What's a software company doing co-producing documentaries for a financial services cable channel? Salesforce is setting an example for how to use content marketing, even during an economic downturn, to turbocharge B2B sales.
A new seven-episode docuseries called "The Shift" will run on CNBC with Salesforce as the co-producer. Each episode will feature a company that is tackling societal issues with Salesforce's technology, including OneUnited Bank, Metallica's All Within My Hands foundation, Pandora jewelry, Formula 1, Rocket Companies, and CarMax.
The playbook for how software and enterprise applications are marketed is completely changing. The most innovative CMOs are breaking out of the pack through novel B2B content marketing approaches that accelerate brand penetration into the mainstream.
Getting on the coveted short list of vendors for an evaluation bake-off has everything to do with how compelling your website is now, and how visible your brand is on digital platforms. Your customers are assembling impressions of your brand constantly, and if you are not showing up broadly in mainstream channels, you are putting your brand at a competitive disadvantage.
Producing B2B content marketing isn't easy. Employees are fully allocated to building product, training sales reps, and managing leadgen campaigns. The part that's always been more difficult is creating branded narrative content about how technology is used by customers.
How do we find ourselves in this situation? It has to do with the implosion of media outlets who had armies of editors, reporters, and researchers whose job it was to cover the latest and best companies. They provided an unheralded service of translating complex technology for business buyers. As those outlets have disappeared so has the great amplification function they served.
Smart CMOs are reaching outside their company to find resources that can create high quality content that is on-target in terms of domain knowledge and brand.
The changed media landscape is something Salesforce has understood for some time. According to CMO Sarah Franklin, the CRM giant has big plans to double the content output on its Salesforce+ streaming site.
While not many companies have the deep pockets of Salesforce, getting started with content marketing is not optional nor is it cost prohibitive. The first step is finding a content development partner with experience in technology, strong writing and editing skills, and the ability to scale.
Previously published on LinkedIn Pulse.