As of Tuesday 11 Sep 2018, Herd will be located at the Glove Factory Studios.
Glove Factory Studios
Brook Lane, Holt
Bradford-on-Avon
Wilts, BA14 6RL
M: 0773 997 9662 E: lucy@herdpr.co.uk W: herdpr.co.uk
All other contact details remain the same, including registered address.
https://www.glovefactorystudios.com
“People who succeed in b2b PR are ambitious and excited at the prospect of understanding how companies operate. They are shrewd analysts with a desire to be challenged every day...”
It takes a certain type of animal to get involved in b2b PR and communications - someone with a real passion for getting under the skin of your business, so if you’re looking for b2b specialist support, here’s what to look for and importantly what to expect…
B2b by its very nature attracts specialist communication practitioners, as opposed to generalists. B2b comms is certainly not for someone who is easily seduced by 'glitz' and 'shine' or the lure of working on the lastest Coca Cola campaign for example. Die-hard ‘B2b-ers’ are loyal and thrive on channelling their inner 'geek'. They are in it for the long-haul, they persevere and relish the process of understanding the organisation and task in hand.
With multiple decision makers to influence, b2b has greater complexity than b2c and requires a specialist approach. The route to market is not always straightforward, buyer cycles and journeys can be quite protracted and lead times are longer. Unlike b2c, where campaigns are often quick and dirty and results more tangible and immediate, b2b communications may take longer to tune-in and make an impact. But when they do, and are timed to perfection, they are worth the wait.
B2b communication specialists are often the unsung hero of the marcomms world - and the good ones are hard to come by, but if you do your homework and look carefully, you will find a stalwart community of experts in their field, who are worth their weight in gold.
Experience is garnered from years in similar and complementary client businesses. They have often worked across diverse industry sectors and bring with them huge amounts of real and gritty business insight as a result. This can be applied to new and emerging sectors too. And because of their detailed sponge-like approach to understanding the organisation, its constituent parts, and the supporting media landscape - their knowledge often goes well beyond the business in hand. By default, they are able to comment and advise on the nuances of the supply chain too.
Due to the multi-faceted and changing pace of b2b PR communications, on-the-job skills-sets are far-reaching and often varied, thus providing significant added-value to the client. The very opposite of a one-trip pony, a dedicated b2b PR practitioner is an extremely cost effective and valuable resource to have on board - especially if your marketing budget is limited and needs to work hard.
A solid b2b PR expert is a flexible beast and as such is willing and able to turn their hands to many parts of the marketing mix, working independently or as part of a larger sales and marketing team. In addition to providing strategic campaign planning and direction - an effective and creative command of the written word is a prerequisite. From the humble media release through to writing industry awards, technical papers, case studies, e-books, blogs, keynote presentations and web copy, to name but a few.
If your business is struggling to be heard amongst the cacophony - and you need some help finding your b2b voice, drop us a line, we’d be only too happy to chew the cud with you…
As Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon said 'Do you really know what customers and prospects say about you/ your brand when you’re not in the room'..?
In business today we work hard to embrace and exploit the many benefits of our digital and social era, but personal connections and human emotions become increasingly important in this environment, both face-to-face in the flesh and online.
As we enter a new year with a fresh new start - think carefully about how you want to make your customers feel. Every part of your marketing communications should be nailed-on to achieve that feeling.
Depending on the latest jargon, we can use different expressions to sum this feeling up such as a 'brand promise or 'brand essence' - but ultimately, this is what your customers expect to experience when purchasing your product or service. Get this right and it is the unique reason that people will buy from you, over and above your competitors.
WHAT B2B MARKETING CAN LEARN FROM M-LOGGING AND GIN...
Last week I found myself in deepest darkest Somerset (along with my friend Kathryn, founder of online kids' clothing store, Desmond Elephant). We were at The FmlyStore, Bruton, (Selfish Mother's HQ) attending an event to celebrate the launch of Hurrah For Gin, Katie Kirby's latest book - The Daily Struggles of Archie Adams. Effortlessly on point, the evening sponsored by Sipsmith Gin, cleverly combined a business networking workshop, hosted by blogzine and logo clothing brand, Selfish Mother.
The event attracted a hoard of passionate mloggers (mum-bloggers) and members of the parenting lifestyle business community, keen to learn how Katie engineered a humble blog into a lucrative brand and multiple book deal. Clearly, Hurrah for Gin’s success is a story of steely determination and savvy business acumen - Katie identified a gap in the market and was swift to bridge it.
With irreverent humour, Katie admits to plugging away for two years without seeing any tangible outcomes. Unwittingly, her stealth approach was amassing a dedicated army of loyal recruits and ramping up a viral ground-swell which propelled Hurrah For Gin into the parent-blogger stratosphere. Thanks to cartoons such as 'The Seven Stages of Sleep Deprivation' and 'The Scratch 'n' Sniff Approach to Children's Dressing', she now has 100,000+ visitors every month and a growing range of merchandise to support her online endeavours.
So what can a night sipping gin, and mingling with mloggers teach us about B2B content marketing? Quite a lot actually, (blame the gin...!)
1. Single-minded
Katie’s story captures the zeitgeist of modern day parenting. She clearly understands the wants, needs and behaviour of her audience. Hurrah For Gin is single-minded with its mission to appeal to sleep-deprived, time poor parents of young children and makes no apology. It doesn’t deviate from this objective and everything it says and does comes back to this premise.
2. Relevant
The content (humour) is simple and immediate – it ignites an instantaneous rapport and connection with the brand. It evokes the need to share and connect with like-minded individuals.
3. Timing
Content is easy to digest and delivered in bite-size chunks. Most popular posts are scheduled and shared in the evening when the captive audience is actively online at home - in this case on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
4. Differentiate
Hurrah For Gin has an unmistakable brand identity - crudely drawn black and white stick men. It's what sets it apart. Content must embody brand and business objectives and underpin your unique proposition. In B2B, crafting differentiated messages to suit segmented audiences as well as the platforms and channels they’re presented on is equally important.
5. Authenticity
Hurrah For Gin (if you ignore the trolls) has become a respected voice and is a great example of peer-to-peer marketing. Content is straight from the mouth of a mother, who openly talks about the common struggles and challenges. Katie's tone is consistent, unapologetic and direct. You know she is telling the truth, because she is a parent and has experienced the things she writes about firsthand. This garners trust and advocacy within her community.
6. Passion
Katie's passion is undeniable and is demonstrated through her stalwart time and commitment to Hurrah For Gin, which hardly ever has any down time - the brand is always 'on' and the stream of social content is unfaltering. Her audience has come to expect her frequency of posts and consequently Hurrah For Gin is a brand which understands the plight of parenting. Katie clearly writes from a place of knowledge and understanding which exudes her passion for the job and her audience.
7. Visual
Not to withstand a good cliche, pictures speak a thousand words and used properly can significantly enhance your social communications and engagements. Hurrah For Gin is ostensibly image based which gets over the messages without the need for too many words or jargon. Similarly, B2B research shows that posts unaccompanied by a striking image or simple infographic are much less likely to be shared.
To discuss your specific B2B PR, Marketing and Content requirements drop us a line at: lucy@herdpr.co.uk
Time is precious, so thank you for grazing.
I'm Lucy Bridle, founder of Herd PR - a no-nonsense B2B PR & communications specialist by trade. I'd describe myself professionally as someone who has bought the t-shirt and sold it several times (but not before researching, evaluating and measuring it). After a decade of meticulous suit wearing, I now unshakably prefer the understated honesty of a trusty pair of jeans (to match the t-shirt. I'm a stickler for detail).
Keen to combine earning a crust with a passion for writing, I fell into the world of PR in my early 20's after a brief dalliance with the notion of becoming a Fleet Street journalist. Instead, I responded halfheartedly to a post-graduate PR position at a boutique B2B tech agency in Cheshire. Initially, seduced by the lure of working on a press conference in a swanky London hotel (and thrill of launching the first Palm Pilot to the assembled glitterati of the 90's tech media world), very quickly and surprisingly the world of B2B marketing became my stomping ground. My ensuing career has been punctuated by the opportunity to develop, experience and learn from the best of the best in B2B, on home turf and internationally.
In 2009, I relocated to Bath with my young family in search of a more flexible and quality work-life. I was dizzy from the perennial merry-go-round of the big agency set-up and driven by the appetite to offer a more stripped-back, honest counsel. In response, Herd was founded in 2010 as a 'no-frills, hardworking, little sister', offering strategic PR, content & communication services to local and national clients, with a strong focus on the South West and London.
A bit of blurb on the corporate suit wearing days. Despite my latent aversion, whilst suited and booted, and clutching the odd designer tote for good measure, I held the position of Head of PR and Executive Board Director at a global B2B marketing communications agency.
Working with a diverse raft of b2b sector clients (anything from construction, engineering and building materials through to financial services and nutraceuticals), a healthy collection of industry awards were clocked up in the process.
The working day was never short of a cryptic industry acronym to decipher, a technical manual to decode - or a copy of WET News - that's Water & Effluent Treatment News, to those sadly not in the know. There, I was fortunate to work with a talented and vociferous collection of creative, research, data, digital media and web specialists as part of an integrated agency team - as well as servicing a roster of dedicated PR-only clients.
Twenty years in and a self-professed dinner party bore. I'm still hooked on B2B, try as I may to shake it. There aren't too many sane people that get excited about construction supply chains and the latest procurement solutions - but I am one. The suit may be long gone, and I've now swapped WET News for the latest (online) issue of Construction News and The Lean Management Journal - some things will never go out of fashion.
***
That's enough about me - if you'd like to know more about Herd and what we can do, drop me a line. You can also find me chewing the cud on LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucybridle
