Newsletter: Why You Need Top-of-Funnel Content 🌪 ; 8 Coachability Interview Questions to Ask Job Seekers 🙋♂️ ; How to Do Cause Marketing with Purveyors of Root Vegetables 🥕
Last week, I talked about my upcoming presentation at Corporate Partnerships Everywhere on Thursday, March 16th. Case study superhero Tas Cassim from Black Dog Institute in Oz and I will discuss case studies.
One of the reasons case studies are so darn effective is that they are helpful mid- and bottom-funnel. In short, when a prospect is beyond the awareness stage and is really considering partnering with your organization, case studies can move the conversation closer to a sealed deal.
👉🏻👉🏻 Today, however, I'm talking about top-of-funnel content for your partnership program because it's just as critical as case studies.
Remember, the top-of-funnel is where people first become aware of your partnership program. They are new leads!
I'm basing my post today on a great article written by Joshua Nite at Top Rank Marketing. It's worth a read!
🎩 Joshua begins by explaining why you need top-of-funnel content. 95% of prospects aren't ready to buy, so when you focus on later funnel content you're only serving 5% of your potential audience.
🤔 Joshua argues that the key to creating good top-of-funnel content is memorability. I agree! He shared this quote:
“Advertising is not persuasion, it is publicity. It’s just making people aware of the product or service and at some later date when they need the product or the service, they will think of your company and they will buy your company, generally. There will not be a click in that process. It’s actually about memory, not clicks.”
– Jon Lombardo, Head of Global Research, B2B Institute at LinkedIn
The key to memorable content is what he calls "best answer content," and it has four attributes.
Credibility. Your content positions your organization as partnership experts. Your team knows what it's doing and qualified to speak about the subject. As Joshua notes, it "includes customer & prospect voices and trusted, relevant influencers."
Quality. Your content is USEFUL to the prospect. It addresses problems or answers questions they have.
Authenticity. Your content has a human voice. Most content is impersonal, sterile, and imposing. Good content is sincere, positive, and compassionate.
Experience. It looks good and is easy to read. Prospects should enjoy consuming your content and look forward to more.
I would add another attribute to the list: Consistency. You make a commitment to regularly sharing your content - that helps a lot with memorability!
Of course, the question you may be asking at this point is "Ok, Joe, I need top-of-funnel content to generate leads. What are some examples?"
I'll talk about that in an upcoming newsletter and will have some examples for you!
✍️ Partnership Notes
1. Hiring coachable people is critical for your partnership team's success. Here are eight coachability interview questions to ask.
2. The gang at Remarkable Partnerships shares five recommendations on how to close a partnership deal. I like #2, "The Assumptive Close." It's certainly better than my "flip a coin close."🙄
3. I get this question a lot from managers: "Joe, what kind of things should I be tracking from my partnership sales team?" Start with these five. (Scroll down and click on "KPIs for Business Development Reps").
4. How to do cause marketing with purveyors of carrots, beets, and onions.
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
1. In November 2021, I wrote about Bari Rosenstein, the social media manager at Auntie Anne's Pretzels. At the time, she was a recent hire AND a one-woman social media team. She still is!
Nevertheless, she just reported that "The Auntie has hit over 1 million views on Tik Tok each month so far in 2023"!
Just fifteen months ago Bari was focused on Instagram and just experimenting with TikTok! Now is an excellent time to revisit the lessons Bari shared back in 2021.
Time- and staff-strapped nonprofits can learn a lot from her.
2. A person I admire in marketing, Mark Schaefer, wrote an excellent post on the current role of social media in marketing. As Mark notes, if he had only relied on social media he wouldn't have sold one book in his long career (and he's sold plenty!).
Social media doesn't work that way, and Mark knows it. We should know that too. So why use it?
"But I still post on social media and interact genuinely because I know many people will become curious enough to click my profile, visit my website, absorb my content and subscribe to my blog or podcast."
You should treat social media in a similar way for your nonprofit and your partnership program: "A top-of-the-funnel relationship that leads to audience and community" ...and not directly to donations and partnerships.
3. To incentivize gamers to become registered organ donors, Donate Life America is giving away a limited edition set of organ-containing gaming dice [VIDEO]. 🎲 🫁 😳
😎 Cool Jobs in Cause
1. Development Officer (Corporate Sponsorship), Museum of Modern Art, NYC ($62k - $70k)
2. Director of Philanthropic Partnerships, Race Forward, Remote ($98k - $109k)
3. Account Manager, Corporate Partnerships, National Park Foundation, Washington D.C./Remote ($70K)
4. Senior Director of Corporate Philanthropy & Partnerships, Year Up, San Francisco Bay Area ($121k - $165k)
🧠🍌 Brain Food
1. There are times when you shouldn't take the money.
2. The 10 most innovative nonprofits of 2023.
3. Why you always feel 20 percent younger than your actual age. Good information, but my wife wants to know why I act 90 percent younger than my actual age.🤔
