How to Build a Demand Creation Strategy

Demand gen is utterly broken. It's overly complicated & lacks the soul and creativity that consumers deserve. I promise there's a better way. Here's the 3-pronged content engine we're building for companies at storyarb: Principles: - Treat your content as the product, not as marketing for another product - Unique insights + Unique voice + Unique packaging = Unique content - Pick topics that make your Market of 1 better at their job Channels: 1) Deeply researched long-form content Purpose: create data-driven OR interview-based website content that is deep enough & insightful enough such that a reader feels the need to bookmark & reference later. Good examples: Lenny Rachitsky: "How the biggest consumer apps got first 1,000 users" - Lenny interviewed hundreds of founders, identified patterns, and broke down the seven strategies consumer apps used to grow. Carta: "State of Private Markets: Q3 2024" Report - Using tons of internal funding data by Carta customers to pull together trends in startup funding for the quarter. HubSpot: "My First Million's Business Idea Database" - Aggregating & organizing 57 startup ideas shared by past MFM podcast guests into an e-mail gated database 2) Editorial email newsletter Purpose: create the best industry read for your market of 1 that allows you to build an owned audience of current/future customers. Good examples: - Content Examined by Alex Garcia: the best read for consumer content marketers, which acts as a perfect nurturing tool for his community, course, and agency - Big Desk Energy by Tyler Denk 🐝: a window into building a high-growth startup as it's happening by the founder of beehiiv - Exploding Topics: a snapshot of 4 emerging trends (based on google search data) that founders & investors should be aware of. 3) Personal brand social content Purpose: allow your market of 1 to build a parasocial relationship with your company through 1-4 personalities (execs, founders, etc) who enable connection with your faceless brand. Good examples: - Adam Robinson: fully transparent monthly breakdowns of his companies' (Retention.com & RB2B) performance with lessons learned & plans to fix key issues - Peter Walker: Head of Insights at Carta uses first party data from the company to share unique startup ecosystem trends + his own POV - Kieran Flanagan: AI & GTM expert who shares deep marketing insights, playbooks, and predictions that help build his & HubSpot's brand If you want help building this 3-pronged engine at your company, shoot me a DM or email at alex@storyarb[.]com.

Most founders don’t have a content problem. They have a messaging gap that no carousel or cold email can fix. Because when your hook doesn’t trigger emotion, your dream clients keep scrolling. When your content isn’t tied to a buyer insight, that webinar never fills. That demo link? Gets ignored. But when we align your message with how your buyers actually think? That’s when everything changes. Here’s how we turn content into conversion fuel: 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸 Using behavioral science principles like loss aversion and information gap theory, we write what your buyers can’t ignore so they lean in instantly. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 We mirror your audience’s frustrations and name the thing they couldn’t articulate. This builds belief before the CTA. 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲-𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 We analyze buying triggers and emotional objections, then build posts that pull people forward. Repost, repost, repost. 𝟰. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Every line is built to drive action, whether that’s a demo, a webinar signup, or a DM. One short-form video = 7 high-converting assets. 𝟱. 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 Not all posts go viral. But the right ones? They quietly convert. We double down on what works. If your content isn’t turning into signups or sales... It’s not a volume issue. It’s a strategy issue. 🔍 Your audience is already looking for a solution. The question is, are they seeing yours as the obvious choice? 👇 Which do you need more of right now: leads, clarity, or belief? PS: Most content gives value. Ours gives buyers a reason to say yes. 💡 There’s a difference—and it’s costing you leads. This is how we could drive 52 webinar registrations within the first few hours of the email send just last week. #demandgeneration #B2Bmessaging

Nobody wants to be pitched.  Everyone wants to be understood. Most people think “creating demand” means slick decks  or perfect pitches. But the smartest pros skip the pitch  and start with the person. Here’s how to create curiosity and connection (without selling): 1. Lead with Listening ↳ Use questions to invite storytelling, not just answers. ↳ Ask about goals, pain points, and even past failures. ↳ Then listen like it matters (because it does). 2. Show You Get It ↳ Mirror back what you heard, in their own words. ↳ Try: “Sounds like…” or “What I’m hearing is…” ↳ You’re not just nodding, you’re tracking. 3. Give Before You Get ↳ Offer a timely article, a smart intro, or a sharp insight. ↳ Think: “What would make this moment easier?” ↳ Small gifts = trust accelerators. 4. Leave Room for Curiosity ↳ Don’t info-dump, plant seeds. ↳ Hint at something you could explore together  ↳ Let them ask for more. 5. Keep in Touch (the Thoughtful Way) ↳ Reach out with care, not obligation. ↳ A short note beats a long update. ↳ Frequency matters, but tone matters more. 6. Engage, Don’t Push ↳ Don’t sell the solution, co-create it. ↳ Ask: “Would it help to map this out together?” ↳ That one shift builds ownership and momentum. 7. Share to Serve, Not to Sell ↳ Visibility isn’t about volume, it’s about value. ↳ Be seen where they learn: LinkedIn, events, groups. ↳ Generosity is your best signal. 8. Track What Matters ↳ Don’t wait for revenue to measure success. ↳ Track your early moves: touches, replies, gifts. ↳ That’s your snowball in motion. At the end of the day, you don’t need to pitch  to earn a yes. You just need to help prospects feel seen, safe,  and slightly curious. Now, how easy is that? Which of these 8 will you try first? 👇 Let me know in the comments. 📌Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies  that don’t feel like selling.

Many demand generation teams are missing out on owning a critical program: the website. Demand gen teams already own key channels like paid media, events, and email. But the website? That often gets overlooked, despite being one of the most powerful tools for driving performance. Your website is your top salesperson and your storefront. We all know this. Yet ownership often gets fuzzy. Too many restrictions and processes stall action, and key pages sit untouched for months (or longer). Think about it: (Using simple math for explanation) • 10,000 visitors/month • 0.5% visitor → demo conversion rate • 30% demo → qualified pipeline • $20k ACV That’s $300k in pipeline generated/month. Now, imagine small improvements to the site bump the visitor → demo conversion rate to 1%. Suddenly, you’re generating $600k in pipeline/month. So, how do demand gen teams unlock this potential? Here are a few ideas: 1. Start with Small, Actionable Changes: • Test the homepage hero section to be more clear • Identify site navigation patterns. • Improve product visibility and clear messaging that’s ICP-focused and calls out the big problem you’re solving across the homepage, product/solution pages, and other key high-intrnt pages. 2. Benchmark Your Performance: • What’s your current visitor → demo conversion rate? (or other key metrics • How does it compare to industry averages? Even a fractional improvement can compound into significant pipeline growth. 3. Form a Website Stakeholder Team: Demand gen teams don’t need to own the website overnight — or in isolation. Instead, they should lead a cross-functional stakeholder team to: • Brief others, set guardrails, and influence decisions. • Clarify ownership: Who owns what? What’s non-negotiable? What’s flexible? • Continuously test and iterate on site performance. • Align website performance goals with broader company objectives, like ARR growth or customer acquisition. When collaboration happens, movement happens. The bottom line: Your website is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost pipeline performance. Don’t let it sit idle. How does your organization handle website ownership? What’s worked well, or not, for your team? Who should own the website?

🚀 Unlocking B2B Marketing Success: The Hierarchy of Needs 🚀 In my pursuit to enhance B2B marketing, I have focused on identifying the fundamental elements required to not only reach but also genuinely engage and convert any target audience. Imagine a pyramid, much like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but for your company's marketing strategy. Let's break it down: 🥇 First Tier: The Foundation of Success + Segmentation & Targeting: Identifying buyers and influencers is not just step one; it's the cornerstone of your strategy. + Business Intelligence: Personal buyer insights go beyond data; they are the lifeblood of meaningful engagement. + Integrated Approach: Demand gen, channel, sales, support - when these elements move in concert, the impact is unparalleled. 🥈 Second Tier: Building Momentum + Richer Profiling: Tools and data that offer a deeper understanding of your prospects set the stage for tailored interactions. + Timely Engagement: The gap between interest and follow-up is where opportunities are lost or won. + Content Marketing: Not just content, but customer-centric themes that resonate and drive deeper connections. 🥉 Third Tier: Refining and Perfecting + Customer Journey Insights: Visibility into touchpoints illuminates the path to conversion. + Adaptive Scoring: Lead scoring that evolves with your prospect's journey ensures focus where it's due. + Consultative Approach: Beyond selling, it's about advising, guiding, and becoming an indispensable resource. + Predisposed Prospects: Engaging those with verified purchase intentions means you're halfway there. Introducing the LEAP Model - a transformative framework meticulously designed to navigate these tiers with precision and effectiveness. This model isn't just a tool; it's a mindset shift. It's about transcending beyond improving traditional metrics; it's about profoundly enhancing deal value, ensuring timeliness in every interaction, and driving actionable outcomes that resonate with the core needs of our prospects. The LEAP Model empowers us not only to meet but exceed our customers' evolving expectations, fostering a marketing engine that thrives on innovation, relevance, and strategic foresight. To the Executives and Rising Leaders: Many organizations, however, remain tethered to the allure of short-term numbers, often at the expense of long-term strategic growth. Marketers may lack the capability or shy away from guiding the rest of the C-suite through discussing investment, ROI, and building momentum towards long-term objectives. In this context, where do you see opportunities for alignment, enhancement, and innovation with others in the C-suite? How can we steer our teams towards a future where marketing transcends its traditional function to become a pivotal force in shaping the success of our businesses? #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #LEAPModel #ExecutiveLeadership #CMO

Forget chasing vanity metrics and pouring money into fancy ad campaigns. True demand generation for startups isn't about blindly casting a wide net, it's about nurturing relationships with your audience and delivering real value. Let's cut through the noise and dive into the fundamentals that actually move the needle."" --- ↳ **Step 1: Define Your Target Audience** - Understand the demographics, behaviors, pain points, and aspirations of your ideal customers. - Create detailed buyer personas to align your messaging and tactics with their needs. - Gather insights through surveys, interviews, and data analysis to refine your targeting strategy. --- ↳ **Step 2: Craft Compelling Content** - Develop a content strategy that resonates with your target audience and addresses their challenges. - Create a mix of educational, entertaining, and engaging content across different channels. - Emphasize quality over quantity to build trust and credibility with your audience. --- ↳ **Step 3: Implement Multi-channel Campaigns** - Utilize a mix of channels such as social media, email marketing, SEO, and partnerships to reach your audience. - Ensure consistency in messaging and branding across all touchpoints to maintain brand visibility. - Track and analyze the performance of each channel to optimize your campaign efforts. --- ↳ **Step 4: Nurture Leads and Drive Conversions** - Implement lead nurturing campaigns that guide prospects through the buyer's journey. - Personalize interactions based on user behavior and preferences to build stronger relationships. - Test different conversion tactics and continuously optimize your funnel for better results. --- 🔍 Learn more about mastering Demand Generation for startups: [The Startup Marketer's Resources](https://lnkd.in/diqtzpBW) --- Don't miss out on valuable insights! Subscribe to [The Startup Marketer](https://lnkd.in/dwMpcTSP) for regular updates and exclusive content. --- This playbook format provides a structured approach to understanding the fundamentals of Demand Generation for startup marketing, guiding readers through actionable steps to drive meaningful results. By combining expert advice with practical tips, startup marketers can elevate their strategies and achieve sustainable growth. https://lnkd.in/dzy_V_hk"

I’ve been leading demand generation strategy for events at Microsoft and these are the top 3 key audience marketing strategies: First step when assigned to an event 🔍Segmentation and Targeting: It’s super important to understand the audience by breaking them down into specific segments based on their unique needs and behaviors. This enables us to deliver tailored messaging and campaigns. For example, we might segment our audience into "enterprise customers," "small businesses," and "individual users." By customizing our approach for each group, we ensure our marketing campaigns resonate and address their distinct challenges thus drawing them in as registered attendees. Secondly, a focus on ✍🏿Personalization and Engagement: As a demand gen lead, I want to make our interactions feel personalized to ensure our target audience engages with any content we put out so we can foster deeper connections. This includes personalized email campaigns, product and event recommendations, and targeted ads. In our touch points we also showcase various other pull-through methods such as interactive content such as webinars, surveys, and live events to keep our audience engaged. By understanding and addressing individual needs, we create a more meaningful and impactful relationship with our customers and partners. Last but not least 📝Storytelling and Content Marketing: As a storyteller myself, it’s important to me that we craft compelling narratives that showcase the benefits of our products and services through our events. Through a mix of content formats like blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, and social media updates, we tell stories that highlight how our solutions solve real-world problems. For example, we might share stories about how our cloud services have transformed businesses, or how our AI technologies are driving innovation, or how AI-skilling is making an impa on real people. This approach helps build an emotional connection with our audience, making Microsoft a trusted and relatable brand. These are only a few key strategies, but, by implementing these strategies, we drive demand generation and build lasting relationships with our customers and partners through our event experiences. As a demand gen lead, my workstream is the first touchpoint to the potential attendee — and I love to make it a magical one. Are you an event marketer? What are your marketing tactics? Share below. Here's to successful marketing! 📈🚀 #theBOLDjourney #audiencemarketing #eventmarketing

What if you salespeople had 3 to 5 conversations a day with people who could buy? But they don’t. What are they doing instead? The goal is to get them more conversations with buyers. It's getting tougher and doing what you’ve always done most likely isn’t working. Most companies with a complex sale rely on a combination of outbound tactics along with trade shows but those aren’t producing conversations like they used to. If you had enough inbound to keep the funnel full it would be amazing. But most of you don’t. Cold outreach is not the only answer. There is a combination of lead gen methods you can use that will work and if your marketing team is doing demand gen at the same time, even better. ✔️ Host or show up at the right events. Besides the trade shows, think targeted roundtables, dinners, or LinkedIn Lives. These will generate leads you can follow up with. What you do at these events determines whether prospects will continue the conversation, which is crucial for finding out if there is an opportunity. ✔️ Make referral selling a priority because intros close more deals than any cold DM ever will. Build and nurture your network in a way that people see you as a giver, willing to help. Make introductions for your network, they are sure to reciprocate. ✔️ Build content that attracts your ideal persona and then engage in a conversion with them. When they comment on your content and you comment back you are starting a conversation. ✔️ Partnerships work great for many. These can be a formal channel or informal arrangements. Find others who sell to the same target audience but don’t compete. Start the conversation about how you can help each other. ✔️ Account-based outreach for sales. Instead of a one to many approach that marketing uses, sales should use a one to one approach with each persona in each company using industry insights and information from research. Highly custom, well written messages can get a higher response rate and when coupled with person level intent data, LinkedIn comments, calls and voicemail they can get an even higher response rate. It’s not a volume activity, it is done on a highly targeted list and only about 5 to 10 companies at a time. ✔️Use Contact Marketing when the stakes are high and the deal size warrants it. For more on that follow Stu Heinecke and read his book, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone. On October 2, I’ll walk through these high-impact, real-world strategies you can use right now. Jennifer Pinter✨ is our host and this Pavilion event is sponsored by Rhombus. —  👩💼 Who Should Attend: CEOs, Sales & Marketing Leaders, Account Executives 📅 Date: Thursday, October 2 ⏰ Time: Arrive at 4:30 p.m. we start with networking 🍸 Venue/Sponsor: Rhombus, 1610 R St #350, Sacramento, CA 95811 Let's support salespeople in having more conversations with those who can buy. Can’t make it or aren’t in the area, try one of the above and let me know how it goes!

Campaign strategy is crucial, but here’s one of my GO-TO tactics when a client has a lot of content available. (And if content is currently limited, here’s a quick win: use LinkedIn’s Ads tool to identify 𝘵𝘰𝘱-𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 in your industry and focus on creating variations around those topics.) - - - - The strongest campaigns I see share a common theme: the more content we have to build trust and credibility, the stronger the funnel performs. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: - Thought-Leader posts - Blogs - Case Studies - Guides - eBooks - Whitepapers - One-Pagers The more variety we can provide, the higher the chances of capturing attention and keeping prospects engaged. Here’s how I layer campaigns when I have at least 8-10 assets across different content categories: 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻: ✅ 90-Day Website Visitors ✅ 90-Day Company Page Visitors ✅ 90-Day Single Image Interactions / Video Views 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀: 1. MOFU - Blogs & Case Studies 2. MOFU - eBooks/Whitepapers/Guides (run as Doc Ads) 3. MOFU - Thought Leadership & Boosted Company Content This approach allows you to leverage BOTH: 👉 Your company’s voice (through branded content) 👉 Individual thought leaders (through boosted posts) 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Buying decisions in B2B are rarely quick or straightforward. Even "simple" offers can feel like major undertakings when processes need to change. Think about it: getting 10-20 people to adopt a new tool is one thing. But what if it’s 50, 100, or 5000+ people across a large organization? It’s a high-stakes decision for decision-makers who are already short on time. - - - - This is what 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is about: > Generating interest at TOFU > Keeping the conversation going with layered content that informs, builds trust, and reduces perceived risk Click #1 got their attention. Click #2, #3, and beyond—are you providing value or jumping straight to asking for their info? Here’s the key: Prospects need to feel informed. They need to see your expertise and social proof before they’ll take the next step. The brands that stay in front of their audience, with a variety of relevant content, are the ones that position themselves to win. #linkedinads #linkedmarketing #funnelbuilder

A client once said, “We’ve been showing up consistently, but no one’s really biting.” They weren’t doing anything wrong. They just weren’t building demand. When your presence doesn’t warm people up before the pitch, you’re stuck chasing. Fewer replies. Slower sales. Missed opportunities. We made a few smart shifts. Repositioned their headline to speak to a specific pain point, turned their About section into a story that connects, and added a testimonial that showed clear transformation. In just weeks, conversations picked up, leads flowed in, and they closed their biggest client to date. This is what I now call the Demand Magnet Method. Because demand isn’t created in the pitch, it’s sparked long before you make the ask. Here’s how you can do it: Drop Value-First Posts That Speak to Problems • Educate your audience on problems they’re facing before they even realize you offer the solution. • This creates demand organically—no pitching required. What Changes: When you teach, you become the go-to expert in their minds. Engage Daily with Your Ideal Client’s Content • Thoughtful comments open more doors than cold pitches ever will. • It starts a natural conversation, not a sales transaction. What Changes: Familiarity builds trust, which makes future outreach easier and more welcome. Highlight Client Wins Strategically • Share behind-the-scenes outcomes from your work without sounding boastful. • Focus on the journey and transformation, not just the result. What Changes: People want to see proof that you can do for them what you’ve done for others. Repurpose Testimonials as Posts • Pull out one strong sentence and turn it into a post headline. • Add a short backstory and a visual, if possible. What Changes: You let your clients do the selling for you, and it hits harder. Create Curiosity With Open Loops • End posts with cliffhangers or “next week I’ll reveal…” • This keeps people coming back and watching for your content. What Changes: Attention is currency. Keeping it means you stay top of mind. Your B2B profile shouldn’t just inform, it should attract. When you focus on building interest before the pitch, you create trust and spark conversations that turn into clients. That’s what the Demand Magnet Method is designed to do. ⸻ ♻️ REPOST if this resonated with you! ➡️ FOLLOW Rheanne Razo for more B2B growth strategies, client success, and real-world business insights.