For as long as most of us can remember, marketers have struggled to get subject matter experts (SMEs) and other stakeholders excited about engaging with content creation. And there are a few very good reasons for that:
- It’s a one-way value exchange: If people aren’t interested in building their personal brand and getting their name out there, there’s usually little to no value for them in contributing to content.
- It’s not their circus, and those aren’t their monkeys: Everyone has their own responsibilities to worry about during the work day. Any new expectation that doesn’t fall within their remit tends to really irritate them.
- People outside of marketing (allegedly) don’t get why it’s important: Historically, we’ve been told that many non-marketing folks simply don’t understand what marketers are trying to achieve, or why they need expert input to do it. I’m not convinced that’s the case for a lot of people, but it certainly can happen.
- It isn’t easy: Contributing to content and marketing projects puts huge pressure on people to articulate their expertise in a really clear way, which is something most of us don’t have to do very often.
The trouble is, I don’t really want to contribute to Radix’s marketing content right now, and it isn’t for any of those reasons. I know the value marketing delivers. I understand why it’s important. It is a defined responsibility for me. And I even fall into the very small group of people in the world for whom articulating complex concepts comes relatively easy.
So, what is my problem? And is there anything I can glean from it that could help marketers make some real steps forward in how they engage SMEs and other content contributors?
Our first mistake is making sweeping assumptions about human motivations and needs
Around ten years ago, I received an adult diagnosis for obsessive compulsive disorder. Very recently, I’ve also come to understand that I fall somewhere on the autism spectrum. The two are tightly linked, and while they have a minimal impact on my daily life, they do shape a lot of my attitudes and behaviours.
For me, structure is incredibly important. Predictability is king, and the thing I find difficult about contributing to marketing is its ad hoc nature. For those responsible for managing marketing, it’s a continuous strategic task that’s always front of mind. For me, it’s typically appeared as intermittent requests that can come at any time, and must be tessellated around my client projects.
That shouldn’t be an issue, but it is. If these requests catch me at the wrong time, while I’m focused on something else, that completely shapes how I feel about them. A process I understand and want to help with becomes frustrating, without anybody doing anything wrong.
The answer to the titular question, “Why don’t I want to write this blog right now?” is simple. When I logged on to start work today, I didn’t know I would be writing it. Even though the idea was mine, and it’s an idea I believe in, the organic nature of how this blog originated doesn’t align with my own need for structure and predictability.
I’d never really reflected on that until writing this. I have no desire to build a personal brand or become a leading voice in my field. My motivation for engaging with marketing is simply that I recognise its critical role in enabling me to continue to do a job I’m great at, for clients I really like working with, alongside a team of people I love. And what I need to make that happen is for the whole thing to be very structured and predictable.
We’re all individuals with our own passions, neuroses, drivers, frustrations, and preferred ways of working. If marketers want to get people excited about contributing to their projects, the ways they engage with SMEs must be as precisely tailored as their strategies for audience engagement.
If you give people what they want, you tend to get what you want too
I use myself as an example simply because there’s no SME I know better. My proposition isn’t that everyone should adapt how they engage content contributors to align with my needs. The point is that if we want to get the most from every contributor, we need to engage them on their terms, just as we do with customers.
Thinking practically, it isn’t really feasible (or valuable) for marketers to dedicate the same time to mapping out the needs and motivations of SMEs as they with their customers and prospects. But they absolutely can do that for select ‘high-value’ contributors.
It’s important to forge close relationships with great contributors. Learn their motivations, replicate the conditions that enabled them to make a great contribution to your project, and give them more of what they want.
For some (like me), that might mean making the process extremely structured and predictable by securing a recurring slot in their diary for marketing input. For others, it could be the opposite, creating an organic workflow where they can provide ideas and input however and whenever they like.
Some will be highly motivated to become thought leaders in your market. Others will be much more comfortable providing content ideas without having their name attached to them. Discuss your SMEs’ goals and motivations to uncover how contributing to marketing could help. See how, where, and when they like to work. And use everything you learn to personalize the experience of contributing to your marketing projects.
Closer collaboration builds understanding on both sides
By thinking about contributors in the same way you think about customers, you can discover what each person needs to deliver the most valuable input. And in doing so, you just might change a few attitudes towards marketing.
Practically, all that has to involve is:
- Frank and friendly conversations between marketers and SMEs where the marketer can really get a feel for how the SME works and what makes them tick. These are the kind of chats that used to happen naturally in our physical office world, but if you’re part of a more dispersed team, you’ll need to make a conscious effort to book these catch-ups in.
- Being mindful of exactly where, when and how you request SME input, and put yourself in the SME’s shoes to maximize your chances of getting them on side and making them excited about getting involved with your plans. What’s going on in their diary at that moment? Do they have a major client or project delivery deadline looming soon? It’s in your interest to catch them at their stress-free best if possible.
- Going to them with an offer rather than a request in the first instance. People often don’t really know what marketing could help them achieve personally, so reach out to let them know, and give them a chance to provide input on their terms. If they end the conversation feeling like engaging with marketing and providing input was their idea, brilliant.
Radix’s marketing processes have gone through something of a transformation in recent months. And I’m happy to say, it’s all been framed around how we can get the most from our team. Our expertise is our greatest asset, so we’ve started to approach marketing in ways that make it easy for our people to share their insights and explore topics they truly feel are worth exploring.
I shan’t embarrass the person responsible for delivering our marketing by naming them. But I hope as they review this, they know how much I appreciate their efforts. Meeting me on my terms takes so much more work than simply presenting me with a content concept and making me write it. That effort means a lot to me and builds my desire to help them in any way I can.
Doing all of this doesn’t make the marketer’s life easier – quite the opposite. But it does significantly improve the quality of the content they publish.
While my own neuroses mean that, yes, I didn’t start out wanting to write this blog, I’m more invested in Radix’s marketing than I’ve ever been before. I feel understood, and as a result, I really do want to help.
That feels like a pretty big win for me, and our marketing.
