Staying inspired and focused has seemed like more of a challenge than ever. There’s even more pressure to think outside of the box, deliver results, and leverage strategies that evolve alongside the industry.

That’s why we’re excited about our most recent Marketer in our Showcase.

Meet the Senior Marketing Manager at DocASAP, Nathan Huet – A savvy expert at putting data to work to understand how he can leverage the power of content to deliver quality leads to his sales team. From looking at content promotion as an art and science to prioritizing business metrics over vanity metrics, Nathan reminds us to stay focused on key objectives and results.

Cutting through the fluff to get to the core of content marketing and its tie to demand generation, let’s dig in and meet Nathan!

How does Content Marketing fit into your overall marketing strategy?

Without going into too much detail, content marketing and content strategy are a huge part of what we do. Content has become the de-facto way of communicating in the way that ads were the de-facto way of communicating during the Mad Men era. Today, content is at the core of what we do as marketers.

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

We have found a few trends with content performance. First, that shorter content with a clear goal or question being answered can sometimes outperform longer-form content. Second, you have to align your messaging to where the market is at in the buyer’s journey.

With COVID-19, we have had the unique opportunity to engage potential customers earlier in the buyer’s journey with thought leadership content, without being abrasive or off-putting, and it has helped build trust with our audience. As for KPIs, I like to focus more on business metrics as opposed to vanity metrics.

How has content marketing evolved over the past few years?

Content marketing has evolved in a couple of key ways.

First, it has become more closely related to demand generation. Content strategy blends SEO and growth marketing with content marketing. Second, new mediums are becoming trendy, with podcasts seemingly replacing blogs and other channels as the shiny object. Third, the growth of account-based marketing (ABM) has forced content marketers to partner with sales more to ensure that content being created is used during the sales process.

Overall, I see these as positive changes, especially those that force marketers to work with sales and other functions more collaboratively.

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

NetLine helps us best promote content to only the prospects we deem qualified. We can be very targeted with the type of prospect we want downloading our content, and we can also determine the accounts we don’t want to target. This helps us get more of our target audience to see and read our content, which provides benefits across brand awareness and demand generation.

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

These strategies for lead generation are ones that I would recommend broadly for marketers across industries:

• Email – Email is surprisingly very “in” right now as far as marketing channels go, and I like to use it to support a variety of strategies.
• Marketing automation – Personally, I’m thinking more and more about how to incorporate AI to increase velocity and drive results faster and at a higher scale.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – This should be no surprise. With SEO, I like to think of how to make changes that will make the most impact. The more resources you have for execution, however, the better.
• Site Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) – I like to think of this more broadly than just using a CRO tool. Site experience, analytics, and CTAs are a few elements I look at whenever considering optimization of a site’s conversion rate.
• Paid Media – I think of this more holistically than some do, to incorporate search engine marketing, online display advertising, and paid social.
• Events (especially webinars) – Events are not dead, even with the pandemic. I have seen success with webinars through the pandemic, and I expect there to be more innovation around both virtual and in-person events in the future.

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

I originally worked with NetLine as a managed service back when I was working in agency services at Merkle.

I tested NetLine for my B2B SaaS client against 6 other content syndication vendors and found it to be the most effective from a cost per lead perspective. This is what first made me realize the value of NetLine’s platform.

Content syndication is a key channel when it comes to lead generation. With so much emphasis on creating content, I don’t think that content promotion, which is truly an art and a science, gets enough attention in most companies. As a former media buyer and planner, I love to find ways to get more out of a given budget, even if it means testing and thinking outside of the box.

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

We’ve built tight integrations so that leads are immediately captured and routed to the appropriate parties. I’ve built our lead management process such that behavioral, firmographic, and other data are leveraged for personalized, immediate follow-up or nurture depending on the account.

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

Focus on key results and objectives, and work back from there to determine what to work on. In marketing, there are so many directions you can easily be pulled in, but to be effective, you need to have laser focus.

Any words of wisdom to share with your marketing peers?

Stay inspired and stay focused. Great marketing often happens when you’re inspired, energetic, and are ready to create value. I take inspiration from colleagues, blogs and online resources, conferences, and other professional development opportunities.

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

As for a specific campaign, I had great success managing my first webinar earlier this year. I created the topic, content, promotions, slide deck, worked with our presenters and managed the presentation end-to-end. The webinar ended up getting 350 registrants, which is massive for a first-time, internally-hosted webinar.

As for my greatest marketing success overall, it’s been the ability to create qualified sales opportunities and drive new business across experiences. Nothing gets me more excited than seeing that what I am doing is making a real business impact. Now that I have a few of these experiences under my belt, I’m hungry for more.

Describe your workspace.

It’s a pretty simple space, really. I have my adjustable desk, a sticky note where I like to write a main goal for the day, and pretzels usually within arm’s reach.

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

My iPhone. It has email, chat, and a lot of the productivity apps that I use.

Who are your greatest marketing influences?

If I stick to famous people, there are two that stick out in my mind.

Steve Jobs, for his obsession with building a differentiated brand and user experience. He understood that differentiation and “being different” creates the most value.

A less obvious but just as important marketing genius is Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK was able to build a highly engaged audience, take his message mainstream and create positive change.

Coffee or tea?

Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

When are you at your best?

I’m at my best when I’m in a creative mindset. Once I get the creative juices flowing, I notice that my energy spikes and I tend to do my best work. When I’m in touch with my creativity, I’m also more likely to create unique ideas or solutions, which help me feel like I’m truly adding value.

About DocASAP:

DocASAP provides the leading patient access and engagement platform for health systems, health plans and physician groups. Backed and promoted in the market by Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, DocASAP builds unique payor-provider connections with an eye towards simplified access, increased care compliance and improved population risk management. DocASAP’s intelligent patient-provider matching enables patients to connect with optimal care providers to enhance access, improve outcomes and reduce costs. For more information, visit https://docasap.com.