Remarkable Content with Ian Faison Summer Baking Championship: B2B Marketing Lessons from Food Network’s Seasonal Baking Series with Director of Content Marketing at Splunk, Ann Smith
What do marketers and competitive bakers have in common? Quite a lot, actually.
Both work amid time constraints, follow recipes for success, and have to express creativity under pressure.
And there’s a lot marketers can learn from these competitive bakers, so that’s what we’re talking about this week.
In this episode, we’re taking B2B marketing lessons from Food Network’s seasonal baking series, Summer Baking Championship.
Together with the help of our special guest, the Director of Content Marketing at Splunk, Ann Smith, we talk about putting your own spin on a recipe, tasting what you bake, and not trying to do too much at once.
About our guest, Ann Smith
Ann Smith joined Splunk a year ago as the Director of Content Marketing, leading a team of content strategists and writers to produce award-winning, pipeline-generating, headline-grabbing content. Prior to Splunk, she led content marketing for Oracle and held senior marketing roles at technology start-ups and small companies. She has a master of arts degree in Speech Communication from San Jose State University.
What B2B Companies Can Learn From Summer Baking Championship:
- Put your own spin on a recipe. In other words, it’s okay to use a recipe you know works, but don’t just check the box with your content. Strive to also make an emotional connection with your audience. Ann says, “People that buy software are people too. And it's the storytelling and the ability to connect emotionally with readers that really makes it. Storytelling is that extra layer of icing on the cake.”
- Taste what you baked. Review your content to gauge its effectiveness. Looking back on past work is a great way to not only see your growth, but to take a candid look at what worked and what didn’t. Ian says, “How many times have you made a meal and you didn't even taste it? My food is always criminally under-salted when I take it out because I just didn't taste it. So much marketing is like that. Go back and read that thing a year from now. Was that a good post? It's like, ‘No, it was not good.’ Did you read it and like it? Did someone else on your team read it and like it?”
- Don’t try to do too much. That’s when you lose clarity on your message. It becomes instantly forgettable by your audience. Ian says, “The biggest thing is just writing way shorter and just telling one story at a time that has a single message that you're trying to leave people with. So many times we write an article and we want to pack 15 things into it. Dont. Just tell them one thing. I just want them to leave reading this thing with one singular lesson. And that's the thing that's going to stick.”
Quotes
*”People that buy software are people. Chief technology officers are people too. And it's the storytelling and the ability to connect emotionally with readers that really makes it. More than just, ‘I'm just following a recipe,’ right? I'm just checking the box. Storytelling is that extra layer of icing on the cake.”
*”Just be helpful, help educate [your audience] without expecting anything in return. If you can help your customer do something better, learn something new, without expecting anything back from them, really genuinely wanting to help them succeed, you'll have customers for life.”
Time Stamps
[0:55] Meet Ann Smith, Director of Content Marketing at Splunk
[1:36] Exploring Summer Baking Championship
[2:39] Content Marketing at Splunk
[5:13] The Success of Summer Baking Championship
[9:17] Parallels Between Baking and Content Marketing
[15:18] The Art of Storytelling in Marketing
[19:29] The Art of Concise Writing
[20:26] The Challenge of Simplifying Complex Messages
[21:47] Avoiding Over-Salted Content
[22:53] Relating to Your Audience
[25:44] Embracing Authenticity in Writing
[31:51] Effective Content Strategies
[37:39] Final Thoughts and Best Advice for Marketing Professionals
Links
About Remarkable!
Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.
In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.
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