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June 29, 2023 Content Chat Recap: Content Marketing Ask Me Anything With Erika Heald

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A Content Chat header image that says today’s topic is a content marketing ask me anything with #ContentChat host Erika Heald, who is @SFerika on Twitter.

#ContentChat is now on video! To celebrate our new format—and work through a few technical hurdles*—Erika hosts a content marketing ask me anything (AMA) in this chat recap.

Watch the full conversation or read through the highlights below, or check out the recording on LinkedIn.

*Skip to 3:30 in the recording for the start of the conversation.

What was your path to becoming a content marketer?

Erika wanted to be a magazine journalist, but she faced a difficult job market and high costs of living in San Francisco. She pursued freelance writing jobs instead and eventually started working at Charles Schwab. For years, Erika struggled to explain the work she does, until Joe Pulizzi coined the phrase content marketing (thank you, Joe!).

Erika also shares this PSA:

“There are people who say ‘we shouldn’t call it content marketing, we should just call it marketing.’ Please, let’s not backslide! Not all marketing is content marketing, it’s just not. There’s a lot of other things in marketing that I don’t do, because they’re not content marketing. So, please, don’t make my life hard.” – Erika Heald

How did you get involved with #ContentChat?

#ContentChat is one of the first Twitter Chats that Erika participated in. She wanted to network with other people that were doing the same kind of work and talk about content marketing with all sorts of people.

The chat was started by Jenise Stout Fryatt and was still run by her when Erika joined. Later, Lucy Render-Kaplan became the host. In 2016—after several years of joining the chat weekly—Erika began managing the community. Shout-out to Martin Lieberman for encouraging Erika to take on the hosting duties!

Erika reveals how her transition to self-employment made it easier to take on leading #ContentChat:

“I was finally 100% in control of my own schedule, so I could block off Mondays at noon Pacific every week and make it happen—and not have to be sneaking #ContentChat while in a meeting. And yes, I’m a terrible person—I have done that! I would sometimes sneak some tweets in while sitting in a meeting that could have been an email. We’ve all been in those meetings, and you do have the time to do stuff like that.”- Erika Heald

How can content marketers use LinkedIn to build thought leadership?

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May 8, 2023 Content Chat Recap: 2023 Creator Economy Expo (CEX) Wrap-Up

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A Content Chat header image that says today’s topic is a 2023 Creator Economy Expo (CEX) wrap-up with guest Pamela Muldoon, who is @PamelaMuldoon on Twitter.

Of all the marketing and related industry events we look forward to each year, Creator Economy Expo (CEX) has quickly earned itself “must-attend” status given its value-packed sessions and electrifying atmosphere. It makes sense, considering The Tilt and the ‘Godfather of Content Marketing’ Joe Pulizzi host the event (and have they ever done us wrong?).

If you’re looking to see what content creators learned at the event—you’re in the right place. In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Pamela Muldoon (@PamelaMuldoon), content marketing strategist at Muldoon Media and voiceover actor, to share their takeaways from the event that any creator can use to reinvigorate their content strategy.

Read through a few highlights from the conversation below, and listen to the full recording here.

Q1: If you attended #CreatorExpo, what did you think of the event experience? Would you recommend it to a fellow content creator?

Erika and Pamela are both never-ending ticket owners for CEX, which is a huge vote of confidence for the event. Below are some reasons why they love the event:

  • “As I was looking at the agenda for the conference this year, I was like ‘this is exactly what I need to give me the kickstart to actually get things going [with my gluten-free and low-FODMAP food blog]’. It’s my passion. I love that stuff.” – Erika Heald
  • “I’ve been using my expertise and skills around content development and strategy, but it’s been a while since I’ve had to wear the hat of content entrepreneur. The idea that there is a conference not only dedicated to that, but we’d be learning from people doing it—people making their dollars now using these ideas—was a huge reason why I needed to engage with this community.” – Pamela Muldoon
  • “There’s something about being surrounded by people who are trying to make the same kind of work that you are working on happen. It’s super motivating to have those conversations and be surrounded by that energy. I love my furry coworkers, but they don’t give me the motivation to work and write.” – Erika Heald
  • “I really feel like the attendee audience and people… getting together a diverse group of people who are singularly focused on having content be their business and improving that business of creation is very unique.” – Erika Heald
  • “Most of the conference presenters are those that are building their business in some way. It’s amazing, really, and one of the things that stuck out to me is the concept of ‘failing forward’ constantly. It’s refreshing to be back at something where creativity was front-and-center.” – Pamela Muldoon
  • “I’m not surprised by this, but there was a much stronger global presence at the conference. And in only year two, which is really awesome.” – Pamela Muldoon

Q2: What are some of the key themes or points you heard that spanned sessions across the event?

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April 17, 2023 Content Chat Recap: How To Achieve Consistency In Your Content Branding

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A Content Chat header image that says today’s topic is how to achieve consistency in your content branding with guest Melanie Graham, who is @MG_content on Twitter.

If you took your brand’s name and logo out of your content, would your community still recognize the content as yours? For many content marketing teams, the answer is “no”—and we want to explain why that is an issue and how to fix it.

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Melanie Graham (@MG_Content), content marketing manager at Gemtem Health, to discuss how to achieve consistency in your content branding. In this recap, you’ll learn how to define your brand voice and create a content style guide and messaging framework that empowers all creators in your company to reinforce your unique branding.

Read through a few highlights from the conversation below, and listen to the full recording here.

Q1: What is meant by consistent branding when it comes to content? What are the elements of content branding?

A consistent brand carries the same voice, tone, style, and visual identity across all content.

Erika uses Super Bowl commercials to explain the importance of consistent branding. Listen to the audio recap for more on that, and to hear Erika explain how an awful experience with Chewy customer service felt like a “gut punch” and contradicts their historically inclusive brand voice.

“I think a great example of [the importance of consistent branding] is the annual Super Bowl commercials. If you asked people who weren’t already customers of whatever brand ‘who was the company that sponsored the ad,’ frequently people don’t know. And that’s because [the commercial] wasn’t consistent with [the company’s] branding, in addition to going out to an audience that isn’t the right audience. It’s absolutely critical to focus on having that consistent content branding, and having it go beyond just the logo and brand colors being on everything.”

Q2: A brand voice is one of the most important—and potentially difficult to implement—elements of consistent branding. How can a team define its brand voice?

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March 13, 2023 Content Chat Recap: The Future of B2B Content

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A Content Chat header image that says today’s topic is The Future of B2B Content with guest Phyllis Davidson, who is @PhyllisMusings on Twitter.

B2B content is notorious for being product-centric, jargon-heavy, and impersonal—so how can teams create more engaging content for specific personas across the buyer’s journey?

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Phyllis Davidson (@PhyllisMusings), VP and principal analyst at Forrester covering content strategy and operations, to discuss the future of B2B content and ways that teams can build a better content strategy.

Read through some brief highlights from the conversation below, and listen to the full recording below.

Do you want to help Phyllis with her upcoming research on content experimentation? Phyllis is looking to speak with content leaders at organizations of all sizes—regardless of if you are a Forrester client—to understand how you are experimenting with your content strategy (with a particular focus on AI), your learnings, and tangible results. Reach out to Phyllis on Twitter or LinkedIn if you’d like to share your story.

Q1: What are some common criticisms about B2B content?

Audience centricity is a common issue with B2B content, and teams are challenged in tailoring messages toward new customers and keeping existing customers engaged.

Portfolio marketing is one way to address this, which is the idea that you should organize your messaging and value exchange around your unique audiences (much like you’d sell different products to different audiences in a unique way).

Instead of dwelling on the criticisms, Erika and Phyllis discuss the challenges teams face and potential solutions below.

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March 7, 2022 Content Chat Recap: How Content Marketers Can RE:Think Innovation

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“Innovation” has become a buzzword for companies vying to attract and retain top talent and position their brand as leaders in their field. But, are most companies truly innovative? What separates an innovative company from the rest? And how can teams implement systems that foster innovation?

In this #ContentChat recap, we’re joined by Carla Johnson (@CarlaJohnson), world-renowned keynote speaker and best-selling author, to explore how content marketing teams can build a culture that supports innovation at every level. Read the full recap below to learn about the common practices or frameworks that limit our ability to innovate as marketers, the common qualities of leaders that enable an environment of innovation, and examples of innovation at work.

Order your copy of RE:Think Innovation today to learn Carla’s five-step framework to connect the dots and uncover new opportunities, no matter what type of business you’re in.

Q1: How do you define innovation?

There is no common definition of innovation, which is why many teams struggle to foster innovation.

Too often, teams create unnecessary structure around innovation initiatives.

Or the “why fix it if it ain’t broken” mentality stops us from innovating.

Let’s get on a better path with a shared definition of innovation. Per Carla and the community, innovation involves the ability to consistently come up with new, great, and reliable ideas.

Q2: What common practices or frameworks limit our ability to innovate as marketers?

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Finding Sources of Content Marketing Inspiration

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In this week’s #CMworld chat, one of the questions was “What are your favorite sources (people, websites, brands) for content marketing inspiration and advice?” This was an easy one for me to answer, since I’ve made a habit of keeping an ever-expanding list of content marketing pros in my feedly RSS reader and via my twitter content marketing list. I also setup a weekly content marketing paper.li to make sure I didn’t miss some of the more widely shared and read articles from my twitter feed. (@marketingprofs @moz @hubspot @marketo @socialfresh were the names I dropped, if you were wondering).
It was via paper.li that I came across the above slideshare from Michael Brenner, which is a great introduction to a number of key marketing influencers you should be following if you aren’t already. What makes this influencer list worth checking out? Unlike many other influencer lists, which read more like a #FollowFriday bucket list of influential friends, this Slideshare gives the context of their unique POV on the trends you should be keeping an eye on that will influence the future of marketing.
Check it out to see what some of my favorite marketers and social biz pros– like Ann Handley, Todd Wheatland, and Nick Kellet– have to say, and you should find some new sources of content marketing inspiration to follow. I know I did!
Did Michael miss one of your favorite marketing experts? Or do you have a favorite marketing resource to share? Let me know in the comments.
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