Why Four Marketing Leaders Agree Transparency is Key for Every Stage of Marketing

Would it shock you if marketing leadership from some of the largest companies think transparency is the key?

That was the resounding conclusion from the marketing leaders we hosted during the FlyOver Tech Fest.

You might be asking what key? The key to what?

Well, everything.

Yes, I know that is a very vague answer, so let’s dig in a little deeper.

Transparency for Personal Branding

We had the pleasure of hosting marketing leaders from Sprout Social, G2, Foundations, Inc. The Knot Worldwide, during the FlyOver Tech Fest, who all agree, transparency in marketing is the key to success.

Sure, Amanda Goetz, who recently announced her departure from The Knot Worldwide to start her own company, spoke specifically about personal branding during her session Personal Branding 101: Building the Foundation. She talked about transparency in terms of companies understanding their employee’s efforts to develop their brand.

It used to be companies would frown on employees spending time on platforms like Linkedin. But, now many have developed a transparent strategy that leverages the value of their employee’s brands as part of the company brand strategy.

Even further, Amanda believes that transparency on social media has helped her grow and open doors to contact that have furthered her career and her marketing knowledge.

Content Distribution Transparency

As Ross Simmonds, CEO of Foundations, Inc. stated during his session Unlocking Growth Through Content Marketing; creation is only half of the puzzle for content marketing; the other half is distribution.

There are several different elements of his distribution strategy, but to be successful, the strategy has to be packed with transparency.

For instance, one of his channels is email distribution of content.

He explains it is best to have a group of contacts that find value in your content to email when new pieces are published. With that email comes an expectation that the contact will like or retweet the content to their audience if it makes sense. This relationship has to be transparent for the channel to work effectively and bring value to the contact.

Transparent Copywriting

Transparency in copywriting can be found with understanding who you’re trying to influence and clearly stating the ways your product solves their pain.

No spinning the context in your favor.

No shying away from the facts.

Just simply solving their pain and clearly stating how your product benefits the reader.

Eddie Shleyner, who recently announced his departure from his role as Lead Copywriter of G2 to spend his time focused on his other role as the Founder of VeryGoodCopy.com, explained a similar concept in his session 10 Copywriting and Creativity Rules. In his rule #6, Start Your Story in the Middle of Things, he details how starting an email to a prospect in the middle of the story, with transparency to the problem that is being solved, is a great way to engage the reader into the email.

Sales and Marketing Relationship Transparency

As Jamie Womack Gilpin, Chief Marketing Officer of Sprout Social stated during the panel discussion Building the Bridge Between Sales and Marketing, the bridge between sales and marketing is not built without transparency in goals and objectives.

Think about it. The relationship between these two teams is paramount to the success of the organization. Without transparency and understanding of deliverables and KPI’s, there will be friction that hurts growth and hinders growth.

There are so many other ways these leaders detailed the importance of transparency in their sessions I could continue on and on. Yet, each of these sessions are linked above and available to view on our Youtube channel.

Let me know when you’re done watching them. I’d enjoy discussing your takeaways.