Three metaphors in B2B content marketing and how they can lead you astray. Content Marketing is guided by the language we use to describe our activities. So metaphors can really shape our thinking. Three in particular are widely used and can be misleading.

1. THREE POISONOUS
METAPHORS IN
B2B MARKETING.

2. METAPHORS ARE
POWERFUL THINGS
THAT HELP US MAKE
SENSE OF THE WORLD.

3. BUT SOMETIMES
METAPHORS STOP
WORKING. AND LEAD US DOWN
THE WRONG PATHS.

4. THIS IS ABOUT THREE
METAPHORS THAT ARE
CENTRAL TO B2B MARKETING.

5. METAPHORS THAT
ARE BROKEN BUT
ARE STILL BEING
USED EVERY DAY.

6. IT’S IMPORTANT BECAUSE
PEOPLE TEND TO FORGET
THAT METAPHORS ARE
JUST METAPHORS. SO THEY END UP ACTING
AS IF THE METAPHORS
WERE TRUE.

7. AND THAT LEADS TO
LAZY MARKETING.
MARKETING THAT
MAKES FATAL
ASSUMPTIONS.

8. THE FIRST
POISONOUS
METAPHOR…

9. THE FUNNEL.

10. IN SOME WAYS,
THE FUNNEL IS
AN EFFECTIVE
METAPHOR. AFTER ALL…

11. THERE
ARE
LOTS OF
POTENTIAL
BUYERS IN
THE WORLD…

12. AND ONLY
A FEW OF
THEM KNOW
ANYTHING
ABOUT YOU…

13. AND EVEN
FEWER
ACTUALLY
MAKE
THEMSELVES
KNOWN…

14. AND EVEN
FEWER
ENGAGE
WITH YOUR
SALES
PEOPLE…

15. AND A
VERY FEW
END UP
BUYING.

16. SO WHAT’S
WRONG WITH
THE FUNNEL
METAPHOR? TWO THINGS.

17. REAL-WORLD
FUNNELS BENEFIT
FROM GRAVITY.

18. A FORCE THAT,
IF YOU DO NOTHING
AT ALL , COMPELS
EVERYTHING PUT INTO
THE TOP TO FLOW OUT
THE BOTTOM.

19. THE B2B MARKETING
FUNNEL WORKS IN
EXACTLY THE
OPPOSITE WAY.

20. THE FORCES ACTING
ON PROSPECTS TAKE
THEM AWAY FROM YOU,
NOT CLOSER TO YOU.

21. B2B MARKETING
FUNNELS SHOULD
REALLY BE SHOWN
UPSIDE DOWN.

22. WE NEED TO
COUNTER THE
NATURAL FORCES
THAT DRIVE
PEOPLE AWAY
FROM US.

23. REAL-WORLD
FUNNELS ALSO
HAVE HARD SIDES.

24. THERE’S ONLY
ONE WAY OUT.

25. B2B MARKETING
FUNNELS DON’T
WORK LIKE THAT.

26. THERE ARE
THOUSANDS
OF WAYS OUT.
AND ONLY A FEW
THAT LEAD TO YOUR
SALES PEOPLE.

27. SO IF YOU MARKET AS IF
THERE’S SUCH A THING AS
GRAVITY AND BELIEVE THAT
YOUR MARKETING FUNNEL
IS HARD TO ESCAPE FROM…
YOUR MARKETING WILL SUCK.

28. ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE WILL
TUMBLE DOWN YOUR FUNNEL
UNTIL THEY BUY SOMETHING IS
JUST PLAIN WRONG.
IT’S JUST A
METAPHOR.

29. THE SECOND
POISONOUS
METAPHOR…

30. THE PURCHASE
JOURNEY.

31. YES, PURCHASE PROCESSES
ARE KIND OF LIKE JOURNEYS.

32. PEOPLE WHO END UP BUYING
STARTED OUT REALLY FAR
AWAY AND NOW THEY’RE
REALLY CLOSE.
LOOKS LIKE A
JOURNEY RIGHT?

33. NOPE.
REAL-WORLD JOURNEYS
HAVE SOME IMPORTANT
THINGS THAT B2B PURCHASE
PROCESSES DO NOT.

34. PEOPLE ON REAL-WORLD
JOURNEYS START WITH
INTENTIONS.

35. THEY KNOW WHERE THEY
WANT TO GO BEFORE THEY
EVEN SET OFF.
THEY BUY A MAP.
THEY PACK A LUNCH.
THEY PEE THE KIDS.

36. REAL-WORLD JOURNEYS
ARE SELF-MOTIVATED.
PEOPLE GO PLACES BECAUSE
THEY REALLY WANT TO GET THERE.
THEY NEED NO EXTRA INCENTIVE.

37. IN CONTRAST,
B2B PURCHASERS
DO NOT INTEND
TO BUY YOUR THEIR MOTIVATION
PRODUCTS. DOESN’T INCLUDE
YOU (UNLESS YOU
DO SOMETHING TO
CHANGE THAT).

38. B2B PURCHASERS
ARE GROPING AROUND
IN THE DARK.
THINKING ABOUT
THEIR OWN
PROBLEMS.

39. OCCASIONALLY,
THEY STUMBLE OVER
SOME KIND OF LUMP.
THAT LUMP
IS YOU.

40. THEY MAY OR MAY
NOT INVESTIGATE
THE LUMP.
PROBABLY NOT.

41. IF THEY DO,
THEY MAY OR MAY
NOT GET IN TOUCH.

42. AND EVEN IF THEY GET
IN TOUCH, THEIR ‘JOURNEY’
HAS JUST BEGUN.
MOST OF THEM
WILL STILL
WANDER OFF.

43. NOW YOU MAY CHOOSE
TO CALL ALL THIS GROPING
AND STUMBLING A JOURNEY.
(I WOULDN’T.)

44. BUT IN B2B, BUYERS ARE
NOT HEADING YOUR WAY
ALL ON THEIR OWN.
THEY DON’T HAVE A MAP.
THEY HAVEN’T PACKED LUNCH.
THEY DON’T KNOW YOU EXIST.

45. ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE
ARE ON A JOURNEY TO YOU
IS A FATAL ASSUMPTION.
IT’S JUST A
METAPHOR.

46. THE THIRD
POISONOUS
METAPHOR…

47. THE “FOLLOWER”.

48. WHETHER IT’S ON TWITTER OR
FACEBOOK OR LINKEDIN OR GOOGLE +,
YOUR ‘FOLLOWERS’ AREN’T REALLY
FOLLOWING YOU AND THEY’RE NOT
YOUR ‘FRIENDS’ AND YOU’RE NOT
REALLY IN THEIR ‘CIRCLES’.

49. THOSE ARE
METAPHORS.

50. IN SOCIAL MEDIA, THERE’S
ONLY ONE WAY TO GET
PEOPLE TO REALLY FOLLOW
YOU AND REALLY BE YOUR
FRIEND AND REALLY INVITE
YOU INTO THEIR CIRCLES.

51. YOU HAVE TO EARN IT.
WHICH IS A LOT
HARDER THAN
GETTING THEM
TO CLICK ‘FOLLOW’.

52. YOUR ‘FOLLOWERS’ ARE
STRANGERS WHO HAVE
GIVEN YOU – AT BEST –
A MICROSECOND EVERY
MONTH OR SO TO GET ON
THEIR RADAR. THAT’S ALL
THEY ARE.

53. IF YOU’RE BUSY COUNTING
YOUR FOLLOWERS AND
COLLECTING ‘LIKES’, YOU’RE
IGNORING THE THING THAT
REALLY MATTERS.

54. THE THING THAT REALLY
MATTERS IN SOCIAL MEDIA IS
EARNING A REPUTATION
AS AN INTELLIGENT,
CONSISTENT, ENTERTAINING
SOURCE OF INSIGHT.

55. IF YOU CAN DO THAT, TEN OF YOUR
FOLLOWERS WILL BE WORTH THE
MILLION PHANTOM FANS OF THAT
‘PERSONAL BRAND GURU’ WHO
PUMPS HIS BANAL EFFLUENT INTO
THE TWEETOSPHERE EVERY HOUR,
ON THE HOUR. YOU KNOW THE GUY.

56. ‘FOLLOWERS’
AND ‘FRIENDS’
ARE METAPHORS. LOOK BEHIND YOU.
SEE ANY EAGER FACES,
AWAITING YOUR NEXT POST?
I THOUGHT NOT.

57. LET’S REVIEW.

58. FUNNELS AREN’T
REALLY FUNNELS.
THEY DON’T
HAVE GRAVITY
AND THEY DON’T
HAVE HARD SIDES.

59. PURCHASE JOURNEYS
AREN’T REALLY JOURNEYS.
YOUR PROSPECTS
AREN’T SKIPPING
DOWN THE YELLOW-
BRICK ROAD TO YOU.

60. YOUR FOLLOWERS
AREN’T REALLY FOLLOWERS.
THEY’RE JUST PEOPLE WHO
ARE DESPERATELY LOOKING
FOR FOLLOWERS.

61. SO WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?

62. IT MEANS YOU HAVE TO
CREATE THE GRAVITY
IN THE FUNNEL.
THE FORCE THAT IMPELS
PROSPECTS TOWARDS YOU.

63. AND YOU HAVE TO
BUILD THE HARD
SIDES THAT KEEP
PEOPLE ENGAGED.
MAKING IT HARDER FOR
THEM TO WANDER AWAY.

64. AND YOU HAVE TO
TURN THE LIGHT
ON SO THEY SEE
WHERE THEY ARE
AND WHY THEY SO THEY STOP
NEED YOU.
GROPING AND
STUMBLING AND
START LISTENING.

65. AND YOU HAVE
TO EARN THE
REAL ATTENTION
OF YOUR SOCIAL
MEDIA CONTACTS. SO THEY SIT UP
AND TUNE IN
WHEN YOU TWEET.

66. AND YOU DO ALL
THIS WITH ONE
EASY-TO-SAY
BUT NOT SO
EASY-TO-DELIVER
THING… DRUM ROLL…

67. YOU DO IT WITH CLEAR,
COMPELLING, INTERESTING,
USEFUL, PASSIONATE, FUN,
INTELLIGENT, ARTICULATE,
BEAUTIFUL, LOGICAL,
DISCOVERABLE, MAGNETIC…

68. CONTENT.

69. CONTENT THAT HELPS
PEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS,
SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS OR
SEIZE THEIR OPPORTUNITIES.

70. THAT’S THE ONLY THING
THAT FILLS FUNNELS AND
INCITES JOURNEYS AND
INSPIRES FOLLOWERS.

71. SO DO MORE OF THAT.
(AND LESS OF
EVERYTHING ELSE).

72. THANKS FOR CLICKING.

73. COME AND GET SOME.
B2B Content Marketing The B2B Marketing The B2B Content The Holy Trinity of
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Great content marketing A tirade against the A short primer on the single The three questions you have
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sharpen yours. tantrum.