Episode Summary:

In the latest episode of Earning Ears, host Adam Spencer sits down with Bree Fedele, Senior Marketing Manager at Airtree, to explore the expansive world of content marketing.

Bree has spent the past decade helping big tech companies and brand-new startups to tell great stories and supporting them to translate their ideas into tangible outcomes. In 2021 Bree joined Airtree, one of the biggest venture capital funds in Australia with over $1.3B under management and over 100+ portfolio startups.

In this discussion, Bree emphasises the importance of understanding your audience and their critical role in crafting effective content. The episode covers a range of content-driven topics, from aligning stakeholders on the role of content to adopting a long-term perspective in content strategies.

Focusing on the importance of delivering value through content, Bree discusses how marketing and content should aim to first serve the reader, while also embodying authenticity and insight. Bree also sheds light on common challenges when selling content internally, offering strategies to overcome objections and secure team support. Bree advises on the necessity of aligning with the long-term vision, prioritising impactful actions, and sharing goals transparently to foster collaborative success.

Key Takeaways:

Audience Empathy: Recognizing the audience's realities and needs is fundamental to creating magic with content marketing.
Content Strategy as a Long-term Play: Content marketing is not an overnight success; it's a compounding effect that grows over time.
Feedback is Crucial: Seeking and incorporating both internal and external feedback is vital for iterating and improving content strategies.
Qualitative over Quantitative Feedback: While data is essential, audience sentiment and content sharing without prompts ('content in the wild') are golden indicators of success.
Distribution Matters: Effective distribution is about providing insights and value, not just sharing links – it's critical to meet the audience where they are.

Notable Quotes:

"Much like you can't build a product if you don't know your audience, you can't create content if you don't know your audience either." - Bree Fedele
"There's a compounding effect to content. There's generally no overnight success." - Bree Fedele
"Don't just sharing links is not content or distribution. You need to think about how you can distribute insights, not just links." - Bree Fedele
"Every job is a sales job." - Bree Fedele
"Most content is designed to serve the company, not the reader. Let's avoid that from the outset." - Bree Fedele

Resources:

Femme Street Newsletter by Sarah at North Zone
Newsletter by Deb Lou
Newsletter by Wes Kao
Newsletter by Molly Graham
Newsletter by Julian Shapiro
OnlyCFO Newsletter (SaaS Metrics)
Book: "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Book Club featuring "The Nightingale" and notes by Dolly Alderton
Marketing Examples website (engine and fuel paradigm)
Book "Building a Story Brand" by Donald Miller

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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Content Marketing Tips: Building Audience and Distribution with Bree Fedele