The potential success of your content is often determined by how valuable of a story you tell. The best way to gather a full picture of your topic—and create an engaging, audience-focused piece of content—is to interview subject matter experts, customers, partners, and other people who are close to the topic at hand. But the art of interviewing is intricate, and it is difficult to lead an effective interview without preparation and practice.
In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by storyteller/writer, editor, content marketer, and event speaker Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) to discuss how to conduct and edit compelling interviews that engage your community. Read the full recap below, where we discuss how to optimize your list of interview questions, ways to put an interviewee at ease and help them tell their story, the tools needed to create and edit audio or video interviews, and more.
Q1: What preliminary research should an interviewer conduct? What information is most important to know before stepping into the interview?
First, align on the intended goal of the interview. What content will this interview inform? How can this interviewee help meet the intended direction of the piece?
A1a / You’re interviewing this person for a reason – a case study, expert insight on a topic, whatever. You need at least a rough idea of how the person will answer your questions. What story or message are you looking for? #ContentChat https://t.co/0UdMQTMCv1
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
A1b / Do they have a particular opinion on a topic, or do they have a good story to tell about the product? You don’t want to ask questions for which they don’t have a meaningful or interesting answer. #ContentChat
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
A1c / When you watch a celebrity interview on TV and the interviewer asks, “Have you ever [insert open question]”, they already know the celeb has a good story to tell, even if the celeb didn’t know the Q would be asked. #ContentChat
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
Review the interviewee’s previous interviews, biography, recent content, and social media activity. Ensure you are aware of their current role and areas of interest.
A1d / Check previous interviews, dig into their bio, read any blog posts or articles. You’re also looking for hints to questions they haven’t already answered ad nauseum. How can you prompt them to give you something new? #ContentChat
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
A1: Make sure you know who they are and what they do NOW. It can start things off on the wrong foot if they’ve recently started a new job or project and all you want to talk to them about is something they’ve made a decision to STOP doing. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) February 22, 2021
A1. Research the person and their background—social media is a treasure trove, as is any content they’ve published/created. Approach like you’re meeting someone new, not just checking off boxes. #contentchat https://t.co/cHLOHZXcpc
— Carmen Hill 😷 (@carmenhill) February 22, 2021
A1: I always like to do a little digging on LinkedIn and a quick Google search to see if there are any other stories where they’ve been quoted or featured. For a doc, I always check to see if they have a doc profile and/or video in their system’s directory. #ContentChat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) February 22, 2021
A1 Any accolades or achievements (yay LinkedIn), articles written, work they do in their industry/community/etc. outside of work, pick out things you might having in common, anything they’re passionate about or known for
-Alyx #contentchat https://t.co/cDetWJRSkO— Charlie & Alyx – Charlie Appel Agency (@ColfaxInsurance) February 22, 2021
Check to see what questions they’ve already answered. Create questions that explore new territory or expand on what has already been discussed.
A1: What types of questions have been asked previously? As an interviewee I’d think it would be easy to get robotic when you’ve answered the same thing repeatedly. I love hearing interviewers ask obscure unexpected Qs #contentchat https://t.co/le3aEBf1ah
— Olivia Griffin (@LivGrMedia) February 22, 2021
This! It always feels like a great compliment when the interviewee says “Wow, I’ve never been asked that before” and then proceeds to give you a great answer. #ContentChat
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
Confirm base details with internal teams like sales or customer success before the interview. In the case of customer case study interviews, these details include why the customer chose your product, how long they’ve been using it, and any stats about their results.
A1e / When researching a customer for a case study, find out as much specific info as you can from your own CRM or sales team, etc. to inform your questions. Why did they get the product, how long, key stats, etc. #ContentChat
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
A1f / Too many case studies are based on interviews using generic questions and getting generic answers. Case studies need specifics, so you need questions that probe the details of their story. #ContentChat
— Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) February 22, 2021
This is a pet peeve of mine. So many case studies clearly started with a person asking “Tell me how you use our product” and never got into the interesting part of the conversation (the pain points, decision-making, and positive change) #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) February 22, 2021
