Standing Up PLG at Metadata

Get ready as we take a trip down memory lane… We’ve got a bit of a different episode for you this time. We’re sad to say that Jason, our VP of Marketing, will be leaving Metadata. So we thought this would be a great opportunity to look back at Metadata’s marketing highlights, challenges, mistakes, and fun stories from behind the scenes of DGU.  Join us for a bittersweet farewell as we swap stories and sum up all the lessons we’ve learned over the past few years of Jason’s reign over the marketing team.  This podcast will be taking a pause after this episode – so watch this space for updates!  Find out: The DGU origin story How Jason hired Mark What we learned from our time running DGU0:00 – 1:33 Intro 1:33 – 4:13 Jason’s announcement  4:13 – 5:35 How Jason found his first startup experience  5:35 – 8:16 How working at Metadata compares to his previous roles 8:16 – 12:56 The DGU podcast origin story 12:56 – 17:13 The story behind Jason hiring Mark 17:13 – 20:26 Metadata’s experiments with LinkedIn video 20:26 – 24:03 Metadata’s LinkedIn strategy 24:03 – 25:18 How Jason and Mark became the faces of Metadata  25:18 – 32:56 How Metadata dipped its toes into marketing with celebrities 32:56 – 36:31 How Metadata partnered with DGMG 36:31 – 46: 20 Top moments from the marketing team’s retreat  46:20 – 1:02:32 The not-so-great moments of marketing Metadata  1:02:32 – 1:05:42 Goodbye from Jason  

We’d all love customers to have zero objections to buying from us, but overcoming sales objections is a key part of any sale.  How we handle those objections makes all the difference between gaining a new customer and losing one.  The truth is that sales objections are nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they’re a window into potential customers’ thoughts – and those thoughts can inspire great marketing content. In this episode of DGU, we talk about our own experiences with sales objections and how we turn that into valuable content to help win sales in the future. Find out: How we identify sales objections Ways to overcome them How to use objections for marketing content To learn more, check out the full episode for tips on turning sales objections into high-value content.  0:00 – 4:46 Intro 4:46 – 8:08 What is objection handling? 8:08 – 10:57 Objections vs. competition in the market  10:57 – 12:24 How to decide which objections to address 12:24 – 15:41 Objections we’ve dealt with at Metadata  15:41 – 18:16 Why you need consistent responses to sales objections 18:16 – 20:19 How to talk about objections in Leadership meetings  20:19 – 24:15 How Metadata responds to objections in marketing  24:15 – 28:33 Content you can create from objections 28:33 – 29:07 Why we focus more on renewal rates than new sales  29:07 – 37:28 Recent content we’ve created from sales objections  37:28 – 39:30 How Metadata created a landing page to address sales objections  39:30 – 40:17 Outro 

The number one goal for demand gen marketers has always been generating pipeline and revenue. However, times are changing and more of us are now required to focus on staff retention. Given the economic climate, it’s understandable but, for many, it’s unfamiliar territory. So, where do we start? In this episode of DGU, Mark and Jason discuss how they’re prioritizing customer retention as a marketing team, what they do to try and improve retention and what they’ve learned along the way. Tune into the episode for a 101 on Net Retention Rate (NRR) and Gross Renewal Rate (GRR), why it’s a focus right now and an outline of Metadata’s approach. Find out: How to define NRR and GRR and why it’s important The challenges affecting NRR and GRR How Metadata prioritize customer retention 0:00 – 0:27 – Introduction 0:27 – 2:49 - Jason’s wacky episode idea 2:49 – 4:37 - Customer retention is unfamiliar territory 4:37 – 5:53- Let’s define NRR and GRR 5:53 – 7:22 - Why NRR AND GRR? 7:22 – 10:41 - Best-in-class retention 10:41 – 18:03 - Why Metadata prioritize retention 18:03 – 20:55 - The company’s number one goal 20:55 – 28:59 - How Metadata are supporting NRR and GRR 28:59 – 30:12 - Creating content that helps us overcome objections 30:12 – 36:31 - Another funny story from Jason 36:31 – 41:04 - Leveraging playbooks (and marijuana water) 41:04 – 42:01 – Outro  

Every B2B marketing team is currently asking themselves the same thing... how do you adjust your marketing plan according to what's going on in the world right now? It's a chaotic time and having a plan is a great start. But what happens when you have to adjust that plan and then a few months later, have to adjust it again? It’s no easy feat, which is why in this episode of DGU, Mark and Jason cover one of Jason’s not-so-favorite topics… planning!  Tune in to find out how the team at Metadata is approaching marketing planning in the current environment, mistakes they’ve made in the process, and how to say ‘no’ when you really have to.  Find out: Why Metadata are taking another crack at their Q4 / Q1 plan How and why our goals have changed in the last six months What happens when you work on everything at once 0:00 – 0:32 Intro  0:33 – 1:49 Why Jason wants to go back to paper and pencils 1:49 – 3:15 The question every marketing team is asking right now  3:15 – 7:01 Metadata’s Q4-Q1 planning process 7:01 – 12:20 Reworking the plan  12:20 – 24:49 How to goals of the company have changed  24:49 – 28:15 Guardrails Metadata have in place  28:15 – 33:44  Level of effort and potential impact 33:44 – 35:42 What happened when Mark stood in for Jason in a leadership meeting  35:42 – 36:40 Outro 

A laser-focused approach to audience targeting is a must in today’s market. And with all the different tools out there that can collect data, we can really dig into the numbers to improve our targeting. In this episode of DGU, Mark and Jason revisit a topic they’ve covered before – how to target effectively and define your ICP with data. But we’ve made a whole bunch of changes at Metadata since that episode, and arguably, targeting is more important than it’s ever been. Tune in to hear Metadata’s approach to targeting, how it’s changed, and what tools we’re using to zero in on our target market.  Find out: How we approached building targeting criteria How Metadata has evolved its targeting Why we started using Keyplay 0:00 – 1:23 Intro 1:23 – 5:51 How Metadata approaches targeting  5:51 – 9:05 How to improve your targeting  9:05 – 21:23 How we’ve built targeting lists and criteria in the past  21:23 – 24:06 How data can help you personalize your outreach 24:06 – 26:56 How the Metadata team has evolved its targeting  26:56 – 31:12 How we’ve been using Keyplay 31:12 – 36:46 Other tools we’ve been using for targeting  36:46 – 37:23 Why you don’t need a lot of tech to do targeting effectively  37:23 – 38:15 Outro  

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, times are tough for B2B marketers.Every buying decision, whether it’s a new purchase or renewal, is under serious scrutiny right now. The best place to start for B2B marketers is to recession-proof your messaging. You need to make sure whatever your company sells is positioned as a must-have product or service in any type of economy.On DGU this week, get an inside look at we’re adjusting our messaging in a down economy at Metadata.Listen to the full episode to hear what Mark and Alex learned so far, or keep reading for the show notes.PS give episode 13 of Demand Gen U a listen (How To Develop Your Positioning and Messaging (And Make It Stick) if you missed it last yearFind out: Why B2B companies need to adjust their messaging in a down economyWhen, where, and how to get started at your own companyHow to work with your Sales team on new messaging 0:00 – 1:32 Intro 1:32 – 4:31 Why many companies neglect to change their messaging  4:31 – 5:42 How to define messaging  5:42 – 7:06 What you need to think about when changing your messaging 7:06 – 9:06 How to start tweaking your messaging  9:06 – 11:58 Signs you need to rethink your messaging  11:58 – 13:13 A quantitative look at company messaging  13:13 – 14:41 Where to start  14:41 – 16:21 Why Metadata is starting small with company messaging 16:21 – 21:46 How to talk about messaging and ask the right questions  21:46 – 23:58 How to account for non-traditional personas  23:58 – 26:56 Testing out your new messaging  26:56 – 30:56 How often you should revisit messaging  30:56 – 32:21 Outro 

Every demand-gen marketer knows what it’s like to get stuck on the MQL hamster wheel. You get into a cycle of churning out more leads and demos – while pipeline and revenue are left out of the party. Moving away from MQLs to revenue involves a big overhaul of sales and marketing processes, and sadly B2B marketers on LinkedIn aren’t really explaining how to do it. In this week’s DGU, you’ll get an inside look at how we moved away from being solely focused on MQLs to working across the whole pipeline and revenue.Check out the full episode to hear why marketing should look further down the funnel.Find out:Why it’s always important to look at data How Metadata changed its approach to pipeline and revenueHow we distinguished real from “fake” pipeline0:00 – 1:14 Intro1:14 – 2:49 Why data is always important to track2:49 – 6:44 Advice for dealing with “armchair marketers”6:44 – 15:07 How Jason began to change the way we measure data at Metadata 15:07 – 17:00 What “good data” looks like17:00 – 23:32 How Metadata moved from leads to MQLs to pipeline23:32 – 25:54 How to look at leading indicators 25:54 – 27:08 Why measure your funnel every day?27:08 – 32:46 Why planning for a worst-case scenario isn’t always enough32:46 – 36:51 Advice for people making the jump from MQLs to pipeline and revenue 36:51 – 38:16 Outro

How do you get customers hooked on your product? Not just signing up, but hooked in a can’t-imagine-life-without-it way. We can’t all be Starbucks, after all.  That’s the idea behind PLG or product-led growth – get your customers hooked on your product and telling everyone about it. It’s something we’ve been trying out at Metadata, and as usual, we’re here to tell you about the stuff we’ve got right along the way, and the things we’ve got wrong, so you don’t have to do the same. Mark Huber, Head of Brand & Product Marketing, and Jason Widup, VP of Marketing, share honest insights into the Metadata PLG experiment, how companies are doing it right, and which issues are causing the biggest roadblocks.  Find out: What is PLG and how does it work? Metadata’s approach to PLG How successful companies manage PLG0:00 – 2:17 Intro 2:17 – 7:15 What is PLG? 7:15 – 9:42 How companies get PLG right 9:42 – 17:29 How Metadata first approached PLG  17:29 – 22:39 The early days of Metadata’s PLG strategy 22:39 – 25:38 Starting with the product changes in Metadata  25:38 – 33:38 How Metadata’s soft launch went  33:38 – 37:14 How Metadata plan to build on its V1 37:14 – 38:03 Outro 

Are you standing out on LinkedIn for all the right reasons? Or is your page gathering dust and tumbleweeds? We’ve seen our fair share of LinkedIn blunders over the years, from radio-silent accounts to outdated memes to leave-it-to-the-intern strategies and cringey self-promotional posts. …And we’ve been guilty of a couple of them ourselves. Admittedly, our LinkedIn game wasn’t great in the early days. But thanks to the help of some LinkedIn masters, we’ve turned that around.  In this episode of Demand Gen U, Mark Huber, Head of Brand & Product Marketing, chats to Katie Cooper, freelance Social Media Content Creator who works closely with us on Metadata’s LinkedIn presence, about the top mistakes B2B brands make on LinkedIn, why the one-size-fits-all approach never works, how to find your voice, and the best way to use comedy on LinkedIn. Find out: What NOT to do on LinkedIn How to find your voice on LinkedIn How to mix value and comedy   0:00 – 4:12 Intro 4:12 – 10:25 Where B2B brands are going wrong on social 10:25 – 14:17 Why you should focus on one channel first  14:17 – 18:02 How Katie started working with Metadata 18:02 – 21:10 How to find your voice on social media (and how we found ours) 21:10 – 25:43 The best way to balance comedy with value 25:43 – 30:14 How to measure ROI 30:14 – 32:45 Dealing with negative mentions  32:45 – 36:09 The top things Katie wants to try out at Metadata  36:09 – 37:16 Outro 

Are you hitting the nail on the head when it comes to internal marketing?…you are doing internal marketing, right?Don’t worry if you’re not. We’ve got your back with this episode of Demand Gen U. Metadata duo Mark Huber, Head of Brand & Product Marketing, and Jason Widup, VP of Marketing, break down exactly why internal marketing should be a priority. You’ll hear about the challenges, mistakes, and experiments the Metadata marketing team has explored while doing internal marketing – so you don’t have to do the same. Tune in to hear about our tactics for getting the word out across the company so that everyone is on the same page about marketing.Find out:Why internal marketing is so importantHow to use “show and tell” to share what you’re working onWhy repetition is key to getting your message across0:00 – 0:30 – Intro0:30 – 2:30 What internal marketing is (and isn’t)2:30 – 6:19 Why Metadata initially started internal marketing 6:19 – 10:05 Our lightbulb moment on why internal marketing is so important10:05 – 14:47 – What our internal marketing looked like at the start14:47 – 19:04 How we borrowed the show-and-tell idea for internal marketing 19:04 – 24:46 How Mark preps for his show-and-tell 24:46 – 29:47 Early challenges and confusion 29:47 – 32:02 Other ways to do internal marketing 32:02 – 36:16 Why we built the Metadatabase 36:16 – 40:31 Why the importance of repetition is the biggest lesson Mark learned from internal marketing40:31 – 41:44 Outro