You can't make a scientific claim without testing and proving your hypothesis. You can't write a research paper without using and listing sources. So why should marketers expect blind acceptance that the claims they make in marketing content are true?

They shouldn't, says Melanie Deziel, author of Prove It: Exactly How Modern Marketers Earn Trust, and the featured guest on today's Marketing Smarts Live Show.

That's especially true today, because people are more skeptical of marketing than ever.

"It has never been more difficult to win the trust of consumers. Hands down," she says in the episode.

"If we look at the historical data of how consumer skepticism has risen, of likelihood of trusting businesses, trust is down, skepticism is way up. I know it sounds bleak, but these folks don't believe anything we say."

Then how? How do marketers prove their statements?

Check out the video for the answer—and much more.

Make sure you don't miss any future episodes: Subscribe to the Marketing Smarts Live Show on YouTube. And to catch up on all previous episodes, check out the full playlist on YouTube.


Episode Details, Guest Information, and Referenced Links

Episode No. 44

Guest's social media profiles:

MarketingProfs resources referenced in the show:

"In B2B News" article referenced in the show:

"From the #mpb2b Community" links referenced in the show:

 

Full Transcript | Marketing Smarts Live Show Episode 44 | Why B2B Marketers Need to 'Prove It' With a Trust-Building Content Strategy

This rough transcript is machine-generated. It's been only minimally edited by humans.

George B. Thomas:Welcome to The Marketing Smarts Live show by MarketingProfs and The Marketing Smarts podcast.... You can't make a scientific claim without testing and proving your hypothesis. You can't write a research paper without using and listing sources. So why should marketers expect blind acceptance that the claims they make in marketing content are true?

Well, they shouldn't, says Melanie Deziel, author of Prove It: Exactly How Modern Marketers Earn Trust, especially cuz people are more skeptical of marketing than ever. That's a #truth, ladies and gentlemen. Melanie shared in the original podcast episode that it has never been more difficult to win the trust of consumers. Hands down, if we look at the historical data of how consumers skepticism has risen of the likelihood of trusting businesses, trust is down and skepticism is way up. I know it sounds bleak, but these folks don't believe anything we say. Then how do marketers prove their statements? That and more in this Week's Marketing Smarts Live Show.

Hello to all my Marketing Smarts Live viewers. Today I'm excited to bring you episode 44 of the Marketing Smarts Live Show. This week's topic is all about why B2B marketers, you and I, need to prove it with a trust-building content strategy.

So if you're ready to get your learn on, then buckle up and let's get ready to rock and roll. I'm your boy, George B. Thomas, speaker, trainer, catalyst, and the host of this here show, the Marketing Smarts live show, as well as the Marketing Sports podcast found on your favorite podcast app.

Our guest clips today are brought to you by none other than Melanie Deziel, keynote speaker, award-winning branded content creator, and author of the Content Fuel Framework, How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas and Prove It: Exactly How Modern Marketers Earn Trust. Melanie is the founder of StoryFuel, and she spends her days giving keynotes and leading workshops that teach marketers, creators, and companies of all sizes how to create better content.

Now remember, the clips of Melanie Deziel today are pulled from the Full Marketing Smarts podcast episode, and if you want to listen to the full interview with Melanie Deziel and myself, make sure to tune into the Marketing Smarts podcast. Link to the full show will be in the description below after the live show ends.

Now in this episode, again, I'm talking with Melanie about why we need to prove it with our trust building content strategy. With today's episode, I wanted to dig right in and ask Melanie the best tips she would have for us as B2B marketers to prove in our content marketing moving forward. How can we add in this trust? What are the tips? How do we prove it? So I asked her the question, what are two or three tips for creating trust building content? And here's what she had to share.

Melanie Deziel: If you're all-in and you want to do this, the book has all of the information, much more than we could get into right now, but I'll give you three things you can focus on at least for the time being.

My recommendation is when you're looking to create proof, you're looking to create evidence of these claims that you're making, there are three types that work super well. Corroborate the claims that you're making. That means relying on other people's opinions, that's the quotes, the testimonials, the case studies, the expert opinions. Bring in other voices to agree with what you're saying.

The second type is to demonstrate. Look for ways to show it. Like in the infomercial, show them instead of just telling them. How can you let them see it with their own eyes? Give them the full product walk through, the tutorial, the behind the scenes, the in-depth case study.

Corroborate, demonstrate, and then educate. I think that's a really forgotten one. A lot of times, our audience can't believe our claims because they don't understand them. We spend so much time in our area that we understand the jargon, the acronyms, and why these things are important. Especially if your buyer is not your end user, then there's almost certainly an education gap that you need to fill to help them understand those claims and make the most informed decision.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of George B. Thomas

George B. Thomas is a marketer, video Jedi, and HubSpot certified trainer with 25+ years of sales and marketing experience. George is owner and HubSpot Helper at georgebthomas.com. He has a record-breaking 38 HubSpot sales, marketing, service, CRM, and CMS certifications. George harnesses his expertise in graphic design, Web development, video editing, social media marketing, and inbound marketing to partner with, teach, and develop solutions for companies looking to develop their businesses and increase their revenue.

LinkedIn: George B. Thomas

Twitter: @GeorgeBThomas