Weekly updates on how to get more out of your marketing content.

1.23.2024

An exclusive Q&A interview with marketing expert Katie Sweet.

“I have always believed that you should not just jump on the bandwagon of the tactic that everybody is doing just because everybody is. I do not think that you need to be on TikTok just because everybody else is on TikTok. I think you should have a podcast if you think that you have something to say to your audience, specifically, and you think that you could do it well. I think that if you do not have an angle or if you do not have a good host, then it is not worth doing. I am sure there are other avenues that you could explore that would be more impactful to your business. Our team is known to be innovators and on the cutting edge of where the industry is going. It makes sense to have guests who have transformed the industry and share their insights. That all makes sense to us. If we did not have that fit, then I do not think we would have done a podcast. So, that is my tip, if you have something that makes sense. If you have something of value you can deliver in a podcast format with a host and a team that can support it, then that makes sense. Of course, you are not going to know exactly what you are doing the second you start, and you can experiment and grow. But, if you are just doing it to do it, I think it is a bad idea. I think that is a bad idea across all content formats.”

“That is such a good question. I do think we sort of viewed it like that at the start. We repurposed it in a few ways, but we were just trying to get ears on the podcast. So, we would promote. We would put it on LinkedIn and say a new podcast episode has dropped. Go listen, go listen. We really wanted to get people to listen to it. Our episodes are an hour long. Yours are much shorter. So that is way less of a time investment. But we are asking people to listen for an hour, and that is a big ask. Of course, we were chopping it up into other things. I think a big one is video clips, so we record videos. It is like three-ish minute clips that I will put together, and we will put those on LinkedIn. The view is not that we will use them to promote the episode, but if you just want to watch that one three-minute clip. Hopefully, you have learned something. Maybe you have not learned all the things you would have in an hour-long episode, but you have learned something, and you will see it is from our company. You might feel that our company really knows what we are talking about, and that is good. That is a huge one. We can also use those clips for other things, too. Sometimes, we will put them in blog posts when they are making a point that we were trying to make, or salespeople might send them out. We also have a really great product marketing team who is always looking for quotes and testimonials and proof points to back up everything they are saying. So, if we have an insights leader from McDonald’s who says something like, “I got customer feedback so early and often to iterate on my innovation process, and that has been really successful for us for these three ways,” then that is so much more credible than us saying you need consumer feedback early and often through your innovation process. It is much better coming from them than it is from us. So, they will use those.”

An exclusive Q&A interview with marketing expert Vanessa Hartung.

“Great question! I like to take a step back, and instead of looking at the function and the roles we want to hire, I look at what we need content marketing to do. At the base of it, there are three main roles, functions, and actions that need attention. First off, set the content strategy. Where are you going to go with the content? Who are you talking to? Who is your audience? What are they going to resonate with? All that great stuff and line it up with the company objectives. Then, you have your content creation bucket. These guys are going to be the builders. They are the ones who are going to make it happen for you and create all that amazing content that you get out the door and distribute, things like paid ads, social media, and anything that is going to get your content in the hands of your audience.”

“I always start with the company objectives because that is what is going to dictate a lot of how you build your team. If it is a company that is more focused on getting that brand awareness, you must focus on distribution so that you can get all the content out there. A company that is more focused on leadership and being a category creator is really setting its mark in a particular industry. That is when it is more about leaning in on research reports, creating the content, and defining your point of view as a company. That takes a much different lens and skill set than it does for getting the word out there. So, objectives are always the first stop.

The budget has got to be second. If you do not have a healthy budget, I have found that you should hire a highly skilled content marketing manager because they will be your mission control. They understand what content needs to be created, where it needs to go, and who you need to talk to. Ideally, you are able to have some budget and even use some tools like AI. That person can ensure all the buckets are being filled and you hit your objectives accordingly. Most teams can then demonstrate success, continue to hit the objectives, and maybe even get more budget and another team member eventually.”

Raise your hand if you’ve felt these pains before?

🤚My content is hard for co-workers to find

🤚I have little to no clue who or if my content is being used

🤚Employees are using assets that have been outdated for years

🤚We get daily requests for content that has already been made

🤚I love saying the word “Masset”

Have a wonderful week, best of luck with your content marketing and we will see you next time.