← The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX
The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX
#607: Preparing for tiktokified journeys and the search generative experience with Izabela Misiorny, Siteimprove
00:27:37
Loading summary
Transcript43 lines
- [00:01]
Isabella Michorne
The Agile Brand.
- [00:09]
Greg Kilstrom
Welcome to Season six of the Agile Brand where we discuss marketing, technology and customer experience, trends, insights and ideas with enterprise and technology platform leaders. We focus on the people, processes, data and platforms that make brands successful, scalable, customer focused and sustainable. This is what makes an agile brand. I'm your host Greg Kilstrom, advising Fortune 1000 brands on martech, marketing operations and CX best selling Author and speaker. The Agile Brand Podcast is brought to you by Tech Systems, an industry leader in full stack technology services, talent services and real world application. For more information, go to teksystems.com now let's get on to the show. Is your marketing team ready for the future? As the lines between physical and digital blur and buyer journeys become more nonlinear than ever, those who fail to adapt may find themselves left behind. I'm here at Opticon 2024 in San Antonio, Texas and getting the opportunity to see a lot of inspiring ideas from some of the world's leading brands and hearing all about optimizely's platform and how it enables one to one personalization, streamlined content operations and incorporates the latest generative AI features. Today we're diving into the future of marketing with Isabella Mishorni, Chief Marketing Officer at siteimprove. We'll explore how marketing strategies must evolve to stay ahead from upgrading the funnel to mastering AI tools and creating quality first content. Isabella, welcome to the show.
- [01:38]
Isabella Michorne
Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.
- [01:40]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah. Looking forward to talking about this with you. Before we dive in, why don't you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background.
- [01:47]
Isabella Michorne
Yes. So my name is Isabella Michorne and I'm the Chief Marketing Officer at Site Improve and I've been at Site Improve for almost five years now and it's been an incredible journey. Because we are here at Site Improve. Our goal is to empower marketing teams and accessibility teams to perfect their digital presence from digital accessibility through content quality to SEO and analytics. So of course, as a marketer, that's such an exciting space to be right and offer is something for fellow marketers.
- [02:18]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, yeah, that's great. So yeah, we're going to talk about quite a few things here and I guess just to give for those less familiar with Site Improve, could you talk a little bit about what is the Site Improve platform?
- [02:30]
Isabella Michorne
Yes. So siteimprove, exactly. As you mentioned, we are a software vendor and we offer platform that allows you to optimize your digital presence. And when we say optimize digital presence, it means looking at everything from Is your content accessible? Is it without errors, without broken links? Right. Is it optimized for search? And also how can you understand your customers? So it's the whole analytics part, right? Like we are providing you insights on where your users are, how they are interacting with your content. So it is very much for us. Our goal is to provide marketers with this super easy to use platform where so you can log in and say, hey, I have all the data, I have all the insights I need. I know how to make my decisions about which content to optimize, which content to kill, which content to produce.
- [03:24]
Greg Kilstrom
Great, great. So yeah, we're going to talk quite a bit about most of that today. So yeah, let's dive in. And I wanted to start by talking about upgrading the marketing funnel for non linear journeys. A lot of teams focused on one single channel and kind of the old way of thinking. So you've mentioned that the marketing Funnel needs this 21st century upgrade. What exactly do you mean by that? Especially in the context of the nonlinear tiktokified buyer journeys.
- [03:55]
Isabella Michorne
Yes. So at signing we've been thinking a lot about the funnel, right. And how marketers show up in the world. The traditional marketing funnel is exactly what it says it is. Traditional. I don't know if you know, it has been created in 1898.
- [04:11]
Greg Kilstrom
Oh, wow.
- [04:11]
Isabella Michorne
Yes, a little while. Exactly. It's over 100 years ago.
- [04:16]
Greg Kilstrom
Time for an upgrade.
- [04:17]
Isabella Michorne
It's pretty incredible that as marketers we still use it. Right. And we know our buyer journeys are non linear anymore. Right. Like think about yourself. Like we talk about this messy middle where you research, you jump from consideration to intent to awareness. Right. It's very like, it's a little bit like our brain synopsis. Right. Kind of like jumping around. So we think it needs an upgrade. Right. And the whole idea is okay. The whole idea with the traditional funnel was, okay, how can I understand my customers? Right. So the question is, now that we know that users are interacting with content differently and with your brand differently, it's also still about the understanding. Right. So we need to make sure that the way we think about the funnel is anchored in customer understanding.
- [05:08]
Greg Kilstrom
Got it, Got it. So how can marketing teams adopt this kind of thinking? How do they rethink their mid funnel strategies to better engage audiences who are doing exactly what you're saying, Jumping between channels, formats, even decision processes, all of that.
- [05:25]
Isabella Michorne
Yes. So mid funnel, as I mentioned, it's exactly that messy middle. Right. And that becomes the most important part of interaction because that's exactly where you are even you know, without actually clicking on ads, right? Or interacting with specific brand content, that's where you are actually making your decisions, right? So these mid funnel strategies have to focus now on trust and responding to users intent. Right? And responding to users need. So it's no longer about stuffing keywords, right? And being like, hey, I like this is the top of funnel keyword. I will just like put it on my website and people will come. No, it is really about making sure that you use the mid funnel to actually not create this passive communication towards your customers. But think about, okay, how am I addressing their intent and how can I make it interactive as a brand, how am I adding value to my user? Because with all the generic content Created now by ChatGPT and Claude and whatever, the only way to stand out is if you can say, hey, my brand stands for this topic. Like this is my niche, this is what I know about, this is my expertise and this is how I can help you as a user.
- [06:43]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, yeah. And I think that's a great segue to the next topic because I mean, to your point, the easier content gets, you know, is to make with, you know, AI tools and things like that, the more of it. But the quality doesn't necessarily go up, it's quantity, right? So how do we look at quality? Quality first content in the era of this generative AI and search, generative experience. So I wanted to start here. With search engines increasingly prioritizing quality and rankings, how should marketers adjust their content strategies to remain competitive here?
- [07:20]
Isabella Michorne
Yes, and that's exactly also the question we have at site improve almost every day. And I hear from our customers every day, right? Because we, number one problem right now in the industry that I hear from customers is my traffic is dropping, right? Like how do I bring my customers to my content? So first of all, I think we have to say what quality content means, right? Like exactly. It's not longer about keywords, it's about the depth, it's about the relevance, it's about the user intent. So, so the way to adjust content strategies, right, Is first of all to think, as I said, about customer understanding. How do I show with my content that I understand you as a customer, as my user, right? And then the other thing that becomes super important with search engines, you know, crawling all the content is you need to think about your content as a holistic ecosystem, right? Because you also as a user, you may be interacting with my Brand's content on TikTok, maybe here on Instagram and you are expecting the same cohesive experience. So as marketers, we also have to think exactly in the same way that it is an ecosystem and how am I saying, the cohesive narrative towards the market.
- [08:43]
Greg Kilstrom
Right, right. Yeah. Because to your point, people are, I think people are using at least five or six channels per purchase or something like that. I saw easily.
- [08:53]
Isabella Michorne
Exactly. And another thing to it is. Exactly. It's not only online. Right. Like it's also the offline experiences. And another one of my favorite topics is also when you, for example, use Amazon and you have this amazing experience that raises your expectation towards other vendors. So then imagine you have to use an app from your energy provider and it's a really bad experience. You're like, I don't have to do this. Right? Please do better. And that's. Exactly. And we have to deal with this as marketers. Right. And we have to adjust to that. So even though, for example, for my team, even though we are in B2B space, we always look outside and say, what is the best B2C experience that you get? Because that's the expectation from your users.
- [09:39]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, yeah. Because I mean B2B buyers are B2C consumers after 5pm or whatever you want to, probably even during work, but.
- [09:48]
Isabella Michorne
Exactly. They are also people.
- [09:50]
Greg Kilstrom
Right, Exactly. Good to remember. So in terms of this and keeping this multi channel and putting a focus on quality, what are the top methods or tools that you'd recommend for making sure that content meets those expectations?
- [10:09]
Isabella Michorne
Yes, let me start with the tools. Obviously tools like content optimization platforms. Right. So site improve and Market Muse, for example, of course we help you ensure that your content aligns with all the brand standards and also accessibility. Right. So that's a very foundational level of ensuring that your content is high quality and it also makes sure that it's clear, right. That it's well structured and, and this is super important, especially now with AI because it allows not only you as user to understand it better, but also the machines. Right. And that influences the search rankings and in terms of strategies in general, very much. Do not be afraid to leverage AI for content creation and optimization. Everybody does it. Right. Like you don't want to get left behind. But remember that you want to keep that human in the loop. Right? So you want to. You will never, at least not for now, we will not replace that human driven strategy and creativity. And one last thing is focusing on this unique value across the content lifecycle. So again, what is your subject matter expertise as a brand and how do you communicate it to the customers?
- [11:32]
Greg Kilstrom
So you touched a little bit on AI there. And let's talk a little bit more. Certainly at Opticon here, we've been hearing a lot about AI and one of the big announcements was around AI agents. So I want to kind of start there of how marketers should be preparing for using these semi autonomous AI agents and how that might disrupt marketing. So they are autonomous or semi autonomous. AI agents are expected to disrupt some marketing departments. To your point, I don't think they're going to replace people altogether, but there is some. I think of it as augmentation, not replacement. But how can marketers prepare for this shift and make sure that they stay in control of these technologies?
- [12:17]
Isabella Michorne
Yes, and as you mentioned, AI is like the talk of town, right, for marketing departments, because we are always at the forefront. Right. But I think the key is to approach AI as a co pilot or co marketer, if you will, and not exactly, as you said, not a replacement. We mentioned there's this saying, right, that your job will not be replaced by AI, but it could be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI. And I think that's a great way to look at it. Right? Like we have to invest and I think as marketers we have a responsibility to invest in understanding how to use AI. What are the strengths, what are the limitations? I mean, my personal example is, you know, when ChatGPT came out, once you start using it, it's just so easy to understand what the limitation is. Right? Because you see, okay, you know, it's great, for example, to start your ideation so you are not sitting there, sitting, staring at the blank page. So it's a great start. But for me, for example, it's never a finished product. Right. Like you always have to make some tweaks. And that's why it is your responsibility to start using it, to understand how it works. And it also means you are fostering the culture of experimentation. I think as a marketing leader, this is extremely important for me to make sure that people on my team are open to that change, but also understand their responsibility in first of all educating themselves and secondly in not thinking, okay, you know, this is out of my control. I'm like completely hands off. Whatever happens, happens. Right. So I think that kind of approach and making sure that, okay, yes, I understand that, you know, I can optimize maybe parts of my workflow, but then where do I, how do I figure out where to add my expertise and my creativity and my humanity? So figuring out that value add part of the whole process.
- [14:30]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of a partnership Right. I mean, exactly. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, given that and you know, anyone that's been. I've been doing this for a few years myself and, you know, I've certainly seen a lot of trends come and kind of the role of the marketers and the skills that marketers need to understand shift over the, over the years. Given this and where AI is headed and its continued role, what are some of the key skills that teams should focus on developing now to be able to leverage AI effectively?
- [15:04]
Isabella Michorne
That's a great question. And I think I want to mention three. So I would start that it all starts with a foundation in data literacy. Right. I think sometimes as marketers, maybe we want to say, hey, we're just like they're being creative, but you have to understand a little bit how it works. Right. Because that allows you to understand how AI works and why it works that way and that allows you to kind of to respond to it. Right. And allows you to make informed decision about which AI tools you want to use. Right. Because obviously there's so many, obviously we say AI, but it means so many things.
- [15:45]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, that's a big umbrella.
- [15:48]
Isabella Michorne
Exactly, exactly. And then the second one is this adaptability. Right. So, yeah, understanding how you can adapt in a creative way. And finally, I think it is very much about kind of being strategic about how you implement it. So especially I think for companies that are only starting, starting their AI journey, it's about understanding, okay, can I just choose a couple of use cases for AI where I can start testing it, where I can start measuring the return on investment and go from there. So it requires thinking, right? It requires actually taking a step back, thinking a little bit more strategically and saying, how can I implement AI for my specific company, for my specific use case? So we are successful with it. And I think the biggest problem I see also talking to customers is that, you know, we go into these situations with such overwhelming expectation, like we'll start using AI, we will see return on investment in three months. It's going to be amazing. And it's never this. Right. Like, AI is still a tool. Right. So why would we expect a return on investment in three years in a tool that is supposedly not AI powered? And something else from an AI powered tool, right?
- [17:14]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah.
- [17:15]
Isabella Michorne
So common sense.
- [17:16]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, yeah. But a lot of, with the hype, I think comes just unrealistic expectations. So. Yeah, But I like the other thing that you were touching on, which is thinking strategically and about AI and having teams focus on that actually emphasizes what humans are best at in the first place. So I think it actually underscores the whole difference between, you know, AI. It does a lot of things very, very well, but also it doesn't replace the strategic thinking or tying abstract ideas together and all those things that make us valuable as humans.
- [17:54]
Isabella Michorne
Right, Exactly. And I think that's good news for all of us.
- [17:58]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, we got a few years at least, right?
- [18:00]
Isabella Michorne
Yes.
- [18:02]
Greg Kilstrom
So looking ahead, as you mentioned, it's not just digital even, it's physical experiences as well. As these experiences continue to blur, what do you see as some trends that marketers should be ready for in the near future? And what advice would you give to marketers to stay ahead of them?
- [18:21]
Isabella Michorne
So definitely. Exactly. With our ability to produce so much content at scale, one of them that we already see is this hyper personalization. So again, we as consumers, we are expecting more and more to just be understood and have answers to our questions. So definitely that's one of the ones deeply impacting marketing teams. Because you need all these content variations to personalize it. It becomes this segment of one where you have to address specific user needs. And another, another trend I think is the conversational AI. Right. Like, so all these chatbots, and we are more and more used to interacting in a very natural way with the machines. So that's another thing, right. Like how am I feeding into these AI agents with. With content that is conversational, that sounds natural. And finally, you know, it is about predictive analytics. Right. So it is not only like gen AI and AI producing content, but also producing all the data and insights that we are getting and responding to that. And the way to prepare, I think definitely it is, as I mentioned a little bit before about the skills for marketing leaders is on one hand, you want to have this foundation of technical skills and understanding how it works. And then obviously the creative part. Right. So skills like storytelling and being able to think logically, being able to think strategically, that will still definitely, as you mentioned, at least for the next couple of years, be super important. So let's not forget about that.
- [20:13]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, Love it. So two last things before we wrap up here. We're here at Opticon 2024 and San Antonio. What's been a highlight so far for you?
- [20:24]
Isabella Michorne
Definitely connecting with other marketers and other marketing leaders. I think this, it's such a beautiful place. Exactly. To connect with others and say, hey, we are actually all facing the same problems. Right. Like independently of industry, we all have these incredible expectations from our stakeholders to address. And exactly. Being like, oh, are you using AI? How are we using AI? You know, like, can you as a marketing team drive our AI adoption and just seeing, okay, how can we solve it together, you know, as marketers to ultimately, again, I think my definitely the guiding principle is also always it is about the customer. Right. So let's not forget that we don't want to say, oh, we are adopting AI because it's the hype. No, let's adopt AI if it makes sense because we are making our customers lives better.
- [21:18]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah, yeah. I write a newsletter called AI isn't a goal or a Strategy. So it's totally, totally with you there. Yeah. Love it. Well, last question. I ask this to all my guests, so I always like to hear what people think here. So what do you do to stay agile in your role and how do you find a way to do it consistently?
- [21:41]
Isabella Michorne
Okay, I think for me, agility starts with clarity of purpose. So my purpose is exactly to stay ahead of trend. Like to keep informed. Right. Like to be customer centric. So for me, I always very tactically. Right. Just like block off time on my calendar on one hand to just do thinking. I mean, I think AI speeds up a lot of stuff, but it will not speed up your thinking processes. Right. So I think it is extremely important to block off time for just strategic thinking. Go for a walk, look at water, look at the trees and get inspired. So that's one thing I block off for and then the other block I have is exactly talking to customers. I think it's so powerful because sometimes a customer will say a word here or there and you're like, yes, that's exactly it. That's the insight I need to make your life better now. And how do I do it consistently? Again, it's just about blocking it on your calendar. But I also think consistency comes down to feedback loops, like consistently meeting with my team, making sure that we have these feedback loops that we react to, that we act on it.
- [23:00]
Greg Kilstrom
Yeah. Yeah, I love it. Well, again, I'd like to thank Isabella Magourney, Chief Marketing Officer at siteimprove, for joining us today. To learn more about Isabella, siteimprove and Optimizely, follow the links in the show notes. Thanks again for listening to the Agile brand brought to you by TechSystems. If you enjoyed the show, please take a minute to subscribe and leave us a rating so that others can find the show more easily. You can access more episodes of the show at www.greghilstrom.com. that's G R E G K I H L S t r o m.com while you're there. Check out my series of best selling Agile brand guides covering a wide variety of marketing technology topics. Or you can search for Greg Kilstrom on Amazon. The Agile Brand is produced by MissingLink, a Latina owned, strategy driven, creatively fueled production co op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. Until next time, stay Agile.
- [24:03]
Isabella Michorne
The Agile Brand.