Our first content meetup of 2021 had everything to do with driving influence through strong content, developing the strategy instead of taking orders, and all things virtual events. I’m always excited to meet with my peers and learn more about what’s driving their content strategy and journey, especially in times of uncertainty and murky waters for many organizations.

Here are my top takeaways from our February 2021 Content Meetup.

Who attended?

  • Annette Cardwell, Head of Content at Lattice
  • Alexis Croswell, Head of Content at Pyn
  • Jen Dewar, Content Marketing Consultant
  • Ronnie Higgins, Senior Content Marketing and Strategy Leader at Udemy
  • Sara Korolevich, Director of Content at GoodHire
  • Sarah Wallace, Content Writer and Producer at Adyen
  • Tara Ramroop, Senior Manager of Content Marketing at Zendesk

Takeaway #1: Product Marketing Needs to be a Part of Cross-Functional Collaboration to Develop Strong Content

We started the session discussing cross-functional collaboration and how to lead the charge. From GoodHire to Zendesk to Lattice and more — every company found it critical to have a strong product marketing and growth marketing collaboration to drive the content strategy. Obviously SEO folks, customer care, and sales leaders go a long way, too. But many of us in the content world struggle with getting out of an order taker role to strategy driver.

As Tara from Zendesk emphasized, “There needs to be a shift from taking orders [within an organization] to a more collaborative process.” Sarah from Adyen also emphasized this point. “When starting at Adyen, it was clear that the content team had been service providers in the past. We wanted to show the company what content could do and what we can bring to the conversation.”

So how do you break down the silos that lead to more content collaboration, especially when new to an organization?

  • Tackle your content by geo — break it down to small chunks to see what’s working.
  • Build strong relationships cross functionally and earn trust.
  • Always involve product marketing in groundwork conversations to help inform the direction of what you should be producing.

Takeaway #2: Bringing in a Content Consultant Can Help Assess New Content to Create

Over time, many companies shift from doing a ton of top of the funnel content that builds brand recognition to wanting to produce more content that drives conversion to revenue. Lattice was no different in this sense and recently brought in a B2B SaaS conversion specialist to help. “Working with an outside consultant can help give teams great ideas,” says Annette. 

Lattice teamed up with Growth Plays. Their consultants use an algorithm to assess content based on search traffic, competitors, and listening to many sales calls on Gong to reboot the content strategy. According to Annette, the report they pulled together for their organization was impressive and is helping the team realize content that can help drive more middle and bottom of funnel conversions for the sales team. Lastly, the team at Lattice is planning to incorporate more interactive content tools to help, like quizzes, tools, and calculators via Ion. Stay tuned for more great content from this leading platform in HR tech to come.

Takeaway #3: Strong Content and Speakers at Virtual Events Can Really Move the Needle in Remote Environments

Many companies in a post-COVID world are looking to create virtual experiences that not only drive high volume, but can help rebuild brand direction and instill trust in the industry. I was very impressed by both the GoodHire Summit this past fall, as well as the virtual event that Lattice put on with keynote Trevor Noah that drove over 40,000 registrants. “The Trevor Noah name definitely gave a bump to the event,” says Annette,“but he also did a fantastic job emphasizing the Lattice brand to our core audience.” GoodHire as well saw success with a mix of pre-recorded and live sessions. 

What virtual event platforms are best? Many cost quite a bit to leverage, such as 6Connex but do make a big difference. Sarah recommended trying Hopin, a hybrid virtual event platform. The other item to consider is hiring a producer to help. As many media companies shift to remote, there is a plethora of strong talent to lean on that can support to put on the best virtual experience.

What virtual events are teams planning next? Lattice is planning a more spaced out event series elevating a new book release around workplace experience and justice by Kim Scott. I, for one, can’t wait to tune into this one, as I’m a fan of her last book, Radical Candor.

Takeaway #4: Creating a Strong Content Map Aligned to the Buyer Journey Can Help

If you are in the content marketing world, you know that your content is only as good as your map of the buyer’s intent. Serving up the right content at the right time can make all the difference in whether or not a potential customer will be bought into your product. The ideal is identifying the pains and creating strong content that solves those pain points as they are experiencing them.

There are many ways to do this. At Lever, adjusting our content based on the size of the company really makes an impact. Our prospects buy very differently based on the size of their org. Also, understanding acquisition channels for customers can really help, says Ronnie. “Think of creating content around jobs that need to be done by your buyer. You can cover the same keywords based on those different motivators.” he says. 

Annette advocates for creating a strong community, but only if you have a dedicated resource to build and own this. Their community called Resources for Humans welcomes 10,000 members that they’re able to tap into for feedback.

Final Thoughts: Shifting from Order Taking to Driving the Content Strategy 

I’m always inspired and relieved when I take the time to unplug and meet with my peers in this disconnected remote world we’re now living in. We miss the ability to network in person, but I’m always amazed at what we’re able to openly share to help each other’s content strategy and journeys at our respective companies. This one was no different. I have great items to think about in terms of virtual events, PMM collaboration, content mapping, and more!

If you’re interested in attending our next content meetup, join The Content Network to keep informed of future events.