Thoughts on Marketing

Does Content Marketing still move the needle?

AI slop and changing incentives are messing with the formula

[Originally published as The Marketing Mix newsletter on Substack. Please subscribe for the latest, every 2 weeks]

For a lot of B2B companies, marketing has been narrowed down to a simple flow:

Create Content → Push it on Social → Feature in Google Searches → Drive traffic to your website

But there’s a problem. Each part of that chain is rapidly decaying, thanks to AI tools and shifting customer behaviors:

  • Content is too easy to create (“AI slop”)
  • Folks are disengaging from social media, or narrowing their usage
  • AI chatbots and Google AI overviews are cutting off the traffic flow

Which means what worked a year ago, isn’t going to make the cut any more.

Google Isn’t Delivering

A lot of companies are seeing their traffic from Google plummet.

One example is User Review sites, like G2 and Capterra, that drive product adoption for B2B software. Until recently, marketers knew that if you could get a favorable rating there, you quickly became a ‘go-to’ solution.

But….Semrush data reportedly shows a 70-85 % drop off in Google referrals to these sites in the last 2 years; plus, there’s skepticism about online reviews themselves, now that it’s so easy to generate them with AI .

So these companies have a content problem, and a traffic problem. Which means that G2’s business model (sell advertising packages to software companies) is heavily underwater.

Time to Double Down?

One approach is to try to do better at each step in the chain.

> Work harder on tightly focused, high quality content, to stand out from the noise.

> Spend more time on social, crafting on-trend posts and driving engagement

> Spend more money on search optimization and Google ads.

But you’re just chasing your tail. Increasing effort for diminishing returns.

Zig while they Zag

It’s too early in the AI evolution to know if Content Marketing is salvageable. But I am sure that the existing playbook is running out of juice.

Maybe it’s time to ease off on the content for a bit. Focus your efforts on trying to be different…

And let everyone else chase the SEO monster for a while.

If you want to do more with marketing, but you’re not sure where to begin, then we should talk!

I work with B2B companies as a Fractional CMO. Which means I take time to understand your business, and work with you to build and implement a custom plan to help you grow.

Book a call now to talk about your marketing challenges.

Toronto in a glass

I’ve been holding back on cocktails for a while, but here’s a new one to share. The Toronto. Which, strangely, doesn’t call for any Canadian liquor.

It’s somewhere between an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan, and definitely on the stronger side of things. Officially, it’s 2oz rye whisky, 1/4 oz Fernet Branca, 1/4 oz simple syrup and a dash of angostura bitters.

The version I was served at Nightjar in London used a maple-pecan syrup, and bourbon instead of Rye. Nice, complex flavors.

One complaint though – they added an “orange blossom smoked candy floss” on the side, for some reason. I guess it looks fancy, but really doesn’t belong on a whiskey cocktail… 😏

Cheers! 🥃

Steve

P.S If you know you need to take marketing seriously, but don’t know where to start, let’s chat. I help growing B2B tech companies build their marketing muscles.

P.P.S If you’ve enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to The Marketing Mix newsletter – my thoughts on B2B marketing, sent out every 2 weeks.