“Time for Marketing to Get Real”: 3 Takeaways from Zontee’s Interview with LinkedIn Marketing
Last month, our own Zontee Hou was featured in LinkedIn Marketing’s “Marketers You Should Know: 16 Brilliant Thinkers to Follow on LinkedIn.” And this month, she’s back on the LinkedIn blog, featured in a profile, called “Zontee Hou: Time for Marketing to Get Real.”
It’s a rich and interesting conversation (obviously we are biased) that’s worth reading in full, but here are three insights she shared in that interview.
Build the Team You’d Want to Be a Part of
Zontee said:
“When I say that I started Media Volery as the kind of agency I would want to work for, I meant an agency with strong work-life balance and with a real commitment to developing our employees, providing the kinds of benefits that I believe professional marketers deserve. And also an organization that really values academic rigor, in addition to marketing experience. Those are all things that we’ve implemented from an organizational perspective.”
Metrics and Storytelling Have to Go Hand-in-Hand
“[T]he two major trends I see across different industries are, first, a real investment in the analytics and analysis side of content marketing. People are trying to build a stronger discipline within their content marketing teams to understand what is working and what is actually demonstrating a real return on investment. And then the other is on the storytelling side of being really relevant.
That means better utilizing influencers and influential voices within the community, especially on the B2B side, because when you’re speaking to people who are buying something that’s usually a large investment, long lead cycle, etc., you really need them to trust that they’re making the right choice. What better way to do that than to demonstrate you have the trust of other people who they view as trustworthy, credible sources of truth within their industry?”
Values Are More Important to Audiences Because They Leverage Brands As Part of Their Identities
“I think that what you’re seeing is that because we have so many choices and there is so much transparency about what brands do and care about because of the internet, consumers are more highly aware of how brands reflect them. They actually know their dollars have power in influencing who has a strong voice out in the world, and therefore they’re more invested in caring about what their brands’ values are.
So I think that that’s something we’re seeing really bubble up strongly. And I do think that it takes a real investment, especially from a content marketing team perspective, of time and energy and consideration to tell better stories when it comes to your values. Because you have to have a real crystallized image of not only what it is that you stand for, but how that translates to your audience. Just because you care about it does not necessarily mean that your audience is going to care about it.”
Zontee shares more insights on topics including values and diversity at MarTech Alliance’s #MarTechFest Dial Up this April 19-25. Join her there or visit her website for more information on upcoming speaking engagements.
