There’s a moment in practically every project I work on that presents a roadblock in B2B content marketing strategy.
The first one is the moment I call "ripping off the band-aid”, the second is something more existential.
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Ripping off the "Band-Aid": The First Time Publishing Content.
The projects I’m talking about usually follow a similar pattern: a technical founder has reached the critical juncture where they are finally committed to growth, but they face first-post paralysis. We’re at the stage where we are ready to publish the company's very first post. Over time, I’ve learned that the best strategy here is to push through this phase as quickly as possible—to figuratively rip the band-aid off.
The reason why is because just prior to that first post going live there is almost always an intense back and forth between the client and myself about edits. But once that post is published, that friction disappears. The process suddenly becomes easy.
It’s a strange phenomenon, but it happens so predictably that it’s now a conscious part of my delivery process.
Overcoming Stage Fright: The Limiting Beliefs of Thought Leader Content
I too remember feeling the exact same way when I first started publishing my own expertise online. There’s a distinct sense of nerves around it. It’s hard to articulate why—these are incredibly talented people who talk about their businesses all day long—but the moment it comes time to hit "publish," a heavy case of stage fright sets in.
I’ve had clients describe it as a struggle with a set of “limiting self-beliefs”—a hurdle that has the capability to cripple a person’s (and a company’s) ability to communicate publicly and grow.
The "fear of posting" is talked about so frequently by personal branding experts that it’s almost become white noise. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. I can tell you it is.
And here, I'm not even talking about building a personal brand. I’m talking about a company simply communicating its value to the market.
Your expertise is invisible if you never share it.
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A Face vs. A Logo: Humanizing Your B2B Brand Strategy
Which brings me to the next existential roadblock: humanizing B2B brands.
It's undeniable that people respond better to people. So, once we’ve overcome that first hurdle, I always set a subtly cheeky challenge for the client:
The set task of publishing an image with their face in it.
For most people, putting themselves out there like that feels deeply personal. Persuading them to do it is practically impossible, so I don’t force the issue. Instead, I leave the challenge hanging in the air, giving them space to decide—on their own terms—when they’re ready to step outside their comfort zone.
It feels like the moment when my role shifts from marketing consultant toward personal coach but I don’t push for it without good reason. I’ve been in this game long enough to state with 100% certainty that no matter what your business does, your greatest asset is your people. Consequently, audience engagement metrics spike when there’s a human face attached to the content.
Leveraging Familiarity to Build Trust
This is where most people get confused about the underlying purpose.
People don’t just engage with any face—they engage with a familiar face.
In the B2B world, nine times out of ten, that face isn’t familiar because someone has seen it a thousand times in a social feed. It’s familiar because you’ve actually stood in a room with them, helping them solve a real problem.
That is the true power of putting a human face on your company’s social media. It strips away the logo and brings the focus back to human connection. When someone recognizes a face in their feed, they don't just stop scrolling—they’re significantly more likely to engage with the content or follow the page.
It’s a strategic business branding approach that leverages human familiarity—something The Cambridge Face Memory Test shows we can recall a familiar human face with between 80% to 95% accuracy, compared to a logo.
Winning the Mind Game of Content Marketing
Marketing a business isn't just about polishing your messaging or tweaking your value proposition; it’s about overcoming the psychological barriers of marketing that keep you invisible.
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The first hurdle is publishing at all.
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The second hurdle is showing up as the actual people behind the brand.
Making that shift often requires a cultural shift within a company. But the funny thing is, just like the friction of that very first post, once you rip the band-aid off, the resistance vanishes—opening the door to building genuine, lasting trust with the people who matter most to your business.
