Stand Out from the Crowd.
That’s what you want your marketing to do. You want your marketing to be different. The big question is . . .
. . . Is It?
You may hate to say this, but most probably it’s not.
It’s probably the same as that of most of the other marketing departments in your company’s niche. Right Now – place five of your marketing pieces and five similar pieces of your competitors side by side. Are yours different than theirs?
It’s sad but all you and the others in your marketing department have done is made your marketing pieces just as good as everyone else’s. The problem is that doesn’t get your company and the products and services you offer noticed.
In the marketing universe, your marketing doesn’t shine any brighter than that of any of your competitors’.
Is That What You Want? Are You Content with That?
I would assume your answer is NO.
So – what do you do to change that?
Start off by realizing you don’t have to have the best marketing of all time. You just have to make sure your marketing is the best of any marketing of any company in yo
ur niche.
If you’re doing Content Marketing campaigns in the B2B field, that probably won’t be that difficult. Most marketers are doing emails, articles, blog posts case studies and white papers Look at a handful of them. They all look the same. Sure, they may say different things but they look no different than anyone else’s.
How can you do this?
Start by Adding Pictures and Graphics to Your Marketing . . .
. . . that will catch the reader’s attention. A picture draws people to read what’s written.
If you’re a writer, this may be difficult. You’ve always heard graphic designers always want to come up with graphics that detract from the written word. That’s true. So, keep that from happening. Work with your graphic designer to find the right graphics for the message.
Make Your Messages Personal
Most B2B marketing pieces are impersonal. They are written in the third person. They emphasize how a company’s product or service can help the companies they’re targeting. They don’t explain how they will benefit the reader and his company. The word, you, is very rarely mentioned.
Be different. Use “You” more frequently. Explain how your product or service will benefit your reader and their company. Make the message personal for them.
Do the Unexpected
Add some shock to your marketing. Liven up what you write. Many white papers and case studies are boring. By using more colorful and exciting words your marketing will come alive. Graphics will also help here.
Determine What Makes Your Product or Service Different and Better
Emphasize this in what you write. Here again – say it in an exciting way not in words that put the reader to sleep.
Do What Others Aren’t Doing
Make your marketing stand out.
Let’s take an example from the sales field. Steve Jobs was a master at getting Apple’s products to stand out from its competitors. He did this with the iPhone, the iPad and iTunes. Steve did this and not Apple. Since his death, no one at Apple has stepped up to fill the role he played.
Monitor Marketing Trends and Be at the Forefront in Adopting New Ones in Your Marketing
Content Marketing campaigns were far more successful for the first marketers who started to use them than they are now. They were brand new and caught prospects’ attention. The same was true for the first webinars and video sales letters.
All three are still successful. However, the marketing pieces in them and promoting them have to be much better now. The same is true for white papers, webinars, case studies and video sales letters.
Be a Contrarian – Do What Your Competitors’ Marketing Departments Aren’t Doing
Try different formats in your emails on your blog posts and in your white papers and case studies. You and your staff may even come out with a new type of marketing that isn’t being used.
Can You Come up with These Changes on Your Own?
I’d say that is highly unlikely. However, I would assume that many of those in your marketing department are creative individuals. Spending a day or two together in an offsite meeting brainstorming about this will get the creative juices flowing. You’ll come up with many ideas on ways to make your marketing and Content Marketing campaigns better than that of your competition.
By the Way . . .
. . . when I was doing my research for this post, I did a Google search. I entered the phrase, “How to make your marketing stand out.” There were 19,100,000 results. I looked at quite a few of the links. The sad thing was most articles and blog posts were no different than the others. They said the same thing.
I hope that you don’t view my post the same as all the others. I hope that I have given you useful information which will help you make your marketing stand out from that of all of your competitors’.
