Welcome to What We're Reading, a weekly rundown of news stories, marketing columns, and B2B industry news that caught our eye.

Adapting brand-as-creator strategy for B2B

More B2B marketers are borrowing from the playbooks of consumer brands like Ryanair, Wendy’s, and Duolingo, treating their social accounts like an individual creator’s page rather than a channel to broadcast company updates. ContentGrip explains why the approach is so successful and how to translate it to B2B marketing.

Keep in mind: it’s not about being a copycat. Those B2C accounts get away with wacky antics or cheerfully insulting their competitors because they’ve built a tone and voice that fits their brand. Your B2B social account should also have a tone that rings true with your brand, but the playbook should deliver a personal touch, such as putting your subject matter experts front-and-centre.

To be less boring, understand your audience

Featuring a juror for its upcoming B2B Awards, The Drum explains why genuinely understanding your audience is the key to bolder, more exciting B2B creative. When you can speak to the highs and lows of their day-to-day work, buyers are more likely to see themselves in your marketing and ads.

The niche challenges you see in B2B can often be a great foundation for a story. For instance, if your typical buyer has a complex problem, you can show the practical and emotional side-effects of that problem, then lead into the ingenuity or insight behind the solution you’re offering.

Don’t sleep on sonic branding

Sonic branding isn’t well understood by many B2B marketers and advertisers, which may be why it’s so often overlooked. Little Black Book explains the power of harnessing sound and music to build relationships and create emotional associations with your brand.

If you haven’t adopted sonic branding into your B2B marketing mix, it’s worth exploring. It can provide subtle subconscious cues that build trust and recognition with your audience, and there may be more applications for branded sound than you can imagine.

More quiet heroes of B2B branding

Like sound and music, we mused on five more B2B branding elements that are subtle yet powerful. Find out if you’re making the most of favicons, email signatures, and more in our blog.