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Hosted by Steve Phipps of Wayfind Marketing, The Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast simplifies marketing for B2B CEOs ready to grow with confidence. Each episode offers real-world strategies, step-by-step coaching, and inspiring CEO interviews—all designed to help you align your marketing with your business goals, stop wasting time and money, and scale without the stress. If you’re a growth-minded leader tired of vague advice and underperforming tactics, this is your next step.
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.
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.
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.
So today we're diving into what may be the
most overlooked part of your marketing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.