Cheat Codes: Play The Marketing Game On Easy Mode

Hockeystack has The Flow.

Lavender has LavenderLand.

We've both bet the house on building out a very specific type of media company—a Netflix-style streaming service. And a common misconception is that the goal is to de-platform the audience from social media to that owned asset. But it's just that...A misconception.

In this episode, we dive into the real reason we're building out a streaming service to house all of our content series.

Recorded in February 2023. We've finally arrived at the final part of The Easy Mode Framework: Iteration. In this short episode, we'll go over what to do at this stage of the framework, as well as which parts of the framework are one-time processes and which are repeatable steps.

In this episode of Cheat Codes, Todd & Obaid go over Part 6 of The Easy Mode Framework, Distribution. We go over the bad advice that is out there on this topic and then discuss a practical plan you can create and follow at your company to effectively distribute your content. 

In this episode of Cheat Codes, Obaid and Todd go over Part 5 of The Easy Mode Framework, Creation. Creation is broken down into 4 smaller parts: Substance & Delivery, Effort/Payoff, Substance & Delivery, and the Consumption Experience. Instead of this part of the framework going over how to create content (since you already know that), it goes over important things you should keep in mind when it comes to content creation. Check out this can't-miss episode and level up your content game. 

We're back with The Easy Mode Framework. In this episode, we're going over Part 4, Ideation. Once you go through the first 3 parts of this framework and run these processes at your company, you'll end up with a lot of information. What do you do with all that info? How do you take it and turn it into content? Through an ideation process we call The 4-Step Thought Process. Step 1 of this process is to grab a marketing objective or business goal. Step 2 is to list out all the content formats you could potentially create to move closer to that goal. Step 3 is to determine the message you want to deliver. And Step 4 is to think of how you can turn this brand asset into a memorable experience for those reading, watching, or listening. Check out the full episode for a deep dive and breakdown of the 4-Step Thought Process, which is the Ideation part of The Easy Mode Framework.

In the third part of the Easy Mode Framework, we discuss Strategy. This part is broken down into two sections: The 5 Prerequisites of Ideation & The Realm of Relevancy. The 5 Prerequisites of Ideation are Product, Narrative, Audience, Objectives, and Different Content Formats. The Realm of Relevancy is a map of your strategic narrative that serves as a bridge between your narrative and your topics (i.e. the actual content that your company creates). When you combine the Content Journey you created in Part Two with the 5 Prerequisites you'll establish and the RoR you'll create in Part Three, you can create your Content Strategy. This is a must-listen episodes that sets new methodologies for many outdated content marketing beliefs. 

We're still in the very early stages of influencer marketing in B2B. Creators are emerging and building strong audiences that companies want to monetize. We also see B2B taking many of their playbooks from the B2C companies that have come before them. The only problem is that B2C companies have typically done a terrible job of executing when it comes to influencer marketing. And what could be considered "successful" won't work in B2B because they are generally direct response campaigns:

- Use promo code XYZ when you check out

- Use my link in the description to get 10% off

- etc.

These campaigns may benefit the creator and the company for short-term gains, but what they end up doing is alienating the audience. 

Creators spend years in some cases to build strong relationships with their fan base and then organizations come in and start to erode at those relationships by highjacking the content and making the creator less credible.

In this episode, we talk about the common mistakes that companies have made in the past, as well as the mindset shift and tactical execution you need to employ to create successful influencer campaigns.

One of the hardest parts about creating content is imposter syndrome—Is this stupid? How will people react? You want to know the easiest way to avoid all that? Run with it all. Good ideas, bad ideas, do it all. There's only one way to find out what is going to stick and that is to experiment. If you don't, you'll end up creating the same thing as everyone else and blend in with the crowd.

We're not going to bullshit you—creating content is hard. Especially if you're constantly creating memorable experiences. In this episode, we talk about the processes that have allowed us to put out high-quality, creative content on a daily basis without leading to burnout. And when burnout does happen, we talk about how you can get through it and avoid it in the future.

There's nothing wrong with blog posts. At least, not the format itself. The problem is how most marketers approach and use blog posts. In this episode, we dive deep into the state of blogging, why it has fallen out of favor with SaaS companies, where the problems stem from, how we can improve the quality of our blog content and more.