#116: Career | Do you really want to be CMO? Returning from Parental Leave, What's working in B2B marketing today (with Amanda Natividad)
Feb 4, 2024
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Amanda Natividad, VP of Marketing at SparkToro, discusses her return to work after parental leave and the trends she's seen in B2B marketing. They also talk about managing top-of-funnel, rethinking the pursuit of status, strategic email marketing, optimizing LinkedIn strategy, and promoting webinars with standalone value.
Effective email strategy is crucial, providing standalone value in promotions and embedding webinar links in blog posts drives higher engagement and sign-ups.
Zero-click content on LinkedIn promotes immediate value, building trust with the audience and increasing engagement and conversions.
Focus on quality over quantity when sending emails, sending valuable content or important announcements only, and maintaining a reasonable cadence for personalized connections.
Deep dives
Email strategy and promoting webinars on LinkedIn
The podcast discusses the importance of having an effective email strategy and promoting webinars on LinkedIn. They emphasize the significance of providing standalone value in email promotions, such as insights, tips, or valuable content, rather than just encouraging people to sign up for webinars without giving anything in return. The host and guest also highlight the benefit of embedding webinar links in blog posts to drive more sign-ups. They stress the value of creating valuable content consistently and then leveraging that trust to promote webinars or other marketing initiatives, resulting in higher engagement and registration rates.
The benefits of zero click content on LinkedIn
The podcast talks about the strategy of zero click content on LinkedIn, where the focus is on providing valuable insights and takeaways within the post itself. Instead of always including a link, they suggest offering valuable content upfront and then mentioning the related webinar or product without requiring clicks. The goal is to drive engagement and reach by offering immediate value to LinkedIn users and building trust with the audience, resulting in higher levels of engagement and potential conversions.
Balancing email volume and purpose
The discussion explores the ideal balance for the frequency of sending emails. While some marketers may send multiple emails per week, the podcast suggests focusing on quality rather than quantity. They recommend sending emails only when there is valuable content or important announcements to share, rather than sending emails to fill a quota. The host and guest mention the significance of maintaining a reasonable cadence, considering the specific needs of the audience and ensuring that each email provides unique value or a personal connection to the recipient.
LinkedIn strategies: Company pages and personal pages
The podcast delves into LinkedIn strategies, specifically regarding company pages and personal pages. They discuss the idea of using the company page as a news feed, where important updates and valuable content can be shared. They also suggest using personal pages to amplify the content by adding a personal connection or perspective. They emphasize the importance of engagements and conversations on LinkedIn, as well as reposting or promoting others' content to create a supportive and engaging community.
Building trust and efficient communication in a lean team
The discussion touches on the importance of building trust and ensuring efficient communication in a lean team. They highlight the value of hiring team members who are familiar with each other's working styles and can work independently. Regular strategic meetings are organized to align big-picture goals and projects, while individual team members have autonomy over their specific responsibilities. The focus is on maintaining open lines of communication, understanding each other's priorities, and having a shared vision for the company.
Amanda Natividad is VP of Marketing at SparkToro. She's also a contributor for Adweek, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and a former journalist. Dave and Amanda catch up after Amanda's return to work after having her second child, talk about trends they are seeing in B2B marketing today and what Amanda's seen work at SparkToro (including email strategy and LinkedIn). Plus they talk about the path to CMO - and why Amanda enjoys being a team of one.
00:00 - Webinar Promotion Without Links and Returning to Work After Maternity Leave. 06:04 - The Emotional Impact of Parental Leave. 08:40 - Navigating Career Paths in Marketing. 12:10 - SparkToro's Audience Research Tool and Growth Strategy. 14:31 - VP of Marketing at SparkToro: Managing Top-of-Funnel, Organics, and Events. 19:11 - Rethinking the pursuit of status in business. 22:10 - Contemplating financial gains and their true value. 23:10 - Prioritizing time over extra income for happiness. 29:26 -Transitioning from Consulting to Content Business: The Evolution of Exit Five. 32:01 - The challenges and potential rewards of solopreneurship. 34:16 - Navigating Hiring and Trust in a Small Team 38:05 - Strategic Email Marketing at Sparktoro: Balancing Frequency and Impact. 41:06 - Sparktoro's Email Strategy: Quality over Quantity and List Management Tactics. 43:08 - The challenge of balancing marketing strategies. 48:25 - Optimizing LinkedIn Strategy: Pinning Comments and Zero-Click Content. 50:32 - Embedding Webinar Links in Blog Posts for Engagement 52:53 - Closing Thoughts.
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Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
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