CCO November 2022 (Preview)
As content crosses into uncharted territory, marketers will have to carve out new paths to success. Here's some expert advice on where to start.
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER
November 2022
<strong>In This Issue</strong>
FEATURED ARTICLES
Content Crosses Into Uncharted Territory
By Jodi Harris
Brands are only beginning to tap content's full potential. Here’s what needs to happen next.
Sign up for access to this subscriber-only content:
Here’s Why Your Content Team Might Be Quitting (Quietly or Otherwise)
By Stephanie Stahl
New research finds content marketers love their jobs – but will that be enough to retain their talents?
Worried About the Economy? Shift Your SEO Strategy to Keep Growing
By Jim Yu
When a downturn looms, forward-thinking marketers take steps to adjust their search optimization focus. Here’s how.
Use Your Brand’s Voice To Make Marketing That Matters
A CMWorld 2022 presentation by Mark Harrison (exclusively for CCO subscribers).
• General Manager: Stephanie Stahl
• Editor-in-Chief: Jodi Harris
• Creative Director: Joseph Kalinowski
• PR and Video Consultant: Amanda Subler
• Project Manager: Angela Vannucci
Questions or comments: cmi_info@informa.com
DEPARTMENTS
Imposter Syndrome: The Struggle Is Real – But You Can Beat It
By Gina Balarin
You’re a skilled and experienced content leader. You just need to learn how to admit it to yourself.
Sign up for access to this subscriber-only content:
How a LinkedIn Advocacy Program Amplifies Impact and Achievement
By Emily Brady
Follow this plan to help your team create more relatable brand conversations.
Don’t Lead Your Team Into a Nightmare of Frustration
By Ann Gynn
Fix these common mistakes to turn more of your content goals into marketing accomplishments.
Would You Kill Your Content to Save Yourself?
By Andrew Davis
Feeling burned out? Andrew Davis says it’s time to make a sacrifice.
Enjoy this sample content, then subscribe to read it all.
Already a subscriber? Check your email for a link to the full issue.
Content marketing can lead consumers to valuable information and desirable brand experiences. It can also lead to a satisfying, lucrative career for those who create it.
But it no longer leads to a competitive advantage for brands.
To perform to its full potential, content has to be uniquely compelling, emotionally resonant, and simply better than everything else out there.
But success isn’t just about the content you create – it’s about the strategy and structure you build around creating it. If yours lacks flexibility and focus, it's time to reevaluate and reset – or get left behind.
The same holds true for your career in this dynamic industry. Opportunities for advancement may abound, but according to CMI's new Content Marketing Career & Salary 2023 Outlook, as many as 69% of marketers say they can’t visualize a path forward or need to leave their companies to reach the next step.
Fortunately, you have the agency to push your brand’s content – and the role you play in shaping it – in a more positive direction. In this month’s cover story, industry leaders like Ann Handley, Robert Rose, and Bonin Bough share their advice on where to start.
We’ve also packed this issue with tips on overcoming imposter syndrome, shifting your SEO in an economic downturn, and minimizing burnout, so you can find a better balance between content stress
and long-term success.
You put your heart and soul – not to mention long hours – into your work. Trust that you have the skills and talent to succeed, and don’t be afraid to advocate for changes that will lead you to the outcomes you deserve.
<strong>Content Crosses Into Uncharted Territory
<strong> Content has been democratized, optimized, and commoditized, yet brands are only beginning to tap its full potential. Here’s what experts say needs to happen next.
Creating great content will only take your brand so far.
Content Marketing World 2022 keynote speakers recommend taking the actions below to evolve your brand’s success – and the role you play in shaping it.
By Jodi Harris
You’re doing everything in your power to craft amazing content.
You sweat over quality, optimize everything to the last keyword, and feed those greedy channel beasts more and more and more.
But the results you get don’t match the effort you put in. What are you doing wrong?
The game has changed. Simply doing the once-right things – and more of them – won’t guarantee wins.
Playing to win now means doubling down on strategy
“The content you create provides no sustainable competitive advantage for your business.”
Robert Rose kicked off Content Marketing World 2022 with that bold statement. Even the most exceptional work will be copied, remixed, reimagined, and reissued by other brands and consumers.
But don’t take that as a eulogy for our beloved practice. Instead, celebrate new and different ways of looking at your work, Robert said, starting with your strategy and structure.
Having the right resources (including strategic roles, skilled teams, and repeatable procedures) lets you fluidly change and evolve all the time.
And that’s where you’ll find your new competitive advantage.
Ann Handley advises brands to cultivate a unique voice.
Invest in a remarkable (and human) voice
Most streamers use automated transcriptions to help people with hearing difficulties follow what’s happening on screen. But Netflix assigned marketing writers to craft vivid descriptions of the sounds accompanying the Stranger Things action.
The evocative and unsettling words they used (wetly squelching, tentacles roiling) caught the attention of younger viewers – a segment that watches shows with captions on regardless of their hearing ability.
Earned media mentions skittered across the web, entangling viewers in a whole new viewing (and reading) experience.
The lesson, Ann said, is that voice can carry your brand's unique personality, even when your brand isn't mentioned. Investing in it is a strategic choice that sets your brand apart.
To build audience relationships in a world of content abundance, a warm, relatable brand voice is crucial.”
“A warm, relatable brand voice is increasingly crucial. It’s how we need to start developing relationships with our audiences, especially in this world of content abundance,” Ann said.
Do what others don’t dare
Before Netflix broke the closed-caption mold, marketing visionary Bonin Bough broke publishing conventions.
While writing a book about how mobile phones transformed communication, he hit on a unique idea. Why not put his phone number on the cover, so readers could reach out and continue the dialog?
His publishers balked. So, Bonin purchased the rights from them and published the book his way. Since 2016, more than 50,000 readers of Txt Me: Your Phone Has Changed Your Life. Let's Talk About It have called to create a personal connection with him.
A co-founder of Group Black – a media collective and accelerator focused on advancing Black-owned media properties – Bonin built his groundbreaking marketing career by thinking differently about what others consider impossible.
Bonin Bough speaks about challenging convention.
Bonin offers advice on how to challenge convention and still drive meaningful marketing actions:
- Aspire, but have a plan to see ideas through. You must develop the muscle memory to see your ideas to completion. Allocate the time, resources, and effort to execute the ideas.
- Operate in real-time. The set-it-and-forget-it mentality doesn’t work anymore. Think about how you can change your business to deliver products in real-time.
- Be resourceful. Experimenting with content is not about how much money is available. It’s about how well you use the assets, talent, and resources you have.
- Operationalize innovation. Look for models you can reverse-engineer to guide the development of your ideas and create guardrails and structures that make innovation more manageable.
- Be curious. If you build the skill of curiosity, you can foster environments that create change.
- Don’t give up. A no from stakeholders doesn’t mean your idea is bad. It just means it’s not the right fit under the current situation. Keep workshopping it. If all else fails, consider developing it elsewhere or on your own.
Reverse-engineer models and create guardrails to make innovation more manageable.”
Advocate for a clear
content career path
People remain the most valuable (and expensive) content marketing assets. So cultivating content marketing careers is one of the most strategic choices an organization can make.
Upcoming CMI research shared at the conference shows most content marketers are at least somewhat satisfied with their current roles. Yet few feel sure about how they’ll grow in those roles. And of those who do have a clear career path, 20% say they’ll have to leave their employer to get there.
“We have to build a career path into what it is we do. There’s no way content becomes a strategic function in the business if we don’t look at this. It will always be just a content factory,” Robert said.
Jessica Bergmann advocates for clear career paths.
Jessica Bergmann shared how Salesforce did this. Working with the employee success team, Jessica and colleagues documented a career path for content team members to follow to progress from individual contributors to executive management.
Each company should build a path that suits its structure and culture. But Jessica shared some ideas any brand can use to start seeding opportunities and laying a professional path for content team members:
- Advocate for integrated content teams. “It’s important that you show up as one company with one voice. We can’t have all different teams creating content everywhere and showing up with different voices and perspectives,” she said.
- Define content roles and responsibilities clearly. Understand how content-centric teams across the organization collaborate and align their efforts to help content strategy get a seat at the decision-makers' table.
- Create democratized performance dashboards. Empower company leadership to see each content asset's performance without asking for it.
- Automate the ordinary. Using your automation tools to reduce time spent performing mundane tasks will allow content teams to focus on creating extraordinary and impactful content experiences.
Set your vision on meaningful change
Mark Harrison explains his vision of belonging.
Perhaps the most urgent strategic question today is this: How will you create content that leads to a meaningful change in the world?
With trust declining in government and other institutions, audiences now expect brands to work toward something beyond their balance sheet. Robert Rose pointed out in his talk that the subhead for Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer is this: “Societal leadership is now a core function of business.”
Mark Harrison brought home the role of content (and content practitioners) in this function. A volunteer and entrepreneur who founded the sponsorship agency T1 to work exclusively with impactful brands, Mark is committed to making a difference.
“I have a simple personal vision, and that is to create a world of belonging,” he said. “No matter what you look like, what you sound like, or where you come from, you will feel that you belong.”
Mark executes his mission by building what he calls the above-ground railroad – a nod to the underground railroad that helped thousands of enslaved people escape to freedom in the U.S.
The above-ground railroad activates networks of people to bring greater equity and opportunity to those who have been marginalized by society.
Part of that work involves amplifying their struggles and their strengths to those who have the power to increase inclusivity.
“Amplifying voices is not giving your social pages over to somebody that doesn't look like you. It’s about showing real courage,” Mark said.
Mark shared an example that shows how powerful courageous content can be. When Harry Met Santa, a video from Posten Norge, tells the story of a developing relationship between a man (Harry) and Santa Claus. The video ends with a romantic kiss between the two, followed by this closing line: “In 2022, Norway marks 50 years of being able to love whoever we want.”
The video When Harry Met Santa demonstrates the power of courageous content.
He implores marketers to enhance the human resonance of their work inside and outside of their organizations. “The only difference between those who are successful and those who aren't is that they lack an unwavering vision,” Mark says.
Amplifying voices is not giving your social pages over to somebody who doesn't look like you. It’s about showing real courage”
He implores marketers to create personal missions to enhance the human resonance of their work inside and outside of their organizations. “The only difference between those who are successful and those who aren't is that they lack an unwavering vision,” Mark says.
Share authentic experiences
In his closing keynote, comedian Hasan Minhaj used a simple sentence to capture the essence of his vision: “I want us to be able to support each other the way women support each other on Instagram.”
Hasan said he admires the beautiful positivity his wife and her friends share whenever they post selfies, and he’d like to see that kind of sincerity and authenticity in content of all kinds.
In his own content, Hasan fearlessly dissects society’s most polarizing issues, like race, politics, student loans, gun violence, and fertility. And he does it by sharing his personal experiences in thoughtful ways.
“When I first started performing, I was still figuring out who I am, and I would just try to find all material that I thought could relate to the audience. As I got better at it, I realized comedy is the art form of confession,” Hasan said.
So, he shifted his process and started writing down the controversial ideas and experiences he felt passionate about but nervous to share with his audience.
That choice made him more confident about who he is as a content creator, performer, and person of color. And it freed him to focus on the stories he wanted to tell.
“That’s what I’m always chasing – finding that thing that I’m kind of too afraid to say, and then ‘going there’ anyway,” Hasan said.
He encourages marketers to start conversations that come from a place of personal passion. Doing so helps you create a human connection and break through attention barriers and content fatigue.
“You have to have some skin in the game,” Hasan said. “If I’m going to comment about this issue, here’s my personal connection to it.”
Hasan Minhaj shares a secret for creating a more human connection: Have some skin in the game.
How will you make content better for everyone?
From these and other Content Marketing World conversations, you clearly have your work cut out for you. But with a renewed focus on distinguishing your brand’s content, advocating for a clearer career path, reimagining creative possibilities, and following a unique driving purpose, you can drive forward and achieve impressive gains for your business, your audience, and for society. CCO
Jodi Harris is director of content strategy at Content Marketing Institute and editor-in-chief of CCO. She describes her role as a combination of strategic alchemist, process architect, and creative explorer. Prior to this role, Jodi spent over a decade developing and managing content initiatives for brand clients in the entertainment, CPG, health care, technology, and biotech industries, as well as for agencies and media brands. Follow her on Twitter at @Joderama.
<strong>Here’s Why Your Content Team Might
Be Quitting (Quietly
or Otherwise)
<strong>
<strong>New research finds content marketers are enthusiastic about their work and love their jobs – but will that be enough to retain their talents over the long term? </strong>
Start building a bridge between content success and career fulfillment.
By Stephanie Stahl
Over 1,000 content marketers reveal details on their salaries, career paths, working conditions, and more. Find out what they had to say in CMI’s Content Marketing Career & Salary 2023 Outlook.
What’s it like to work in content marketing? Is it a rewarding career? Does it pay well? What’s the career trajectory?
You certainly know your answers to these questions. But, until now, little industry research has dived into content marketing careers.
We set out to find answers. So, earlier this year, we asked content marketers about their work satisfaction, career development, and salary expectations.
More than 1,100 content professionals had their say. You can read the full story – including salary breakdowns by role, gender, and generation – in the Content Marketing Career & Salary 2023 Outlook report (gated).
Let’s take a sneak peek at some of the intriguing findings.
Subscribe for access to the complete issue, where you can read the rest of this article.
Learn more about the results of CMI's first-ever career and salary research in our in-depth Twitter Spaces chat.
<strong>Worried About the Economy? Shift Your SEO Strategy to Keep Growing
<strong>When an economic downturn looms, forward-thinking marketers take steps to adjust their search optimization focus. Here’s how.
Demand and intent evolve when
money gets tight. Your search
strategy should, too.
Shift your SEO approach to align with the information consumers want most in times of uncertainty.
By Jim Yu
While some analysts predict a downturn in the economy, two facts are predictable: Consumers will still use search engines and executives will make kneejerk reactions to slash spending.
I speak daily with Fortune 500 brands refocusing efforts and budgets away from expensive paid advertising and doubling down on SEO. They see good SEO practices not only as a cost-effective channel but as a strategy that works in any economic fluctuation. But the latter only happens when the company creates and updates content aligned with the evolving consumer intent.
Google’s recent “helpful content update” reflects that. The algorithm update penalizes websites with large amounts of content that doesn’t help the reader – content written for the sole purpose of search engine rankings.
Let’s look at how you can use SEO insights about demand and intent to weather the market.
Use SEO data as informational research
SEO data provides real-time customer insights, which are essential during tumultuous market conditions, to inform content, product, and sales. Seventy-one percent of marketers say SEO data does or will feed directly into their company’s business intelligence.
During the peak of the global pandemic, SEO insights (like the ones below) informed marketers about consumer demands and interests. For example, search volumes for keywords related to digital marketing, pet adoption, and garden and patio categories were below average the weeks before the pandemic hit but skyrocketed afterward. While the opposite happened for keywords around concerts, hotels, and things to do, they were above average in the weeks before the pandemic but plummeted when it hit.
At a macro level, when SEO data reveals purchase intent is low, brands can elevate content designed to educate, inform, and build trust with key audiences.
Subscribe for access to the complete issue, where you can read the rest of this article.
<strong>Use Your Brand’s
Voice to Make Marketing That Matters</strong>
<strong>A CMWorld 2022 presentation by Mark Harrison (exclusively for CCO subscribers).
Marketers don’t just create content. They create the potential for change.
Media and marketing are often blamed for the current crisis of truth and trust. But could they also be the keys to overcoming it? As Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer asserts, “Societal leadership is now a core function of business.”
According to entrepreneur and SponsorshipX co-founder Mark Harrison, that means brands have a responsibility to shed light on the injustices and inequality their audiences face. It also gives them the opportunity to speak to those with the power to make change happen.
In his presentation at Content Marketing World 2022, Mark talks about how his personal mission – to create a world of belonging – guides everything he puts out into the world.
He also implores marketers to follow suit by putting their own passionate purpose behind their work. "I can assure you that every organization that's failing lacks a clear and undeniable north star,” Mark said.
Watch the video to learn about Mark’s vision for network activation, his inspiring work with impactful brands, and his advice on how to turn content into community strength. CCO
Subscribe for access to the complete issue, where you can read the rest of this article.
<strong>Imposter Syndrome: The Struggle Is Real – But You Can Beat It
<strong>You’re a content leader who brings valuable skills and experience to the marketing table. But until you can admit that to yourself, neither you, your team, nor your brand will reach its full potential.
Don’t let self-doubt stand in
the way of content success.
Imposter syndrome is an inner critic that can keep leaders from pushing innovative ideas forward and achieving career fulfillment. Our content therapist Gina Balarin shares expert advice to help silence that self-limiting voice and keep expanding your opportunities.
By Gina Balarin
Content marketers are often intuitive, intelligent, talented, and successful. But many are reluctant to admit that to themselves.
They feel like they’re faking it and think others will soon realize their incompetence. They feel like they’re not good enough to succeed despite all evidence to the contrary. They let these feelings stall their careers.
While imposter syndrome may be experienced by an individual, the impact on the content marketing team and the program can be big.
Who has imposter syndrome?
As many as 82% of the population could have imposter syndrome, according to a review of the data published in 2019. That analysis also shows that impostor syndrome “is associated with impaired job performance, job satisfaction, and burnout among various employee populations.”
Imposter syndrome can affect anyone, from any work of life (as you’ll see in the myth-busting section below). Doctors have it. Famous film stars have it. Entrepreneurs have it. Serena Williams, Tom Hanks, and Sheryl Sandberg have it. Even Einstein suffered from it. People from all religions, ethnicities, countries, and sexual orientations have reported experiencing it.
But its effects vary among demographics. Clare Josa, researcher and author of Ditching Imposter Syndrome, says men with imposter syndrome are more likely to push through it, which potentially leads to mental health issues in the future. She says women are more likely to let imposter syndrome stop them from taking opportunities to shine or going for promotions.
Clare’s research reveals that people with imposter syndrome may:
- Not speak up even when they have the answers or ideas
- Turn down opportunities they secretly want
- Not put themselves forward for promotions or awards
- Not complete important projects because their fear of being “found out as a fraud” leads them to avoid doing the work that they feel would expose them
- Not take credit for their success
- Not ask for a pay raise they’ve earned
- Feel worried or anxious
- Get stuck in negative thinking loops thanks to their inner critic
Imposter syndrome impacts team performance, team dynamics, productivity, and business. For example, according to Clare’s landmark research study, imposter syndrome is a driving factor behind why star performers leave a company. It can lead to addictions, mental health issues, subconscious self-sabotage, and a toxic work environment.
Busting imposter
syndrome myths
Myth 1: Imposter syndrome is the same as self-doubt
Imposter syndrome is not a lack of confidence; Clare says it’s an identify-level, “who am I?” problem. “Imposter syndrome isn’t just self-doubt in a spiky suit. It’s the gap between who you see yourself as being and who you think you need to be to succeed and lead. Self-doubt is what you can do. Imposter syndrome is about who you think you are.”
Myth 2: Imposter syndrome
is a superpower
Some suggest imposter syndrome is a superpower. Alison Shamir, a respected coach, speaker, and authority on the subject, vehemently disagrees. “It’s not something you need to be successful, and you shouldn’t keep it or live with it. The goal should be to stop feeling this way – to eliminate imposter syndrome feelings or identify and intercept them quickly so you can move forward despite them.”
Myth 3: Imposter syndrome will probably just go away
The longer someone is stuck in imposter syndrome behavior, the longer it can take to break. Alison says everyone has an origin story. For most, that story includes the plant of a limiting-belief seed, leading people to tell themselves stories that reinforce imposter syndrome. It creates an identity-level fear.
How to deal with
imposter syndrome
as a leader at work
Imposter syndrome can be triggered by adverse environmental factors such as discrimination. But it can also be triggered by supposedly positive aspects, like a promotion, a reward, or even praise.
As Alison Shamir explains, “Removing negative triggers will help people who are triggered by those things but removing negative triggers will not eliminate imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome sufferers have to rewrite their internal narratives so they can change their behavior to stop self-sabotaging, take confident action, accept praise, and internalize success.”
Fight imposter syndrome on your team by providing a safe and nurturing environment."
Can you fight imposter syndrome on your team and prevent those feelings from hindering the content careers of those you manage? The answer is yes. Managers and organizations can provide safe and nurturing workplaces that help those with imposter syndrome. But overcoming the imposter syndrome impact also requires individuals to take action to help themselves.
Considering imposter syndrome’s prevalence, start at the top. Alison says, “If you are a leader, you must address your own imposter syndrome so you can shine as your authentic self.”
Leaders should create nurturing, supportive workplaces where people feel more comfortable about making mistakes. It also helps to conduct regular check-ins and give feedback to provide psychologically safe environments.
Managers also should watch for signs and triggers indicating that imposter syndrome could become a problem. Clare Josa shares the four P indicators of imposter syndrome – perfectionism, paralysis, people-pleasing, and procrastination.
Perfectionism may create micro-managing nit-pickers. Paralysis may lead people who avoid a task, blame others, or freeze like a rabbit in the headlights to blame others. People-pleasing can lead to issues with work-life balance. And procrastination often shows up as doing busy work to avoid real action or feeling like small actions must happen before things can move forward.
To address these issues and other work-related imposter syndrome factors, Alison says organizations can:
- Create psychologically safe environments
- Encourage open conversation
- Normalize sharing
- Help people identify clear success metrics
- Fail fast and help people avoid beating themselves up about it
- Watch for overworking or avoidance behavior
- Discourage negative self-talk
- Encourage celebrating wins and successes
How to control your imposter syndrome
Although the experts might not agree with all these approaches, the real-life stories of imposter syndrome sufferers illustrate how they have found a way forward. Here are their recommendations.
Recognize and respect
you have imposter syndrome
Recognizing you experience imposter syndrome can be a massive release. Dean Delaney, a director at Platinum Recruitment in New Zealand, says, “For me, it was like unlocking a door in my brain to realize that there isn’t something deep and wrong with me … I’m not the only one who has this challenge.”
To fight false feelings of inadequacy, do something that scares you every day."
Dean embarked later in life to obtain a university degree because he had discomfort over not having that credential. Two years into his degree, he realized the problem wasn’t his lack of paperwork; it was what was going on in his head. “I’d spent just under 30 years not fixing that problem,” he says. Going back to school was an expensive way to realize taking small steps and doing something small that scares you every day will help fight imposter syndrome.
Accept compliments
and believe them
Bust imposter syndrome by telling the negative person in your head to shut up. Celebrate your success, never dismiss compliments, and keep a list of nice things people say about you and your work.
Sarah Panus, a brand storytelling and content marketing consultant and podcaster near Minneapolis, says really hearing a compliment helped her. When a director said, “Sarah, you are actually the most knowledgeable person about social media at this entire company,” she realized she would be doing a disservice to herself and the organization if she didn’t share her ideas. She also advises you to stop comparing your middle or beginning to someone else’s end and build a network of cheerleaders to support you.
Make a compliment list
Catrina Clulow, director at B2B Consulting Global Ltd. in the United Kingdom, says: “Have a document with the compliments in it so when imposter syndrome rears, it can be read through. It’s not yourself thinking ‘unbelievable’ things but others you trust and believe.”
Do the thing you’re afraid of
Sarah also says fear is just the stealer of dreams. “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” she asks. This understanding helped her step out in her career and “speak up, share ideas, and advocate for new programs.” As a result, she advanced her career and became a top performer. As Sarah says, “You’ll never know if you don’t try.”
Set boundaries
Katie Atherton, an independent freelance writer, based near Sacramento, Calif., says she often felt wrong about what she knew – despite having good qualifications – because senior leaders kept making changes to her content. “I know now that I didn't have a good set of boundaries or the right editing process in place,” she explains.
Ask for help
In an article in Personal Excellence by HR.com, Susanne Tedrick writes, “Asking for help is actually a sign of strength, not weakness. No one is totally self-sufficient so admit you don’t know something, address it, and then move on. Acknowledging you don’t know everything also opens up new opportunities for learning.”
Paul Adler, a content writer and brand strategist, agrees. “Always, always remember that there are people to reach out to.”
Asking for and accepting help in the form of counseling or psychotherapy has shown to be particularly powerful in helping people deal with imposter syndrome. Research shows that “while coaching will not eliminate impostor feelings, it reduces them and provides clients with the knowledge, awareness, and tools to manage them effectively when they return.”
Switch from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset
Research by Zanchetta, et al. in 2020 hypothesized that imposter syndrome sufferers believe their intelligence is fixed and static. They suggest that switching to a growth mindset – the belief that intelligence and talents can be improved through effort and learning – could be key to addressing imposter feelings.
Rajesh Parashar, a freelance marketer in India, says he has found self-learning a valuable tool. His preferred approach is to “prepare your skills as a toolbox to solve any problem” and “build a small community to become a volunteer to work with them to get the assignment done.” He says he found the energy to help him build his self-belief system by constantly embracing learning through a growth mindset and learning from others. “I can do it,” he reminds himself often.
Keep learning
Mike Essex, founder of Devise Marketing in Southampton, England, believes even latent imposter syndrome can raise its head when you expose yourself to new ideas. “Professional training and qualifications can help dispel imposter syndrome by showing what you do know and filling in any gaps, he says.
Cultivate a workplace that recognizes and mitigates imposter syndrome
The more you understand about imposter syndrome, the easier to cope with it, work around it, or even overcome it. Whether you experience imposter syndrome personally or see its effect on your content marketing team, you shouldn’t ignore it. You can’t fix it with positive thinking or resolving discrimination issues.
You should open up the conversation, help people realize they’re not alone, provide accurate information and training, and reduce stress levels and toxic work environments. And individuals need to acknowledge that their fear of never being good enough is not a reality.
Only then can the autonomic fight-flight-freeze-fawn response and negative self-talk subside, and content marketers can start taking up the positions of power and authority they deserve. CCO
Gina Balarin isn’t just an inspirational TEDx and keynote speaker, storyteller, and B2B marketing leader, she is an MCIM Chartered Marketer, with a master's of education in management communication and a member of the Professional Speaking Association. The author of The Secret Army: Leadership, Marketing and the Power of People, among numerous other texts, Gina’s goal is to magnify the impact of her clients’ influence through her expert guiding hand, visionary consultancy, and authentic storytelling prowess.
<strong>How a LinkedIn Advocacy Program Amplifies Impact and Achievement
<strong> People buy from people,
not companies. Follow this plan
to enable your content team
to spark and sustain more
relatable brand conversations.
Strengthen your brand perception – and results – from the inside out.
Employee evangelism on social media can increase your marketing impact – and help your team further their own ambitions. Here’s how to build a program that entices them to get on board.
By Emily Brady
The benefits of establishing an employee advocacy program on LinkedIn are many – for your brand, as well as your content team members. Their LinkedIn advocacy can:
- Help build their personal brands.
- Drive traffic to your company’s LinkedIn page and website.
- Establish them as subject matter experts.
- Lead to invitations for guest appearances on podcasts, LinkedIn Live streams, and other events.
- Capture customers at the top of the funnel.
- Drive deals down the pipeline.
- Win and close deals.
With all those positive outcomes, an employee advocacy program on LinkedIn makes sense for most brands targeting a business-focused audience. Now comes the harder part – organizing the program.
How to structure an employee advocacy program on LinkedIn
Step 1: Get leadership on board
Employee advocacy on LinkedIn is a long play. Secure executive buy-in by encouraging them to do it first-hand. Ask or help them post consistently on LinkedIn for at least 60 days. If they can grow their following, connections, and engagement, they might see the value in implementing an employee advocacy program companywide.
Step 2: Choose a channel champion
You’re going to need someone to oversee this operation. You can hire a social media specialist or assign it to someone on the content marketing team well versed in LinkedIn.
The channel champion creates the strategy and owns the results of the program. Among their possible responsibilities:
- Onboarding employees through one-on-one personal branding meetings
- Working with each evangelist to document their personal brand strategy detailing their content pillars
- Creating written and video training resources to teach employees posting and engagement strategies on LinkedIn
- Curating an archive of company content categorized by job function
- Leading monthly training workshops
Subscribe for access to the complete issue, where you can read the rest of this article.
<strong>Don’t Lead Your
Team Into a Nightmare of Frustration
<strong>Fix these common mistakes
to turn more of your content goals
into marketing accomplishments.
Content teams are facing a steeper uphill climb to brand success.
Don’t throw more roadblocks in their path. Follow the advice shared by the expert speakers at Content Marketing World 2022 to fix some common mistakes that could be trip them up.
By Ann Gynn
“Teamwork makes the dream work.”
I recently learned that sentence is only the first part of the quote.
In the book where he coined the phrase, John C. Maxwell wrote: “Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.”
I would add a complementary thought: A great team never gets out of the nightmare when the leaders haven’t communicated a big dream.
So how do content marketers work together to achieve a vision and avoid the nightmare? The CMI editorial team polled some of the experts who presented at Content Marketing World 2022 for their advice. Here are some of the best ideas they shared.
1. Make it OK to fail
Create a culture where thinking creatively is encouraged. Give people the freedom to have bad ideas and even fail from time to time. Because for each bad idea, there also will be a gem. And ultimately, content made by creators who feel free and love what they do will be more resonant. – Chris Blose, founder, Chris Blose Content
2. Understand your team like you do your audience
It’s a mistake not to deeply understand the individuals on [your] team.
As marketers, we spend a lot of time learning about our audience – building personas, finding out what motivates them, and understanding what makes them tick – all so we can create better content for them. Why wouldn't we do the same thing with our teams – deeply understand them so we can manage them more effectively and support them in doing their best work? – Monica Norton, head of content marketing, Yelp
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**Are You Willing to Kill Your Content to Save Yourself? **
**If you’re feeling burned out from content project overload, it’s time to make a sacrifice. Andrew Davis draws some conclusions about what to keep,
and what needs to go. **
Andrew Davis “toons-up” the way marketers tackle their toughest challenges. In Drewdles, he sketches out the issues and draws exciting conclusions. All you need to do is connect the dots for your brand.
By Andrew Davis
Burnout can occur when the projects we start and maintain far outweighs the things we stop doing.
"Stress is an epidemic," says Maureen Jann. "It's almost worse than Covid," she adds in her 2022 Content Marketing World session focused on managing marketer burnout.
Maureen knows our pain.
Earlier this year, her team at NeoLuxe Marketing asked 1000 marketers to gauge how run down they were feeling as a result of their work. After all, it is good to know we're not alone.
The results were shared in The Burnout Index (registration required), which found that nearly 68% of us are chronically stressed out, numb, moody, and filled with doubt.
CMI found similar results in its just-released Content Marketing Career and Salary Outlook report (registration required): Over 70% of marketers say they feel at least somewhat stressed at work.
Chances are, you're suffering from at least some of that stress.
But why? Why are marketing professionals, specifically, SO exhausted?
Well, according to Airtable’s 2022 Marketing Trends report (registration required), marketing teams' workload jumped by 52% last year. We're understaffed and overworked.
Also, only 1 in 5 marketing teams meet their deadlines, and 3 in 4 marketing leaders are frustrated by how long it takes to ship our work. We can't keep up.
If that's not enough, let's add the looming recession, the war in Ukraine, the kids, our flailing TikTok strategy, and global warming.
(I feel more stressed out just writing about burnout.)
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