In this episode of The Buyer’s World LinkedIn Live, host Hannah Ajikawo is joined by Chelsea Castle, Director of Content Brand at Lavender, to dive deep into the world of content creation and how it drives success for go-to-market teams. The discussion focuses on the importance of content, how to align content strategies with sales and marketing, and how to build trust with prospects through effective content.

Chelsea Castle's Background

Chelsea Castle is the Director of Content Brand at Lavender, an AI sales email tool. With a passion for storytelling and cross-functional relationships, Chelsea brings valuable insights into how content can drive sales and marketing success.

The Role of Content:

• Content in Sales: Content is crucial for educating prospects who are constantly researching online.

• Alignment: Ensuring that sales and marketing teams are aligned in their messaging to avoid confusion and inconsistency.

Content Ownership and Creation:

• Marketing's Role: While marketing should own the content creation process, it’s beneficial to leverage internal subject matter experts (SMEs) for authentic storytelling.

• Content Types: Content can range from written articles to videos, social media posts, and more. Each type serves a different purpose and audience need.

Building Trust Through Content:

• Trust as a Currency: Building trust with prospects is essential for long-term relationships and conversions.

• Authenticity: Content should be authentic, relatable, and provide real value without expecting anything in return.

Strategies for Effective Content Creation:

• Internal and External Feedback: Gathering insights from internal teams (sales, CS) and external sources (customers, prospects) to inform content creation.

• Content Organization: Using spreadsheets or other tools to organize feedback and prioritize content topics based on frequency and importance.

Mediums and Distribution:

• Leveraging Different Channels: Using various channels like social media, community events, and email to distribute content.

• Repurposing Content: Creating content that can be sliced and diced into different formats to maximize reach and engagement.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM):

• Understanding Demand: Assessing where your audience searches for information and prioritizing SEM spend based on this insight.

• Competitive Keywords: Considering the value of competitive keywords and deciding whether to invest in paid search based on the expected ROI.

Analyzing Customer Feedback:

• Gathering Data: Engaging with customers and using tools like call recordings to gather insights.

• Prioritizing Feedback: Organizing and analyzing feedback to prioritize content creation based on common objections and requests.

Key Takeaways

1. Customer-Centric Content: Focus on creating content that serves the audience, addresses their needs, and builds trust.

2. Internal Collaboration: Work closely with internal teams to gather insights and ensure content aligns with overall sales and marketing strategies.

3. Authenticity Matters: Authentic and relatable content resonates more with audiences and helps build long-term trust.

4. Continuous Feedback Loop: Implement a system for regularly gathering and analyzing feedback to keep content relevant and effective.

5. Strategic SEM: Use search engine marketing strategically by understanding your audience’s behavior and prioritizing high-impact keywords.