176: I approve 2 out of 4 of these B2B suggestions

I don’t like social media and I don’t like so-called “influencers,” so keep that in mind as you listen to this one

Martha Marchesi proposes four New Year’s resolutions for B2B marketers. Bo Sacks dropped the article in my inbox yesterday, so … here’s my reaction.

Yes, no, yes, no.

Or, if you want the details …

#1 is make friends with AI. I agree with that. Either start using AI or get left behind.

Marchesi recommends Perplexity, and she’s in good company. Troy Young from the People vs. Algorithms podcast also has a lot of good to say about Perplexity. And Troy’s a smart guy.

I like ChatGPT and Midjourney, both of which Marchesi also recommends, but I dabble in other services from time to time.

I’m not thrilled with DALL-E, but that might be because I haven’t tried very hard to learn it.

#2 is put your B2B brand under the influence of influencers.

My first reaction to that is very simple. Bud Lite.

My second reaction is that I can’t imagine someone I would less like to work with than an “influencer.”

But my third reaction is that Marchesi may be right and I’m just being a grump.

#3 is add more human touch, which somehow quickly turns into “use short-form video.”

Obviously I’m a big fan of short-form video – if my 3 to 4 minute podcast qualifies as “short.” I haven’t pursued the super-short videos because I haven’t found a good way to do that yet.

Also, I’m not sure my target market is watching those things to learn about publishing and marketing technology.

This is where I get confused. People say, “You need to be on Instagram and TikTok,” and I think, first, “I’d rather die,” but second, to the extent that the people I want to reach are on TikTok, I think they’re doing other things, like watching cats. I don’t think they’re in the mood for serious stuff.

#4 is shore up your corporate social responsibility story, to which I say run away as fast as you can.

Shoring up on so-called “social responsibility” issues sounds like the best possible way to make half your market hate you.

Unfortunately, I really do mean “hate you.”

You might pick some topic that you believe any decent, thinking person would agree with, and would help your brand, but it seems to me there are no such topics. We live in strange times where people not only believe a bunch of craziness, but get very upset about it. It’s shocking and disturbing, but that’s the reality.

I’m a big believer in the idea that “the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” but I’d keep that in your private life. There have been a lot of casualties from corporations sticking their noses into social issues.

So, to sum up.

Yes, make friends with AI. Do not get tied up with influencers. Yes, add a human touch. And steer clear of “social responsibility” stuff, unless it’s really basic stuff like picking up trash on the local highway. That would be fine.

Links

Four areas every B2B marketer should explore in 2024
https://www.fastcompany.com/91013227/new-years-revolution-four-areas-every-b2b-marketer-should-explore-in-2024