Clay intentionally hires marketers from non-traditional backgrounds to create authentic campaigns that stand out from typical B2B marketing. This approach focuses on capturing mindshare with fresh, creative content that resonates with modern buyers who are also regular social media users, not just readers of Gartner reports.
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The traditional B2B marketing mix of SEO, paid search, and content is no longer sufficient. Modern growth relies on activating word-of-mouth through a superior product, leveraging founder social presence for authenticity, and investing heavily in the creator economy (especially YouTube) to reach engaged B2B audiences.
Marketers mistakenly assume B2B industries like finance are dull. In reality, these sectors are filled with compelling human stories about hopes, dreams, and innovation. The perceived lack of creativity is a massive competitive advantage for marketers willing to find and elevate these narratives.
Involve people from outside the marketing team and across different demographics (e.g., Gen Z) in the content ideation process. Their diverse perspectives and awareness of different trends can surface novel ideas that marketing-focused teams might otherwise overlook.
For its innovative "GTM Engineer" role, Clay's co-founder values creativity above all else. This is tested through a take-home assignment where candidates must design creative outbound campaigns, signaling a shift from traditional sales metrics to strategic, experimental thinking in go-to-market roles.
Vector's CEO specifically sought a marketing leader with a content and brand background, not a traditional demand gen expert. This reflects a shift where storytelling and brand building are seen as critical drivers for early-stage growth.
B2B marketing often assumes a sterile, professional-only mindset. This is flawed. The same person scrolling LinkedIn during the day also binges consumer entertainment at night. B2B content should embrace humor and personality, recognizing that you're always marketing to the same multifaceted human being.
FloQast's CMO credits his early career in B2C e-commerce for his success in B2B SaaS. The skills learned in driving direct conversions and understanding self-serve motions became a key differentiator as B2B marketing has increasingly adopted more consumer-centric tactics to engage human buyers.
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Instead of traditional corporate social media, video software company TLDV hired TikTok creators known for their satirical content aimed at product managers. These creators became the brand's personality on social media, proving that B2B company pages can be engaging when they stop acting like a logo and start acting like a person.
A foundation in one-to-one sales reveals the human element often missing in marketing. This experience highlights the void of genuine storytelling and creativity in many marketing departments, equipping professionals to fill it with authentic, person-to-person narratives instead of just focusing on metrics.
As AI floods the internet with generic content, consumers are growing skeptical of corporate voices. This is accelerating a shift in trust from faceless brands to authentic individuals and creators. B2B marketing must adapt by building strategies around these human-led channels, which now often outperform traditional brand-led marketing.
