B2B Marketing Spotlight: Jay Baer on Employee Generated Content #mpb2b

It was back in 2010 at SXSWi that I was in the blogger lounge networking with other social media savvy content creators and thought leaders like Brian Solis, Chris Heuer, Amber Naslund, Chris Brogan and Rohit Bhargava, when I met a fellow marketer who shared a metal bottle opener as his business card.

What a brilliant idea! Package your identity around something useful to trigger conversations.

Fast forward to 2019 and Jay Baer has continued to carry that message of utility, talk triggers and clever marketing savvy to his online media empire of Convince & Convert that includes an award winning blog, a network of podcasts, professional speaking, training and consulting.

Jay is the New York Times best-selling author of six books including his most recent, Talk Triggers. He is also a serial entrepreneur, technology company investor and a world class professional keynote speaker that has been inducted into the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame. On top of all that, Jay is an avid tequila collector, a certified barbecue judge and owner of some of the most colorful and stylish suits you’ll see on the speaking circuit.

On Wednesday October 16th, Jay will be giving an opening keynote on how to turn your customers into volunteer marketers at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum in Washington D.C.. Jay was kind enough to connect with me to talk about the topic of employee advocacy and world of mouth marketing.

Enjoy the full video interview below:

Jay Baer on B2B Marketing Alphabet Soup and How to Get Focused

“I feel like you should go back to the utility principle which is, let’s set aside all the shenanigans and just say, ‘Okay look, what do these prospective customers need and how can we give that to them?’ If we do that consistently, eventually we’re gonna win. Ultimately, that’s the only great truism of marketing. Give people what they need and eventually you will win. But there’s not enough patience.”

Ultimately, the only great truism of marketing is, give people what they need and eventually you will win. @jaybaer

“People aren’t like, “Hey, LinkedIn post, here’s $1 million for a software package.” There is actually a consideration period here. I’ve been doing some consulting with B2B companies that have last-click attribution on social. So you’re telling me that your software company is going to try and sell software off a tweet? Like, that ain’t going to happen. No wonder you think your social media doesn’t work.”

“Ultimately I feel like there’s not enough patience in the game and the culture around B2B is becoming a culture of instant performance and that is not going to work.”

Jay Baer on Employee Advocacy and Customer Experience

“If you have a truly differentiated customer experience, something that creates conversations, your employees will naturally echo that and amplify it and connect the dots for potential customers. They will be part of the marketing arsenal. The problem with employee advocacy is that marketers completely forget what it’s like to be a customer.”

If you have a truly differentiated customer experience, something that creates conversations, your employees will naturally echo that and amplify it and connect the dots for potential customers. @jaybaer

“It’s like this weird amnesia effect sits in and they’re like, ‘Oh, so they’re not just gonna tweet out this thing that says this company is the greatest company in history.’ And it’s like, ‘No bro, you wouldn’t do that either. Why would you think it should be so nakedly promotional? It’s like a commercial and nobody’s going to put that on their personal social media.’ They’re just trying to turn employees into shills and nobody’s down with that.”

Jay Baer on What He Loves Most About MarketingProfs CCO, Ann Handley

“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t really like anything about her. No, she’s one of my favorite people. She is incredibly, incredibly successful but also one of the most genuine and kind people I know despite her massive success, which is extraordinary. But I’ll tell you the one thing that I will reference that doesn’t get enough talk about Ann Handley, is that as the crazy suit guy, I really appreciate Ann’s pants game.”

“She’s really started, in the last two years especially, I know she’s really starting to lean into the crazy pants routine and I feel like A, she stole my bit, but B, I do appreciate that she’s going for it on the pants. I may have to find some pants for Ann as a B2B forum gift. We’ll see.”

I’m glad I’m not the only one who appreciates Ann’s Pants. Thanks Jay!

Bound for B2B Forum: For more information about imagining what’s possible in B2B including Jay Baer’s keynote, check out the MarketingProfs B2B Forum conference including agenda, list of speakers (including Ashley Zeckman and myself) and many other fun facts on the B2B Forum website here. Also, get $100 off by using this mpb2b discount code: B2BFriends