Inform with Content: How to Build Trust and Drive Action with Content Marketing

Episode Transcript

AnnieLaurie: Okay, Steve Pop quiz, you’re getting ready to invest in a major service. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars. What’s the very first thing you do?
Steve: Um, easy. I, I start searching for information. Uh, I’ll hit company’s website. Look for articles, maybe some videos. I wanna see what they know
AnnieLaurie: Exactly.
AnnieLaurie: And if there’s nothing, no content, no helpful resources, just a fancy homepage with a contact desk button, I’m out. It’s like showing up to a job interview with an empty resume.
AnnieLaurie: Right? No matter how great your offer is or your services might be. If your content can’t show it, explain it or prove it, your buyers are gonna be gone before you even knew they were there.
AnnieLaurie: So today we’re diving into what may be the most overlooked part of your marketing.
AnnieLaurie: How to inform with content that actually builds trust. It moves people toward action.
Steve: Welcome back to the Growth-Minded Marketing podcast. I’m Steve Phipps.
AnnieLaurie: And I’m Annie Laurie Walters. We help growth-minded CEOs and their teams stop guessing at marketing and start growing with clarity and purpose.
Steve: Right now we are in the middle of our guide series.
Steve: Guide is a five part framework that we developed and that we use to help CEOs and their companies simplify and lead their marketing. Here’s the the quick overview,
AnnieLaurie: right? So Guide is an acronym and G stands for Generate Your Story and Strategy U stands for upgrade. Your online presence I is for inform with content.
AnnieLaurie: D is for develop and execute your sales plan. And E is for evaluate and adjust.
Steve: And today we are diving into, I inform with content because your content isn’t just fluff, it should be fuel. It’s how you earn trust before your sales team enters the conversation.
AnnieLaurie: So if content’s been that thing, you know, you should do more of.
AnnieLaurie: This is your episode. We are gonna talk through what works, what to avoid, and how to get started right away without feeling overwhelmed.
Steve: But before we dive in, if this is your first time joining us, welcome. We’re glad you’re here. What we recommend is that you hit pause and go back and start with episode one.
Steve: It gives you a big picture overview of our entire guide marketing framework, and that context will help today’s episode make more sense and it makes it more impactful. You can find the, the link to episode one in the show notes.
AnnieLaurie: Let’s start with this content is your digital sales team. And the crazy part, it doesn’t sleep, it doesn’t take PTO and it can reach more people than your top sales rep ever could.
Steve: When someone is searching for a solution that you offer at 10 30 on a Tuesday night, it’s not your salesperson. They’re calling. It’s your website. It’s your blog, your videos, your articles. That content is either gonna build confidence and trust or it’s gonna push them away.
AnnieLaurie: We’ve worked with clients who were doing great work, but their content didn’t show it, and the leads they did get were cold, confused, or they weren’t qualified or ready to buy.
Steve: But when we help them answer the right questions with the right content, things like pricing process, problems to expect, it was like a light switch flipped suddenly buyers were showing up, pre-educated and ready to talk specifics.
AnnieLaurie: Okay, so here’s the question, Steve. Why do you think so many CEOs overlook content even though they know it’s important?
Steve: Great question. I, think most CEOs it, they, it’s a couple things. Either they overcomplicate it, , I think it has to be super detailed or they think it’s marketing’s job to just handle it. But the reality is the content needs to be strategic. This is a key part of your sales engine, of the whole buying journey.
Steve: If you think of it like a silent partner in the sales conversation, suddenly it gets a lot more interesting.
AnnieLaurie: Alright, let’s get into the meat of it. What does inform with content actually look like? What should CEOs focus on?
Steve: Well, I would say for CEOs and their marketing teams, there are five key principles.
Steve: And when you get these right, your content starts attracting the right people and earning their trust. And, and there’s one other note I wanna make here about creating content, This is not just content for people to consume on your website. It’s also content that your sales team can use in the sales process to educate buyers.
Steve: So there are multiple purposes for this content. All right, so let’s start where great content really begins, and it’s not with writing or designing the titles. It starts with listening. If you want to create content that actually connects with your buyers, you’ve gotta understand what they’re already asking.
Steve: What are the questions that come up in nearly every sales call? What objections are your sales folks hearing over and over? What are the concerns that are slowing people down? That’s the goal. That’s the roadmap for creating content that moves the needle. You’re answering questions that your buyers are asking.
AnnieLaurie: Some might call this answering the obvious questions. And honestly, most companies skip it. They either assume their buyers already know the answers, or they shy away from the topics that feel uncomfortable to talk about like cost comparison or what could go wrong. They wanna call out a competitor. They don’t wanna do reviews of other companies that are in their town.
AnnieLaurie: But Steve, that’s really important for them to do. Why?
Steve: Well, e Exactly. And here’s the thing, buyers are asking those questions. I mean, I mean, if you think about it, when you are the customer, what are the questions that you are asking? You’re asking questions about cost. You’re looking and comparing one company to another.
Steve: You want to know what are the potential issues or challenges that you might run into. And the thing is, if you are not answering your buyer’s questions, they’re going to find someone who will. And it’s, it’s, it’s going to be one of your competitors.
AnnieLaurie: Right? Yeah. We’ve seen this play out with clients and the ones who lean in and address the sticky topics that, not really sticky.
AnnieLaurie: I don’t know why we feel like they’re sticky, but some people feel it’s sticky to talk about things like pricing and timelines, pros, cons. They’d rather avoid it, but those who don’t, those who address it head on, they build trust faster because it feels honest. It feels real. And when a lead finally does pick up the phone, they’re gonna be ready to make a decision.
Steve: Well, exactly. Transparency is magnetic when your content tells the full story, not just the highlight reel, not just the salesy content. You’re showing confidence in what you do and empathy for what your buyer’s going through. Again, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. When you’re on a website, what do you want to know?
Steve: You want to know things like pricing. What happens if you can’t find that information? Do you want to have to schedule a call with a salesperson to find out whether or not what they do is in your budget? No. You just want the answer to that question now. And so it’s that type of content being willing and able to answer those questions openly and honestly.
Steve: That starts building trust and credibility before the first call or contact ever happens.
AnnieLaurie: So let’s make this practical, Steve. How would you coach A CEO or a marketing manager on a B2B team? What, what would you say to them to help them figure out what those top buyer questions actually are?
Steve: So first thing I would do is start with your sales team.
Steve: They’re the ones who are on the front lines every day interacting with prospects. Ask them, what’s a question that you get consistently, or what objections keep coming up in the first call? Another really good question is, what do you wish your prospects knew before you had your first conversation?
Steve: And if you really wanna speed this up, you start sitting in on sales calls yourself, or if you have a marketing manager, let them sit in on the calls, let them hear what’s being asked. Just listen. You’ll hear the patterns and there’s patterns. That’s your content calendar. It’s right there. It’s in plain sight.
Steve: You don’t need fancy tools. You need ears and a notepad.
AnnieLaurie: Great. So step one is answering the questions that your buyers are already asking. The next is going to be showing up consistently. That’s the hardest part for some people I know, but here’s the good news. Consistency doesn’t mean volume, it just means dependability.
AnnieLaurie: Even two posts a month can make a difference when it’s aligned with what your buyers care about.
Steve: Content builds trust. And trust builds with repetition. So when people see that you’re consistently showing up with helpful, relevant insights that answer their questions, it reinforces your credibility.
Steve: Even before engage, and, and I do wanna say this about frequency. If you only have the capacity to do two articles a week, write content that your sales team can use in their process. That way you’re not waiting for this content to get traction with the search engines. That takes time. So when you’re creating content.
Steve: That your sales team can use, your helping educate your buyers in the sales process, and that can have a positive impact on your close rates and how long it takes for your leads to convert
AnnieLaurie: how great it is to be alive right now. AI can totally help with this, right? If we’re short on time, AI tools can give you a head start.
AnnieLaurie: So Steve, tell us about that. How would you coach somebody to leverage AI if this is just feeling really overwhelming?
Steve: Yeah. Well, and, and honestly, even for folks that have a good writer on the team, AI is still a really good resource. And so when I’m coaching people or when I’m speaking to a group about AI and marketing, one, the thing I wanna remind people is that AI doesn’t replace your strategy.
Steve: This is not a set it and forget it tool. Now maybe eventually it will be. But what it can do is it makes it easier for you to stay consistent. Once you have trained AI to your voice, you’ve educated it on your customers, on your buyers, it can help you create really good content faster without sacrificing quality.
Steve: In fact, in some cases it can produce higher level quality because it’s bringing in ideas and information that you would not have had on your own. And the thing here is you wanna make sure that you are trusting and verifying AI is great. It’s a tremendous resource. It can do a lot, but it’s not perfect.
Steve: And you want to make sure that you are vetting it, that it reflects you, your voice, your tone, and that the information it’s producing is accurate. So a, a key part here is when you think about ai, one of the ways to think about it is like it’s an assistant because there’s a lot that it can do with your guidance.
AnnieLaurie: And, you know, since we’re talking about showing up consistently, that’s one really easy way to start leveraging I ai in your marketing tactics and strategies is just use it to make a content calendar.
AnnieLaurie: Like this is an easy way to go in, pull up chat, GPT and ask it to make you a content calendar that you can easily, either copy and paste into your own systems or download a file and upload it to your Google Docs. There’s so many ways you can do it and. It will tell you exactly when to post. Even if you wanna write your own content or you want it to suggest, at least it can do that, logistical work of saying, okay, post this day and this day, you know, how much time will it take to prep to do that?
AnnieLaurie: Here’s how much time. Like, there’s so many ways you can train it just logistically to help decide for you, how much time is it gonna take, when am I gonna do it? And then all you have to do is set deadlines or alarms in your calendar and carve out the time to actually do it. But I think a lot of times people will use AI to do some of that logistical thinking for them, some of that planning and that’s a way that it can help you show up consistently.
Steve: Well, and I, I think even to that point, Annie, Laurie, a simple thing that you can do with Chad GPT or whatever AI tool you’re using, is share with it what your context is, what you’re trying to do, and then ask it how it can help you. Yes, because sometimes I, I mean, as it continues to evolve and become more intelligent, it’s becoming more proactive.
Steve: I’ve seen that more and more if I’m doing something, it will then offer, well, do you want me to turn this into a graphic? Would you like me to do this instead? So even just asking it how it can help you do x number of blog posts or, you know, there’s, there’s so many different ways.
AnnieLaurie: Yeah, that’s such a great point.
AnnieLaurie: You could approach chat gt and say, I wanna post on LinkedIn three times a week for the next quarter. Walk me through everything I need to do to, to set that up. You know, it’s gonna give you step by step how to do it, and it just simplifies, it all makes it really quick for you. So, yes. I can’t wait till some future episodes when we really start diving into how we can effectively leverage AI for marketing.
AnnieLaurie: ’cause there’s so many things we can talk about, but I want to ask you, Steve, for the listeners that are just getting started, set the bar for them. You know, when we talk about showing up consistently, that might feel overwhelming to someone who already has a whole lot on their plate. So how often should they be posting content and where should they be posting content?
Steve: Start with once a week if you can. And, and again, you want to know, part of this is figuring out how long is it actually going to take you to do it? So map out your process. And a good rule of thumb, especially if you’re using ai, allow anywhere between two to three hours per blog post. Now you get better, you get faster, that becomes more efficient.
Steve: If you’re doing it manually and you’re doing the research and gathering links and things like that, a blog post can take five to six hours, maybe longer, depending on how long it is. But just again, if you’re assuming two to three hours, start with once a week. If that feels like too much, then do twice a month something strong.
Steve: A good article. Uh, you know, again, it could be different content formats. It could be a written article, it could be a blog. Maybe podcasting is a good option. The key is to commit to a rhythm that you can sustain and grow from.
AnnieLaurie: And yeah, we’re gonna talk more about repurposing , in the next conversation, but it, it’s worth mentioning here, one of the easiest ways to show up consistently is to take one really meaty piece of content and splice it up and use it in a million different applications.
AnnieLaurie: And AI can help you do that easily. But Steve. I wanted to ask you this before we move into the, the repurposing section. There’s some common pushback that we hear all the time. We just don’t have time to do content right now. What would you say to the person who is thinking that right now?
Steve: You know, I, I get it.
Steve: But the reality is, if you’re trying to grow your business beyond just your networking and your sales activities, you’ve gotta have content and you’ve gotta have content that’s going to answer your buyer’s questions. So, part of that is logistically how can you do that? But again, that’s where coming back to ai, it really is a tool that makes a huge difference.
Steve: It can save hours on brainstorming, on creating drafts, building outlines, so that way instead of staring at a blank page, you’re editing improving something that may be 60, 70, or even 80% of the way there. another thing to consider is what content are you already creating, but just not capturing.
Steve: Every time you answer a client email or explain a process on a Zoom call. Every time you walk a prospect through pricing, that’s content. You know, a lot of folks now are recording sales calls when they’re on Zoom. That’s content. You have a transcript, use it. you’re already doing the thinking when you’re in these conversations, when you’re sending these emails.
Steve: So the opportunity is to turn that into something repeatable, charitable, and scalable. I think a lot of people overlook these sources of content that they already have, but if you inventory that, I think a lot of people will find you already have what you need. You just need to plug it into AI or get somebody on your team that can own that process.
AnnieLaurie: So I wanna comment on that. As you know, my focus at wayfind Marketing is on content strategy, and I do a lot of keyword research and creating content that’s gonna show up in all the places the content needs to show up because it’s not just Google anymore with AI tools and things like that. So you just mentioned this and I think it’s worth pointing out ’cause it’s a really quick win for someone just getting started.
AnnieLaurie: When you are answering a question, just get that FAQ list going. You know, get your sales team together, whoever answers your phones, or whoever is your first line of communication between people who are contacting your business. Make a list of all the questions they get all the time, and put that on your website, segment it by a service area and put it on your service pages.
AnnieLaurie: That alone is going to get your website ranking and , especially with, Google AI search results at the very top of the page. We’ve all seen them. Right. And basically you go to Google and you ask it a question and it’s answering you at the very top of the page. Kinda like if you had opened up chat GPT and asked the same kind of question.
AnnieLaurie: But Google’s pulling all that from links. So the websites and the way you get. To show up in that spot on a Google search is by having really strong FAQs on your website. And how easy would it be? Every time a client asks you a question or you’re responding in an email, you just have a doc on the side that you quickly open, drop it in that doc.
AnnieLaurie: You could be building an awesome fa Q library that’s just gonna help you rank better and help answer your customers and your potential customers questions more efficiently. And all you’re doing is copying and pasting. You know, you just have to think about it, shift your perspective on how to do it.
Steve: You absolutely no, I’m, I love that you’re pointing that out.
Steve: ’cause a lot of times if we’re paying attention, the sources of that content already exist. And, and this is another, another AI hack here to do additional brainstorming is ask Chad GPT to be your buyer. Give it the information. Who is your customer? What is the service that you do? Give it a link to your website so it can educate itself and then ask it, what questions would it have?
Steve: If it’s a first time buyer, what are the questions? If it’s a repeat buyer, they’ve purchased the types of products and services that you offer, maybe from a competitor, what questions would they have? And use that to help supplement what you’re already generating internally.
AnnieLaurie: That’s so good.
AnnieLaurie: So instead of asking, do we have time to do content, maybe the better question is, are we making use of the content we already are creating and using tools like AI to help us do it faster?
Steve: Exactly. And it, it’s a mindset shift. It’s an awareness shift. And, when that happens, that’s where momentum really starts to build.
AnnieLaurie: Okay. So. We’ve touched on it a little bit, repurposing content. Okay? This is step number three, and let’s dig into it. You don’t have to start from scratch. You already have content that you’ve created. It may not be formatted for LinkedIn or for a blog post on your website, but you do have the content. So Steve, let’s talk for a second.
AnnieLaurie: How can people start reusing the content that they’ve already got?
Steve: As you’ve already pointed out, this is such a huge missed opportunity. Most companies already have more content than they realize, and it’s just hiding there
AnnieLaurie: totally. It might be in a PowerPoint that your sales team uses every day, or it could be like we just talked about, FAQs that you’ve answered a thousand times on the phone, or even a case study that never made it past your proposal.
Steve: Exactly. And so to your question about , where do you even get this content and how do we repurpose it? You know, think about it this way. How can you use one piece of content in other formats? A, a blog post can become a podcast episode. A client FAQ can become a video series, a slide deck that maybe that turns into a downloadable guide or, a carousel post on LinkedIn.
Steve: And so suddenly what might be one piece of content now can be turned into four or five or six pieces of content that can be pushed into different areas. And all of a sudden now you have content that’s working harder for you because you have it in more places.
AnnieLaurie: Especially for people who work in a highly technical industry, write the ebook, write the white paper, get all the content out into one.
AnnieLaurie: Amazing document and you know, you can either sell that or it can be, something you, give away for free in exchange for someone’s contact information that you can follow up on. But once you get all of that wonderful content into one huge document, then you can upload that to Chad GBT and say, I want you to create however many LinkedIn posts and other social media posts, however many, oh, you could start a whole podcast just from one ebook if it’s written the right way.
AnnieLaurie: Right, Steve?
Steve: Absolutely.
AnnieLaurie: Okay, so let’s get practical. Steve, what’s one of your favorite real world examples of content repurposing Done? Right.
Steve: So the example that I’m gonna give is, is actually something that we are doing right now.
Steve: So this current podcast series on this guide marketing framework, this is all based on our marketing playbook that we developed and launched a couple of months ago. And so instead of it just being something that people get when they can take the marketing assessment, we’re taking that, we’re now turning this into podcast content so that it can be used to further educate and then we’re gonna take this content and push it into blog posts that will then turn into, social media posts.
Steve: We will definitely be doing some video around this. So again, it’s, I think that’s a good example of taking one piece of content and then pushing it out to many different channels and using some of that other content too, to go into more detail than what the initial piece of content. It was used for. And, and honestly, another good practical way to do this is, especially now with some of the AI tools, is if you create a video or if you have a conversation with your team, take the transcript or take the video link.
Steve: And there are different AI tools that you can use to, to splice that up. So if you’re using a video, there are AI tools that will take and splice it up into smaller reels or re size videos, like a Facebook reel. And so you can repurpose the content that way you can take the transcript and create blog posts.
Steve: Again, there’s just so many different practical ways and easier ways to take one piece of content and multiply it.
AnnieLaurie: So Steve, one objection that I wanna address, someone might be thinking, isn’t this redundant?
AnnieLaurie: Isn’t it redundant to be using the same content over and over again? And what I wanna say is, no, it’s not redundant because the, you, it might be the same content that you’re repurposing, but you’re repackaging it and delivering it in different ways for the audience to digest and remember and interact with.
AnnieLaurie: And so, how you sit and listen to a podcast or drive car walk or how, however you listen to your podcast . That’s different than when you’re just scrolling social media and you see something quick, it makes an impression, but then it might make that connection to, oh, I wanna go and dig deeper. I wanna learn more.
AnnieLaurie: When I’ve talked with people about website content, it’s easy to think about like how people access your website. Like they don’t read it like a book. You know, when you get a book, you open the book and it’s page one, turn to page two. That’s not how people access websites or read web websites often they’re, they go to Google, they search, there are any number of different on-ramps to your website and to your content.
AnnieLaurie: And it’s okay if it repeats because who remembers everything that they hear the first time forever? And I, I think there’s a principle about that, Steve, that you’ve talked about before. Why don’t you share that with us?
Steve: Yeah, absolutely. And before I mentioned that, you know, traditional advertising looks at, there are two key metrics that, that advertising looks at, and that’s reach and frequency.
Steve: How many people are you reaching and what’s the frequency? How many times are you reaching them? Because if you reach somebody one time, they’re, they’re not gonna pay attention to. If you think about the context that we live in, we’re bombarded by alerts, text messages, our laptop screens. We just we’re getting pulled in a thousand directions.
Steve: So the likelihood of somebody connecting with what you post if they only see it once is low. And so Google did this study, you can look for this online and find more information about it, but they wanted to find out what influenced buyer behavior. You know, what did it take to build trust and convert customers.
Steve: And so what they determined is what they call the seven eleven four rule. And that is that a brand needs to have seven hours of interaction. Across 11 touchpoints in four different locations. So think about that. Seven hours, 11 touchpoints. So 11 different interactions in four different locations. So that could be YouTube, that could be your website, that could be LinkedIn, that could be an email.
Steve: And so having multiple touches, so if somebody is seeing something and they see it on your, LinkedIn post, and then maybe they go to your website and they see it there, that’s a good thing because now it’s, starting to catch their attention. So the idea of, repetition is a good thing, not a bad thing.
AnnieLaurie: So we talked a lot about different ways to attack this. What I want to say is it doesn’t have to be complicated. We’ve given you a lot to think about, even just in this one segment. But it does not have to be complicated. Start with. What’s already working and adapt it.
AnnieLaurie: A blog post can become a video, A case study can become a LinkedIn post. You get the idea. The goal is to meet your buyers where they are. Start with what’s already working and adapt it.
Steve: Agreed,
AnnieLaurie: Great. So we’ve already talked about AI several times throughout the course of this podcast. But let’s just put our laser focus on it for a second. We’re gonna, we’re gonna talk about step number four, how to use AI to create more content effectively and efficiently.
AnnieLaurie: So let’s just put it center stage. This is not a tool everyone’s talking about yet, even though it might feel like it, I still meet people all the time who don’t really know how these AI tools can help them. Mm-hmm. And how accessible they are.
Steve: Absolutely. And you know, AI is the biggest shift that we’ve seen, in decades.
Steve: Just the impact that this is having. And some would argue that it’s the biggest impact. You know,
AnnieLaurie: there’s the internet.
Steve: Yeah, yeah. I mean, there, there, there’s just, there’s so much that it’s affected, but you’re right, there are a lot of people who, who don’t, they don’t grasp it yet. They, they’ve not been exposed to it.
Steve: They’ve not had the opportunity to dig in and, it’s changing how we work. It’s changing how people buy. But like any tool, it’s how you use it. The tool in and of itself is not going to do everything that you need it to do by itself. It needs guidance. It needs your input. And so that means learning it, figuring out how to use it, recognizing its limitations Now.
Steve: It’s becoming more intelligent as things go. So some of the limitations that it’s had, maybe in terms of a strategy perspective, it’s getting better. And so that becomes another part of just the evolution of this. And it can get really big, but when it’s used effectively, can be a super fantastic tool for helping business owners and marketers.
AnnieLaurie: Okay, Steve. Let’s just break it down to the basics. What are a few simple things that marketing managers can start doing right away to use AI in their marketing?
Steve: Use it to outline your ideas, brainstorm your headlines. Use it to help you repurpose your existing content. Both in terms of helping you think through how to repurpose it, but then also to create that content. You can use it to tighten up a draft, have it review content from your buyer’s perspective to help you understand what might be missing.
Steve: It’s great for accelerating the process. Again, you still have to educate it. It’s not going to replace your voice. It still needs to reflect your voice, your experience, but it is here to help you express it more efficiently and more effectively.
AnnieLaurie: Okay. Steve, one way I love to use AI in marketing is developing buyer personas. Tell us how you can use something like chat GPT to flesh out your personas.
Steve: Okay. So for, for folks who may not be familiar with the term buyer’s persona, it is a written description of who your customer is, if you’re in B2B, their job title, their responsibilities, what’s their decision making, authority, what’s their industry.
Steve: It’s information that helps you tailor your content, so that it’s re relevant for the right people. And so there’s a couple of different ways that you can do this, but one is, so here’s, this is a twofold tip. One is when you’re interacting with Chad GPT, one of the things you can do is ask it to interview you or ask you questions one at a time in the context of whatever you’re trying to do.
Steve: So if you want to develop a buyer’s persona, ask, tell chat GPT. I need you to function like a marketing strategist who can help me develop a buyer persona. Please ask me the questions. One at a time so that you can get the information you need in order to develop this persona for me. So that would be one way to do it.
Steve: One thing that I’ve done, when I’m coaching clients is we have a template, that people can enter in basic information and then plug that into chat, GPT or again, whichever AI tool you’re using and asking it to create a persona based on that information. So there’s two different ways there to do that.
Steve: One would be letting GPT guide the process. The other would be using a template, which actually we can make that available in the show notes. And just if somebody’s interested in grabbing that template, you can feel free to use that as a resource.
AnnieLaurie: Yes. And let’s play it out one or two steps further.
AnnieLaurie: In terms of informing with content, you need that persona and a real, super clear understanding of that persona to inform with content. Like you have to start there to create great content that the person you’re trying to communicate with is gonna wanna read.
AnnieLaurie: And so once you’ve used AI to make those personas for you, then you train a GPT to create content for you that speaks specifically to that persona.
Steve: Yes, absolutely. You’ve gotta educate it. And it even goes back to what we talked about in our last episode of upgrading your online presence, is your website needs to speak to your buyer’s problems and how you solve them.
Steve: And when you have that written description. Of your buyer, the problems they’re facing, it makes it much easier to create content that’s relevant. You know their questions, you know their challenges. So now you get to go answer those questions and help them understand why you, your company, your services, your products are the best solution and option.
AnnieLaurie: Well, if it’s not crystal clear that we aren’t afraid to use AI in our marketing here, Steve, I wanted to maybe flip the switch a little bit and ask you this. you know, there are some dangers, danger might not be the right word, but we can’t just open up AI and use it without some sort of strategic approach or intentionality behind it.
AnnieLaurie: What, how would, what are some warnings, for lack of better words, I don’t know if it’s a warning or if it’s just like a, a caution, like as you’re using AI in your marketing, what cautions do we need to take to make sure that we aren’t actually hurting ourselves?
Steve: So I would think about that from the perspective of what are its limitations.
Steve: And, and again, you know, limitations are based on what AI is able to do right now. One of the things, one of its limitations is it doesn’t have your experience, your personal experience, your team’s personal experience, your company’s personal experience. How you approach things is unique to you.
Steve: You have a unique perspective. And so it’s important that when you’re creating content, there is opportunity to input some of that information to help educate and train ai. But you still want to take what it generates and make sure that you’re putting your experience there. Speak to things that you know that your team knows because that dials it in.
Steve: And even in our last episode, we talked about the eat framework that Google’s looking at a four part framework for the quality of content. One of those things. They’re looking for expertise, they’re looking for authorit. And so that’s going to come by what you can input. Now, I will make the sidebar comment here.
Steve: That chat GPT just announced this week that they are rolling out, basically an unlimited memory. And so what’s gonna be happening is it will. Remember everything that you’ve talked about in all of the conversations, and their goal is for it to become a tool that knows you really, really well. So what I anticipate is that in the future, as these tools do get to know us better based on all our interactions, that it will be able to generate some of this type of content.
Steve: But here again, you still need to make sure that it has your voice and that it’s authentic to you, your experience, et cetera. And so this is where your expertise, your values, your unique experience come through. And if you’re just outsourcing that and you’re not inputting it, you’re losing a lot of what makes you unique.
AnnieLaurie: I’m glad you brought up eat, because that to me is one of the biggest risks using AI the wrong way, is that you, if you don’t use it with. Strategic intentionality. You run the risk of producing generic content that sounds like everything else that’s already on the internet, because unless you’re inputting your own unique perspective into whatever tool that you’re using to create content, it’s gonna pull content that’s already out on the internet that could even be dated or old.
AnnieLaurie: So using AI in your marketing could be a learning curve. So yes, one thing that you can do is you can go to our website or check our show notes. We have several blog posts and a whole AI guide that our listeners can download to start learning how to use it effectively.
AnnieLaurie: All right, so that brings us to building trust through thought leadership. Let’s zoom out and take a look at the bigger picture, because all of these strategies are powerful, but only if they build trust.
Steve: Absolutely, and this might be the most important principle long term.
Steve: Does your content actually position you as a trusted voice? I would even say the trusted voice in your space. Not just someone with a product, not just a salesperson making a pitch, but someone with perspective, with experience and expertise. And that’s the difference between just being in the conversation and leading it.
AnnieLaurie: This is where we move from basic education into real thought leadership. It’s not just about hitting publish. It’s about sharing content that’s well researched, original, and actually helps your audience solve problems they’re struggling with. What are you adding to the conversation? What are you saying that’s different than what everyone else on the internet is saying?
Steve: A hundred percent true thought leadership addresses real industry challenges with fresh insights and practical solutions, and this is really, as a CEO or the leader of your business, the owner, the founder, whatever your role is, this is a big opportunity for you, especially on LinkedIn because it shows that you’re not just repeating what everyone else is saying, but you, your team, your company is thinking critically.
Steve: You’re offering clarity and you’re guiding your audience, your customers forward.
AnnieLaurie: Steve, I wanna talk to someone who may be thinking to themselves, you know, in a world of social media influencers, I’m supposed to be a thought leader. Like, explain the difference there, when we talk about thought leadership, it’s a little different than just being some social media influencer.
Steve: What’s the difference? So, well, I, I would say that for the clients that we typically work with, so B2B companies, service-based companies, the goal is not to become an influencer per se, because that’s somebody they’re interested in building a platform around themselves and generating revenue because of that influence.
Steve: In, this particular case. The whole idea of thought leadership is that you are sharing information, educating your buyers on things that matter to them. You’re looking out ahead, you’re anticipating what’s coming down the line. And it means that you’re bringing a creative and unique perspective, as you’ve already said to the conversation, but , it’s information that’s relevant to your customers and your future customers.
AnnieLaurie: And the more your content positions you as the go-to resource, the more trust you build. Which means more qualified leads, stronger client relationships, and a better chance at long-term growth.
Steve: Absolutely. The thought leadership isn’t about self-promotion. It’s about creating value. And when you consistently do that, people start to look for you, not just because you sell something, but because they trust your take on the challenges that they’re facing and.
Steve: it also means that you’re willing to answer the hard questions that your competitors aren’t. And I, I wanna give a quick example here, and that is, who are your top competitors? Are you willing to write about them on your website? And we’ve guided some clients to do this.
Steve: We do this, we have an article on our website. It’s what are the best digital marketing agencies in Memphis? And we didn’t put ourselves on the list. And that’s because if somebody reads it, they’re already gonna be on our website. And that’s in response to the question that I know I’ve been asked several times.
Steve: And that is, well Steve, we like your team, but if for some reason we chose not to work with you, who would you suggest? So I’ve answered, I’m gonna answer that question honestly. And I’ve had folks that we’ve, that I’ve answered that question to, and they became our clients. And in some cases we weren’t the right fit, so they went to someone in so.
Steve: There’s an element of thought leadership that is a willingness to openly and honestly answer the questions, even the ones that might feel awkward because it demonstrates trustworthiness.
AnnieLaurie: Steve, what would you say to the CEO who’s thinking? I don’t know if we really have anything worth calling thought leadership.
Steve: I would say if you, your team, are solving real problems here. Again, you’ve already got the raw material. You just haven’t turned it into content yet. It’s, looking for the stories, the insights, the aha moments that come up in your work every week. That’s the stuff that your buyers want more of and, and I think it even goes back to thinking about an inventory.
Steve: What are the things that you consistently say to customers? What are the things, if you’re the CEO, that you are consistently saying to your sales team, to your support team, to your marketing team about how you serve your customers and your clients? Those are the types of things, those repeatable phrases and perspectives that help you dial in your voice, especially as it relates to creating thought leadership content.
AnnieLaurie: Right? And it’s truly the best part because this kind of content doesn’t just help you stand out. It gives your team something to rally behind. It reinforces your brand and your values and your expertise, and it gives your prospects something to believe in.
Steve: It’s not just about informing, it’s not here just to impress people.
Steve: It comes down to helping educate your buyers so that they can make sense of the challenges that they’re facing and you become the voice that they trust to solve their problems. And as we’ve talked in some measure, we talk about the a story based framework. It positions you as a guide that helps them solve their problems.
Steve: And when you’re doing that consistently, they don’t just trust your offer, they trust you, they trust your leadership.
AnnieLaurie: to summarize, we need to answer the questions that our buyers are already asking. We need to show up consistently, whether that’s on blogs or social media. We need to be repurposing and reformatting. I. Content that we’ve already created to multiply the impact and that we need to use AI to do it more effectively.
AnnieLaurie: And finally, as we were just discussing, we need to be thinking about how we’re adding valuable insights to the conversation through thought leadership. So Coach Phipps, give us our marching orders based on all of that we’ve talked about today. What’s one step our listener can take this week?
Steve: All right.
Steve: Step number one, go ask your sales team this question. What’s one question that you are tired of answering that’s being asked by most of your prospects? Boom. That’s your next blog post. That’s your next video.
AnnieLaurie: And if you’re not writing yet, just record a 92nd voice memo. Start messy. It’s okay, start now.
AnnieLaurie: Don’t put it off. You will get better the more you do it.
Steve: Don’t let content be the thing that you should do someday. Make it part of how you build trust and scale smarter and start this week. And again, here’s the thing, it’s not about adding one more thing to your plate. It’s about using what’s already in your head, the conversations that you’re already having, that your sales team is having, conversations you’re having internally, and, and take that and turn it into a tool, into content that’s going to help you grow.
Steve: And, and another thing, if don’t wait until it’s perfect. If, if you’re waiting for it to be perfect, it’s never going to happen. Just start and adjust as you go.
Steve: Hey friends, this is Steve, and I’m speaking directly to the CEOs who are listening right now. And you might be sitting there thinking, we’ve gotta do something with our marketing. We, we’ve gotta get moving, but you’re getting stuck.
Steve: And, and maybe it’s because you have a one person marketing team and they’re, they have a lot of things on their plates. Maybe you don’t have a team at all. Maybe you’re the marketing person and you just don’t have anyone on your team who has the time or the skills to do what needs to be done. Now, here’s the truth.
Steve: It’s not a lack of effort. It’s certainly not a lack of desire. Oftentimes what’s happening is you’re just missing the right guidance. And with that, a lot of times you just don’t have a framework or system that can help you move forward with your marketing, and that’s where our marketing coaching comes in.
Steve: So in this scenario, what we do is we work alongside of you and your team, whether you have one person who’s focused on marketing or whether you have a small marketing team that’s stretched thin. We come alongside and we help you develop a focused marketing plan. We teach you our framework so that you can create really great content using ai.
Steve: We help you stay consistent and know what’s actually working. Now, our coaching is part training, part accountability, and part strategy. And it is designed specifically for growth-minded companies like yours. So if you’re sitting on go with marketing, but you’re not getting traction, you’re not getting the results that you’re expecting, let’s, let’s have a conversation. We can help you move forward with confidence, with guidance, with our framework. We’re not adding more confusion or complexity to your plate. We’re offering growth. So head over to way find marketing.com, click discuss your marketing to schedule a call, and we’ll see if coaching might be the right next step for you.
AnnieLaurie: All right, so if you’re listening and thinking this all makes sense, but I’m just still not sure where to start, we’ve got something for you.
Steve: Yes, we do. Head over to way find marketing.com and take our free guide marketing assessment. This is based on the five part framework that we’ve been talking about.
Steve: There are 25 yes no questions, and it only takes about five minutes. When you’re done, you will get a clear score showing you where your marketing is strong, where it’s holding you back.
AnnieLaurie: Plus you’ll get instant access to the Guide Marketing Playbook. It’s free, it’s packed with practical steps, real examples, and helpful tools to help you start making progress right away.
Steve: If you want more inspiration or examples, head over to the learning center, and we’ve got a ton of content there that shows you exactly how to put these principles into action.
AnnieLaurie: Next week we’re unpacking the D and guide, develop and Execute Your Sales Plan. We’ll show you how to connect the dots between your marketing and sales efforts so your message isn’t just clear.
AnnieLaurie: It actually helps you close more business,
Steve: and that’s gonna be a really good conversation.
AnnieLaurie: All right, now let’s go get to work, creating content that moves your buyers and your business forward, and turns your insights into impact. We’ll see y’all next time on the Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast.