Making Relatable Content

Ben  
Welcome back to another episode of Content Amplified. Today I'm joined by Sarah. Sarah, welcome to the show.

Sarah Bozarth  
Hi, Ben. Thanks so much for having me.

Ben  
Yeah, love having you here. So I'm excited for the conversation today. But before we dive into what we're going to talk about today, Sarah, tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you love about content and marketing? Tell us about your career. Let us get to know you.

Sarah Bozarth  
Sure, yeah. So I have spent the majority of my career in multifamily property management, kind of worked my way from being a leasing consultant to now I'm on the vendor side of things, working in product marketing. So I've gotten to see behind the curtain on how things are done in the shoes of the people that I'm marketing to and that I'm training, which is just an awesome perspective to be able to say, hey, I've been there. I know what you're doing.

Here's how the product that we have can help you in your day to day. And I know that from experience. So that's a little bit of backstory of how I landed here.

Creating Short, Relatable Content

Ben  
Love it, love it. So today, what we're gonna talk about really is kind of a different kind of content that sometimes we think about when we come to content. And this often follows product marketing's roles, things of that nature, but how do I create short, easily digestible, make-you-feel-good content? So Sarah, why create this kind of content versus the more technical, really detailed kind of content? Why is this kind of content so important?

Sarah Bozarth  
I think a big part of that is it really comes back to relatability. So being able to be a real person with someone, if I am putting myself in our user and our customer shoes and looking at the material, the thing that I want to get out of it is how is this going to make my day-to-day life better? How is this going to make my job easier? I don't really care about the back-end technical things that went into it. I just want you to tell me what I need to know. And so my...

my take on things and my perspective when I'm working on creating content is making it as relatable and digestible as possible. And I think a lot of that comes in short form content. Like one to two sentences here, what can I tell you in like a tweet link? Do we still say tweets even though it's not Twitter anymore? I don't know.

Ben  
I don't know. I don't know what the X post or yeah, I think a tweet is still appropriate.

Sarah Bozarth  
Thread, like, I don't know, tweet. So whatever that short character limit is, is 120 or something like that. Those short one-liner, two-liner things that are impactful. And then video. I love using video. I think that is one of the most impactful tools, especially when you can actually show someone how something's working. And I think that when you're creating video, having your face...

in the video is also really impactful. I am a big fan of Loom and being able to record your screen with your face there. They can see it's a real person showing them and talking to them. And I think that's a great sales tool as well as like using video in their content to help close a deal and being relatable.

Ben  
I love that. Yeah, I think often people are really intimidated when it comes to video. You know, you think you've got to have the nice camera set up and this and that, but like Loom is really cheap. I saw a Mac piece of software that does cool stuff for like $80 for a one-time license. Like there's all sorts. I mean, Riverside, what we're recording on now is like 240 bucks a year or something like that. So it's not that intimidating, but how do you still create good content in short form video?

Creating Impactful Short Form Videos

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Sarah Bozarth  
Yeah, so authenticity comes across when you're using just your computer camera. One of the tricks, and I'll let you in on one of my little secrets of what I do, if I'm trying to record something and I don't have the time or the availability to memorize everything, I don't have a teleprompter or fancy equipment and lights, I love using the Notes app on my Mac. So I create a little sticky, or I'm sorry, not notes, the stickies.

I create a little sticky and I put it just under my camera on the top of my screen and I make my text really big. And then I have my trackpad and I just like slowly scroll. So it looks like I'm looking at the camera, but I really am using it like a teleprompter. And that way I can talk to the camera. I can be speaking to you. I can be talking about this content and it can be a more technical thing that maybe I just do want to like read it. So I make sure that I'm not stuttering over myself.

But it doesn't seem like you are because you have it in such a small little area under your camera that you can do that. So you don't have to have all the fancy lights. I have a clip-on ring light, but just for my complexion, not because I need it, but really just being scrappy with the tools that you have. You shouldn't be intimidated to try to create video because you don't need all the fancy equipment. And I think the more time that you spend on camera, the more comfortable you become.

And yeah, just don't be afraid to put yourself out there. People relate to authenticity and that will help you gain trust with your audience, I think.

Ben  
I love that. And I love how you're putting a person in front of the camera, someone that can relate and you have this cool, unique experience that you've been in their shoes and you can relate with them and talk to them about this. I also love this hack. Like this is exactly what I love the podcast for is you basically just created your own free teleprompter with this sticky notes situation. So that's a cool little tidbit. I think that's really fun. Definitely something I'm going to have to try out. I think that's really cool.

Creating Customer-Centric Content

Ben  
So when you're looking at B2B SaaS content writing, how do you know what to create? And how do you like really figure out, hey, there's a point in the customer's experience where we need to insert ourselves a little bit and create a little bit of a snackable site, you know, piece of content.

So when you're looking at creating this kind of content, how do you know what to create? And how do you like really figure out, hey, there's a point in the customer's experience where we need to insert ourselves a little bit and create a little bit of a snackable site, you know, piece of content that can help them kind of take the next step or the right step. How do you figure that out?

Sarah Bozarth  
Yeah, so I think one, speaking to your customers, like having the, we don't at our current company have a voice of the customer role. So everybody gets to kind of be the voice of the customer and speak to them and really hear what their pain points are. But also we use tools like Pendo. And so we get really great analytics from Pendo that say like, okay, these are the features that are being used most frequently. These are the click paths that are happening. So I know.

we're releasing new product features and it's going to solve for people trying to create a little workaround for something that may not be an ideal feature. I can then say, okay, this is something that could use a short little video or maybe we're getting in service tickets that people are saying, hey, I don't know how to do this or I'm getting stuck at this point. And maybe it's not something where the system has an issue, but it's just a trainable moment where.

you have that opportunity then to create something for like create the piece of content for those users because if a couple of people are experiencing it, probably more are, they just didn't take the time to put in a service ticket. And we want people to be able to use our platform as intended and not feel like they have to create workarounds because it shouldn't, it should work really seamlessly for them and improve their day to day. So looking at those analytics, I think is really helpful in figuring out what sort of content needs to be created.

and then whether it needs to be a short form or a longer form documentation.

Using Content in Earlier Stages of the Funnel

Ben  
Okay, I love it, I love it. So I'm gonna throw you a little bit of a curve ball question, so hopefully you're okay with it. When you're looking at this kind of content, obviously there's a huge need for it in the customer journey as they're already a customer in the product or learning or training, things like that. How can marketers use the same kind of content further up in the funnel? So earlier on in the journey when it comes to...

Sarah Bozarth  
Sure, let's do it.

Ben  
awareness or helping salespeople as they're trying to close deals, what are some opportunities there?

Sarah Bozarth  
I think that relates back to the transparency, authenticity and relatability. So like three sort of buzzwords, but if you take that content and you're like, Hey, this is what your teams will experience after you have launched. And during the launch process, this is what it's going to look like later down the road. Here's how we take care of you and how we, what our process, how we take care of your teams and how we genuinely care to make sure that our product is really solving your problem.

We're here to be a partner and hand in hand with you. So I think if our sales teams using that content to show real life examples, then it's more walking the walk instead of just talking the talk. We can really show how we're accomplishing the things that we say that we accomplish.

Sales Collaboration and Content Use

Ben  
I love that. So that's something that's really cool. I think often when we as marketers are creating content, it's about the experience with the product. But you're talking about almost creating content about here's your experience with a company. You know, these are the ongoing efforts we have to support you. This is how easy training is going to be. This is like the level of care and concern we have for you as a person that we are authentic. We need, you know, we want to meet your needs and even

outside of what the software does, how we support you as a person, that kind of experience, that's a unique angle. I think we kind of skip a lot of the times where let's pitch that we're an amazing company as well, and that you're going to be taken care of with a business. And honestly, in today's day and age, that sounds like a chat GPT, like in today's digital age. But really today, nowadays with SaaS and things like that, people still want...

Sarah Bozarth  
Hahaha.

Ben  
like that human connection when they need it. And so pitching that, that extra value is really cool. I love that. So how, how does sales leverage this? Like, obviously you talked about the ability to create this content and it helps out with that. Have you noticed sales members being able to share this content? Does it, have you gotten good feedback from the sales team? What are your thoughts about that collaboration with them and providing this kind of content?

Sarah Bozarth  
Yeah, so one of our, one of my coworkers used Storyline. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Story, or Storylane. I get confused because they're Storyline and Storylane that are both products that do very similar things, but for different purposes. One is more on the front end sales side product demos, and one is more on the training side. Storylane is what she created. And so she created these product demos that live ungated for the most part on our website.

which I think being like a product first company, having that ungated approach is really helpful. People can go through, they can see what our product does. But our sales team has then taken those and put them into the digital sales room, I think that's what they're calling it, that they can then share with our customers and prospective customers as they're going through building deals. I think as far as like the human connection piece,

One of the things, and I am newer at my company, I'm coming up on my 90 days here in two weeks. So I'm still fresh. But one of the things that I've really noticed is if somebody on our team says that they're going to do something, they do it and they follow through. And I think that's through the sales process that really shines through the people that we have on our team. It's just such a company filled with like really quality humans. And that put other people first. If they.

If somebody needs to be in person for something, they will go and they'll have lunch with one of their clients and sit with them and talk to them. And that's something that we say that we do and we do it. And so I think that that's how the sales team kind of takes, I don't know if that fully answers your question, but how they kind of take what we're doing on the marketing side. And they really do live it out. If you, if you come to different multifamily events, people know about funnel. I wanted to join.

Ben  
yeah.

Sarah Bozarth  
because I have seen Funnel at different events. And so it was something where like, this company, it's pink is like our main color. And so you see these like pink fanny packs at conferences. And so that like brand awareness of knowing like, that's the pink fanny pack company. But then getting to know like a little bit more what they do. Anytime I've ever met somebody from Funnel at any sort of conference, it's been such a pleasant, wonderful experience. And so the marketing team prior to me joining, like that's...

was something that they're known for is like creating these wonderful experiences. But then once you meet the sales team and start talking to them, they're totally living out what marketing is saying that we do as a company. You see that as you go through and meet additional people on the team.

Integrating Company Values into Content

Ben  
I love it. I love it. Yeah, I love how you are looking at the company values and who you are beyond just what the product does and turning that into opportunities to influence your content, influence your marketing and really show people and have them trust you as a business, you know, regardless of what your product does, you know, regardless of the benefits to these, you know, renters and things like that. And it's helping them build trust. And I think that this kind of content.

It can be about training, but it can also be about the company values and the personality of the business and how you care about people. And I think that's fascinating and so helpful. This is so cool.

Sarah Bozarth  
At the end of the day, that's what matters, right? Like the people are what matter. Anybody can like create a product and sell a product, but if you're not influencing people's lives in a positive way, what are you even doing?

Ben  
Exactly, I love that. And that quote is exactly where I think we should end the episode. We're coming up on time. Sarah, I have learned a lot. I love this. It has opened up my eyes to an entirely new kind of content that I should be creating, really showing behind the scenes who we are as a business, as opposed to just what we do. I think that that's really valuable. Sarah, if anyone wants to reach out and connect with you online, how can they find you and reach out?

Sarah Bozarth  
Sure, they can reach out to me on LinkedIn. My name is Sarah Bozarth. You can find me there. I transparently am just starting my LinkedIn journey. So if you see a post, interact with it, encourage me. It is outside of my comfort zone where we're doing it.

Ben  
Love it, love it, very cool. And we'll link to your profile on the show notes. Again, Sarah, thank you

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