We each receive more email on a daily basis than we are able or willing to read. As we look through our inbox, this means that we make very quick decisions on which emails to read and which emails to ignore. This is based on the person or source from whom the email is received, and the subject line of the email. Receiving uninteresting or non-valuable content from a particular source quickly leads to a situation in which we recognize, and reflexively delete or ignore the content. This is known as an “emotional unsubscribe” as we have tuned out of the communication, and although we have not clicked the “unsubscribe” link, we are effectively at that state.

Once an email has been received and opened, most audience are quickly scanning for interesting content. If it is discovered, it might be read, but if it is not quickly seen, the email will be just as quickly deleted. This is why, as marketers, we need to think of email as a "discoverable" marketing medium in the same way that we might think of any topic shared in social media in terms of how likely it is to be "discovered".

Each subject line and each article title within the email is a teaser that should be designed to capture the audience’s attention and compel them to want to read more. Without being misleading or deceitful, the best headlines intrigue readers and leave them wanting more information. Rather than assuming an email will be read, we as marketers can only assume that, at best, it might be browsed quickly.

The onus is upon us to make the content within the email, and the headlines that introduce that content, compelling enough that the reader takes the time to read them and discovers the message within. If they do, we have succeeded in having our information discovered. If they do not, however, we have likely pushed that person one step further away from being open to discovering our next communication.

There is no more obvious place where this transition is happening than in the worlds of search and social media.

Search, either natural or paid, provides an active way to discover information. A prospective buyer actively seeks information on a given topic based on keywords. Successful marketers are able to ensure that their content is present at the top of the search results, either through an effective search engine optimization strategy, or through good search engine marketing and a healthy search marketing budget.

In the various social media channels, however, information is not pushed out directly, but rather it is published, and then discovered by an audience based on recommendations from their peers, content syndication, and chance. The more interesting and relevant your content is, the larger an audience of influencers will share it, forward it, and link to it, bringing it to the much broader audience that they influence.

Distribution via Influencers

Unlike in search marketing, however, there is no clear metaphor for applying a marketing budget in order to achieve broader distribution of your information within social media. Although a variety of paid structures are being experimented with, none have received the wide acceptance that paid search marketing has.

This means that the most reliable way to ensure that your messages are maximally discoverable within the world of social media is to build strong relationships with the key influencers in your space who are likely to share those messages and ensure that your messages are sufficiently interesting, relevant and non-salesy in order to make them shareable.

Your long term reputation with each of these key influencers is based on a history of creating high quality content, but each individual content piece stands on its own in terms of its ability to be found to be interesting and sharable. The techniques of great journalists are of use here in making each content piece most interesting and most likely to be read.

Headlines, Teasers, and Discovery

Whether it is an article title, an interesting statistic, a tweet, a news headline, or a catchy name for an eBook, the majority of your potential audience will only encounter the briefest of summaries of what your content is about. Convincing your audience to take the step from headline to content by clicking on your content is as much art as is it science.

The better the headline catches the potential reader’s attention, without being misleading, the more the content is read and the messages within it discovered.

The art of writing provocative, catchy, and intriguing summaries of information in just a few words was originally developed by newspaper editors writing headlines. Their goal was to have their publication “discovered” by those passing by a news stand. Now, in a world dominated by the need to make information discoverable, these skills are required more than ever. Each article, headline, or tweet should be thought of in the same light. The better the headline catches the potential reader’s attention, without being misleading, the more the content is read and the messages within it discovered.

Here, the challenge is quite clearly defined; a buyer is actively seeking a piece of information, usually with search, although perhaps in community discussions or on social bookmarking sites. As a marketer, you need to ensure that your message is present, and in a way that makes it easy for the buyer to find it on a search engine. Although the art and science of search marketing is sufficiently challenging to warrant the creation of an entire industry, the problem being solved is quite clearly defined.

Passive Discovery

This is not the case, however, for more passive messages that need to find their way to potential buyers. Passive messages are messages that would not be actively sought by potential buyer, such as messages that alter pre-conceived notions of reliability, applicability of a solution to a certain industry, and perceptions of product usability, service quality, or price-point.

These messages, as they are not actively sought, must be built into other stories that can be discovered, or carefully presented by an "Information Concierge". for example, a pre-conceived notion of the applicability of a solution to a certain industry can be shifted by seeing that solution mentioned as a key part of a client success story. A sense that prices are higher than they actually are can be adjusted by sharing stories that relate to smaller or cost-conscious businesses. A perception of user challenges can be changed by stories that mention a large, vibrant, and happy user community.

Story-Telling and Passive Discovery

The use of the idea of stories is deliberate. There is no more effective way of conveying a passive message, such as a change in perceptions, than through a story that is shared by one peer to another. Word of mouth messaging is the most effective way of changing perceptions because it comes from trusted peers, and cannot effectively be bought or biased by marketing budgets.

However, marketers looking to change perceptions, introduce ideas, and challenge pre-conceived notions, must introduce stories that are easily told. These are not the dry, ROI-driven, case studies that celebrate and trumpet our showcase clients, but are stories that entertain, inspire, or challenge their audiences. There is no reason that we must avoid the idea of having fun with B2B marketing campaigns.

Marketers, especially B2B marketers, who are effective at finding and packaging the truly interesting stories that tend to get shared via word of mouth have an opportunity to subtly focus on certain messages or perceptions that they need to change in the market.