Alek Irvin

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

November 13, 2023 Content Chat Recap: How Personal Branding Can Improve Your Content Marketing

November 26, 2023 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

Investing in your personal brand can unlock new opportunities and bring a greater sense of purpose to your work—but it can be understandably challenging to establish and nurture your brand (especially if you’re new to doing so!).

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Christine Gritmon, personal brand consultant and host of Let’s Talk about Brand, to help you define your personal brand and use content to activate it.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube or read through the highlights below.

Q1: As we look toward 2024, do you think personal branding will be more or less important? Why?

There is so much content out there, and brand audiences are fatigued. If you want to break through, you need a strong personal brand to turn one-off experiences into compounding interactions.

“[Personal branding] is extra important because we have, in this stage of our internet lives, reached a place of content fatigue. There’s just so much out there all the time being thrust in our faces. It’s harder than ever to get people’s attention—to deserve people’s attention, and get them coming back for more. If someone sees a piece of content come across their feed, are they going to bother to consume it? If they do, are they going to remember that it’s you? Is that brand touch going to help build your brand, or is it just going to be a one-off experience? The real difference between the two is if you have that strong personal brand foundation behind it, the next time they encounter you—whether you’re speaking about a similar topic or doing a similar type of content, or they just see your face—something is consistent that kind of caught in their brain last time, so those brand impressions can compound instead of standing alone as one-offs.” – Christine Gritmon

In short:

“That glut of content [and] the fact that attention is an all-time premium really emphasizes how important it remains to have a strong personal brand.” – Christine Gritmon

Q2: What are the core elements of a personal brand platform?

November 6, 2023 Content Chat Recap: What Content Marketers Need to Know About Google Analytics 4

November 13, 2023 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

Google Analytics (GA) offers marketers a trove of audience behavior insights that help them improve their content and campaign performance. Of course, that’s if they set up GA and understand how to navigate its interface.

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Kyle Akerman, web analyst, measurement marketer, and Google Analytics consultant, to explain how content marketers can use Google Analytics to access the vital KPIs that help them improve their strategy.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube or read through the highlights below

Q1: Why is Google Analytics valuable for content marketers (at a high level)?

Google Analytics helps marketers understand which content is most popular, how people find that content, and what they do after viewing the content.

“[Google Analytics] is actually valuable for all marketers. Specific to content marketers, you can see:

Which content you’re creating is the most popular, including what’s getting consumed.
How people are finding that content. You can see [if] people are finding it through organic search, are they coming from LinkedIn or your monthly newsletter, or even ads.
What people do after they view the content. Are those people more likely to sign up for your newsletter, fill out a contact us form, sign up for a demo, whatever the conversion might be?” – Kyle Akerman

Q2: What insights can content marketers access through Google Analytics?

October 30, 2023 Content Chat Recap: How Influence Elevates Your B2B Marketing

November 8, 2023 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

“We’re in an age of doing more with less. But if you have influencers as part of your system, you’re doing more with more. Why is that? Because now you have partners in the game with you, and you have this thing in common that you’re after to try to achieve more together. That’s part of community, that’s part of always-on influence.” – Lee Odden

In finding better ways to reach B2B buyers and earn their trust faster, influencers could be a smart investment for companies looking to get ahead.

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Lee Odden, co-founder and former CEO of TopRank Marketing, to dig into TopRank’s 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report and explore how B2B marketers can use influence to boost their content success (and ultimately drive sales).

Watch the full conversation on YouTube or read through the highlights below.

Q1: What does a typical buying cycle look like in B2B today?

Lee believes the fundamental mechanics of B2B buying haven’t changed—identify a problem, research solutions, and gain internal alignment—however, the journey is now different.

“The buyer’s journey is longer. It’s constrained by budget. It’s more complex because there are more people involved, and also because there are more channels involved.” – Lee Odden

Buyers increasingly seek rep-free experiences.

“A very large percentage of buyers are through the journey before they ever make contact. Gartner just put out a report that 75% of buyers want a rep-free experience. [They] don’t want to talk to anybody.” – Lee Odden

Trust plays a key role in today’s B2B decision-making.

“A lot of brands are saying they’re sticking with what they know, the vendors that they know, because there’s a trust factor there.” – Lee Odden

“When people are pulling themselves through that information, discovery, evaluation, and consideration, whose content is it? And who is the best answer for the thing that the buyer is trying to solve?” – Lee Odden

Buyers are turning to private channels and communities to seek recommendations, which marketers often aren’t included in.

“Every single day, I’m seeing someone asking for recommendations for who are those trusted vendors. So many of these conversations are now happening in what we call dark social, where it’s a private audience. You as the marketer are never going to see that people are asking these questions, because you’re not invited to the party, because you don’t have the right job title or network to get that invite in the first place. Those are the places where people are asking, and frequently those communities are even being run by some of these influencers. I think Christopher Penn’s community is such a good example of that.” – Erika Heald

All of these factors reinforce the need to deliver personalized and relevant content that earns your prospective buyer’s trust.

“I did a presentation recently where I talked about the evolution of content from B2B. Oversimplified, it used to be all about pushing out what we thought the buyer needed to know (features and benefits). Then we got into this age of utility: Let’s empathize a little bit with these buyers and give them content that they’re actually looking for. And now we’re getting into more personalized and experiential content. Don’t give me the same information you’re giving to the other 10,000 prospects on your list. It needs to be relevant, and it needs to be trusted.” – Lee Odden

And influencers can help you engage buyers and earn their trust in natural ways.

“Empathizing with buyers and the experiences they have has to do with understanding their centers of influence. The notion of influencer marketing isn’t some linear idea—’oh, let’s go find the most famous people and throw them in our content or pay them, and then we go away’—it starts with the buyer and understanding what are the centers of influence for the buyer. How do they discover information? What are their preferences for content consumption? And then what are the triggers that motivate action?” – Lee Odden

“If you can get a quality recommendation, that’s worth so much. It saves the brand money, ultimately, because you get good information that you can act on and you have a high degree of certainty that it’s going to result in what it is that you’re looking for.” – Lee Odden

Q2: How popular is influencer marketing for B2B marketing? What are some of the ways companies are working with influencers?

September 18, 2023 Content Chat Recap: Content Marketing Career and Salary Outlook 2024 (CMI Research)

October 1, 2023 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

It’s undeniable that content marketers (and professionals across industries) have faced years of burnout as we were thrust into remote (and now hybrid) work arrangements and our companies grappled with an uncertain economy. And that’s independent from the ever-growing pressure and urgency to learn how to use AI to stay competitive.

But there is a lot to be optimistic about regarding the future of our industry and our value as humans—and there are proven ways for companies to better develop, engage, and retain us.

To get a pulse on how marketers feel about their work, Erika joins Kim Moutsos, VP of editorial at the Content Marketing Institute, in this #ContentChat recap to dig into findings from CMI’s Content Marketing Career and Salary Outlook 2024 research.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube or read through the highlights below. If you’re currently looking for resources to help you in your career (including open positions), check out CMI’s career hub.

Q1: How are content marketers using generative AI to support their workflows?

According to the research, three out of four content marketers are using AI (even if it’s just to experiment). Top uses include brainstorming topics and researching headlines and keywords.

“47%—and this was the top number—said that they’re using AI to brainstorm new topics. Another 46% told us they use it to research headlines and keywords. I do that myself; I definitely have a few AI tools that I go in and I try out different headlines. Of course, I then evaluate it against my own judgment and experience.” – Kim Moutsos

About one in three marketers use AI to write drafts, but only 29% say they use it to proofread (which is surprising, because tools like Grammarly are AI-powered!).

“36% said they’re using it right now to write drafts. And only 29% say they use it to proofread.” – Kim Moutsos

One in four marketers use AI to create outlines.

“Another 25% said they use it to create outlines for assignments.” – Kim Moutsos

25% of marketers claim they don’t use AI at all… which could imply people don’t realize that many of their favorite tools use AI.

“Only 25% say they don’t use [AI] at all. And I’m actually a little skeptical about that number, because, let’s be honest, people are curious—does that mean they don’t use the output of AI in their work? I’d just be really shocked if there’s anyone working in our field who hasn’t at least gone over to peek at ChatGPT or something AI-related.” – Kim Moutsos

“I wonder, too, if some people just don’t understand that AI is in some of the tools that they’re using. For instance, I know so many people have used the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer. And if you ask them ‘do you use AI to help you with your headlines?’ they might answer no, not even realizing that it’s AI.” – Erika Heald

Erika loves using AI to help with personalization workflows and to ensure content has a unified brand voice (especially when writing for different executives or thought leaders).

“AI can be so helpful for workflows for personalization, and one of my favorites for really ensuring you have that unified brand voice across everything that comes out of your organization.” – Erika Heald

Q2: What fears do content marketers have regarding how generative AI will shape the future of our work?

September 11, 2023 Content Chat Recap: How To Repurpose Content To Maximize Your Content Marketing Value

October 1, 2023 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

If a topic is valuable to your brand community or audience, then it makes sense to explore that information in multiple ways to drive the most value from your efforts! As our team believes: for every one piece of content you create, you should have at least three uses.

To help you create a process for planning your derivative content, Erika joins Meisha Bochicchio, digital content marketing program manager at VMware, in this #ContentChat recap to explain how to repurpose content to maximize your content marketing value.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube or read through the highlights below.

Q1: What are the signs that an existing piece of content could drive value in a new form?

If your audience engages with a piece of content and it consistently drives views or clicks, it could be valuable in other forms!

“If something is really resonating with your audience so you’re getting a ton of engagement on your social amplification and people are commenting, you have high engagement via email, [and] you have lots of page traffic or lots of referral traffic—those are really great signals that a topic is relevant and your audience might be hungry for that content in different formats.” – Meisha Bochicchio

“As I look at our event content and how to prioritize how we’re repurposing our content, I’m using things like consumption signals (how many folks are going to our on-demand library and what sessions are trending). Also reviews from our sessions: how can I get those out and amplify those to our remote folks as well?” – Meisha Bochicchio

Ideally, your content team will map out all the derivative forms of content for a topic or asset during the planning stages.

“I hope that starts before you create the content, right? I like to think about it on a campaign level—mapping out your content from the very beginning.” – Meisha Bochicchio

Erika uses a content planning form to think through the many forms that a content idea can take.

“Pretty much every major engagement I’ve had for the last six years has been kicked off with creating that kind of content intake form or content planning form. Because a lot of times, maybe so many different people are involved in the process that everyone just sort of picks it up and starts fresh every time. And that’s how you forget things. If you’re starting from a blank page, I think it’s so hard to really make the most of it. It has to be a system.” – Erika Heald

Using a large research report as an example, Meisha says you could launch it in the form of a digital event, explore the topic in other places like webinars or podcasts, and also plan a certain number of blog post topics to promote the report.

“So, for example, [if] you have a large research report coming out the next quarter, think about how you can take that and break that down into an entire ecosystem of content. You might [say]: I want to launch this in the form of a digital event, we want to have a webinar or a conference around this theme to launch the report. You could [also] submit speaking opportunities to relevant conferences, webinars, [and] podcasts. You could also come up with X derivative blog topics that might make sense to level up into the report.” – Meisha Bochicchio

Social media is important to consider, too!

“Also think about your social strategy. How are we distributing and breaking down this information and starting conversations with our audience on social? You could come up with carousels, video sizzle reels that share the data, or you can break up your event into different sections and video segments for social reaction videos. You could do polls and then gut check your research against what people think.” – Meisha Bochicchio

Email marketing can be especially effective for repurposing your content.

“Have snippets that you send out in your newsletters. Maybe you send it out via a one-off list that matches the ICP for that information. [Or] add that content to relevant onboarding flows or nurtures or newsletters, wherever it makes sense given the context.” – Meisha Bochicchio

Q2: When planning a piece of content, how do you decide the best format(s) to create for your audience?

August 28, 2023 Content Chat Recap: How To Activate A Brand Thought Leader in Support Of Your Content Marketing Strategy

September 6, 2023 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

An expert thought leader is a valuable asset for both content marketing and public relations teams, but activating them in support of your strategy can often be challenging if you’re new to managing a thought leadership program.

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Kathy Casciani, principal at Azul PR + Communications, to explain how to best find and partner with a brand thought leader and surface valuable storylines that align with your company goals—spanning tips for media relations, contributed content, speaking opportunities, and more!

Watch the full conversation on YouTube or read through the highlights below.

Q1: What qualities make for an ideal thought leader to cultivate for content creation, speaking engagements, and media relations?

Your CEO is likely not your best brand thought leader given how much is already on their plate. Use them strategically.

“Frequently, everybody focuses on the CEO to the exclusion of everyone else. And let’s be clear: CEOs have a lot of things to do that don’t include [content creation, speaking engagements, and media relations].” – Erika Heald

“In the perfect world, your founder or CEO is willing to put themselves out there at least for some areas of expertise.” – Kathy Casciani

Kathy recommends reading Founder Brand, a book by David Gerhardt, to learn about how founders can turn their stories into a competitive advantage. Check it out on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

“It’s a really great book about how as a founder you can turn your story into a competitive advantage for your company and all the ways you can do that.” – Kathy Casciani

Find experts in your organization who are authentic and willing to share their expertise on topics that relate to your business.

“You want to look for that person who’s that authentic personality [and] has experience that is worth sharing that somehow ties clearly to your business. You need that person to be willing to put themselves out there. Someone who has that strong point of view about a topic or something about your industry.” – Kathy Casciani

“To give you an example, I work with a company called Freemodel, and it’s a home renovation company. They have a whole team of interior designers, and many of them are vocal about home decor subject matter. We frequently leverage them for media opportunities.” – Kathy Casciani

Develop a roster of thought leaders you can tap into for specific opportunities, and leverage each thought leader for their interests and strengths.

“It’s smart to really think about what that whole collective group of people looks like that you can tap into. That’s especially true when you want to have informed content curation, so that way you’re sharing on your company pages things that are really relevant and compelling and that you can take a stand on. I’ve used Flipboard quite a bit for doing that, because you can invite multiple people to participate. It becomes a more efficient way of keeping in one place all those links where someone says ‘we should share this, and here’s why.'” – Erika Heald

No matter what: You need a thought leader who has the time to share their ideas and opinions to inform content or pitches.

“You can’t have thought leadership without thoughts from the leader. You cannot just assign an intern at the PR agency or at the company to come up with content. It’s not going to be compelling, it’s not going to have the wisdom, it’s not going to have all that experience.” – Erika Heald

“You cannot outsource the thought leadership. Yes, you can have somebody help you articulate, but the thoughts have to be there.” – Kathy Casciani

Alek Irvin

About Alek Irvin

Q1: As we look toward 2024, do you think personal branding will be more or less important? Why?

There is so much content out there, and brand audiences are fatigued. If you want to break through, you need a strong personal brand to turn one-off experiences into compounding interactions.

In short:

Q2: What are the core elements of a personal brand platform?

Q1: Why is Google Analytics valuable for content marketers (at a high level)?

Google Analytics helps marketers understand which content is most popular, how people find that content, and what they do after viewing the content.

Q2: What insights can content marketers access through Google Analytics?

Q1: What does a typical buying cycle look like in B2B today?

Lee believes the fundamental mechanics of B2B buying haven’t changed—identify a problem, research solutions, and gain internal alignment—however, the journey is now different.

Buyers increasingly seek rep-free experiences.

Trust plays a key role in today’s B2B decision-making.

Buyers are turning to private channels and communities to seek recommendations, which marketers often aren’t included in.

All of these factors reinforce the need to deliver personalized and relevant content that earns your prospective buyer’s trust.

And influencers can help you engage buyers and earn their trust in natural ways.

Q2: How popular is influencer marketing for B2B marketing? What are some of the ways companies are working with influencers?

Q1: How are content marketers using generative AI to support their workflows?

According to the research, three out of four content marketers are using AI (even if it’s just to experiment). Top uses include brainstorming topics and researching headlines and keywords.

About one in three marketers use AI to write drafts, but only 29% say they use it to proofread (which is surprising, because tools like Grammarly are AI-powered!).

One in four marketers use AI to create outlines.

25% of marketers claim they don’t use AI at all… which could imply people don’t realize that many of their favorite tools use AI.

Erika loves using AI to help with personalization workflows and to ensure content has a unified brand voice (especially when writing for different executives or thought leaders).

Q2: What fears do content marketers have regarding how generative AI will shape the future of our work?

Q1: What are the signs that an existing piece of content could drive value in a new form?

If your audience engages with a piece of content and it consistently drives views or clicks, it could be valuable in other forms!

Ideally, your content team will map out all the derivative forms of content for a topic or asset during the planning stages.

Erika uses a content planning form to think through the many forms that a content idea can take.

Using a large research report as an example, Meisha says you could launch it in the form of a digital event, explore the topic in other places like webinars or podcasts, and also plan a certain number of blog post topics to promote the report.

Social media is important to consider, too!

Email marketing can be especially effective for repurposing your content.

Q2: When planning a piece of content, how do you decide the best format(s) to create for your audience?

Q1: What qualities make for an ideal thought leader to cultivate for content creation, speaking engagements, and media relations?

Your CEO is likely not your best brand thought leader given how much is already on their plate. Use them strategically.

Kathy recommends reading Founder Brand, a book by David Gerhardt, to learn about how founders can turn their stories into a competitive advantage. Check it out on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Find experts in your organization who are authentic and willing to share their expertise on topics that relate to your business.

Develop a roster of thought leaders you can tap into for specific opportunities, and leverage each thought leader for their interests and strengths.

No matter what: You need a thought leader who has the time to share their ideas and opinions to inform content or pitches.

Q2: What are some effective ways to uncover a thought leader’s stories and notable experiences that could make for effective media pitches?

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