By rights, 2020 should be a landmark year for B2B marketing content. The best content can educate people about new challenges, help them implement change, and release strong emotions about work. It also fights hard to secure engagement in the face of other distractions.
To put it mildly, this year has presented plenty of opportunity to do that kind of work.
So we asked friends and colleagues around the industry to nominate their favourite piece of B2B content from 2020… and compiled 15 inspiring nominations below.
After last year’s best content nominations, we were excited to see what you would send us this time around. In a year that has been straight-up weird, would 2020’s B2B content follow suit?
Spoiler alert: pretty much. This year’s shortlist includes everything from a homemade productivity-rewarding cookie dispenser (yup, it’s exactly as it sounds) to an erotically-charged cyber-security Q&A that’s almost as informative as it is disturbing. Almost.
Thankfully, the nominations you sent us aren’t all about COVID. But they do all show the real value B2B content can have in a crisis – and many creative ways that marketers have addressed the unique challenge of speaking to B2B audiences in a year that changed work forever.
Here’s the full list of 15. Enjoy.
(Alternatively, if you already know your favourite, you can skip straight to the voting.)
A) Apple: The whole working-from-home thing
Seven-minute video story
Emily King, Senior Writer and Editor at Bluefruit Software, says: “It’s chaotic, human, relatable… just a joy to watch. One of the few pieces of content relating to the events of this year that didn’t make me want to pull my hair out.”
B) B2B Institute / LinkedIn: 2030 B2B Trends
In-depth research report
Russ Powell, Managing Director and Founder at Sharper B2B Marketing says: “My nomination is the 2030 trends report from the B2B Institute at LinkedIn. It backs up what we’ve been saying to our clients about the long term approach needed in B2B, and gave me some ideas around targeting and personalisation. A useful report that we can use to build into our strategy for the next decade.”
C) Bottomline Technologies: Think These 5 AP Opportunities are Myths? Think Again
Horror-themed assessment quiz
Lizzie Cresswell, Junior Copywriter at Radix Communications, says: “Bottomline make complex business payments simple and secure for organisations across the globe (cash management tools/payment automation etc). This is fun, and on-brand with their tone – it takes a boring subject and creates an interactive piece of content marketing that is both informative and engaging. Plus it’s a bit weird, so right up my street. Looks at the ‘myths’ of AP/revenue opportunities you might be missing, with a series of mythical creatures featuring on the way. Yes, it’s a little cheesy in places, but its good fun and, for a subject that is (let’s face it) a tad boring, it’s genuinely engaging.”
D) Cognizant Center for the Future of Work: After the Virus
Part Turtl story, part prophecy
Nominated by Karla Rivershaw, Head of Marketing at Turtl.
A history lesson from the future – telling the story of what happened in the five years after COVID. It includes some pretty bold predictions.
E) CyberOff: Meet the Bearded Babe
Nausea-inducing cybersecurity video (you have been warned)
Nominated by Giles Shorthouse, Head of Business Development & Marketing at Octopus Group.
(So blame Giles, not us. Now, has anyone seen my mind bleach?)
F) Google: What board members say about the CMO—off the record
Long, scrolling web page
Andrew Last, Managing Director at Harvard, says: “I nominate ‘Think with Google’ for their industry insights on the role of the CMO. Fortune 1000 board members discussed the CMO role anonymously. They gave Google over 100,000 words with insights. Google then distilled them into one single paragraph: Great expectations: What the board wants from you…”
G) LinkedIn Marketing Solutions: An interactive video content experience for B2B Marketers
Interactive explainer video
Nominated by Giles Shorthouse, Head of Business Development & Marketing at Octopus Group.
Unusual concept, this: a mash-up between an explainer video and a choose-your-own-adventure game.
H) McKinsey: These eight charts show how COVID-19 has changed B2B sales forever
Data-packed article… and a whole body of work
Paul Hewerdine, Strategy Partner at Earnest, says: “My favourite content this year is not one piece, but a whole body of work. For me, McKinsey has completely bossed COVID-19 with its regular briefings and insights. They’ve become a go-to source, a real barometer of the state of play out there and how business leaders need to adapt. This is a really prime example, it’s Informative, enlightening, and thought-provoking. But it’s not all COVID-related content; they recently launched their McKinsey for Kids series (for an example, see “Hungry fish, baffled farmers, and what happened next”) which definitely appealed to big kids like me. It looked like it started as an initiative aimed at kids of McKinsey employees to explain what their parents do, but it’s got far wider appeal. Beautifully executed and again truly insightful. McKinsey = content marketing team of the year.”
I) Megan Rose: Looking for examples of great content and tone of voice?
Blog post with practical examples
André Spiteri, Director and Chief Copywriter at Maverick Words, says: “This is amazing. It’s a bit meta, granted (as it’s by copywriters for copywriters) but I think it’s a fab one for the swipe file.”
(Think that’s meta, André? Try including a best-practice roundup post in a best-practice roundup post…)
J) monday.com: I built a cookie machine to motivate people at monday.com. It didn’t work.
Man annoys colleagues on video
Doug Kessler, Creative Director at Velocity Partners, says: “It’s about someone who invented a machine that delivers cookies to people’s desks whenever a project is completed, and it’s funny!”
K) Nationwide Children’s Hospital: PediaCast CME
Podcast for paediatricians
Kerry O’Shea Gorgone, Educational Content Director at MarketingProfs, says: “This podcaster didn’t even realize his show is B2B! Dr Mike Patrick is a board-certified paediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics. He’s done a show called ‘PediaCast’ for parents since 2006, then in 2015 he started a show for paediatric professionals. This is AMAZING B2B content, sponsored by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio.”
L) Profitwell: COVID basically doesn’t exist in B2B SaaS
Twitter thread and video
Been a bit since I shared an update on the B2B SaaS index (20%+ of the market)
TLDR: COVID basically doesn't exist in B2B SaaS
Here's the data 👇 pic.twitter.com/7DFgzgXdCA
— Patrick Campbell (@Patticus) October 14, 2020
Harry Kapur, B2B tech marketing consultant and freelance copywriter says: “Patrick Cambell, CEO at Profitwell, reveals that their B2B SaaS index hasn’t been affected by COVID and new revenue has accelerated.”
M) Turtl: Spock vs Homer and the psychology of personalization
Blog post and presentation
Joel Harrison, Editor in Chief at B2B Marketing, says: “I loved the piece by Turtl on different buying decision making – Homer versus Spock.”
N) Xero Accounting Software: Capture bills and receipts in a snap
Cute, funny video ad
Lisa Woodruff, Marketing Manager Radix Communications, says: “This ad is great because it addresses the pain that most sole traders feel, spending time doing paperwork. It’s funny but it works.”
O) xiQ: New-Age B2B Marketing – Innovate or Die
Post-COVID infographic
Nominated by Eman Malik, Client Success and Support Manager at xiQ.
(There’s nothing in the rules against nominating your brand’s own content if you’re proud of it, especially if it’s as timely and informative as this.)
Found your favourite? It’s time to vote…
Simply click your favourite in the form below and hit “submit”… then sit back and wait for December’s edition of Good Copy, Bad Copy: The B2B Copywriting Podcast, where we’ll be joined by leading B2B marketers to count down the top ten… and finally reveal the winner.
You have until Tuesday 8th December at 09:00 GMT.
Or, if you think we’ve missed the year’s piece of standout B2B content, let us know on social media or podcast@radix-communications.com!
