To them techies (now you know which camp I am in!), we have a solution for everything. And for us marketers, techies never have a definite answer on anything apart from “It depends”.
And how do these teams get on? Usually never. And if they do, it surely is a nebulous relationship that is bound to snap any time reality sets in – which is usually every minute of our working day.
So it is with some scepticism that I read this article that recommended very heartily that we create cross-functional team synergy for our content marketing initiatives. I could already visualize my marketing manager and my technical architect having a hearty laugh over that, just before they walk away in opposite directions. But one sentence did catch my eye instantly.
“Undoubtedly, there are brilliant content marketing minds in every corner of your company — you just need to seek them out.”
The above statement is bang on target. Last week, our Salesforce technical evangelist Abhishek Subramanian presented at Dreamforce 2014. The excitement at Suyati was unbelievable. He was selected from over 3000 entries and was presenting along with Vikas Jain, Director of Product Management for Identity.
Muktha from our marketing team was tasked at getting great content out there and to spread the word about his session at Dreamforce. And we approached our evangelist, Abhishek Subbu (short for Subramanian) and asked him to help. While we have always had external and internal writers create content for our website, and have had it edited/whetted by the technical team, this was practically the first time a technical person was called in to collaborate with the marketing team.
4 blogs, 1 webinar, countless pictures and 3 6-second video clips later, we had some of the best content Team Suyati has ever created. From blogs like “How to register at Dreamforce14” and tips on what sessions to watch out for, webinars that caught global attention and to cute clips on Vimeo, this was one “Made-For-Each-Other” collaboration that was executed to perfection. And did I mention the awesome infographic on ‘Dreamforce over the years’?
I agree – brilliant content marketing minds are out (well, inside!) there. While it is so easy to get into a ‘Us versus Them” mentality (as teams often do in most companies), it takes courage and effort to seek them out and draw them into a process that gets everyone out of their comfort zone.
How do we plan to take this forward on a more regular basis? We kick-started this with the entire marketing team sitting along with our CEO to brain storm on what brand Suyati needs to focus on – in terms of the content marketing pitch. Next step – get more and more internal brand advocates involved in our strategy. And execution.
How would we do that? And how would we fare? Watch this space closely!
We know marketing works. We know inbound marketing works better. And when brilliant minds from every part of a company chip in, it could be nothing short of dynamite. Hold on tight, team!
Image Credit: edlabdesigner on Flickr