There’s a lot of talk these days about how challenging it is to be a marketer. The doom-and-gloom prognostications are usually well-meaning, helping to crystallize the urgency of the work ahead; still, it can be a little bit much.
As we gear up to face these challenges, now feels like a good time to take a beat and reflect on the things that drive us – aspects of being a marketer that drew us to the craft, and continue to fulfill us each day.
We asked eight of our favorite marketers, known for their upbeat and positive vibes, what they love most about the job as they currently experience it. Here’s what they had to say.
Neal Schaffer, Fractional CMO and Author, The Age of Influence
I am someone whose hair is naturally wavy and, thus, my hair literally looks different every day. And I enjoy that variety in my appearance. This is the best analogy that I can think of why I love being a B2B marketer so much. Every day is different, and you might not realize it, but just looking at your older pictures and realizing how you have evolved into who you are today, the innovation and experimentation involved in being a B2B marketer is what makes every day different and exciting.
Whether it's creating paid ad campaigns to test new digital content formats, finding out the best ways to utilize artificial intelligence to streamline content creation operations, analyzing what content is working best here on LinkedIn and why, interviewing thought leaders for my podcast, experimenting with creating TikTok short-form videos in a B2B context only to find that they perform better on YouTube Shorts, trying to outrank your competitor's search engine rankings with the latest iteration of your blog post, or simply engaging with subject market experts as part of a client's B2B influencer marketing strategy, being a B2B marketer never bores and always excites me with its sheer variety of initiatives that are possible in an always-changing digital environment.
The most exciting aspect for me which makes me fulfilled is that for every insight uncovered in my work, I know that there are exponentially more waiting to be found. Being a B2B marketer is like a gift that keeps giving and always challenging me. What is there NOT to love about it?
Rakia Reynolds, Founder and Executive Officer, Skai Blue Media
The marketing landscape has surely changed with the evolution of social media, the introduction of the metaverse and more, but one thing that has not changed is the importance of storytelling. I have to say, the more disruptive the world becomes, the more fulfilled I am in my role as a B2B marketer.
B2B businesses are facing more challenges than ever before, and I thrive on the creativity needed to make them more relevant as the factors affecting their decision-making processes have changed greatly. No matter how much "tech rules the world," the importance of humanizing a brand both internally and externally remains just as important as the evolution of a company's product.
I love what I do because I am continually exposed to some of the most forward-facing thought leaders of our time. From there, I extract what makes their businesses unique, translate what I have learned, fold in my own expertise and then restructure that one-of-a-kind knowledge into powerful guidance for each of my clients. This type of critical thinking and positioning is imperative as they strive to make the best decisions to move their businesses forward in a timely, strategic and thoughtful way.
Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder / Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media Studios
I had a great job. Good money. Nice co-workers. Bright future. So why did I quit and start a career in marketing? Because marketing combines art and science. Because digital marketing is creative and technical.
- If you're a right-brained creative person... marketing has good opportunities for you.
- If you're a left-brained analytical person... marketing has good opportunities for you too.
- If you're a center-brained person, who enjoys doing creative things that require real analysis, you are going to love digital marketing. It's perfect for you.
I'm here because I love it. I love it because it allows me to combine my many interests and it pushes me to see things from multiple perspectives at the same time. There is literally nothing else I'd rather do.
Gini Dietrich, Founder and CEO, Spin Sucks
Six years is an eternity in marketing. Heck, in life, too. Six years ago, I had a sassy threenager. Now I have a big kid about to embark on middle school! In the last six years, we've had a pandemic, bread baking and toilet paper hoarding, homeschooling, and a social justice movement – just a few things have changed.
Six years ago, I said what I loved most about my job is the writing part. And that hasn't changed. But I've also had an incredible opportunity to help clients build and scale their marketing departments and, as part of that work, my team and I have become intimately involved with how to measure the PESO Model™ against the things that matter most to executives ($$$$).
Six years ago, we fought the perception that the work communicators do can't be measured. I had to sit through many jokes about how much money is wasted when employing communications professionals—and how public relations is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
And, for the most part, we deserved it. But it doesn't mean it's true. We have finally figured out how to measure the work that we do as it relates to the corporate marketing stack—and how to attribute results so executives believe them.
And that's what I love most about my job in 2023. It's changed the trajectory of the type of work we do, along with better serving our clients who are excited to see how much we can contribute to their sales efforts.
Morgan J. Ingram, Strategic Advisor and 4x LinkedIn Top Sales Voice
Even though I have not been in a full-time marketing role, I live B2B marketing daily with the brand I have built. What has evolved is how we create and distribute content. Before, it used to be a blog post, whitepaper, and maybe a webinar; now, it's short-form videos, creative posts, funny content, and tapping into other influencers to amplify your brand. What makes me the most fulfilled is doing precisely that. I am finding ways to take a marketing narrative and create content edutainment for everyone to consume.
Justin Gray, Founder and Managing Director, InRevenue Capital
I’ve been in Marketing & Go-to-Market (GTM) leadership roles for over 20 years. I’ve spent the last decade founding and growing LeadMD, a marketing consultancy, to support thousands of the world’s top B2B brands. However, now with the acquisition of LeadMD complete, and the launch of the subsequent new brand Shift Paradigm off and running, I found myself in a unique place closing out 2022: out of a job.
It was a planned transition, so it sounds more dramatic than it is. But there is always the question, “what is next?” Fortunately, I had a nagging idea scratching at the edges of my brain for quite a while, waiting for the right conditions to break through into obsession. I’ve long been an advocate for defining success by the excitement you feel when you wake up to meet the day. And I’m proud to say that renewed vigor is exactly what this recent change has revitalized.
By far, my favorite stage in a company lifecycle is Go-to-Market fit, just after Product Market Fit, but before scale. There’s something magical that happens within organizations that are building sales and marketing excellence for the first time. So, when I looked at the widening swath of early stage, well-funded but struggling organizations that face increasing buyer demands in a complex market – I knew it was the perfect fit for my passion.
On the first of this year, we launched In Revenue Capital to bring together GTM expertise, with early-stage funding, to empower founders with what they need to grow and succeed. Each day I get to evaluate innovative companies that are disrupting markets and solving problems. Then, once we make an investment, I get to pivot my chair and go to work helping them to build a high performing Go-to-Market strategy. From messaging to Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) definition, to playbooks, to (what I believe is the next frontier of true revenue acquisition efficiency) Partner-Led Growth – I get to do it all. It’s a perfect job description for a slightly ADHD venture capitalist who is fanatical about strong business fundamentals and efficient growth through effective Go-to-Market.
And I spring out of bed each morning as I dive in and help companies do it.
Mel Carson, Founder and CEO, Delightful Communications
The last six years have been a whirlwind. Delightful grew from five people to 35 and has tripled since the pandemic started. Looking back on my 2017 thoughts on focusing on people and not just pixels, it’s like NOTHING has changed. Our work has evolved to include more and more people because that’s where we have seen the best results. We have won awards for our influencer marketing work with Microsoft and Excel. Our leadership branding practice, working with senior leaders at tech companies, has seen an uptick of interest as marketing and communications pros understand that to have a truly integrated experience, brands should include personal branding and employee advocacy into the mix.
People are why I do this job, and watching our team learn and grow over the last few years in the face of obstacles we never even contemplated ever having to face, has been such a privilege. As we spend more and more time in person as well, I’m finding the personal connections rekindling beyond the Teams calls and really starting to feel the creativity starting to flow in ways we never thought possible.
B2B marketing does not have to be boring. And while the last few years have been hard, I feel the industry is coming out of it better and bolder and I’m looking forward to being even happier in 2029 as a result!
Tequia Burt, Editor-in-Chief of the LinkedIn Ads Blog and LinkedIn Collective & Senior Content Marketing Manager, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions.
After being a journalist for more than 15 years, I made the jump over to content marketing. In some ways, it was very easy because my beat had always been B2B marketing and I was well versed in marketing best practices. But being well versed in best practices is very different from being a on-the-ground tactician!
Nonetheless, I am thriving in marketing because LinkedIn has allowed me to continue to be a journalist in my role. Everyday, I still get to put on my critical thinking cap and use the same skills I used as a journalist to communicate messaging that is more substance and less fluff. I get to use my research skills to lead on cutting-edge research that helps marketers do their jobs better. I get to launch content initiatives like the LinkedIn Collective, which serves as a guiding light for the best in our industry.
When I started out as a journalist, I wanted to make a difference in peoples lives. I’m happy to say that I have accomplished that goal as a content marketer. I love my job!!
Topics: Content marketing
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