How to build a formidable B2B content machine

In the second episode of B2B Business Class, host Robb Conlon sat down with Jackie Aubel, Senior Content Marketing Manager at ServiceTitan. Jackie also shared her experience building a B2B content machine and elaborated on the secret to success in marketing and sales.

The road to building a B2B content machine

Jackie Aubel’s professional journey has been anything but a straightforward path. After graduating from school, some colleagues encouraged her to try stand-up comedy. While doing that, Jackie also worked for a B2B SaaS company in New York City.

She continued to do comedy part-time, and that’s how she eventually ended up moving from New York to Los Angeles. It was here that Jackie joined ServiceTitan, an FSM provider for contracting services like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.

Jackie was no stranger to the trades, as her father was a carpenter who inspired his daughter to follow her own path.

Throughout her career, Jackie was a gregarious and extroverted person who considered herself a “Jackie of all trades.” She was also well-versed in marketing operations and automation. She knew how to set up email campaigns and run webinars, but still felt that a certain element was missing that would truly set things apart.

It all started with launching a podcast for the trades

The ServiceTitan leadership saw Jackie’s potential and encouraged her to start a podcast for the company, and that’s how the “Toolbox for the Trades” show was born.

“Podcasting is a lot easier [than a webinar] and a lot more flexible. You don’t have to get as many cooks in the kitchen. There’s a lot of benefit to that, especially at a fast-paced company.” 

Over time, Jackie and her team built the podcast into a formidable B2B content machine. They also built a great rapport with the show’s guests and proactively identified opportunities to repurpose the content. They would ask guests for testimonials and proposed collaborations through webinars.

What was and continues to be great about the podcast was that Jackie and her team always looked at the available content and found multifaceted ways to repurpose it. 

With these initiatives, the podcast gradually became another powerful lever in ServiceTitan’s content arsenal.

Turning marketing challenges into great opportunities

Jackie and her team launched the podcast and B2B webinar programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, which proved to be very successful. While other companies struggled, ServiceTitan continued to expand during that challenging period because of the solutions they provided to essential workers.

It enabled them to have a touchless experience where they could operate their businesses remotely.

“I think the production [or] the reception we got from the COVID Hub from customers [was amazing],” she said. “I think that was what we needed to convince the folks at the top that content is something you should invest in.” 

ServiceTitan also supported their customers during the pandemic by creating what they called a “COVID-19 Hub for Contractors.” The hub operated like a newsroom and contained updates as well as content that was useful for contractors. Jackie and her team also used the podcast and webinars to help promote the hub’s content.

She believes this type of success can be replicated by other B2B content marketers, even in a non-pandemic environment. 

Essential tips for successful B2B content marketing 

Jackie recommended that marketing teams need to first think about their goals and what they’re trying to achieve with the content. 

Next, they need to plan how they want to ramp things up and identify opportunities they can leverage with mediums like podcasts. Are there any external opportunities they can use to amplify the content? 

They also need to consider their content’s accessibility to their audience.  Engagement is another critical factor that content creators need to take into account. How can they make webinars more interesting and interactive? They also need to be clear about how the audience will ultimately benefit from the content.

“If I am a customer who's frustrated with the platform and I get on a webinar [to] hear the CEO or the President talking about [how they’re addressing the issues], I think that's a really powerful way to do a webinar,” Jackie explains.

She also highlighted that tutorials can be beneficial on webinars and that when it comes to thought leadership conversations, podcasts can provide great advantages.

The keys to success in marketing and sales

Jackie also spoke about the keys to success in B2B marketing and selling to other businesses based on her professional experience.

She said it all starts with understanding the target audience and who you’re selling to in the business. Many companies Jackie has worked with don’t have official business personas, so doing your due diligence from the start is paramount. People should also focus on being authentic in their content and sales process.

“When you make a mistake [in podcasts or webinars], when you show a bit of your personality when you flub, that makes you look more human to the person who is on the receiving end.” 

The final piece of advice that Jackie gave was to not be afraid to ask for clarification or to be blunt.

“I think [it’s important to be] mindful about where you spend your time, being clear about who you're speaking to and why you're creating the piece of content you're creating,” she explained.

For more insights from Jackie Aubel, you can listen to this episode of B2B Business Class on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

This article was originally published here.