based Framework to Drive and Target Marketing Content
4) Joe Chernov
Looking for an operations professional? Look to the tech sector.
The tech industry has a high density of operations pros, and technology companies have been leading the way (when it comes to operations) for decades.
Link to the episode: Sales, Marketing, and the Unsung Heroes of Today’s Growing Companies
5) Logan Young
Don’t know where to start when using Facebook ads for your B2B brand?
Try layered workplace targeting.
Create a piece of content that is catered to someone in a specific role at a targeted collection of companies. Then use Facebook targeting to put that piece of content in front of the exact audience that you’re trying to reach.
Link to the episode: How to Effectively Run B2B Facebook Ads
As marketers, it’s vital to find ways to cut through the noise.
So what’s one of the best ways to do this? Try influencer marketing.
By partnering with influencers that have credibility in your space, you can get your brand’s message in front of potential buyers for less budget than you’d expect.
Link to the episode: An Outside the Box Approach to B2B Influencer Marketing
7) James Thomas
Only 21% of marketers can track their revenue impact. Why?
They fail to understand where the data to track this lies.
Consider investing in a technology platform that ties the pieces of your budget together to track revenue impact.
Link to the episode: Why Only 21% of Marketers Can Measure Their Revenue Impact
8) Louis Gudema
What is one of the most overlooked marketing assets?
Your existing customers!
It’s almost always faster, easier, and more profitable to grow existing accounts than earn new ones.
Link to the episode: 4 Customer Retention Tactics for B2B Brands
Need to convert more content to leads?
Consider a content upgrade: a lead magnet designed to expand on a specific piece of content.
The specificity of this asset means an increase in value to potential customers, and in turn an increase in conversion to a lead.
Link to the episode: How to Actually Convert Your Readers With Content
10) Jennifer Johnson
What do Apple, Netflix, and Keurig have in common?
Instead of trying to compete inside the confines of existing categories, they created their own.
Since these companies created entirely new categories, they were able to dominate market share and reap the financial benefits of being a category king.
Link to the episode: Category Design (and When Your Company Needs To Do It)
11) Steve de Mamiel
Don’t be afraid to hand leads back to marketing from sales when the customer isn’t ready.
This lets marketing handle the customers’ barriers without the pressure.
Link to the episode: The Forgotten Marketing Persona
12) Tukan Das
Where do we see B2B marketing evolving in 2017? An increase in quality over quantity of leads.
In the age of noise, talking to the right people (not the most people) is the key to success.
Link to the episode: The 5 Top Challenges Facing B2B Marketers in 2017
13) Janel Scott-Lind
If you want to drive more organic traffic, you have to know how people find you.
Try using free tools that show what people search to find you.
Link to the episode: 3 Things You Should Know About Driving Organic Traffic
14) Babak Azad
Take the time to create a customer lifetime value model to understand the costs and value from each customer.
By building this model, you are able to isolate the key levers in your business and optimize them.
Link to the episode: How to Use the CLTV Model to Identify the Key Levers in Your Business
15) Joe & Bix Bickson
In the 20th century, businesses that survived understood and leveraged linear thinking and staying the course.
To survive in the 21st century, you must be prepared to analyze data and adapt swiftly based on it.
Link to the episode: Future Hacking (and the Marketing Conversation)
16) David Pereira
How are you communicating with your channel partners?
Consider asking them questions that allow you to learn their world.
Link to the episode: 3 Ways to Drastically Improve Your Content Channel
Modern buyers require modern sellers. Your buyers are digitally connected and socially engaged.
75% of B2B buyers have used social media to assist them in company purchases. Why would sellers not meet them there?
Link to the episode: 4 Things Sales & Marketing Should Understand About Modern Buyers
18) Elle Woulfe
Too often our marketing revolves around “getting clicks.”
Instead, try to understand how you can best deliver content (when and what kind) that provides the information your buyer needs.
Link to the episode: The Problem with Marketing Success Metrics in 2017
19) Jen Anderson
Looking to build a high performance team?
Take the time to understand the strengths of each member of your team and focus on placing them in roles that allow them to lean into those strengths.
Link to the episode: 8 Steps For Building and Leading a High Performance Team
20) Andrea Kayal
Benchmarks and best practices are helpful tools to develop your organization, but you need to constantly evaluate them. Why?
Because best practices and benchmarks for one team don’t guarantee they are best for all teams.
Link to the episode: Why Best Practices and Benchmarks are Dangerous
21) Daniel Miller
Email automation is a powerful tool, but the thought of setting it up can be extremely intimidating.
To ease the pressure, try viewing it as simply an opportunity to create a custom buying journey for your customers.
Link to the episode: Do You Have These 6 Email Automations Set Up?
Conclusion
So there ya have it.
21 lessons learned from a month’s worth of content from our podcast, B2B Growth.
And if iTunes isn’t your cup o’ tea, you can subscribe on Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, or click here to listen directly from our website.
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James Carbary is the founder of Sweet Fish Media, a podcast agency for B2B brands. He’s a contributor for the Huffington Post & Business Insider, and he also co-hosts a top-ranked podcast according to Forbes: B2B Growth.
When James isn’t interviewing the smartest minds in B2B marketing, he’s drinking Cherry Coke Zero, eating Swedish Fish, and hanging out with the most incredible woman on the planet (that he somehow talked into marrying him).
Thinking about launching a podcast for your B2B brand? Here’s a 26-step process that will explain exactly how to do it.