Content Marketing the Human Way [Film School For Marketers Podcast, Ep. 25]

Wondering how to be more human and authentic in your content? 

In this episode of the Film School for Marketers Podcast, Liz Murphy joins us to discuss how to use storytelling and personality to build more authentic relationships with buyers. 

Also, we discuss what the heck is going on with social media and what it has to do with your content marketing efforts.

Listen to the full episode here (or scroll down to watch the video):

Liz’s personal journey with video content

Here at IMPACT, Liz is our Director of Web and Interactive Content. That means not only does she specialize in helping us produce really great content, but also, what are the stories we’re telling as an organization?

Sometimes it's written content, audio content, or in this case, audio/visual content.

Essentially, she’s the driving force behind our “media company” mentality. Something that naturally lends itself to video content.

Liz, however, has had an interesting journey to get to this point. Similar to me, she started off as a Content Manager, pleasantly pestering others to get on camera and avoiding it herself.

Fast forward to today. She’s a video queen and helping IMPACT as a whole become a company who thinks more about video.

How can everybody be as human and authentic in their content as Liz?

Our “thrice weekly newsletter” called The LATEST is a prime example if you’re looking for very human, relatable content. Liz has developed really interesting relationships with readers of the publication. It’s something you don’t see very often.

But, here’s the thing, can everybody do that? Not everybody has our kind of company culture.

Liz explained it like this.

If you want to be authentic and express humanity, that doesn’t mean you have to be a stand-up comedian. In fact, it has more to do with the stories you choose to tell, not just how you tell them.

For instance, take an industry that is historically very “corporate” in the way they communicate. Let’s say financial services.

It can be tricky given the nature of compliance and other common roadblocks like that. But, what if you chose to lead with a personal story about yourself, your family, or a colleague.

Common advice Liz will give to us here at IMPACT, in relation to content, is “be as unapologetically you as possible.” Another favorite of mine is, “make it so nobody else but you could’ve told that story.”

I’m worried that might not go over will with my team or our leadership, what should I do?

Start with an example. Show them what it looks like, what it feels like, and why it’s important.

If you believe, as I do, that seeing is believing, then install GoVideo, record your story, and use it as an example. 

You don’t have to put a lot of budget or time into just recording something quick via webcam.

What’s the hot, new thing in content marketing?

Liz surprised me with this one. Turns out that getting back to the basics could prove to be the most important thing you could focus on right now.

We’ve spent many years now becoming content machines. Almost as though this were purely a numbers game. Perhaps we should shift gears and focus on the problem content was always meant to fix, “what do our buyers really need from us?”

The natural by-product of this endless churn of content is that we eventually find ourselves in the “land of fluff.” In other words, content that doesn’t make any meaningful difference in traffic, leads, sales, or trust.

How will I know if my organization's content is “fluffy” and ineffective?

It can happen to all of us. IMPACT included. Learn from our mistakes.

Liz recalls a conversation she had with our very own Nick Sal, who's on our sales team. Per her advice, if you want to know how valuable your content is, ask the sales team first. They are brutally honest.

“I’d say about 1-2% of our content is useful for me to educate our buyers…but those pieces are great.”

Like I said, brutally honest.

Even with The Big 5 and other teachings of They Ask, You Answer, you still need to consult with your sales team to determine why and how to address those major questions sales teams deal with every day. 

What’s the deal with social media right now and how does it affect our content?

Fact is, these new platforms emerge all the time and even the ones we know and love are constantly changing. What does that mean for us as businesses?

In short, social media is still important. However, it’s also time to focus on the platforms that offer an experience where our buyers congregate and interact with content.

Liz points out something interesting. Snapchat, for example, might be a place where your audience is at, but a good portion of those users don’t actually get to the newsfeed where brands are. 

Do some? Of course, but it’s these types of things that we should consider when we’re looking for platforms to invest time, energy, and content.

Why should video content, authenticity, and human connection really matter to me?

Let’s discuss the elephant in the room for a minute. We’ve naturally evolved, as buyers, to avoid salespeople and marketers.

This also means that now, more than ever, we’re seeking better, more personal relationships with brands. We don’t want to talk to you. But we want you to give us a reason to listen.

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