Hosted by:

Katya Allison

Director of Marketing
Content at GRIN

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About GRIN Gets Real

Welcome to the GRIN gets real podcast, the show for people who want to maximize their marketing potential. From influencer marketing to eCommerce strategy and everything in between, each episode will feature industry experts that share their insights and provide actionable tips to help you achieve your marketing goals. Subscribe and stay tuned!

Create Stories Worth Sharing For Any Brand

In this episode:

Melanie Deziel

Co-founder & VP of Marketing at the Convoy

“When I’m trying to come up with content ideas, I’m actually coming up with two things, both my focus and my format. And that makes that whole process a lot easier.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework

Full episode details

Breakdown of the Grin Gets Real Podcast Season 2 Episode 10

“A story [is] our instinctive way of communicating… I think it’s just really easy in a marketing context to get so wrapped up in the way that everything we do is so structured that we forget to act like humans.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework

The things Melanie loved most about her roots in journalism, turn out to be incredibly useful for brands in their marketing. Skills like the ability to find sources to share their expertise and interviewing customers and clients, help her find brand stories that are worth telling. That’s what led Melanie from journalism into building branded content and creative teams for the New York Times, HuffPost, and more. From there she launched a career as a speaker, writer, and educator helping companies and organizations across the globe, “to brainstorm better, think like journalists and tell better brand stories.” Just as journalists never have a problem coming up with something to say, Melanie helps marketers develop more and better ideas for content that feels human and drives success. In this episode of the GRIN Gets Real Podcast, Katya from GRIN asks Melanie to explain the principles behind her bestselling book, The Content Fuel Framework, and give examples for how to apply them to everyday marketing problems. Melanie’s content advice is simple, yet profoundly helpful for content managers and content creators alike. She is committed to providing brands of all sizes the tools for higher quality, more relatable, and more effective content.

“If it’s an infographic or a sell sheet or a poster; we’re communicating to our audience, and we are people and they are people… So telling these stories, giving this information in a natural human way, that’s what comes instinctively to us as people.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework

Katya leads Melanie through the different points in her book so that listeners can hear actionable tips to use in their content creation strategy. In the episode, you’ll hear Melanie give background on things like:

Which people are the most successful at coming up with content ideas, and why it’s not always who you’d expect.
What is meant by the word “focus” in her two-part framework for developing content assets.
Why brand stories are important and how to tell them effectively.
How influencers can be some of the best brand storytellers and how to go about creating content with them collaboratively.
How to best measure the success of different types of content, and what to have in place in order to be successful.

… Melanie even offers a hack for making eye contact feel more natural during video calls! Melanie dives into why influencer marketing is a great way for brands to create effective content on all different types of platforms. She also gives her perspective on what common mistakes brands make when they begin working with influencers, and how to find creators that will be a good fit for your brand.

“You have to find those influencers and creators that have the right type of relationship with their audience, where your [brand] is gonna make sense in that context.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework

If you’re in the business of content creation, influencer marketing, native advertising, or branded content, then you won’t want to miss out on the gems inside this episode. Even if you already own the book or if you’ve never heard of it before, you’ll relish the chance to hear this award winning advertiser and speaker explain what she loves and does best. Get ready for a masterclass on content… and listen to the podcast now!

Quotes from This Episode

“It really comes down to communicating in a human way.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework “The people who are in these other departments are gonna have so many ideas that you could never come up with on your own. The more voices you can have in that conversation the more diversity of ideas you’re gonna be able to bring to your audience.” -Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework “Focus is, what are we actually trying to say, what’s the message, what’s the lens through which we’re gonna tell this story.” -Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework “I think if you’re working with a creator or an influencer, it has to happen collaboratively because without it, you’re sort of designing in a silo.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework “If you’re creating a specific type of content that requires different skills and tools than you have, find someone who has those skills and tools and even better also has an audience.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework “Having a clear understanding of [your] goals makes those internal conversations a lot easier because you can manage other people’s expectations.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework “If we’re focused on dynamic and educational content I think we’re hopefully headed for a better content future.” – Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework