Category: B2B Marketing

10 things I learned about B2B content marketing in 2020

Posted on by The Radix Team

2020. What a year to try to learn a new job, a new company culture, a new niche. Meeting my new colleagues through little black squares on the screen, with only the cat to bounce ideas off or ask pertinent questions.

Lisa: “Where is the podcast file?”

Cat: *Look of disdain*

Luckily, the team I joined at Radix are very understanding, professional, flexible, and THE VERY BEST at what they do (hey, I’m new, so I still get to boast about my colleagues, OK? I’ll try not to make a habit of it), so what had been weird quickly became my new normal.

And what did I learn by diving into B2B content marketing in 2020?

1. Being adaptable counts

Every event, conference and face-to-face meeting across the globe was shut down by the pandemic from March onwards. Virtual team meetings, events and webinars became the norm, and, until the vaccine gets rolled out to most of the population, will continue for a good while yet.

That means our marketing schedule went out the window – and the really epic secret thing at the centre of this year’s plan had to be cancelled. Instead, we hosted a series of informal webinars and Q&A sessions – B2B Content Tuesdays – each of which then became a blog topic.

It was lo-fi, shoestring stuff, mostly intended to help people feel connected in the early days of lockdown. But it helped grow our audience in some unexpected ways, and also happened to bring us a brilliant new client. Turns out it’s good to listen to your gut, and give your audience what you feel they need in the moment – even if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you’d usually expect.

Question is, why didn’t I buy shares in Zoom, and hand sanitiser?

2. Remote working demands high-value content

Everyone is working from home. They’re distracted and maybe they’re anxious, alternating between watching doom on the news and then discussing it online. Meanwhile, marketers can’t reach them in person… so every B2B brand has turned to content to fill the gap.

Cutting through all that noise is no easy feat; you have to work even harder to make sure your content resonates with the reader, and shows them exactly what they’ll get for their time. So I was really interested to read my colleague Katy’s handy guide to writing B2B content with value.

3. “Niche” is a superpower

One of the trickier things I’ve needed to get my head around this year is the niche where we work. Not all of marketing, but copywriting. Not all of copywriting, but B2B. And not all of B2B, but B2B tech.

But as I’ve come to understand that niche, it has become clear what an advantage it is to have a clearly defined specialism. It means I know exactly who our marketing is speaking to at any given time, and what their challenges are likely to be.

And when our marketing does generate a good lead, the conversion rate is really high – because the marketer has a clear idea of what we do, and we already have the expertise to do the job well. Having a niche creates a platform where my colleagues can be genuinely world class (OK, that’s the last boast, I promise).

4. Social responsibility isn’t just an external issue

Global pandemic? Check. Climate change? Check. Socially responsible? Check.

2020 was the wakeup call that showed us now more than ever that we are completely vulnerable as a species. Companies who promote the environment and implement socially responsible practices will clearly benefit from a better, more human brand.

But it’s not just about perception outside the business. Since joining Radix, I could also see how important our social stance is to our own team – and how people can be motivated by being part of a company that tries to make a positive difference. If anything, that’s even more important because you can’t fake it.

5. A little more conversation

This is the first time I’ve dealt with a podcast, and I can already see it’s a great marketing tool. You don’t need a fancy recording studio; just Zoom or a smartphone, something interesting to say and someone interesting to talk to.

It takes those niche B2B conversations on Twitter and turns them into interesting, downloadable recordings for people to listen to as and when. For us, the podcast has been invaluable in reaching our audience this year.

(And here’s a secret tip: it also gives us a perfect excuse to start conversations with smart people we’d like to meet.)

6. Show don’t tell

Quietly letting the content do the talking; that’s how we like to reach our perfect client.

There are two parts to that. First, addressing their challenges in thought-provoking and interesting ways – be it via a podcast, a blog, a newsletter, a Turtl story or a white paper.

But we also need those thoughts to reach them where they are.  So we aim to get our content published on third-party platforms and publications, and write guest blogs for B2B institutions, as well as speaking at events and running workshops.

7. Good feedback is the best marketing

Getting good client feedback is THE most satisfying barometer of measuring success. There’s nothing we like more than when we’ve made a marketer look good, and we can all congratulate the colleague who did the work.

But it doesn’t just feel great; it’s a vital step in our own marketing. Even if we can’t always create a full case study, testimonials from our best clients are extremely powerful in persuading other, similar marketers that we can help them too.

8. All for one and one for all

Working from home can make us all a bit isolated at times. So, as a newbie, having the whole team cheerleading behind our marketing endeavours feels really good. And it demonstrates to clients that our whole team is committed to the cause.

Our team write the marketing blogs, often co-host the podcast, and get involved in conversations on social media. They are our brand ambassadors. It shows our personality and it’s essential to growth… as well as being a great help to me.

9. Personas non grata

We’re not satisfied with concentrating on the vague personas we want to target. Instead, we are laser-focused on finding real-life people in real jobs of the companies we want to work with.

This year, we’ve tried to make content that speaks to the right person, in the right job, in the right company, in the right format at the right time and the right frequency. That’s a lot to get right. But that’s our mission, and we choose to accept it.

The idea is not necessarily that we’ll attract that avatar marketer, but that we might reach someone like them. And it works, too. We’ve had a brilliant crop of new clients this year, many of them closely aligned to our checklist of what an ideal client would look like (yes, we have one of those).

10. What you measure is what you get

Like everyone, we watch the data to understand which content performs for us, and do more of what works. But because we have a very niche B2B tech service, we have to think carefully about what that measurement looks like.

That starts by aligning our marketing KPIs to our company’s business plan. For example, we’ve been deliberately growing our international business, so website sessions from outside the UK are a key indicator for us.

And we know our success depends on our reputation among B2B marketers, and that they tend to group in industry networks, so we look for the content that brings us the most social and referral traffic.

Prioritising those metrics means we automatically double down on the content that helps us achieve our broader business goals.

A momentous first year

2020 was a disrupted year on a biblical scale, and it’s one I won’t ever forget.

That disruption made the B2B marketing world adapt quickly to new technologies, strategies and ways of working. And I had to adapt too – and learn some lessons I’ll find helpful as we venture into the unknown territory of 2021.

So from the cat and me, home alone in my Christmas jumper, have a wonderful break. And a cheerful and positive new year.

Thin Slicing: What B2B marketers can learn from the agile software development practice

Posted on by Steve George

B2B marketers are great at coming up with creative campaigns and content ideas. But all too often, long approval cycles, restricted budgets, and the sheer scale and complexity of those ideas make them difficult to bring to life at speed.

Fortunately, marketers aren’t the only ones experiencing those challenges. Our colleagues over in the world of software development are up against them too, and they’ve devised some transformational new practices to help overcome them. And there’s one in particular that B2B marketers may be able to borrow.

Thin slicing is an Agile practice where large projects are sliced up into smaller deliverables and launched iteratively, rather than all at once. In our Turtl doc below, we explore how thin slicing can help B2B marketers both prove and improve the ROI of their campaigns and content.

Click to read Thin Slicing for Marketing

Five classic ways to make your B2B content budget go further

Posted on by Steve George

It’s no secret that the past couple of years have been tough for enterprise technology companies. Between economic downturn, geopolitical instability, and unpredictable demand, most organisations have had to tighten their purse strings significantly.

This is putting a lot of pressure on B2B technology marketers.

In challenging circumstances like these, organisations look to their marketing function to drive demand and keep their pipeline strong. At the same time, they often pare back marketing teams and budgets, as they look to minimise every minimisable expense. According to Gartner’s 2024 CMO spend survey, average marketing budgets have fallen by 15 per cent this year alone.

We’ve supported the brilliant B2B marketers we call our clients through such moments before, and we surely will again. If you’re being asked to do more with less, and you need a little inspiration, here are five tried-and-tested methods.

#1) Make the most of the content you already have

Repurposing an asset can be much cheaper than creating one from scratch. So, dive into your library of existing content before you commission something utterly new.

Maybe you’ve an evergreen ebook that could be atomised into a fresh set of infographics. Or perhaps you’ve a white paper that previously didn’t perform too well, but suddenly has new relevance for your audience and just needs a new promotional push.

#2) Refresh your highest-performing pieces

Another quick and easy win is to refresh an asset that you’re really proud of. Take a content piece that you know your audience love, and look for opportunities to revitalise it with some up-to-the-minute context.

Think about how your thoughts and insights on the topic have evolved since the piece was originally published. If it makes any predictions about the future, ask yourself whether they’ve materialized – and if not, why not? Sometimes, all a classic content piece needs is some timely scene-setting – perhaps through a new introduction or executive summary – to become almost as powerful as the day it first launched.

#3) Narrow your focus to high-intent prospects

Typically, when economic conditions get tough, organisations are even more keen to see their marketing spend having an immediate impact on their bottom line.

One way to get more bang for your budget – at least in the eyes of your organisation – is therefore to focus on prospects with a very high likelihood of buying in the immediate future. (Though you’ll want to get back to building a diverse pipeline of prospects at a range of intent levels just as soon as you can.)

From a content creation perspective, that means asking some new questions. What problems are you solving for your newest customers? Which sub-personas are buying from you most frequently? What are customers asking you for right now?

By honing in on the needs of those most likely to buy, you’ll make sure the value your content delivers is both more immediate and harder to miss.

#4) Talk to your fellow marketers to avoid duplicating effort

Across very large enterprises, you’ll typically find multiple teams of marketers working on their own content pieces. Working autonomously helps those teams to avoid content creation bottlenecks, but it can also lead to duplicated effort.

When the sun is shining and budgets are ample, this isn’t a huge issue. If you end up with two content pieces that explore a similar topic, that’s probably not the end of the world – they might even be useful assets for different stages of a multi-touch nurture campaign.

But when your budgets are constrained, being on the same page as your colleagues in other parts of the business will help you all to make the most of your resources. Share your content plans early, and minimise the chance that you’ll duplicate each other’s work.

#5) Don’t risk the quality of your content

When you need every pound, dollar, or euro of your spend to deliver measurable returns for your business, cutting corners is extremely risky.

With all eyes on your output, it’s important to get things right first time — or at least, as close to first time as possible. The last thing you want is to have your content go through double-digit rounds of edits, only to end up with a piece that doesn’t land with your audience.

That’s why, when you’ve to spend less on your content, the smart play is usually to sacrifice quantity, not quality.

If you’d like to chat about how you could make your content budget go further, get in touch with us today.

A checklist to help prepare your subject matter expert for interviews and content feedback

Posted on by The Radix Team

It’s hard to overstate the value that subject matter experts (SMEs) can bring to B2B technology content. When a great copywriter talks to a true SME, they’re able to tease out their niche knowledge, thought-leading opinions, and surprising insights and transform them into content that’s original, engaging, and authoritative.

But for many marketers, looping SMEs into the content creation process is far from easy. In the CMI’s Outlook for 2024 research, 39% of marketers said they have difficulty simply accessing SMEs, while 41% reported issues with workflow/content approval.

Often, the challenges marketers face are a result of their organisations’ complex internal structures and dynamics. We can’t make those things vanish – but we can help you work within them. Over the many years we’ve spent supporting B2B technology marketers, we’ve learned a huge amount about preparing SMEs to become engaged, enthusiastic participants in the content creation process.

We’ve distilled all that wisdom into a short checklist. Download it to discover:

  • How to select and onboard a new SME
  • How to prep them for an input call
  • How to keep their feedback flowing (and your project rolling forward)

“SMEs are always bouncing from one thing to the next, so setting expectations and boundaries is essential. They need to clearly understand the purpose and outcome of the piece, what you need them to do before and after the call, and the deadline – these things are often forgotten.”

– Senior marketer for a global B2B technology enterprise

Writing for the public sector? Follow these six tips from sector experts

Posted on by George Reith

“The public sector.” Those three words should be a delight to see at the top of a brief or content plan. It’s a sector that delivers meaningful improvements to real people’s lives every day. It offers the kind of human stories every content marketer dreams of sharing.

But the reality is very different. All too often, content targeting the public sector falls short, failing to home in on what really keeps its decision-makers awake at night.

I wanted to find out why, and how to make public sector content that really sings. So, along with Radix Creative Director David McGuire, I asked public sector employees – and the gurus that market to them – how to get it right.

We ran a whole podcast on the topic. But I still felt there was more concrete advice to share, and that’s where this blog comes in. I’ll share six tips based on interviews with industry experts and my own experience writing for this extraordinary audience.

1. Make sure you really understand your audience

You can’t create something that resonates with your reader unless you know who they are. That’s true for any content. But for the public sector, this kind of specific audience knowledge is even more important.

In fact, it’s really more than one audience. The public sector is vast and varied, so if you don’t know whether you’re talking to a local council or a central government department, you’ll have no way of speaking to the unique challenges each type of institution faces. Instead, it’s important to map those challenges out, so you can tailor the right message to the right person.

“It can be tempting to want to create noise in the market, but I’d never recommend taking a scattergun approach,” says Shona Wright, Public Sector Marketing Lead at Microsoft.

“Taking time to create a messaging framework (and training your people on it) is often an overlooked step, but I think it’s essential for anchoring your content and having a cohesive impact on your public sector audience.”

2. Use the language of the sector, but don’t over-use jargon

Specific info on who you’re targeting helps you get the specificity your content needs. But you still have a tough task ahead of you: making sure your content is written in a language that really speaks to your public sector reader, and focuses on the topics close to their heart.

Most B2B brands have a whole roster of tried-and-tested terms and topics they can lean on when speaking to the private sector. However, many of these translate poorly to public sector readers, or at least need some finessing before they’re fit for purpose. For example, some might detest the word “customers”.

While it’s important to speak your audience’s language, Lynn File, Founder and Managing Director Brand Innovation reminds us it’s essential to keep your content human: “The public sector is full of jargon and acronyms. These should be avoided at all costs. If you start using public sector jargon, all the power and emotion drains out of your content immediately.”

3. Get to the purpose behind your audience

But it’s not just language that’s different in the public sector; there’s also a different motivation to their work.

Lynn continues: “By definition, the public sector is there to serve their public and, in my experience, most of the people who work in the public sector are very committed to delivering that. You can latch into what they see as their overall purpose and reflect that back at them.

“So, for example, the NHS at heart is all about delivering great patient care. To be effective, marketing communications have to promise to contribute to that goal. When marketing to them, you should speak about the big picture and the benefits their role ultimately delivers.”

4. Learn from commercial enterprises

While it’s crucial you get the tone and language right when speaking to the public sector, you shouldn’t discard your knowledge of the private sector completely.

Shona says: “Local authorities could learn a lot from disruptive retailers in delivering great customer experiences. As public sector marketers, we need to have the courage to look across industries and help our public sector audiences open their eyes to what they can learn from commercial businesses.”

The way you present this information is crucial. A message that’s overly commercial can turn a public sector reader off – but show them how a private sector solution can be adapted to help them achieve their own public-facing goals, and they might well listen.

5. Balance positive and negative messages

While much of the public sector is about building a better society, some jobs are focused on avoiding a negative outcome rather than pursuing a positive one. But how much can you (and should you) dwell on the risks in your content?

“Risk is an inherent concern in the public sector, and I don’t see that dramatically changing,” says Shona.

“But I do believe we have a viewpoint on the changing landscape of risk. Moving the conversation, from ‘on-prem is safer than cloud’ to understanding the risk of not transforming, is key. Also, I think the role of the public sector CIO has changed. They need to be aware of financial, commercial and reputational risk more now than ever before.”

Where possible, then, discuss the wider elements of risk rather than focusing on one specific area. Beyond this, it’s also important to see where you can flip negative messages around to something more aspirational – showing the reader you understand the importance of their job.

“I think marketers should get fired up and share the enthusiasm that the best public sector workers have for their role,” Lynn suggests.

“Use upbeat exciting language; be positive; be optimistic. Emotion beats reason when it comes to content. Believe in the better future society your audience wants to deliver and show how the product or service you are marketing will help them do that.”

6. Think carefully about the decision-making unit

One anonymous source from the UK civil service explained how the complex decision-making process in some parts of the public sector can be a barrier to common marketing approaches.

They said: “Procurement is a lengthy process, so standard marketing techniques are unlikely to get most companies anywhere. There’s also very little that I can actually act on because the final decision-making power does not sit with me. And I’m someone who was used to having sign-off in private sector roles. So, for the civil service at least, I would suggest that the rulebook doesn’t apply.”

We spoke with another anonymous source with experience working in parliament, and they offered concrete advice for handling the complex tech sign-off process: “In general, there’s very little understanding of what IT solutions are out there. And, unlike the private sector, few have the spare time or dedicated roles required to research the technologies available. If you can show what the options are quickly, and why they should care, and make it easy for them to share this info with decision-makers, your content will go down much better.”

Different audiences, different advice, similar themes

Not all this advice above will apply to every public sector audience. Much depends on what type of organisation you’re targeting – and what their mission is.

However, there are a few constants that can help all public sector content hit a little closer to home:

  • Don’t use jargon as a substitute for communication – both public and private sector buzzwords won’t get you very far
  • Believe in your audience’s mission – and avoid trying to frighten the reader with risks; chances are they handle them every day
  • Be clear and helpful – by openly educating the reader about the options available, and the benefits of each
  • Use examples from other industries – but be very clear about how it applies to public sector objectives

Remember, many public sector audiences face an uphill battle every day, to justify their budgets, their objectives, often their own jobs – even though they’re only working on behalf of the public, to make society better. As private sector marketers and writers, you and I can’t claim to know what that’s like. But we can write content in a way that makes the job a little easier, and shows the reader we’re on their side.

If you need a hand writing public sector content that resonates, reach out to our team.

7 ways to make your B2B writing more inclusive

Posted on by The Radix Team

The B2B tech industry isn’t run by robots (yet), but by actual, real people who exist outside of their offices and away from their laptops.

It can be easy to forget, but these people have interests, friends, and gender identities, as well as being executives and decision-makers at our favourite companies.

So if you’re a B2B marketer, inclusive language can play a huge part in ensuring your reader feels recognised and engaged.

To find out more, we spoke to Ettie Bailey-King, an inclusive and accessible communication consultant. Here’s what we learnt.

Why is inclusive language so important?

For starters, customer expectations have changed dramatically. The B2C market is rapidly adopting inclusive language, and it’s transforming the marketing industry.

If customers are used to respectful and inclusive communication in one industry, they won’t stand for less anywhere else – so B2B needs to keep up.

“We’re constantly surrounded by content – at work, at home, on social media,” says Ettie. “And thoughtful content makes us feel safe and welcomed. For example, an advert that says ‘everyone’, instead of the binary gender options of man or woman. Or an email that avoids gendered salutations like ‘Ms’ and ‘Mr’, and just says ‘Hi Ettie’. For many of us, those changes won’t feel like a big deal. But if you’re questioning your gender identity, for example, then those small changes can be the difference between a painful experience, and a safe and welcoming one.”

Even if you don’t think you’re talking to people who are trans, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming, that’s no reason to avoid using inclusive pronouns and language. According to Stonewall, around 1% of the UK population might be transgender, including non-binary people. Already, that’s roughly 600,000 people – but we’re a long way from knowing what the real figures look like.

“The comparison that activists always use is left-handedness,” says Ettie. “When left-handedness was stigmatised, numbers were around 2%. And when children were actually allowed to freely use the hand of their choice – if you look at the graphs, you’ll see an explosion in left-handedness.”

These days, around 12% of the UK write with their left hand.

There are so many reasons why inclusive writing is important – and they go beyond B2B marketing objectives.

“Inclusive writing is sometimes presented as a fun, happy add-on to make our businesses seem warmer. But it’s got a serious purpose. The world just isn’t safe for some people – for example, many transgender and gender non-conforming people are discriminated against, or at risk of terrible violence,” says Ettie. “It’s important to keep that in mind. So if we’re struggling to motivate ourselves to do the learning, we should remember that using LGBTQIA+ inclusive language has a real impact. For example, using someone’s correct pronouns can reduce their risk of suicide.”

As Ettie says, pronouns are incredibly important. To use them correctly, you’ll need to understand and be familiar with different types.

Let’s talk about chosen preferred pronouns

Pronouns are a big part of inclusive language and, for the record, they’re just that – pronouns. They’re not “chosen” or “preferred”, much like someone’s name isn’t “chosen”.

You might need to know your client’s pronouns (or your client’s client’s pronouns if you’re writing a case study about them). For example, “Matt’s Head of Copy at Radix Communications. He’s been in the role for 11 years.”

Or if you’re engaged in conversation and need to refer to somebody else: “Have you met Matt? He’s great.” Whenever you’re using pronouns, it’s important to do it correctly, even if they’re unfamiliar to you.

After “she/her”, “he/him”, and “they/them”, the most common member-defined pronouns on LinkedIn are:

  1. “she/they”
  2. “he/they”
  3. “they/she”
  4. “they/he”
  5. “any pronouns”

There’s a reason LinkedIn has counted “she/they” and “they/she” separately. For pronouns like these, you can’t assume someone has a preference, or what that preference is.

“Everyone’s different,” says Ettie. “When someone gives mixed pronouns, it might be because they strongly prefer the first one, they’re equally happy with each, or they’d rather you don’t use the second one and it’s just there as a backup (for example, for people who struggle to use singular ‘they’). If you can’t check with someone, I’d use the first pronoun. But if you can, take a few seconds to check which one they prefer.”

Neopronouns like “xe/xem/xyr” (pronounced zee/zem/zeer) or “ze/hir/hirs” (pronounced zee/heer/heers) are examples of popular gender-neutral pronouns, and are often used by non-binary or transgender people. You can practice using them and other gender-neutral pronouns using this tool, made 100% by gender-diverse and same-sex-attracted youth. This table published by the Office of Intercultural Engagement at UNC Greensboro might also be helpful.

But while understanding different pronouns and how to use them is crucial, it’s not the only thing we can do to make our B2B writing more inclusive.

7 ways to make your writing more inclusive

Ettie gave us advice on some of the current best practices for inclusive writing, and other things you can do to make sure all your readers feel recognised.

1. Shift your team’s mindset

A lot of us have been trained to write in a gender binary way – think “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” – and need to go on a learning journey to transform our writing.

If you’re part of a marketing team, this shift in mindset needs to be a collective experience. Start with sharing resources like podcasts, make or join a book club, and help others get exposed to stories and people outside the gender binary.

2. Always ask if you can

If you’re not sure of someone’s pronouns (and you have the opportunity to), ask. And if you can’t, then default to gender-inclusive language until you’re sure of someone’s pronouns – which could be after you’re expected to submit a first draft.

“In B2B, it’s less likely you’re going to be speaking and learning directly from people,” says Ettie. “But describing people accurately is so important. If you don’t know what pronoun someone uses, or how they describe themselves, always check. And if you can’t – they’re unavailable and no one knows the answer – then use gender-neutral terms like ‘they’. Or, you could just use their name instead, like ‘Ashley is Sales Director and Ashley will take over the new team.’”

Ettie’s default in her own writing is to use “they”, and it’s something people have been doing since the 1300s. You can then clarify and correct pronouns in the feedback process.

3. Why default to “they” when you can use “you”?

Defaulting to “they” is definitely an inclusive option when writing about people. But if you’re writing content that’s directed to someone, you can go one step further.

Using second-person address is not only inclusive – “you” knows no gender – but also a great tool for engagement. When you speak directly to your reader, they feel involved and engaged. In short, it’s good copywriting.

Second-person address helps to keep things simple, which is also more accessible. “If there’s one rule, it’s to not overthink it,” says Ettie. “Sometimes, by trying to be inclusive we end up with long and elaborate phrases, which can weigh our copy down. For example, if you’re trying to write a concise slogan, do you need to say ‘people who menstruate’ or ‘people with a vulva’? Maybe you can just say ‘you’.”

4. Treat pronouns like names

If you’re confused or in doubt about unfamiliar pronouns, Lal Zimman, a sociocultural linguist, says to treat them like they’re names. Here’s a rundown of what Lal says:

You can’t tell what a person’s name is just from looking at them, so if you want to know it you have to ask. And asking someone’s name is a totally normal question. In fact, it’s more likely to be considered rude if you don’t ask for someone’s name when first meeting them.

Names are treated as facts, and people don’t generally argue about them. It’s important to remember names, even if they’re unusual, or hard to pronounce or spell. And it’s important to get someone’s name right, even if you don’t like it or them.

People don’t insist that there are a limited number of names, and they know there are names they’ve never heard of. And sometimes people change their names, too – for example, when getting married – and that’s totally accepted.

5. And if you mess up…

Politely apologise, correct yourself, and move on. And don’t forget to be kind to yourself.

“We do need to gender people correctly, because it really matters,” says Ettie. “But while we’re learning, we should give ourselves permission to find it difficult and confusing. It really can be! Don’t panic or overthink it. Be firm but patient with yourself – you’ll be amazed how quickly you can learn.”

6. Be a role model

If you’re inclusive with pronouns in your everyday life, in your work and in your style guide, then it’ll translate into the way you write.

You can normalise talking about pronouns by including them in your email signature, your on-screen nickname, on social media profiles and business cards, or by advertising them on your person (think badges and stickers).

And you can go one step further by incorporating pronouns into your marketing. For example, include guest speakers’ pronouns on event invitations and web content.

By being open with pronouns, you’re helping to avoid potentially uncomfortable and awkward conversations. For example, if you’re meeting with someone virtually who has recently changed their pronouns, they can just change their on-screen nickname.

The same goes for people you’re emailing. There’s no need to use “Mr” and “Mrs”, or “Sir/Madam” as your default address. You can just say “hi”, “hello”, “good morning”, or use their name if you know it.

7. Be flexible

You’re not learning a set of rules once and forever. You’re learning something that may be true for now, and might not be true in a year, and that’s okay. Society is changing, and with it people’s pronouns and best practices.

“So you might meet Ashley now, with pronouns ‘they/them’. In a few years, Ashley might be ‘he/him’. That’s okay,” says Ettie. “Don’t panic if people change their pronouns or names. Be grateful that they share them with you.”

Flexibility is a big part of shifting your mindset and changing your patterns. It’s about always putting people before any set of rules or guidelines – including this one. Because for every rule you can come up with, there will always be people who don’t align with it (and that’s okay too).

Here’s where to learn more

Creating inclusive content can make all the difference to your reader feeling accepted, included, and recognised – which is good news for your people, your marketing, and the world in general.

If you’d like to learn more about inclusive communication, check out Ettie Bailey-King’s website Fighting Talk or sign up to her newsletter for quick, practical tips on how you can make your content more inclusive and accessible.

How to atomise a big B2B content piece into smaller assets

Posted on by The Radix Team

When you create a showstopping content asset, it can be tricky to know where to go next. You’ve spent all this time producing a piece that captures the key messages, ideas, and research for your campaign, but still have months left to fill in your editorial calendar.

Well, if your content is really as valuable as you think it is, you’re likely sitting on a goldmine of additional opportunities.

Here’s why you should be mining for those opportunities, how to spot them among your content library, and advice on how to get started.

The value in atomising your content

While a well-thought-out, thoroughly-researched white paper can generate plenty of leads by itself, not all of your audience will have the time to read 2000+ words. But, they might have time to read one of the interesting ideas your white paper contains.

Breaking down your content piece – or “atomising” it – can help you ensure those ideas aren’t locked into a large asset. It gives you an opportunity to create smaller, more accessible pieces of content that will likely reach a larger portion of your audience.

It also creates a chance to share your ideas across more content channels. An ebook or white paper will likely be gated and restricted to your website, but smaller articles, infographics, and social posts can be shared on a wide range of platforms.

And perhaps one of the most valuable reasons to atomise your content is the opportunity to create additional momentum for your campaign. You’ve already put in the major legwork in conducting the research, interviewing thought leaders, and capturing the key ideas to create your white paper. Now, you have a chance to build out your content calendar for the following months without repeating those steps.

How to know if your content is right for atomisation

Atomising content is something our clients ask us to do a lot, but it’s not right for every content piece. Some are more valuable – and easier to atomise – than others.

Here’s what I look out for when considering whether a piece can be broken down:

Does the content piece cover a broad range of topics in your industry?

If your content covers dozens of different ideas throughout your industry, all tied together with a broad theme, there’ll likely be plenty of opportunities to create additional content.

For example, with a white paper named: “Ten key challenges B2B marketers face today”, there’s a good chance those ten challenges will be distinct from each other, and you’ll be able to split them into their own content pieces. Taking this approach also gives you an opportunity to go deeper into those topics, bringing in additional perspectives, research, and ideas that weren’t included in the main content piece.

On the other hand, if your white paper is on a niche topic – such as a distinct challenge or a single product – there may be fewer atomisation opportunities and you might find yourself stretching the ideas too thin.

Does the content piece contain a lot of original research?

White papers and ebooks based on original research offer some of the easiest and most valuable atomisation opportunities.

With assets like these, there are often dozens of valuable data points that can easily get lost within the large content piece, but can form the foundation for new, more digestible assets.

This could mean writing an article that highlights some of the key insights generated from your research or creating an infographic that presents your data in a more visually accessible way. In many cases, the data in your hero asset can kickstart additional reaction pieces that bring in thought leaders within your company to respond to the research.

Does the content piece bring in a lot of perspectives from your industry or organisation?

When a large asset brings together multiple perspectives from your industry – or across your organisation – there are often ample opportunities to split these perspectives into smaller content pieces.

These can be as simple as pulling quotes from individual thought leaders to use on social media or throughout email campaigns. Or, in some cases, ideas from these thought leaders can be extended into larger blog posts that expand on their perspectives.

How do I start atomising my content?

Think you’ve got the perfect content piece to atomise? Now it’s time to get started.

Your atomisation strategy will need to focus on maintaining the momentum of your original content piece and building out materials that add genuine value to your campaign.

Every content piece will be a different challenge, but here’s some advice you can carry across every project.

Think about creating a variety of content types

Content atomisation shouldn’t just be about splitting white papers into blog posts. Think about the audience you’re targeting, the platforms you want to reach them on, and the ideas you want to share.

For example, from the starting point of one newsletter written by our founder Fiona Campbell-Howes, we created:

  • Three blog posts
  • Three podcast episodes
  • One presentation
  • One board game
  • One infographic
  • One interactive quiz

It’s often easiest if you look at the idea and think about the best possible way to present it to your audience, rather than trying to mould it into a specific content format.

In some cases, you don’t even need to reuse content from the original asset. We’ve found success previously by taking the core idea of the main content piece and using it as the foundation for webinars and podcasts that bring additional perspectives on the topic – and ultimately generate more buzz around the ideas you’re sharing.

See if your content aligns with a current hot topic

If there’s a hot topic everyone in your industry is talking about, atomising your content can be a great way to get your voice into the conversation.

Consider if any ideas in your asset can be adapted to create relevant, associated pieces that respond to the current news topic and add an additional perspective.

For example, if you’re an analytics provider, ideas from your white paper on using data-driven insights to predict supply chain challenges would be a great fit for responding to news about supply chain challenges in specific markets.

But, it’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need to produce this content quickly, otherwise you might miss the time window for its maximum effectiveness.

Work with a writer to plan your atomisation strategy

Knowing what to atomise and when can be tricky, but it’s easier when you work with the writer who will be producing the main content piece. They’ll be able to give you a good idea of whether the piece you’re considering atomising has enough valuable content to split out, and whether the additional assets you’re creating will be helpful for the reader.

Also, they’ll give you a good idea about whether there’s enough leftover material to write meaningful content from the research and interviews they’ve already conducted – or if they’d benefit from extra input to stop your content repeating itself.

Atomisation: a valuable habit to stretch your content budget

Ultimately, any copywriter worth their salt can help you spot opportunities to atomise your content as they’re writing the initial hero piece.

These opportunities are often much easier to identify during the creation process, and can give you a head start on building out your content calendar for the following months – all while maximising the impact of the research and calls you’ve already paid for. The trick is to find a copywriting partner who understands your objectives, and whom you trust to have your best interests at heart.

And that kind of relationship starts with a conversation.

 

From call to brief to copy – what’s the Radix copywriting process?

Posted on by The Radix Team

Content marketing is by no means a niche service, but to our knowledge, Radix is something of a unique business.

Unlike other agencies in the B2B marketing sector, we dedicate ourselves fully to B2B technology copywriting. We’re driven to do the best job we can, so we focus on doing one job, really well.

While it sounds simple on paper, we’re often asked by prospective clients what it really looks like to work with us – and how their project will fit into our daily workflows.

Let me take you on a journey through a typical blog post project at Radix, and hopefully answer the titular question: “Just what is your copywriting process?”

Setting the scene: a new blog brief

It’s time for a little make-believe. Today, one of our regular clients needs a blog post about the latest digital transformation trends in their industry.

In classic Choose Your Own Adventure style, our client has two paths by which they can proceed:

  1. Describe the required content to their Radix account manager so we can book time out with a writer best suited to the job and, if required, book in a briefing call.
  2. Use the standardised Radix briefing template to send a full, written brief to their account manager. (Again, we can book in a briefing call if further insight is needed.)

In most scenarios, we’ll recommend the briefing call as this gives the allocated writer an opportunity to clarify exactly what is required, such as:

  • Who is the content for?
  • Where will it live?
  • What’s its purpose?

In cases where we are engaging with a new client, or it’s a more substantial project, the process can be a little more complex.

Account Director Sarah explains: “If it’s a complicated topic, or a new client, the project will first go to a content lead to evaluate. If needed, we may also arrange a briefing call before booking in time with the writer. Then, all that’s left before writing an outline or a first draft is to send the client a quote for approval and confirm the timeframe for delivery.”

Does your content need an outline?

So far, we’ve:

  • Received word of an exciting new brief
  • Identified the best writer for the job
  • (Probably) had a briefing call to clarify the story
  • Agreed on a quote and timeframe for delivery

Nice. Everything’s looking good.

Now it’s time for our writer to either whip up an outline or jump right into the first draft. With blogs, our writers will often have everything they need from the briefing (and maybe a little desk research) to begin the first draft.

With bigger writing projects – such as case studies or white papers – we tend to write an outline first. That way, changes in project direction or messaging can be easily identified and actioned ahead of any substantial copywriting – potentially saving time, money, and frustration.

Once you’re happy with the outline, the writing itself can begin.

*Intermission*

Delivering your copy

Upon completing the first draft, our writer will proofread your copy before passing it on to a content lead or appropriate peer to review. This is where our in-house quality control process begins (and, in the best-case scenario, ends).

If the reviewer spots anything that needs changing, the writer will be brought back in to make the necessary amends before notifying your account manager that your copy is ready to deliver.

Only when we’re completely happy do you get to read the first draft. If you or your stakeholders identify further changes, or the scope of the project changes, the account manager will reserve time with the original writer to revisit the content. We may also arrange a follow-up call to clarify what needs to happen next.

To ensure the piece is completed as efficiently as possible, we will always track our changes and, if required, explain the thought process behind any adjustments we’ve made – especially if the amends required a little compromise. In cases of scope change, this will likely require an additional call or written correspondence with the writer to set expectations.

Managing client-writer expectations

When it comes to the amends process, we recognise that we’re delivering a product and, as they say in retail, “the customer is always right”. While that’s true most of the time, we prefer to see our work as a collaboration in which both parties learn from each other (and in turn, get the best outcome possible: damned good copy).

We work really hard to make your copy as good as it can be. But if we’ve missed the mark, that’s on us; we’ll always swallow our pride and put things right. If we disagree with a change you’ve suggested, we may try to compromise with a different approach (and explain it in the comments). But as fellow writer Nick said in his write-up on lessons learned at the Copywriting Conference:

“If the feedback is along the lines of, ‘I envisioned something different’ then this should ring alarm bells for future projects, to make sure expectations on both sides are clearly set out from the start.”

Communication matters, so never hesitate to flag any concerns or queries with us regardless of progress through a given project. The most important thing is that you get the right content to achieve the results you want.

Working with Radix

Of course, this is just one example of how a project can go. To discuss our process in greater detail, or see if we’re the right copywriting agency for you, please contact us here or give us a call on +44(0)1326 373592.

Why it’s time for B2B marketers to enter the data mesh

Posted on by Matt Godfrey

B2B marketers love data. Marketing was one of the first business functions to put big bets on analytics and automation, and today, the best B2B marketing campaigns are driven by data. It might not always be complete or accurate, but data helps talented marketers set the general direction of their campaigns and pin their instincts on something tangible.

But what if marketers could easily access trusted data (and lots of it) and use that data to deliver better results?

What if they could uncover new insights hidden in data throughout the business – and use them to create hyper-personalised content and more effective campaigns?

What if they could imagine possible futures for their campaigns and quickly test their hypotheses to see what works?

Well, in a data mesh, they can.

What’s a data mesh? And why should marketers care?

In large, complex organisations with monolithic data architectures, accessing timely, relevant insights can be a laborious process. It relies on specialist data teams to drag insights kicking and screaming out of a central data lake.

The data mesh approach helps overcome these difficulties by decentralising the data architecture and making each domain (marketing, sales, product, etc.) the owner of the data it produces. It’s an approach that’s been growing in popularity over the last few years (which explains why tech consultancies often ask us to write about it) as large enterprises look for ways to reduce organisational and operational complexity.

In a data mesh, the people closest to the data are responsible for managing it and using it to create “data products” that solve their most pressing issues or open up new opportunities.

Federated data ownership removes the operational bottlenecks of centralised structures, so marketers can access and use data how they need to, when they need to. And with data products visible and accessible on a self-service platform, everyone can access products built by other domains and combine them in useful new ways.

New marketing opportunities – and responsibilities – in the data mesh

The data mesh approach empowers marketers to cut out the middleman and start experimenting with their data to find ways to improve content and campaign results. When data users become data owners, the possibilities are limitless.

Marketers who build and own data products can understand their customers and prospects better than ever. They can optimise their campaigns on the fly and conduct low-risk, high-reward experiments with different approaches. They can even begin to create the kind of hyper-personalised content and communications that most marketers can only dream of.

More than most business functions, marketing thrives on data from across the organisation. Insights from sales, service, product, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, and more can all add valuable context to marketers existing knowledge about their customers.

With a data mesh approach, marketers can easily access data products from other business functions to quickly create new capabilities. For example, combining product and sales data products with a customer-intent data product might help marketers target specific prospects with campaigns that are more likely to land.

But before we get too carried away, it’s important to remember that federated ownership also means federated responsibility. In a data mesh, every domain is a data custodian, so marketing becomes responsible for the governance, compliance, and quality of its data.

Meaningful change takes time

Adopting a data mesh approach requires a fundamental cultural shift; it’s a completely different way of thinking about data and how it’s managed, governed, and used.

This shift in mindset includes a switch to what technologists call “product thinking”, where success is defined by the outcomes products deliver, rather than the outputs of projects. It might also require changes in how teams are structured and how they operate. And it will certainly involve fostering a new culture of cross-functional collaboration, as different business units contribute to combined data products.

It’s not something that happens overnight, and it can take years for large organisations to successfully embed the data mesh approach. But if you’re looking for a long-term, strategic approach to getting more bang for your marketing buck, data mesh could be a conversation worth having with your colleagues in IT and elsewhere in the business.

Stay up to date with what’s next in tech 

If you’d like to keep up with how emerging tech trends can have a big impact on B2B marketing – and get practical advice on other ways to maximise the value of your content – sign up for our newsletter.

Five ways B2B marketers can go the extra mile with data privacy

Posted on by Steve George

In marketing, almost everything we do is driven by customer data in one way or another. It helps us understand customer sentiment, expectations, and needs, enabling us to create relevant, high-impact campaigns and content.

But with great power comes great responsibility. Following the great GDPR panic of 2018, we all know not to put personally identifiable information into the public domain, or seriously misuse it. But beyond that, how much time do we really spend thinking about data privacy and our day-to-day role in upholding responsible data practices?

To mark Data Privacy Week, here are five things B2B marketers and copywriters can do to safeguard data privacy, without compromising on the value customer data can deliver.

 

#1) Personalise, but don’t go overboard

We’ve all come across content, ads, and offers that feel a little too targeted to us. It’s an unsettling feeling that gives people the impression they’re being monitored, rather than simply catered to.

But overpersonalisation doesn’t just put people off; it can be bad news from a data privacy perspective too. The more customer data you gather and use in your campaigns and content, the greater the risk of that data being exposed or compromised.

Encountering overpersonalised offers and content brings privacy right to the front of your audience’s mind, leading them to ask questions about what you’re gathering and why. Suddenly, a campaign that you wanted to drive sales starts driving a very different kind of engagement – changes to cookie settings and personal data visibility.

 

#2) Get rid of data and materials you no longer need

Under EU GDPR law, people have the right to have their personal data erased if it’s no longer necessary for the purpose you originally collected or processed it for. But how often do you go back and clear out old data once a campaign is complete?

As copywriters, it’s our responsibility to dispose of the sensitive data and materials our clients provide us with as soon as they’re no longer necessary for us to do our jobs. Marketers should follow the same principle. Once reference materials no longer have practical use for you, get rid of them. The less sensitive data you hold, the less there is to be compromised.

 

#3) Be cautious when using public AI models and tools

In 2023, marketers everywhere began experimenting with public AI models – most commonly, ChatGPT. But in the rush to see what they could get out of it, very few people spent time thinking about the security and privacy of what they put in.

AI models learn from the prompts users give them as well as the gigantic datasets they’re trained on. If you use sensitive data – such as your own proprietary research or details about a specific customer you want to target – as part of an AI prompt, it can leak and begin to appear in future outputs from the AI model, creating privacy issues.

Specific AI-related regulations have emerged to help account for its potential impact on data privacy. So, any marketer who wants to use public (or even private) AI models to generate content or make decisions should do so very carefully and understand the privacy risks AI can expose them to.

AI models learn from the prompts users give them as well as the gigantic datasets they’re trained on.

 

#4) Use data to answer specific questions

One of the key principles of GDPR is purpose limitation. It says that any personal data you gather should be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes. So, whenever you’re using or gathering customer data, you should start with a specific question in mind.

Plan out exactly what you want to know about your customers, and what you intend to do with that insight. All too often, people start with a scattergun approach and aim to learn everything possible about a customer and their needs. That quickly takes marketers into dangerous privacy territory, and annoys customers too.

 

#5) Champion prudent, high-impact data use

Marketers collect a lot of personal data from their customers and audience – but they’re not alone. Virtually every team in the modern enterprise uses customer data in some capacity to drive their operations and make informed decisions.

As the team closest to customer data (and the origin point for a large proportion of that data), marketing has a unique opportunity to champion responsible data practices.

By demonstrating how the right data, managed and handled in the right way, can drive business value without sacrificing customer privacy, marketers can help other functions maintain compliance.

 

Mindfulness is half the battle

It’s not rocket science. As the team closest to customer data, marketers should be the first to think about the impact of how it’s used.

The good news is that when they do, everyone wins. Organisations avoid compliance breaches, their reputations remain intact, and customer trust in their brands grows.

So, next time you’re using sensitive data to make decisions or create content, think carefully about what comes next and keep privacy in the front of your mind, so your customers don’t need to.