Cheat Codes: Play The Marketing Game On Easy Mode

Recorded in April 2023. We discuss how we created The Easy Mode Framework, how we ended up implementing it at Cognism (and being mentioned in Alice de Courcy's first book!), and how we were able to throw together a promising and fun side-gig.

Recorded in February 2023. We've finally arrived at the final part of The Easy Mode Framework: Iteration. In this short episode, we'll go over what to do at this stage of the framework, as well as which parts of the framework are one-time processes and which are repeatable steps.

In this episode, Todd and Obaid go over Part 7 of The Easy Mode Framework, Performance. There are six things you want to look at when trying to understand the performance of the content you're creating based on this framework. We'll speak in detail about seeing an increase in engagement from your ICP, questions/comments you can dive deeper on from your ICP, DMs/relationships with people from your ICP, collabs and podcast invites, tags in other conversations regarding the topic(s) you're building content on, and increase in follows from your ICP.

In this episode of Cheat Codes, Todd & Obaid go over Part 6 of The Easy Mode Framework, Distribution. We go over the bad advice that is out there on this topic and then discuss a practical plan you can create and follow at your company to effectively distribute your content. 

We're back with The Easy Mode Framework. In this episode, we're going over Part 4, Ideation. Once you go through the first 3 parts of this framework and run these processes at your company, you'll end up with a lot of information. What do you do with all that info? How do you take it and turn it into content? Through an ideation process we call The 4-Step Thought Process. Step 1 of this process is to grab a marketing objective or business goal. Step 2 is to list out all the content formats you could potentially create to move closer to that goal. Step 3 is to determine the message you want to deliver. And Step 4 is to think of how you can turn this brand asset into a memorable experience for those reading, watching, or listening. Check out the full episode for a deep dive and breakdown of the 4-Step Thought Process, which is the Ideation part of The Easy Mode Framework.

In the third part of the Easy Mode Framework, we discuss Strategy. This part is broken down into two sections: The 5 Prerequisites of Ideation & The Realm of Relevancy. The 5 Prerequisites of Ideation are Product, Narrative, Audience, Objectives, and Different Content Formats. The Realm of Relevancy is a map of your strategic narrative that serves as a bridge between your narrative and your topics (i.e. the actual content that your company creates). When you combine the Content Journey you created in Part Two with the 5 Prerequisites you'll establish and the RoR you'll create in Part Three, you can create your Content Strategy. This is a must-listen episodes that sets new methodologies for many outdated content marketing beliefs. 

In the first episode of our Easy Mode Framework, we discussed Idea-Driven Content and the mindset shift it brings in order to answer the question, "how do you make good content?" In part two of the framework, we are covering what we call the Content Journey. Understanding the fundamentals of the content journey will help you answer the question, "what is the purpose of my content?" (hint: brand awareness is not a purpose) Here's how we map out the three main purposes of any good content: 1. Top-Down Strategic Narrative: Without a strategic narrative, the rest of your content will never reach its maximum potential. You'll always be a "me-too" brand if you don't have a unique POV on the market. This type of content is geared towards executive decision-makers and pushed down through the rest of the org. 2. Middle-out Implementation: Once you get buy-in at the narrative level, there's a level below that has to implement that change. This is your tactical how-to content that allows teams to be successful implementing your strategy. 3. Bottom-up Evangelism: This is where B2B gets to really step out of the boring stuff. This content takes your strategic, top-down narrative and adds in storytelling and entertainment value. The goal of this content is to target the end users of your product and evangelize them. This is the content that makes current users die-hard fans and turns non-users into aspiring users. This is where you win in established categories where products are more commoditized.

You've heard people say, "you need to make good content." But what does that really mean? Good content can be presented in a variety of different ways. So, how do you know if the content you're creating is "good" or not before it achieves its desired outcome? We have come up with a framework that takes you through 3 phases of creating "good content": Mindset shift, Strategy, and Content Execution. In this episode, we discuss the first part of the Easy Mode framework, which we call "Idea-Driven Content". This is the mindset shift you are going to have to make about content creation before you can ever think about the strategy behind it or how it will be executed. We break this mindset down into 3 types: Type 1 - Insightful substance, Type 2 - Insightful substance delivered in an interesting format, and Type 3 - Insightful substance, delivered in an interesting format, and built on an entertaining concept. Neither is better than another, but understanding how these types of content work together will set you up to move onto the next part of the framework, which is strategic implementation.

On the last episode of Season 1, we broke our rule. We had ONE rule and it only took 13 episodes to break it: No guests, just unscripted conversations. Well, we broke the first part, but there was still absolutely no script or pre-conceived questions coming into this episode and the resulting learnings were pretty incredible. We broke our rule because we wanted to talk about building a media company in B2B and that conversation couldn't possibly be complete with the one and only "Mr. B2Beast", Will Aitken. We're talking How to build a media company, content creation tips, how to build content that connects with the audience, how to come up with ideas, some straight facts about B2B alien encounters, and some other random sh*t that just makes sense if you're trying to build a media company with your content. Listen to it. You'll be glad you did. Then shoot Todd and Obaid a DM telling us if you want more guests or not.

2022 is almost over, and many B2B companies have either transitioned to a buyer-centric, demand generation strategy, or want to. We're also now beginning to consider things like memorable experiences in marketing, creative concepts, substance and delivery, and more. However, though this is a welcome evolution of marketing and content creation, it shines a light on a major problem: We're trying to power 2022 marketing playbooks with 1990s sales engines.  How disappointing is it when the experience you get before you decide to buy doesn't align with the actual buying experience? It sucks!  Here's Obaid and Todd's answer to "how do you apply memorable experiences to the sales process?" Follow Todd & Follow Obaid