Gina Balarin isn’t just an inspirational TEDx and keynote speaker, storyteller and B2B marketing leader, she is an MCIM Chartered Marketer, with an 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.
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.Continue Reading
More. more. more.
At many companies, the demand for content has increased exponentially in recent years. Yet, you can’t just say no. Or can you?
By taking a strategic process to content requests, you can more confidently say no, maybe, and yes to every inquiry received. Here’s some help to make that happen.
When you’ve just produced the millionth content piece on a subject you know better than you know yourself and you manage to find the inspiration to produce the million-and-first, that’s endurance.
When you find a new way of understanding the audience or creating a new content type after senior management complains that your content isn’t driving the results, that’s resilience.Continue Reading
Words matter. Storytellers have known their power for millennia. Marketers have used their power for over a century. But using that power responsibly takes humility, respect for the audience’s intelligence, and the desire to serve readers, as well as whoever pays the bills.
It’s not always easy to be an ethical content marketer, though. Content marketing leaders and their teams tread an especially tricky line to use this power ethically. It is our job and our responsibility to create messages that help our employers attract attention and, ultimately, sell the products or services. But we also have a responsibility to the audiences we create.Continue Reading
Creating empathetic content requires marketers to shift their focus – from making educated assumptions about their audiences’ transactional needs to cultivating a deeper, more holistic understanding of who they are.
But how do content marketing leaders do this? The answer may lie in an unexpected, four-step process to turn your assumptions and biases on their head. Then you can plan, produce, and execute more valuable content for your customers and prospects.
Content marketing is one of the best ways of building trusting customer relationships. But what happens when we don’t manage to deliver on our brand’s promise? Here’s how to recover and emerge stronger than ever.
When content leaders fail to advance new content ideas, fear is often the culprit. Before you can disarm this destructive force, you need to know the enemy you’re up against. Exploring the four faces of fear will help you exorcise your team’s demons before they derail your ability to drive greater success.
I felt cheated. Disappointed. Even a bit angry.
It had promised to be a good read. Everything from the email to the landing page and the title was consistent – it hinted at content full of valuable insights and data that would make me think.
I handed over my information to download the content with high expectations – expectations that their marketing had set – and I trusted the source, so I kept reading, waiting to get to an insight.
Content marketing, what it’s for, and how it works, is becoming part of the business psyche. But, as this recent blog on how to survive the disillusionment of content marketing points out, one could argue that content marketers are almost becoming a victim of their own successes.Continue Reading
