Marketer Showcase: Carolina Alves of Aggreko

Hearing and sharing the marketing perspectives of our clients has always been an essential element in NetLine’s DNA. They serve as an initiator for brainstorming, provide access to current trends, and are a reminder to consider the humans behind the brand. From game-changing strategies to the evolution of content marketing, we’re excited to share our latest Marketer Showcase.

Get to know Carolina Alves, Inbound Marketing Specialist at Aggreko, as she gives us a peek into her marketing mindset. Whether you’re encouraged to “stay hungry, stay foolish” or refresh your content calendar, here’s what this B2B marketer is up to.

Let’s dig in and meet Carolina!

How does Content Marketing fit into your overall marketing strategy?

At Aggreko we serve several different industries that are pretty much different from each other, like oil and gas, utilities, construction, etc. Each of them faces different challenges and opportunities. The company as a whole is sector-focused, from the sales and operational teams to the marketing team itself.

We position ourselves as experts in each one of the industries we attend, and that’s why creating relevant and targeted content is crucial.

Nowadays, content marketing is about 50% of our overall marketing strategy, but it’s definitely evolving, and I see it getting to 70%-80% in a couple of years.

What are your top performing pieces over the past year and what are the KPIs used to measure performance of those assets?

The piece of content that got the most downloads this year was an eBook called “Contingency Planning 101”.  I realized that this title with ‘101’ performed really well, not only for the downloads, but also for a good engagement rate on social media and better open rates on emails.

Another factor that probably influenced so many downloads is that this is a broader piece of content, that doesn’t refer to a specific industry per se. So, our audience was larger for this one.

On the other hand, the one with highest ROI was a white paper called “New business practices drive down pharmaceutical costs”. This was a very niche-oriented type of content and I think it also performed really well, because we brought insights and stats from the market, that would be highly relevant to our target audience.

How has content marketing evolved over the past few years?

Content Marketing has become a huge part of our marketing strategy for 2 years now.

In July 2017, we revamped our website and launched our blog session, where we would publish articles once a week and promote them mostly via social media.

In 2018, we started sending monthly newsletters to seven different audiences and with that, more and more content was being created. With the goal of positioning ourselves as thought leaders within the industries we focus on, we started creating more in-depth content, such as white papers, eBooks and Webinars.

How do you use NetLine as part of an overall strategy?

NetLine is a crucial tool for our middle of the funnel types of content – which means more in-depth pieces, that are gated and supposed to work as a SQL magnet.

In addition to using NetLine, what are your other strategies for lead generation?

SEM and SEO, social media, e-mail marketing, customer events and tradeshows, webinars.

What led you to using NetLine and how has content syndication affected your approach to lead generation?

I met NetLine at CMWorld in 2018 by randomly attending their case study session with another client.

From everything that I learned at the conference, I realized that the idea of using a syndication platform would be the lowest hanging fruit for me – something that I could take immediate action and would bring good and fast results.

And it was indeed a game-changer for us. Because our audiences are so niche and our content is highly targeted – not only to a certain market, but also specific personas within that sector – I was having a hard time reaching out to the right audience and finding SQL’s.

Once we started using syndication for gated content, we finally captured high value leads beyond our PPC and social ads efforts.

Describe the normal path a lead follows once it has been captured via one of your gated assets.

Once we capture a lead, it is assigned to a salesperson, according to their industry and location and it goes to our CRM (Sales Force).

From the marketing perspective, that lead will now be nurtured with e-mail marketing initiatives, while from the sales side, they will follow up with them, using a one-on-one approach.

Of all the marketing approaches available, which one has staying power in your strategy?

SEM is still the initiative that brings the most leads and has the biggest chunk of our budget.

Any words of wisdom to share with your marketing peers?

It may sound cheesy, but Steve Jobs once said, ‘stay hungry, stay foolish’ at a graduation speech, and I love that quote and take it very seriously in all aspects of my life.

Taking it to a professional perspective: hungry for knowledge, as we face exponential changes in our world, especially as marketers. And foolish to keep experimenting, testing new approaches, listening to different points of views and having the courage to change, adapt and do stuff, rather than just planning for them.

In your marketing career, what has been your greatest marketing success? Why?

Launching our blog in 2017, as the pioneer team in the globe to do so, was very gratifying. With the blog, a whole new approach for email marketing and social media came along, as well as the creation of more content that would become more and more targeted and complex.

All these initiatives have proven to be extremely effective (generating leads, enhancing traffic and SEO, boosting engagement, etc.) and are still evolving as we get ready to fully incorporate marketing automation and personalization to our strategy.

Describe your workspace.

Even though the marketing team is always talking and interacting with each other, we each have a l-shaped cube.

On mine, you’ll find: healthy snacks all over; a collection of magnets that our team always bring back from trips to everyone; a picture taken at the airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with my best friends and closest family, the day I moved here; and a North America map to help me with our territories and locating different states and cities (I can say I’ve already became an expert in the US geography by now).

What productivity tech/app do you rely on the most?

Microsoft Teams and Box are a huge help to organize my projects and tasks, but I must confess that what really makes me more productive and efficient is my good-old paper planner.

Who are your greatest marketing influences?

Ann Handley, Neil Patel, Michael Stelzner

Coffee or tea?

I do like tea, but I can’t live without coffee!

When are you at your best?

In the mornings, after gym/footvolley practice.

About Aggreko

Aggreko works round the clock, making sure everyone gets the electricity, heating and cooling they need, whenever they need it – all powered by their class-leading equipment, trademark passion, unrivalled international experience and local knowledge. From urban development to unique commercial projects and even humanitarian emergencies, they bring their expertise and equipment to any location, from the world’s busiest cities to some of the most remote places on earth.

Operating across all sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemical and refining, utilities, manufacturing, construction, mining and events, they are the world’s leading provider of modular, mobile power and heating and cooling. Founded in 1962 with more than 7,300 employees, their business helps transform lives.