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2016 is off to a crazy start - good crazy of course. A new year means a new set of marketing hurdles to jump over, so it’s perfect timing that we have an extra day in the year (thanks, Leap Year!). It’s basically like having a bonus day to get things done. And in the spirit of Bonus Day, we’re passing along marketing tips and advice from the experts here at Spiceworks.

We posed the question: “If you had one piece of advice to give tech marketers, what would it be?” Below is what they had to say.

Sanjay C., VP of Marketing
“Marketing is hard work that captures the imagination of your audience and takes them on a journey that creates new value for both parties. Don’t surrender your marketing to the names and numbers game, your customers and prospects will thank you for your efforts.”

Jen S., Executive Brand Muse
“Just ASK a real IT pro. We as marketers may think the creative ideas or messages we craft are clever and effective, but we are not IT pros. What appeals to us may not resonate with them. The bonus? You’ll actually get to know real IT pros better - as real people - which will ultimately equip you to better connect with them.”

Todd D., Marketing Maestro
*“Say ‘Yes, and…’ when it comes to your marketing campaigns. No idea is too crazy for the IT audience. Say yes to the idea and then add to it. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with.*”

Garrett B., Event Marketing Manager
"Think through the entire experience of your event presence from the eyes of the attendee - what story are you telling?"

Jessica N., Marketing Communications Specialist
“Remember that everyone’s busy, and it’s not your audience’s top priority to engage with your company’s content. So the next time you’re writing a blog post, launching a product video, sharing a shiny new infographic, ask yourself…”Would I want to read/watch this?” If the answer is no, then you should rethink your campaign.”

Katie P., Sales Enablement Manager
“Often the most overlooked asset to a marketer is leveraging the expertise and experiences of their own sales team. They are the ‘feet on the street’, and they often have the closest relationship with your target audience for your marketing messages. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them!”

Megan D., Email Marketing Manager
"You have just a few seconds to grab your reader’s attention in an email. Are you wasting those precious seconds with marketing or industry buzz words? Get your point across loud and clear in the first ¼ of the email and you’ll be much more successful. "

Adam S., PR Manager
*"PR teams and the media they work with are in the storytelling business. Working together to find and tell those stories in a thoughtful, compelling way is the best way to build a long-term relationship that benefits both parties.*"

Amelia C., Product Marketing Manager
"Never underestimate the insight you can gain just from listening to your target market. Attending a single focus group (or Unplugged !) can help you understand far more about your market than you’d expect."

Nick B., Director of Demand Gen
“Instead of looking for a silver bullet, spend your time building a demand gen feedback loop that tells you which programs are working and which ones are not. And remember, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.”

Drew S., Senior Manager of Demand Gen
*“If you explore every possible hurdle before building something, you’ll never get anything done. Do the planning, but get started as soon as you can. The details that need to be handled will expose themselves as you go. (Also known as 'fake it ‘til you make it.’)*”

Jon P., Demand Gen QB
"As tech marketers, we love building product launch plans and the latest creative campaigns focused on specific target audiences and/or buyer personas within IT (we also love Orange Tickets !). But, don’t forget… there’s a real person behind each one of those abstractions. Know what behavior change you’re trying to drive and their motivation. You can only do that by asking them!"

Want more tech marketing advice? Join our email list . You’ll stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest content, events, and Spiceworks news you won’t want to miss.
If YOU had one piece of advice to share with tech marketers, what would it be?

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Work with IT pros, not only can you see their perspective but you’ll surprise them by understanding them/their thinking!

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Find your most important customers and make them the centre of your marketing campaign. Highly satisfied, good quality customers is better than a lot of customers with a low engagement rate.

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Reach out to your peers!

Whenever I start working on a new marketing project, and define a new target audience accordingly, I go to marketing forums and communities to ask other marketing professionals – “quick question for tech marketers! which channels do you use to reach IT professionals? Any recommended websites/publications/forums I should check out? thanks!” – That’s how I came across Spiceworks. :slight_smile:

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You need to fully engage with your sales team. Walk with them through the buyers journey so you can support them with the necessary assets to close the deal. Marketing is no longer a cost center, we are revenue drivers. The commission checks are just around the corner.

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Whatever the case, be authentic! Be inquisitive! Be Inclusive!

The more you know, the better off you’ll be!

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I agree that targeted marketing works well, but you need to make sure that you are working FOR the IT person. Sometimes marketing/sales people still just see the $$$ from the sale, and not how the IT people work with it.

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Focus on educating IT Pros. If they see value in your educational materials, they’ll trust you as a solution provider when it comes time to make a project from what they’ve learned.

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Take the time to polish your communications to customers. Typos, grammatical issues, etc. are a big turn-off for many people.

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Remember that what you’re really selling isn’t your product, it’s what your product enables customers to do.

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Don’t become a “me too”. Find a niche and own that space. Don’t get caught up in competing for all customers - go long tail!!

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Always be testing! Test out your CTA placement in emails, the length of your form on your gated pages - maybe you test getting rid of the form completely! Even if something’s performing well, don’t stop optimizing… and regularly run tests against your “we always do it this way” rules. You never know when preferences will change!

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Pay attention to metrics. See what messages are working (and not working). When something seems to be resonating, incorporate that messaging into social, email, and larger demand gen campaigns.

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This goes along with “ask an IT pro” and “work with an IT pro”, but do that consistently over time - not just once. Show a handful of your audience a campaign concept you’re working on, and get their thoughts (and make sure you mix it up a bit so you’re getting different perspectives across your audience…and getting to know more of them better, to boot!).

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I think when you’re working on technical messaging for a technical audience it’s easy to forget this one: Don’t mistake complexity for intelligence. We’re writing for human beings and, like most readers, they’re going to tune out if you hit them with too much jargon (or worse — too many buzz words).

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What great ideas from a broad group of members! Awesome stuff and really appreciate the info and insight!!

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  • Make it fun, not boring! Always put yourself in your audience’s shoes. If you were them, would you be intrigued by the piece of content you’re putting in front of them? (whether it’s an email, a blog post, or something else)…
  • Be human. Straight up. No one wants to engage with a robot :).
  • Walk through the entire experience of what you’re doing - before making it live. Example: If you’re getting someone to sign up for an event. How did they first learn about the event? What does the whole funnel look like? What do the ads,emails, posts look like? Registration page, follow up email, pre-event communications, and even on-site communications? Is everything consistent when it comes to messaging, tone of voice, design? Does everything flow well? Is the experience seamless and easy? Would YOU go though the whole experience or are there any areas you’d drop off yourself?
  • Be technically accurate when talking about tech – IT pros are super smart and it’s probably insulting to them when they receive a promotion of sorts that’s technically wrong. Don’t promote or talk about something until you’ve done your due diligence on researching it/learning HOW to talk about it / promote it in a technically-accurate way.
  • If you mess up, own up to it, and this goes back to being human. We all make mistakes. It’s how we deal with them and make things better that makes a difference and really helps give your brand the loyal, “real”, genuine factor. Example: If you send an email out with a major typo or incorrect date: Send out a follow-up email apologizing for the mistake - and have some fun with it! Make fun of yourself and have a light heart about it (while also genuinely apologizing).
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When sitting down to write any piece of ad copy, I try to fully consider the experience through the lens of my reader. What might grab my attention, make me laugh, compel me, and ultimately win me over. After all, I’m a human… writing to other humans. If I can see my own writing through a skeptic’s eye and it still passes muster, I might be onto something.

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Try not to get too caught up in “the way it’s always been done”. A fresh perspective is an amazing thing, and can help spur some of your best ideas.

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expertise and experiences of their own sales team. They are the ‘feet on the street’, and they often have the closest relationship with your target audience for your marketing messages. you’ll never get anything done. Do the planning, but get started as soon as you can. The details that need to be handled will expose themselves as you go. We as marketers may think the creative ideas or messages we craft are clever and effective, but we are not IT pros.