Today we are joined by Cyrus Shepard, Senior Content Astronaut of Moz, blogger, SEO consultant, and paragon of transparency. We’re all familiar with Moz, as anyone trying to promote anything online has likely come across their analytics tools. Over 300,000 people are active on the Moz blog, forums, and events. This is Shepard’s flock. But how did he get here?
4 Short years ago, Cyrus was a waiter in downtown Seattle. He wanted to start a website so he read a (physical) book about html coding. Fast forward a few months and he was taking customer service calls at Moz (then SEO Moz). He bull rushed his way into the Lead SEO position, but all the steam he had generated caused an overheat. He left to be CMO at a funded startup and an SEO consultant. Check out the full story on his blog.
Now Cyrus is back at Moz, making content quality matter. He’s even adopted a new term for content marketing- “audience marketing”. But more about that below. On to the questions:
You have been very transparent throughout your marketing journey. Explain to us the value of transparency, and the balance between openness and tact.
Transparency has 3 primary benefits, and you don’t always know its true value until you make it part of your values.
First of all, from a marketing point of view, transparency inspires trust. Who would have thought Dominos Pizza’s controversial and very transparent advertising campaign would have worked? But it did.
From a company culture point of view, transparency creates the type of environment that folks want to work in. Secrets and rumors spread discontent, and when you make yourself transparent you also make yourself accountable.
Finally, on a personal level, transparency just feels better.
I’ve never had a strong conflict between transparency and tact. If you have to say something negative about someone else, there is always a way to say it transparently without being unkind.
On a personal level, transparency just feels better”
A related question- Mistakes rarely seem to get swept under the rug with you. How has confronting your little mistakes along the way and being open about the lessons learned helped you along your journey?
It’s interesting because we all want to seem good at our jobs, confident, and experts at what we do. This is especially true in Marketing.
In truth, we’re all a little scared that others are better than us.
I think people relate to me when I tell my story, because they realize I’m just like them. Prone to mistakes, not always sure of my direction, and completely reliant on the help of others.
Ok, we have to ask. Who came up with your job title at Moz- “Chief Content Astronaut” and what does that mean exactly?
My official title is “Senior Content Producer” but I disliked that title, so I changed it to something fun. I think being an astronaut sounds fun, and I fully intend on taking a civilian flight into space before I die, so it’s fitting.
“Content Producer,” while accurate, makes content sound like a commodity to be produced in bulk. When really it’s about good storytelling and having something truly meaningful to say. Let adventure time begin.
Can you tell us a little about the new phrase you’ve been using, “Audience Marketing”, and how categorical names like these influence our outlook and actions?
On one hand, “content marketing” was a huge improvement over “search engine marketing,” because content marketing implies creating something of value, whereas search engine marketing was often only about getting rankings, clicks and visits.
The problem with content marketing is twofold: it makes the end-user anonymous, and it emphasizes only one touch at a time of the customer journey/relationship. So let’s improve the model by calling it “audience marketing”. Audience marketing means you are marketing to real people, it implies that you have to “earn” your audience’s attention, and it applies to the entire journey of your audience’s engagement with your brand.
In a content marketing model, if I publish a piece of content, the metrics that I measure only relate to that piece of content. In an audience marketing framework, I’m doing a better job trying to learn who my audience is, I’m measuring all of the touch points where the audience engages with my brand, and I know my audience’s attention is precious so I need to earn it at every step.
‘Audience Marketing’ implies you have to ‘earn’ your audience’s attention”
You have worn a number of prestigious hats in the last few years, how did you transition from SEO to content and how do you mentally prepare yourself for a new project? What advice would you give companies transitioning from old SEO tactics to a content driven approach?
I’m still an SEO, both at heart and in practice. I’m really fortunate to be working at Moz and surrounded by some of the most knowledgeable SEOs in the industry. The transition was a no-brainer for me. Even when I was the Lead SEO at Moz, what I was really doing was content the entire time.
There are agencies and marketing departments out there that are “pure” technical SEO. If I were a company like Amazon, I would want a few of these folks on board. The easiest way to make the transition is to practice. Your first content efforts may not be successful, but you have to try a few before you begin to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t underestimate the value of professional writers, designers and craftsmen when producing content. Measure your efforts, and try to improve them. Constantly move forward.
In your experience, what are some aspects of company culture that have worked best to increase quality, productivity, and satisfaction in the office?
Not all of these are cultural, but a list of things that work for me at Moz:
- Standing Desks
- Headphones
- No Meeting Friday
- Flexible Hours
- Work from Home
- Clear pipelines for getting things done (no backchannel handshakes)
- Collaboration
- Treat your employees like your best customers
Besides technical expertise, what does a great content marketer need to bring to the table to do their job well?
You need to understand persuasion.
You need to understand the qualities of popular content.
You need to understand good copywriting.
You need to understand good design.
You need a strategy to get in front of influencers in your industry.
You need to be able to build up your distribution channels through constant iteration.
What are the techniques you use to determine the quality of a written work?
Sadly I’m going to have to punt on this question. I don’t know how to define good written work, but I know it when I see it. Although, I will say from the many freelance writers I have worked with in the past, a good personality is the trait of a good writer.
What are some frequently missed opportunities you see for brands to be more conversational? Is this is a gap to be filled by community management or some other means?
It’s great when brands are more conversational through social media. Everyone uses Oreo as an example these days. But I think the biggest missed opportunities come from the top, the CEOs and company presidents. These folks often have built in visibility, and the press monitors everything they say. If we can train our CEOs to be better marketers, they have the perfect opportunity to engage their audiences in a transparent and positive manner.
The biggest missed opportunities come from the top… these folks often have built in visibility”
Your wife Dawn Shepard does some amazing graphic design work. Does living with an artist influence your own work? What advice can you give collaborators from different mediums like design and the written word?
Being married to a talented graphic designer is the greatest thing that can happen to a content marketer. Fortunately, I have some writing ability, so between the two of us we have several bases covered. The hardest thing was learning to trust her. Even when she works for me, I typically give her final say on all things design. The same goes for other designers and writers that I work with.
If you hire great people, then trust that they know their jobs better than you, and let them make the decisions that are best for the project.
