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Summary

In this episode of Rogue Startups, host Craig Huitt wraps up the LinkedIn series, reflecting on the evolution of content marketing and SEO. He discusses the shift from Google-centric strategies to a more diverse approach, emphasizing the importance of engaging on platforms like YouTube, Reddit, and social media. Craig shares his thoughts on balancing passive and active marketing, leveraging AI for content creation, and the necessity of personal interaction in a digital age. He encourages businesses to be proactive, engaging with their audience and industry peers to foster growth and build a strong brand presence.

Takeaways

• 🎙️ The host, Craig Huitt, wraps up the LinkedIn series and invites feedback on the content's entertainment and educational value.
• 🔄 Content marketing and SEO strategies have evolved, with less reliance on Google due to the rise of AI and platforms like Reddit and YouTube.
• 🏠 Craig mentions his new office setting and the pressure to 'level up' his game, reflecting on the changes in marketing strategies.
• 🤖 AI has become integral in content creation, particularly in outlining and repurposing content for various platforms.
• 📹 The importance of video content, especially on YouTube, is highlighted as a starting point for repurposing content across different channels.
• 📝 The script emphasizes the multi-platform approach to content distribution, including blogs, YouTube, podcasts, emails, and social media.
• 📉 The traditional SEO strategy of 'write and they will come' is no longer as effective, necessitating a more active marketing presence.
• 🔗 Active marketing involves engaging with communities, seeking feedback, and building relationships through platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn.
• 💡 Social media is not just an add-on to a marketing strategy but an integral part that should be woven into the overall marketing approach.
• 🤝 Active marketing also means being intentional about inserting oneself into the market conversation, increasing the chances of customer engagement.
• 🌐 The script suggests that a combination of passive (content creation) and active (direct engagement) marketing is crucial for sustainable growth.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the 'Rogue Startups' series on LinkedIn?

The main topic of the 'Rogue Startups' series on LinkedIn is about leveraging the platform to enhance one's professional presence and marketing strategies.

How many episodes were there in the LinkedIn series?

The LinkedIn series was six or seven episodes long.

What changes in content marketing have been observed by Craig Huitt over the last couple of years?

Craig Huitt has observed that content marketing, SEO, and customer acquisition methods have changed significantly, with less reliance on Google searches and a shift towards platforms like Reddit and YouTube for finding answers.

Why does Craig Huitt believe that just writing content and waiting for people to find it is not as effective anymore?

Craig believes this approach is less effective because people are not going to Google as much, and when they do, they are more likely to engage with paid placements or generative AI responses rather than traditional content.

What is Craig Huitt's view on the importance of having a YouTube presence for content marketing?

Craig Huitt considers YouTube to be the most important platform for content marketing, as it allows for repurposing content into various formats and reaching a wide audience.

How does Craig Huitt suggest repurposing content created for YouTube?

He suggests creating a blog post, email newsletter, podcast episode, and social media clips from the original YouTube video content.

What role does Craig Huitt see for social media in modern marketing strategies?

Craig Huitt sees social media as an integral part of marketing strategies, as it is a direct way to engage with individual people and build brand awareness.

What is the 'skyscraper technique' mentioned by Craig Huitt in the context of content creation?

The skyscraper technique is a content creation strategy where one pulls assets from various sources like YouTube, Google results, and blog posts to create an outline for a new piece of content that aims to outperform existing content on the same topic.

How does Craig Huitt approach the distribution of content on different platforms?

Craig Huitt suggests starting with a YouTube video, then creating corresponding blog posts, email newsletters, social media clips, and engaging on platforms like Reddit to distribute and promote the content.

What is the importance of active marketing according to Craig Huitt?

Active marketing is crucial as it involves directly engaging with the market, talking to customers, partners, and participating in community discussions, which helps increase the chances of customer acquisition.

How does Craig Huitt recommend using LinkedIn for professional networking and marketing?

Craig Huitt recommends using LinkedIn to start conversations about industry-specific topics, engage with prospective clients, and participate in professional discussions to build brand awareness and find potential collaborators.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Wrapping Up the LinkedIn Series

Craig Huitt, host of Rogue Startups, concludes the LinkedIn series and invites feedback on the content. He reflects on the changes in content marketing and SEO, noting that traditional methods are less effective due to reduced Google searches and increased competition from AI responses and other platforms like Reddit and YouTube. Craig emphasizes the need to distribute content across various platforms where the target audience is active, including social media and YouTube, rather than relying solely on Google.

05:00

🚀 Content Marketing Evolution and Strategy

Craig discusses the evolution of content marketing, highlighting the importance of creating content for various platforms where the target audience is likely to consume it. He details a strategy that starts with a YouTube video, followed by a blog post, email newsletter, podcast, social media clips, and strategic linking on platforms like Reddit. Craig stresses the importance of being active on these platforms to increase brand awareness and engage with the community, rather than passively expecting customers to find the content.

10:03

🤝 Active Marketing: Engaging with the Market

Craig emphasizes the importance of active marketing alongside passive strategies. He suggests that after setting up passive marketing content, one must actively engage with the market by talking to people, seeking feedback, and increasing one's 'luck surface area.' Craig mentions the value of LinkedIn for professional networking and initiating conversations about industry challenges and opportunities. He encourages intentional market engagement to supplement passive marketing efforts and build stronger relationships with customers and partners.

15:06

🌟 The Importance of Personal Connection in Marketing

Craig discusses the resurgence of personal connections in marketing amidst the AI wave, where people value genuine human interaction. He suggests that being personable and visible in one's industry can provide a competitive advantage, especially for small businesses. Craig shares his approach to balancing active and passive marketing, organizing content efficiently, and engaging with customers and partners to foster growth. He concludes by encouraging listeners to explore active market engagement to complement their content marketing and SEO strategies.

Keywords

💡Content Marketing

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage a clearly defined audience. In the video, it is discussed as having evolved from simply writing content to be found through search engines to a more multifaceted approach that includes various platforms and strategies to engage with the audience directly.

💡SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO refers to the process of improving the visibility of a website or a piece of content on search engines through organic, non-paid results. The script mentions that while SEO is not dead, it has changed significantly and is no longer as effective as it once was due to changes in user behavior and the emergence of other platforms.

💡LinkedIn Series

The LinkedIn Series mentioned in the script refers to a series of episodes or discussions focused on leveraging the professional networking platform LinkedIn for business and marketing purposes. It's part of the broader content strategy discussed in the video.

💡YouTube

YouTube is highlighted in the script as a key platform for content distribution. It is suggested as the primary place to start creating content, which can then be repurposed across other channels. The host mentions that every piece of content on a website should have a corresponding YouTube video.

💡Social Media

Social media is discussed as an essential part of modern marketing strategies. Despite the host's personal reservations about it, social media is recognized as a crucial platform for meeting individual people online and engaging with potential customers.

💡AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI is mentioned in the context of using technology to assist in content creation, such as generating outlines for content pieces. The script suggests that AI can effectively help in the skyscraper technique by pulling assets from various sources to create comprehensive content.

💡Podcast

A podcast is an audio program that can be subscribed to and downloaded, often covering a specific topic. In the script, the host suggests that podcasts should also be video content, indicating a belief in the multi-platform distribution of content.

💡Reddit

Reddit is a social news aggregation and discussion website. The script discusses Reddit as a place where people go to get answers to questions and suggests that it is a good platform for brands to be active and engage with their audience.

💡Passive Marketing

Passive marketing refers to marketing activities that do not involve direct interaction with potential customers, such as creating content that is distributed and found organically. The script contrasts passive marketing with active marketing, emphasizing the need for a balance between the two.

💡Active Marketing

Active marketing involves direct engagement with potential customers, such as making sales calls or engaging in community discussions. The script suggests that active marketing is essential to complement passive marketing strategies and to increase the chances of customer acquisition.

💡Sustainability

In the context of the script, sustainability refers to the ability to maintain marketing efforts over time without causing burnout or excessive stress. The host discusses the importance of finding a balance that allows for consistent marketing efforts without overwhelming the individual or team responsible for those efforts.

Highlights

The LinkedIn series has concluded with the aim to enhance listeners' LinkedIn skills.

Content Marketing and SEO have evolved significantly, with less reliance on Google searches.

The emergence of AI has led to a shift in how customers are found, with a decrease in organic Google searches.

Platforms like Reddit and YouTube are preferred for finding answers, impacting traditional SEO strategies.

Content should be distributed across various platforms where the target audience consumes it.

Social media is crucial for brand exposure, even for those not naturally inclined towards it.

A marketing strategy should integrate both active and passive marketing approaches.

YouTube is considered the primary platform for content creation due to its repurposing potential.

AI is effectively utilized in content creation, from outlining to asset gathering.

Content should be repurposed across multiple channels, including blogs, emails, and social media.

Engagement on platforms like Reddit is vital for brand visibility and answering community queries.

Creating a branded presence on Reddit can enhance a brand's authority in its niche.

Sustainability in marketing efforts is essential for long-term business growth.

Active marketing involves direct engagement with the community, customers, and partners.

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for professional networking and initiating industry conversations.

The importance of being personable and unique in marketing to stand out among automated content.

Small businesses have an advantage in personal marketing due to their agility and personal touch.

A balance between passive content marketing and active community engagement is key for growth.

The transcript emphasizes the importance of efficiency in marketing, especially for one-person operations.

Transcripts

hello welcome back to Rogue startups I'm

your host Craig huitt we are done so we

finished the series on LinkedIn back on

the mic for a solo episode and I think

first of all just to kind of wrap up on

the LinkedIn series that we had I hope

you enjoyed it I'd love to hear comments

suggestions feedback on our series like

that this is the second series like the

LinkedIn one we did we did one right

before the end of the year about YouTube

it was about five episodes long this one

was six or seven episodes long so a

little bit more but I hope you enjoyed

it I hope it was entertaining and

helpful and and allowed you to kind of

level up your LinkedIn game so uh I hope

that was cool um if you're watching on

YouTube yes I am in a new office setting

yes it is dark in here yes I think it's

really cool but it's kind of

intimidating honestly I feel a little

pressure to like level up my game if I'm

in such a cool place um but Yoda made

the trip with me and so all is good I

wanted to take this opportunity to I've

been reflecting a little bit about what

we covered a lot in the LinkedIn series

because there was a lot to that uh and

and kind of distill some of that down

into how I'm thinking and acting on

marketing right now uh I think one thing

that is definitely changed in the last

couple of years year and a half maybe uh

like let's I sense the kind of AI CRA

started uh is

that content Marketing in SEO and the

way that a lot of companies like ours

found customers has changed a lot right

so the old day of like just write a

bunch of content and people will find

you and sign up for your stuff um is is

not as effective as it used to be I

won't go so far as to say SEO is dead uh

but I think it's definitely very

different um I think there's a couple of

reasons for that one is people are just

not going to Google as much that's one

uh the second reason is if they're going

to Google there are other things there

so not just paid uh paid placement but

like generative a AI responses right

that's there and then as a result people

are like why don't I just go to Reddit

or why don't I just go to YouTube as

these platforms are just really great at

finding answers to questions um and so I

think and this is not just my opinion

right but this is me talking to a bunch

of people on the o space us hiring a

bunch of people in the SEO space to take

a look at our current situation and give

us advice on it is yo like when you

think

about generating content to attract

customers which I'll just call content

marketing I don't know if that's

accurate or encompassing enough uh I

used to think about that from a just

Google

perspective it is not uh sufficient or

accurate or complete enough anymore and

so what we are thinking about is when I

want to Market to my target audience I

really have to put out my content

basically in the places where they are

going to consume it in the end and this

is uh I still think there's a lot of

value in putting this on your Turf on

cast.com but I also think that it damn

sure better well be on

YouTube uh it should be on social media

love it or hate it uh the maybe best way

these days for new eyeballs to meet your

brand can be through social media uh and

and yo if you're new to the show I am

not a social media person I got a couple

thousand followers maybe uh and and and

I just don't love it but sure enough the

best way to go meet individual people

online is social media right it's not

blogging um maybe it's creating a

podcast but still you're relying on

people finding you somehow uh reactively

you're putting something out there

hoping someone subscribes to your

podcast finds your YouTube video

searches some random long-term you know

keyphrase and finds your blog um but but

if you want to get into a discussion

with people hands down the best way is

to uh to chat with them on social media

and get into the DMS so so like I think

when you're putting your brand out there

into the world social media has to be a

pretty big part of this um you I saw

Dave Gart sayat to day like a social

media strategy is not separate from a

marketing strategy it's like all

together like marketing strategy and

social strategy is all together and I

think that really that is kind of the

tip of what I'm talking about but I'll

take it one step further which is like a

marketing strategy is not on a channel

it is it has to be everywhere right so

so like I think

about if I want to go out into the

market I first need to break down my

marketing activities into passive and

active we talked about this with Adam

Shaw in a previous episode we'll link to

it in the show notes um but but like

active and P passive I'm talking about

passive marketing for the most part here

which is like I want to talk

about building chicken coops we're

thinking about getting chickens and so I

want to I want to create a piece of

content about chicken coops okay here's

what I'm going to do and this is

literally like what we're doing these

days uh we we write an outline for it uh

and we use a lot of AI for this because

this is something AI does really good so

we use a version of kind of the

skyscraper technique pull assets from

YouTube pull assets from Google results

and blog posts uh to to get a an outline

of what we want to talk about cool

review that the first thing we do then

is we shoot a YouTube video on it right

so every piece of content on your

website should have a corresponding

YouTube video for it I believe uh that

then so so you have the blog you have

YouTube you have uh a snippet for the

email to go out to your existing

audience or newsletter to talk about

this thing um you can repurpose that

down into a podcast episode as well cool

so you're reaching web content YouTube

uh podcast email you're getting social

Clips because you're recording video for

your podcast right I'm nodding my head

if you're watching on YouTube uh if

you're not watching on YouTube I'm

nodding my head every podcast should be

video uh so you're getting the short

clips for social media cool um and and

then so you're going to publish all

those places and then you're going to

link to this asset in strategic places

like Reddit and Kora um Casto created

its own subreddit recently and I believe

every brand should have this so yeah we

in the podcasting World participate

heavily in the r podcasting subreddit

but we also have the slash castto Reddit

and you you probably should too right so

create a branded user that is you know

ours is castus HQ same as all of our

social handles um you might think about

doing the same thing too so you as the

company can go out there and have a

presence on something like Reddit just

like you do on Twitter and just like you

do on

LinkedIn and we're active in those

markets right we're active in R

podcasting talking about podcasting

being helpful giving advice uh and just

kind of generating uh some awareness of

our brand in places like Reddit which is

where people go to get answers to

questions uh so like why only

generate web- based content on our blog

to get SEO and all this kind of stuff

why not just go to where people are

asking questions which to me really is

YouTube and Reddit right and so I think

about from a Content perspective like

really these days the thing that ends up

on our blog is the third or fourth most

important destination for it really

really really really right like the

first most important to me and this is

just me personally is YouTube right I

think like if I had to just do one thing

it would be YouTube but because you're

starting with video you're able to

repurpose down and redistribute a whole

bunch of other places um and so that's

what we're doing is it all kind of

starts with the the effort of this thing

being to get a YouTube video out of it

in the end then we're making a blog post

out of it we're creating email

newsletter we're creating social Clips

maybe it's going to be a podcast we're

not currently doing that at castto um

which is funny because we're a

podcasting company and it's going on

Reddit and it's going on social and it's

going to other you know platforms and

communities right so so like this is

this is totally achievable I would say

for one person to do

this if you're hiring out the editing of

YouTube you could do this in two hours a

week no no like especially as

you get good with your your prompts and

AI uh yeah 100% you could do this in two

weeks if you're doing a 10minute video

you take you 30 45 minutes to script it

and do the research shoot it a couple

times fired off to an editor there's

tons of them out there um we've used

video husky vide husky.com as an editor

they're really good um 100% you can do

this right and that's the bulk of the

work and the rest of it is just the

stuff right put it on right the blog

post put it on your WordPress site post

it on Reddit engage with the community

there but like an a very important thing

for me at this point in my journey as a

Founder is like sustainability right

like how can I be cool with the the

amount of work work and effort and

stress and wear and tear on me

emotionally to where I'm happy to keep

showing up for another seven or eight

years like I have been and and to me

like this feels really good right like

if I can do a few hours of work

reasonably uh maybe once a quarter spend

a half day on strategy uh and then spend

a few hours a week on the actual work of

creating the content and the assets for

the passive marketing side of of the

growth engine for my company

I feel pretty damn good about that uh

and then and then I have built and am

sustaining that that block of content

and brand and reputation and awareness

in my market to where I I think part of

it is like I don't feel guilty about

like I'm not doing marketing air

quotes but also like the compounding

effects of that over time are enormous

right you think about like if each of

these channels is getting a touch point

or touch points each week

you're just giving yourself that many

more opportunities for your target

market and that perfect customer to find

you so um so so we talked about passive

and active marketing I think it's really

important it's

super it's super critical to not just

think this is the only thing that you

can do though um what what you have to

do from there is you say okay I spent

let's call it three hours a week doing

my passive marketing I've got this out

there it's marinating and it's Jing and

it's doing it thing right from there I

got to I got to put my sales hat on I

got to go freaking talk to people right

I got to go into the community I got to

go get feedback from customers I got to

get on sales calls I got to go talk to

Partners I got to go do stuff really

intentionally put yourself in people's

way so that so that you

are increasing your luck surface area if

we want to use a a overused term right

but like just sitting back and expecting

the Google gods or the YouTube gods or

the Reddit Gods to just serve you up

customers

is is a Fool's errand right it's fool

hearty I think it can happen right and

you can get customers from this but sure

enough the way to get more customers is

to literally pick up the phone or get on

a Google meets call or whatever right

and talk to these people and there's a

bunch of ways that this can happen

there's probably a lot of ways that you

can waste a bunch of time with this but

there's also probably a lot of

serendipity that will happen as you get

out into

the market and talk to people about what

you're doing talk to them about the

challenges and the problems that they're

facing and find ways that you can work

together I think the reason that I

wanted to talk about this today is I

think this is where LinkedIn comes in so

much is it is a professional social

network and so people just like talking

about work there and so if you're Danny

dveo who was on the show and you want to

talk about doing video for LinkedIn you

got a whole bunch of people who might be

kind of prospective clients and just

want to chat with you about doing this

and and I think regardless of who you

are you probably can go have a bunch of

conversations with folks about what's

going on in your

industry by starting on a place like

LinkedIn where people are just apt to

engage in a professional conversation so

like if you're saying Craig I hear you

man I know I need to talk to a bunch of

people in my market how do I do this I

social media is what I would say right

or you know Reddit and YouTube are um

flavors of social media um I got to come

up with a good term maybe I call them

like social plat or content platforms

right they're content platforms they

have an aspect of virality they have an

aspect of social media but they also

kind of are longer form uh pieces of

content uh and not just like 280

characters so um so call them content

platforms um

but but but that's where I would go to

to find these right you can talk to your

existing customers and and you probably

can and should talk to your existing

customers and you want to Branch out

from there to say like hey ultimately we

want to get more of them so so how can

we do that and the answer probably is

like talk to Partners in your space talk

to prospective customers talk to

agencies talk to you know any anyone

that you can kind of just work with and

and I think if you're intentional about

doing this and really get out into to

the market and insert yourself into the

conversation a lot more intentionally

you'll see you'll see the benefit

because like the passive marketing stuff

by

itself like we're and we're kind of

proed this like that's what we relied on

for so long it's like it's not enough

right and so I'm kind of saying I

got to I got to go back out into the

market and and do this but it's how I'm

thinking about it and it's how I see

some of the best brands that I know of

like doing this is they're not just

sitting back and expecting Google to

serve them up a bunch of customers

anymore

they know they got to go out and go to

the conference and get on the webinar

and do the partnership and all this kind

of stuff so um as I as I kind of tie

together several of these things that

we're seeing here through the podcast

right the concept of active and passive

marketing this kind of one person

founder-led wrecking ball of content

marketing um where you know you're

really starting with video and YouTube

podcast blog post newsletter social

Clips Reddit post all this right being

active on platforms like YouTube and

Reddit because they are the future I

think um and using AI to do all that for

sure uh but then also on the active side

we like really get out there into the

market and chat with folks um I think

one cool thing we're seeing right with

the AI wave

is people want to talk to people and

they want to know for sure that like

it's a person and so getting on a zoom

with with some someone just to kind of

catch up and chat and see kind of what

you can do to help them is not as

overrated as maybe it used to be and I

think this is a place where we'll see a

Resurgence you know a lot of people are

saying like inperson events are going to

be the next big thing uh from like a a

marketing and growth and and kind of

business perspective and I don't

disagree but but I think the reason that

folks think that and the reason that it

may be true is

because so much of what we're kind of

seeing is is machine generated and uh

ungenuine and so I think like being

personable and being unique and being

out there uh and visible in your space

is going to give you a leg up over

especially the brands who can't do that

uh so us as small businesses have an

advantage in this

way so um I I just wanted to run through

kind of how I'm thinking about marketing

and thinking about growth uh you know

balancing that active and passive how

we're organizing content marketing um

and how we're trying to be really

efficient with my time because I just

can't spend hours and hours and hours a

week but I am and I do want to be very

involved and so that that's kind of part

of it and the other part is like hey how

can I how can I chat with folks in our

space customers prospective customers

Partners um to to kind of see what we

can do together and I think that's

probably the missing piece that a lot of

uh a lot of folks who historically have

relied on content marketing and SEO and

the inbound umbrella um are are missing

out on and and so so I just encourage

you to explore that a little bit as well

so um that is the update for me uh in

this post LinkedIn Series so I hope I

really hope you enjoyed the LinkedIn

series I thought it was great uh I think

social in general and Linkedin as a

platform are really great opportunities

for almost all of us and um and so I

just hope that that was helpful in you

leveling up your game there as always if

you have any questions comments uh and

just want to chat about things or want

to hear me chat about things shoot them

message podcast Rog startups you can hit

me up on Twitter I am the Craig hwit um

and on LinkedIn just search for Craig

hwit and you will see me there and uh

thanks so much for listening and we'll

see you next time