Brevity + Levity

Ah, yes: short-form content.

Works for all of that consumer stuff, right? Y’know: ice cream and pizza = fun; chocolate = sex; toilet paper = dogs etc etc.

We’ve all seen those ads so we know that the formats, tone, branding, etc won’t work for B2B marketing.

Why? Because we won’t let it.

Add the word ‘business’ into the mix and suddenly marketers conjure up a layer of super-seriousness that must neatly trouser-pressed into our overall demeanour.

A lot of B2B marketers want to talk about their product, service, experience, technology, point of difference at great length.

In. Pain. Staking. Detail. All. The. Freaking. Time.

They think it somehow justifies the cost of the service they’re providing — and it makes sense from the outside looking in.

What they tend to forget is that customers don’t actually care about most of what they have to say.

Not because they’re assholes, but because:

a) they see so many similar products and services out there

b) they need a solution to a problem

They probably have too much on their plate to read your collateral cover to cover. But that’s ok. It just means that everything you do produce needs to have impact.

You need to know who you’re talking to — that’s a given. That also means knowing where they’re at in the purchase cycle and what’s important to them.

Double down on that and TEASE out the things they need to know

Let’s not forget all B2B customers have a pulse too. They don’t need to be bored into submission. They’re wives, husbands, parents, courtesans, LARPers, Laura Dern impersonators, and Ian McShane fanatics too.

They need a break from all the serious stuff.

Sure, impact can be serious. But it can also be fun — without undermining a company’s purpose.

Why not provide that moment of levity in their working lives?

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