This week, a couple of cents on educational content.
Hubspot are often considered one of the poster children of B2B content marketing. They staked their claim to the term “Inbound Marketing” almost two decades ago and invested heavily in educating the market on it. In doing that, they arguably created a software category.
Back in the day, I recall using their content for my marketing education as I pivoted from a more technical role into a career path in marketing. But, it was many years before I was in a position to select a marketing automation solution, and there is no way that they can attribute any revenue that I have slid Hubspot’s way since then to that early engagement with that educational content.
I was reminded of this over the holidays. I’ve been working with clients using Hubspot, and I thought I’d invest a little time in getting myself certified in one of their courses. The investment was just time, if you are a client, the syllabus is free.
This isn’t a starry-eyed horn toot for Hubspot, the product. I like it, but I have previously recommended other solutions to clients, as it depends on their requirements and budget.
However, this was a well-produced education series, a significant investment on their part, I suspect, and not something you could connect to the MQL Gumball machine or our obsession with data and attribution.
Like any helpful content marketing initiative, training content straddles the long-term marketing of nurturing future buyers and the short-term challenge of keeping the existing audience engaged.
B2B solutions have a reputation for being underutilized in terms of their breadth of functionality, and users don’t know what the platform can do, especially if they’ve not paid attention to the changes in newer versions.
I’ve seen plenty of enterprise marketing tech stacks with duplication because someone didn’t realize that platform X did Y, so they bought Doohickey Z to do that.
Plus…. in SaaS, there is a challenge in convincing users to do in-person onboarding and learn the product, and there is little friction for them to switch to another solution, the dreaded churn.
Plus… some SaaS solutions have very narrow profit margins that get busted when someone raises their hand and asks for support.
Plus… good lord, we all do things for badges and certifications. With these badges, you create a community and social proof.
So, there is a clear value in educating the audience, from defining the category through encouraging adoption to creating expertise, reducing the need for support, and creating a community.
As you know, I bang on about the goal of marketing teams to create ART (Awareness, Revenue & Trust), and while it may not hook up to the MQL Gumball machine and be directly attributed or measurable against a revenue goal, it’s certainly great for awareness and trust.
So go on, teach!
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.