Happy Friday! Let’s talk about B2B marketing:

• 5 types of social proof you should be using. Build trust and increase your conversion rate by sharing these five types of social proof.

• MarTech’s crazy growth & what it can teach you. We’ll share a graphic that blew our minds and got us thinking about what every marketer should learn from it.

🤝 5 types of social proof you should be using.

Social proof helps you build trust with prospects and raise your conversion rate.

Humans are social creatures. We want to fit in with the group. And we trust others’ experiences and opinions. That’s why reading product reviews is one of the first things you do when shopping online.

But customer reviews aren’t the only social proof you should leverage. Here are six other types you should try.

1) Wisdom of the crowd

These are metrics that show how you’re popular. For example: # of users, social media followers, products sold, etc.

2) 3rd party awards & lists

Associate yourself with trusted third-party awards and ranked lists — for example, G2, Inc. 5000, Gartner Magic Quadrant, etc.

3) User-generated content

Have customers make content for you. Promote photos and videos of people using and loving your product or service. But make sure it’s not scripted or over-produced. The key with UGC is that it should feel natural, raw, and honest.

4) Case Studies

These are deep dives into how specific customers used your product or service to drive a great result. They help prospects imagine how you could help their business too.

5) Testimonials

Comments from customers willing to go on the record about their experience with your product or service.

📰 In the news this week.

👂 How AirBnB used social listening to generate millions of impressions in 24 hours.

🏹 Here are the most personal ways advertisers target you.

⬛️ Reddit blackout: what it is and why subreddits are going dark.

🤖 6 automations every B2B org needs to have.

�� TikTok for B2B companies: how to do it right.

🤔 MarTech’s crazy growth & what it can teach you.

We recently came across a pretty mind-blowing chart. It’s called the MarTech Map.

It shows all the marketing technology companies currently in the landscape. And boy, are there a lot of them. 11,038, to be exact.

If you’re shopping around for a marketing software solution, the MarTech Map might be a good place to start.

But that’s not why we found it so interesting. What caught our attention was how the MarTech Map has evolved.

The first map was created in 2011. Back then, there were only 150 companies on it.

Every year since, that number has grown.

And the growth has been massive! Over 7,000% in 12 years.

There are two lessons you should take away from this.

Lesson 1: There’s a tool for the job.

If the MarTech map does anything (besides making your eyes hurt), it shows that many tools are available to help marketers solve problems.

As marketers, we’re all trying to make magic out of a finite set of resources. It’s always essential to search for a new/better/different way of doing things. That’s how you achieve new results.

Be on the lookout for tools that help you do better work. And when you find them, don’t be afraid to invest in trying them out. It’s usually money well spent.

Lesson 2: Competition is steeper than ever. You need a game plan.

There has been massive growth in the MarTech space over the past 12 years. But we’d bet big money that a map graphic for any tech niche would show similar growth.

Rapid expansion is happening everywhere. And with the recent hype around AI, things are moving faster than ever. The competitive landscape for tech companies, especially B2B, is getting crowded.

So what should you do? Two things:

1) Have an obvious differentiation strategy.

When competition is fierce, you need to stand out. Spend more time hammering home your competitive advantages in your marketing.

Clearly outline what makes you different from the other companies in your industry. Then tell people why they should care about those differences.

2) Use creativity to stand out.

You'll never get noticed if you’re doing what everyone else is doing.

Spend a lot of time brainstorming and testing new marketing content, tactics, or messages that set you apart from your competition.

If you’re feeling stuck here, check out the second section of last week’s newsletter, where we shared how to steal creative ideas from B2C marketers.

😂 Marketing meme of the week.

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