JUNE 2026

Hey friend,

The way customers buy is changing. It always has been, as people adapt to trends, emerging technologies and their own situation. It's good to keep track of what's happening though; we know that relevancy is at the top of the algorithm rankings in a world where everything seems to be driven by one (although for how long is anyone's guess).

We are about to release our latest edition of the B2B Buying Decisions Report where we analyse the results of over 700 respondents to help see how the land lies and what that means for how you market your business.

I can tell you there are some juicy bits and some surprises. More on this below.

One topic that keeps coming up for us is: where are the new reference points? Where do people go for information at a time when trust is low and yet people devolve certain tasks, and maybe even critical thinking, to technology?

Reddit comes up again and again. Either in terms of Reddit content being cited in AI search responses (along with LinkedIn, by the way), or in general usage. We use SparkToro as a key audience research platform and, in nearly every audience, the rise of Reddit as a used platform seems to be there.

Obviously, this will be for some audiences more than others, but it's probably worth paying attention to.

In our (separate) research, we've looked at whether brands should have a presence on Reddit, and if so, what they should be doing. An initial thought is that brands that try to use Reddit as a cornerstone of their content creation probably aren't going to be that successful. Sure, you can create articles on there that will be valuable, and possibly found/cited by search.

Perhaps a better approach is one where you react natively to threads posted, not to promote your business, but to sign post or offer genuine advice - probably without any call to action or promotion.

Of course, like all platforms, it's rented ground and you're subject to changes in the platform and potential scandal via a policy change or founder story. A reason to hedge your bets.

I'm interested to hear from you: do you use Reddit? If so, what for? And do you think there is potential for your or any other business to have more of a presence? Let me know by replying to this email.

Good health and best wishes,

Paul

Paul Ince

CEO

LikeMind Media

TEAM SPOTS

Members of the team share things they've seen that you may find interesting and helpful.

You told us you like being signposted to interesting things, not necessarily just our stuff. We like to be helpful so here you go!

FROM CHARLIE

What if love is all you need?

At the risk of sounding like Paul, John, George and Ringo, what if 'all you need is love'?

In my latest ramble, I discuss how growth doesn’t come from hacks or trends but human connection.

I discuss how one simple, deeply human moment: a husband (Blake) with a handmade sign on the streets declaring the pride he has in his wife and her art, took @TiaraBrustArt from 600 to 100,000 Instagram followers.

When Tiara then posted the video of Blake’s antics there was a mass of emotion, support and community that people couldn’t ignore.

In a feed full of noise, this story shows why warmth, sincerity and human connection can cut through in ways traditional content often can’t.

Read the full piece on our blog 👇

Click here to read Charlie's blog

FROM SARAH

Are you putting ALL your marketing efforts into rented ground?

Following on from Paul's point, I am going to talk about why you shouldn't put all your marketing efforts into rented ground.

Rented ground is where you build an audience on a platform or channel that you don't own or control. The platform can change the rules, limit reach or shut down completely at any time.

Bit of a throwback, but who remembers the social network Google+, which was shut down in 2019. Another example is Vine which ceased to exist in 2017.

Brands spent time and effort building active communities on these platforms, and almost overnight (I may be dramatising here...) the apps disappeared, and those loyal audiences became unreachable.

What I am not saying

Now, I am not saying that it's a bad strategy using external platforms for brand visibility. If you know your audience is there, it's a smart move, and you can create content that attracts them to your business.

What I am saying

What I am saying is don't put all your marketing efforts into rented ground.

Yes use third party apps and platforms, but at the same time think how you can build audiences on places that you do own.

Some ideas:

Email lists - you'll likely use an email marketing platform but you own the data and can be exported at any time.
WhatsApp group - chats and media can be exported at a click of a button. You can't export contact information directly, but you do have access and can manually save it.
Website traffic - draw people in with useful content and resources, and use CTAs to incentivise them to get in touch or sign up.
Event data - whether you use a platform like Eventbrite, a Google Form, or your own website forms, the data you collect when people sign up is yours to keep and export.

FROM JP

A wise old sage said to me...

Many years ago, a wise old sage said to me: 'When you write marketing content, write so that a nine-year-old can understand it.'

Now, that’s not to demean people who read marketing content. Not at all. In fact, it’s actually good, sound advice, and something I’d like you to think about the next time you’re about to write a blog, a report, an email, a social caption or whatever.

But why is it good advice? There weren’t that many nine-year-olds killing it in marketing the last time I looked. It’s good advice because, if you’re writing so a child can understand, it immediately makes it accessible.

Do away with jargon, with corporate speak, with fluffy, contrived words that have obviously been accessed via a thesaurus. You have something to say, so say it in its simplest terms.

This is about communicating. You have a message to get across, so make it relatable, and your reader will find it easier to focus on what it is exactly you’re trying to say to them.

If there’s an easier way of saying something, it will be understood and digested by more people. Try it and see!

NEW: B2B BUYING DECISIONS REPORT 2026

B2B buyers in 2026 are making decisions faster, evaluating fewer suppliers, and relying heavily on AI for early research.

Nearly half complete purchases within a month, and over half use AI tools to scan supplier content, meaning clear, concise, and AI-friendly information is essential.

This is just one of the many findings in our new B2B Buying Decisions Report, which is about to be released.

In this report, we'll share all the findings of the research and the critical things you need to do to ensure your business is making the most of the changes in buyer behaviour.

Please sign up now to get first access to this report.

Click here to sign up to early access

Any Questions?

Have a question about content creation, customer journeys or their behaviour? We'd like to address real world conundrums. Or you can share a tale of how your actually got some great results - we'd love to feature you.

Reply to this email with your question or story.