#83: Building a B2B brand in 2018, something explicit, how to sell a handbag in China, and Aretha Franklin
Good morning - and happy summer Sunday!
In this edition (#83) of The World's Best Newsletter:
1. America has a vacation problem.
2. 21,000... three... and 24
3. New podcast - hear my dulcet tones
4. Building a B2B brand in 2018
5. Mr. Bags and a fascinating example of influence
6. Why We Oppose Votes for Men
7. Quote of the week: Aretha Franklin
Let's do it.
1. America has a vacation problem.
I'm encouraged by the slew of out of offices I receive sending this newsletter in the summer months. From CNBC:
"While the U.K., France and Spain offer more than 35 days of annual leave and holiday time, the U.S. mandates a paltry 10 public holidays. And that time off doesn’t even have to come with pay. In fact, 28 million Americans go without any paid vacation or holidays."
2. 21,000... three... and 24
I'm coming back to INBOUND this year in Boston with "INBOUND&" a new program from Hubspot that means our Boston Content event is an official part of the INBOUND agenda. The evening is "Content Marketing by the Numbers" and will focus on new research, data, and trends for content marketers.
Here are three numbers to know:
21,000 attendees expected
Three AWESOME speakers (ok myself included I am biased)
24 hours was all it took for the event to sell out.
We're making a big announcement this evening as we gather Boston's largest community of content professionals with one of the largest marketing events anywhere.
Hope some of you made it onto the list before we ran out of tickets! If not, sign up for the Boston Content mailing list and we'll email if tickets open up before the event. (You must have an INBOUND badge.)
3. New podcast - hear my dulcet tones
Naming something has a way of encouraging you to live up to its ideals. That's one reason I've been using the branding "unapologetic marketing truth teller" for months now - it's catchy, sure (thanks Andrew!) but moreover it's an aspirational state to live up to in my work.
Another term that I'll be working hard to live up to is "explicit-" synonyms include definite, unambiguous, specific, direct, stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt. The opposite of spin, something ambiguous, or confusing (like much marketing today.
I'm co-hosting the new Explicit Content Podcast, a consortium of speakers in the content industry who have something to say about this space, and pledge to do so without BS and in a helpful way. My kind of show. Listen to the introductory episode here - my dulcet tones come in around minute 9:00.
4. Building a B2B brand in 2018
via Ed Shelley at ChartMogul -- more B2B companies are beginning to ask "who are we?"
"It all started with subtle changes — the inclusion of friendly illustrations, new colors in landing pages and tweaks to website copy. Many growth industries — SaaS included — congregate around new trends. These recent subtle shifts in approach to B2B branding have snowballed into a full scale rethink of what it means to produce and sell B2B software."
I couldn't agree more that it has never been easier to start a SaaS business - we have access to tools, hosting and marketing infrastructure, code... the barrier to entry is low.
In fact, that's one reason the martech industry has ballooned to be so huge. (I'm guilty of contributing to this with Cintell.) It has created a TON of noise.
How do SaaS companies, in any space, compete? How do we differentiate?
I agree with the thesis of this author - we could compete on price, sure, but that drives prices down. Instead, we're seeing a kind of renaissance in B2B software branding to look more like consumer branding, designing brand experiences.
And it's a shift that makes me downright giddy -- because brand creates a new playing field for differentiation -- for influence -- for persuasion -- and for growth.
And heck it's way more fun. h/t to Ardath for sharing this piece originally.
5. Mr. Bags and a fascinating example of influence
You guys know I am a sucker for any story about influence, or authority.
In the luxury goods market, one young guy in China has built a massive following of over 4M people who look to him for one important thing-- handbag trends.
Mr. Bags (real name: Tao Liang) studied finance in college, following in his parents' footsteps. But his real passion was women's handbags, so he started a blog about it, offering reviews of women's handbags and advice on new trends — stuff you'd see in a fashion magazine.
That's a very crowded field, but his content struck a chord with young Chinese who were getting bored with pushy editorials and cheesy advertising. The blog took off, and within 4 years Mr. Bags has amassed 4 million followers, to become the single most influential voice in the Chinese handbags industry.
He started giving advice on the best bags in the market, and now his influence is amazing - he can help a brand sell 1.2M bags, online, in 12 minutes.
In the video they sell $500k worth of bags in seven minutes, live, on WeChat.
Talk about a KOL.
Watch more from VICE.
6. Why We Oppose Votes for Men
A piece of biting satire from American novelist and poet, Alice Duer Miller, in 1915
1. Because man's place is in the army.
2. Because no really manly man wants to settle any question otherwise than by fighting about it.
3. Because if men should adopt peaceable methods women will no longer look up to them.
4. Because men will lose their charm it they step out of their natural sphere and interest themselves in other matters than feats of arms, uniforms and drums.
5. Because men are too emotional to vote. Their conduct at baseball games and political conventions shows this, while their innate tendency to appeal to force renders them particularly unfit for the task of government.
:)
7. Quote of the week: Aretha Franklin
"I sing to the realists; people who accept it like it is."
"Franklin didn’t invent the genre of soul music, but she did help it reach a wider audience than ever before. Enslaved African-Americans wrote and sang soul to channel the pain and frustration of slavery and hope for liberation. “Soul is a way of life — but it is always the hard way. Its essence is ingrained in those who suffer and endure to laugh about it later,” TIME magazine.
She does not seem to be performing so much as bearing witness to a reality so simple and compelling that she could not possibly fake it. In her selection of songs, whether written by others or by herself, she unfailingly opts for those that frame her own view of life. “If a song’s about something I’ve experienced or that could’ve happened to me, it’s good,” she says. “But if it’s alien to me, I couldn’t lend anything to it. Because that‘s what soul is about—just living and having to get along.”
We lost a powerful truth-teller last week.
Best,
Katie
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Upcoming events:
Going to INBOUND? Catch me speaking at Content by the Numbers, an INBOUND& event with Boston Content on September 5th.
Ask Me Anything! I'll be part of Startup Boston 2018 answering questions, live on-stage, from real audience members. Oh boy. September 11th at 8:30am. RSVP here.
I'm excited to be your emcee for the 2018 Women in Digital National Conference. I'll also be sharing a talk on (R)evolution: Suffragettes to Social Media. Join us in Columbus, OH September 12-14, 2018.
I've curated some of the best B2B marketing content and will be walking through them at this year's Connect to Convert event in Boston, October 3-5th, 2018. Save 20% with code BCVIP, and register here.
I am so so excited to be keynoting this year's Spiceworld 2018, speaking to a room of B2B marketers and sales teams. I'll dig into what makes the most transformative voices so effective - and how courageous brands move buyers from apathy to action. October 8-10th, 2018 in Austin TX. See you there?
Can I have your attention please? Hear me share my strategies for breaking through the noise at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum in San Francisco this November. November 13-16, 2018, San Francisco. Use code "B2BFriend18" and save some cash!
Learn more about how to book me to speak.