b2b Culture Content is More Important than Ever in 2023

Unbelievably it’s almost 2023! We’ve put the pandemic behind us yet we’re still reeling from political and economic upheavals. The b2b world has not gone unscathed in all this turmoil, and the employee-employer relationship is facing some growing pains. That’s one reason why culture content is more important than ever!

What is Culture Content?

Specifically, this type of marketing content, also referred to as employer branding, is about how you position yourself to prospective employees. I’ve seen an increase in employer-branding companies of late and an uptick in research that explores what’s going on. We’ll examine some recent insights into the minds of today’s b2b workforce, why they migrated in the Great Resignation, how they’re surviving layoffs and right-sizing, and what makes them stay in jobs once they have them. And we’ll consider, how b2b CMOs and branding experts like you can use culture content to benefit your growing b2b enterprise.

Philosophies Reveal Future Crisis

Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “Man is by nature a social animal” and 20^th century psychologist Harold Maslow concurred, ranking “love and belonging” among the top five human hierarchy of needs.

Mental health and wellness are also hot topics of late, bringing anxiety and depression out of the darkness in a world striving to heal and cope with so much change. So, while quarantines and working from home forever changed our view of work/life balance, most businesses today are still trying to figure out how to meet the emotional needs of both their remote and hybrid workforce. And employees (some say especially Gen Z) are striving like never before to fill a need for connection.

All these factors in 2023 place us head-on with a connection crisis.

Employer Branding for b2b

Research shows that strong brand cultures and employer branding have a positive impact beyond our internal walls. Management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” His philosophy dictated that leaders exhibit high moral and ethical integrity, to empower employees, and ultimately serve the common good. These principles would supersede any marketing or economic strategies for success. And this ethos seems to resonate with Gen Z and Gen X employees. According to emerging brand culture agencies (like DeSantos Breindel, BetterUp and Mystery) a misalignment between brand and culture is the number-one reason why b2b brands fail. So, brands must solidify and communicate their culture content.

b2b brands, perhaps more so than b2c brands, are said to be built from the inside out. Meaning: leadership, employees and employee engagement are vital to success. And in the age of social media and the inherent devotion younger workers have to “living” online, employee engagement leads to social exposure and awareness for the company brand.

Employees become brand ambassadors whether you like it or not. Without proper alignment and tools, the amplification of these voices will have ill effect. Thus, branding for b2b companies has become increasingly about social mission and purpose. And these external-facing brand values must then be clearly interpreted and communicated within an organization to form an internal rallying cry of sorts, empowering employees to spread the message even further.

What’s Working and What’s Not?

So how are we doing? What does the research reveal? What do see that’s working and where can b2b marketers improve?

Negative Effects of Doing Nothing

Without strong cultural branding, employees lack connection resulting in lower employee engagement:

313% stronger intention to quit
176% higher likelihood to job search
158% more anxiety and depression

Positive Results from Culture Building

Employers who focus on employee engagement and culture, see improvement:

59% more positive relationships
48% more professional growth
41% higher social connection
34% higher strategic thinking
27% more job satisfaction

“Leaders who can create those environments (a culture where employees feel like they're valued or respected, where they belong) are pretty game-changing for culture.” ADAM MASSMAN, GLOBAL HEAD OF L&D AT JLL

Research shows that focusing on internal values and policies to foster more engaged employees has a positive external impact:

21% higher profitability
66% greater employee well-being
81% less absenteeism
51% better problem-solving skills

“Collaboration may feel inefficient in remote setting, yet it can be a way to build relationships, productive friction and energy. We can achieve connection through work, not just at work.” - ADAM WOOD, SR. CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER, BETTERUP

Now’s the Time to Create Your Content Culture

Research reveals the time is ripe. We build stronger companies by builder stronger cultures.

If you haven’t already got a handle on your brand’s values and culture, make it a 2023 initiative. Gather leadership and marketing research to examine your current positioning, not just within the customer marketplace, but within your workforce and employee base as well. Now’s the time to appeal to your future employee with solid mission statements and rallying cries. Build transparency into your organization that supports health and wellbeing and fosters collaboration and internal connection. Measure and improve as you go.

Then as you continue to build culture content into your brand and content strategies and distribution channels, your growth in 2023 and beyond is likely to follow.

If you need help examining and refining your culture messaging and content, reach out and let’s chat.

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How to Earn b2b Street Cred with a Unique Thought Leadership Voice

By Barbara Bogue • August 22, 2023

Thought leadership is a huge part of social media for your b2b brand. And seeing that social media is leading the game over traditional advertising or product marketing, the stakes are ever higher to get it right. Have you fully defined and honed your brand voice? Are you capitalizing on your uniqueness in all of your thought leadership channels? Let’s explore how to define and leverage your unique thought leadership voice to build your street cred – affecting everything from recruitment and attrition to lead generation and your and bottom-line. B2b wins with thought leadership The value of thought leadership is undeniable. 40% of b2b marketers say they’re able to link business wins directly back to specific pieces of thought leadership content. In fact, thought leadership is said to be one of the most effective tools any b2b can wield to demonstrate value, especially in a tough economy. The awareness-building capability of thought leadership can impact the building of new partnerships, acquiring new users and prospects, as well as establishing a corporate reputation that attracts and retains valuable employees. Thought leadership benefits fall into one or more of these categories: Building trust and credibility Differentiating your brand from others Engaging with C-suite prospects, leaders and influencers Winning advocates and early adopters; driving growth Establishing a foundation for marketing content Identifying new industry categories Find your own unique voice With the value opportunity clear, the next step is defining and honing your own unique voice. This takes time and some trial and error. Start with this homework: Know your brand: Be clear on your USP and how you differentiate from others in the market. Have a clear mission and vision (your mission is your what/why that defines what your do; your vision is your inspirational rally cry for the future). Know your audience: Y ou must be clear on who you’re talking too. Thought leadership is about knowing the unique challenges of your users, the industry at larger and your place within it. This requires a deep and tuned-in perspective. Know what matters to your tribe. Tell your story: To capitalize on thought leadership for growth, you must have a clear and relatable story. Weave that origin and vision into every opportunity to draw relevant insights relevant that leverage your point-of-view. Your story must be about the greater “why” while also being personal. Stick to a plan: Thought leadership efforts are not willy-nilly. They should tie into a complete content strategy and within your messaging matrix for your brand. While being flexible enough to jump at media opportunities, don’t lose sight of the three points above, no matter what kind of thought leadership outreach it is. Be actively sharing: Always. Your efforts should be borne out of generosity and a willingness to teach (not to make a profit). Share with purpose and genuine desire; the rest will naturally fall into place. As you earn the respect of those you are helping your leadership will become self-evident and continue to grow in impact. Build street-cred with various tactics As you craft thought leadership opportunities into your content strategy, there are various tactics you can use. Most of them are some combination of current or future-looking trends or strategies, and your unique advice. Think of yourself as the mentor to the rest of the market, and carve out ways to share your wisdom. Present: Define present challenges and give advice for how to overcome them. This might be specific tools, strategies, feature sets or other advice. Remember, you’re a few steps ahead of those that follow you. How can you share what you’ve learned and what has worked for you, to make their journey better? Share research and expertise. Conduct research and share it with the industry. As a leader, you have more access to information or other thought leaders. Leverage your position to gain insight and expertise that others can use int their own practice. Forward-thinking: Identify trends you see in the industry, market or parallel markets that may impact your work. Offer these insights as a forward-thinking perspective. What do they mean? How will these trends inform future decisions? How have you navigated them successfully? Challenge conventional thinking. Being provocative is part of the role of thought leaders and mentors. They challenge us to not just follow the pack, but to forge our own way. How can your insight inspire a new path for someone to follow? If you could do something again, how would you change your course? Provide a roadmap pr a vision for the future . This could be short or long-term. This might be idealism at its finest, paving the way for a provocative shift in the way business is being done. Or it might be a subtle prediction of what new trends we might see down the line in the next year or so. Pull out your magic 8-ball and have at it. You’ve got the tools, now lead With these tips and all your tremendous experience, you’ve got what it takes to build a reputation worthy of imitation. Don’t let imposter syndrome slow you down. We’re all at different points along the professional roadway. Wherever you are, others are still making their way behind you. You can lead and inspire them. So, craft your messaging around your unique brand voice and start building that street-cred. Just remember these three cardinal rules: Be focused, be consistent, and be yourself. _______ If you need help injecting some with thought leadership content ideas or finding your brand voice for your b2b, feel free to reach out . Let’s chat about your brand and how we can make it anything but boring!

Eight Fundamental Design Principles (that also Work for Content and Branding)

By Barbara Bogue • June 11, 2023

We'll review 8 key design principles that are the foundational building blocks for just about any design solution, used alone or combined. They also have parallel interpretations that can be applied to branding and/or content creation. Let’s see how.

Let Creativity Lift Your Brand from Boring

By Barbara Bogue • May 8, 2023

If you’re like most B2B CMOS, Directors and VPS you’ve got a lot of demands on your time. Your in-house teams are tasked with lead generation, nurturing, thought leadership, sales enablement, product messaging and channel building…I could go on. It’s a lot! And oftentimes, KPI demands are getting, well, more demanding, while your teams and budgets are getting slashed. Does less time ever translate into less creativity? Oooh. Bad choice. Last thing your audience wants from you is boring. So, don’t sacrifice the creativity.