Is Top of Funnel Content Still Worth It?

Benjamin Ard (00:02.026) Can we edit so if I ask something stupid, you can always be like Ben that was stupid. Call me out. Sean Huntington (00:06.968) with. Benjamin Ard (00:10.142) Welcome back to another episode of Content Amplified. Today I'm joined by Sean. Sean, welcome to the show. Sean Huntington (00:16.514) Thanks, dude. Excited to be here. Benjamin Ard (00:18.964) Yeah, Sean, I'm excited to have you on. This is going to be a fun discussion. It's something you're really passionate about and I'm excited to learn from you. But before we dive into that, let's get to know you. Let's get to know your background, work history, all that kind of fun stuff. Sean Huntington (00:31.566) All right, yeah. Yeah, so I currently am a marketing director here at Strive. I'm in our webinar podcast space here in my office. yeah, I live here in Arizona. Really love content marketing. Had a podcast myself at one point. It's kind of on the back burner currently, but just have always had a passion for building community, creating content. and just love kind of the creative marketing space for sure. Benjamin Ard (01:09.088) I'm excited about that. Sean, you've had some really cool experiences building communities and really focusing on value. That's one of your core principles when it comes to marketing. That's where we're going to really focus our discussion on is value in communities. What do you mean by value? You know, like when we were first talking before we got on the podcast, you said the word value like half a dozen times. Like you could tell like it's a word that inherently means a lot of value to you. What Sean Huntington (01:35.402) Yeah. Benjamin Ard (01:38.398) what does value actually mean to you? Sean Huntington (01:41.326) Sure. think value is such an interesting word to me because it can mean Walmart brand, great value, which is the cheap stuff, the low quality things. I think when I think about value, think about truly valuable, something of value, not Affordable value with something we like cherish something that really is impactful and meaningful to us and when it comes to marketing and community building I think the brands that really recognize The like I have a whole Maybe I'll share it and you can throw it on here But this whole idea of the value pyramid which is like your primary value set which is the product and service that you offer That's that's a value exchange your your you know, selling that product or that service. Then you have the secondary tier, which is, you know, the, the like education, the resources, the things that are beyond your product, but that reinforce the product or service that you offer. And then the third tier of the pyramid is really about the value of community when, your customers or your community start sharing value between each other because of the brand and the ethos and the value that you've created. Now you have, you talked about before of you've built this community of people who've been on the podcast. So the secondary value is the education you're providing. But that third tier is like, you're now connecting other, you know, people who've been on the podcast and making introductions and that like really is where community starts to thrive is how do I. now take from this and start and share with a friend this experience or you start compounding the effect of whatever that primary value provides. So value for sure is something that you'll hear a lot from me today. It's just something that I truly believe is at the core of brands that want to have staying power, that truly want to have that longevity of Sean Huntington (04:05.642) building a legacy brand that will stand the test of time, not just something that'll have a quick conversion or extract monetary value out of your customers. If you want to build sustainable growth, sustainable long-term success, to me value is at the core of that. Benjamin Ard (04:28.818) I love that. That's so cool. So for every marketer and everyone listening to this podcast, who's nodding their head saying, yeah, we need to get back to the value. We need to focus on that. How do you actually do it? And how do know that it's resonating with your audience? Cause it's one thing to say, yeah, let's provide value. It's an entire different thing to actually go and provide it and know that it's hitting home with your audience. How do you kind of focus on that? Sean Huntington (04:52.706) Yeah, that's a great question. think... Sean Huntington (04:59.446) The first thing that I always tell people is you have to think about one-to-one value. I give an example often where it's like if you and I were walking down the street, someone stops us and we give them directions or we give them some sort of value throughout their day that is meaningful, even more impactful than, it's over there, a direction. You give them life advice or something. You know, we may talk about that the rest of the day or even, you know, we hang out again a year from now. Remember that time we met that guy and we shared that experience and how awesome was that? When that same thing happens online, we feel like we're a failure. just one person commented. Just one person shared it. Just one person. You know, I didn't get a million likes or this thing didn't go viral or this. And so I think, you know, when we were chasing the numbers and the metrics, we're not focused on the value. When we think about how can I create value for one person in my community or in my network, I think that's where you can start to test and see where can I really explore value. And I think there are some businesses where it's like, It's very intertwined, the value that you can provide and it's so aligned with your business. But there's others where it's a little more complicated. I actually gave at an event that we hosted a few years back, I asked the audience what their business was and if I could help basically figure out what their secondary value was. And this woman had a blinds. business. And a friend of mine was in the audience and he was like, dude, I was sweating for you. And she asked, was like, how are you going to create value for a blinds company? And my response was like, well, I have kids, young kids, I had literally just put blackout curtains in my house because my kids don't sleep well at night or wake up early in the morning or they don't nap. And so like, just started sharing like parents, they need, you know, parenting advice and things of like, Sean Huntington (07:23.106) you know, the impact of blackout curtains and sleeping, you know, I mean, there's all sorts of studies now as well of, you know, sleeping in a totally dark room and how that helps with your sleep. So there's always ways we can really think about. And if you think about, you know, someone's experience or what they're going through in their day to day or how they're like, what's happening while they're experiencing your product or service, that may be something that you can add to that conversation. And I think that's a good place to start. Benjamin Ard (07:53.93) love that. So correct me if I'm wrong. It almost sounds like you specifically focus on one particular person or one particular business or one group and specifically ask yourself, how can I provide them value? And if you've provided them value, that is success. Now that may provide value to others along the way, and it may have more than that, just one like or one comment, but it sounds like to really understand and know that you're nailing it. You're focusing on someone in particular, not just a persona or not a group of people, but Hey, this person needs this thing. I'm going to provide that value. Is that kind of how it works or do you kind of do it a little bit different? Sean Huntington (08:36.332) Yeah, I think it's a mix of all of the above. Like here at Strive, we had a lot of inclinations of the value our providers, our clinicians are looking for. And we sent out a survey three or four months ago, and it was like one, eye opening and two, validating of some of the assumptions we were making. And so in that case, we were able to get data of just how hungry our customers are for education and support. And really not just on our medications, but on like how to grow their practice. What are best practices for, you know, expansion and diversifying their products and things. so I think, you know, my approach is, is definitely like if there is someone specific, you know, starting there, the more, the more real you can make it, the more you can at least put yourself in that, in that frame of mind of I'm creating this value for this person. want to achieve that and give that to them and provide that. I think personas also work. You know, you can, if you don't have that specific person, then you kind of go up the scale of like, okay, I don't have a specific person, but okay, we have this persona. What would that person be looking for? What could be, and if you don't even have personas developed, just looking at your audience, what are people commenting around? What are they, what's the dial? Like even, even clicking on the profile of someone who's commenting regularly, see what is going on in their world, see what's, you I think you can, you can mine for kind of information or clues around like what value could we as a brand provide that's going to be meaningful in their life. And you definitely want it to attach to your brand and your business. And you want to like, much as focusing on the one, yeah, if that... then becomes viral and becomes something that impacts many, that's kind of the goal in a lot of ways as well is if you can focus on the mindset and the beginning, whether or not you reach the masses, it's still a win. You've accomplished what you set out to do. And then if it's meaningful and shareable and has that viral moment, then that's just Sean Huntington (11:00.504) Kind of icing on the cake for sure. Benjamin Ard (11:03.21) I love that. That's so cool. So shifting gears just a little bit, when you started talking about value, you also talked about community and you talked about the hierarchy, almost the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but your own hierarchies of values. How do communities provide value and how do you provide value to communities? Sean Huntington (11:27.126) Yeah, I think. Sean Huntington (11:31.854) I think there's an interesting thing happening in the world. And you're in Utah, so I'll share my true thoughts on this. I think as, you know, in this moment in time, there is a large exodus from religion. I don't get into, you know, into religion or in that sense, but I think there is this huge void. Benjamin Ard (11:43.604) I love it. Sean Huntington (12:01.986) that is created and people still want values. They still want principles. Why do we support brands that have a mission and core values that we align with and provide community and provide all these things that traditionally religion has provided? don't think we're, I mean, maybe there's some brands that have that religious following, but I think that just at our core as humans, we look for community for value for things that we can support each other or share between you know individuals and so I Think why value and community are so aligned is When it's it's one of those things where the best way to learn something is to teach Someone else and I think same with like value that you're receiving from a brand or from someone else like you share something with me the more I share it with others, the more it like resonates and it solidifies in my mind if it's a principle that I'm trying to adopt or improve in my life. And so I think value is so aligned with community when it comes to brand building and building your business, because when you can provide that one-to-one value and then now you're empowering that person to have, it's this like compounding effect. like, okay, I give you this nugget of value. Now, every time you share it, it's reinforcing value in you, the originator, you know, that one person, but now you are impacted. So it's just this ripple effect of value. And then once, you know, you've shared value, it's much easier to have a relationship with someone to have a connection. Like you've provided me value and inviting me to be on this podcast. We're going to have a connection and a bond now, you know, 15 minutes from now that we didn't have 15 minutes ago. right, because of this value exchange. And so I think community is where brands that are Sean Huntington (14:09.506) are doing it right in my opinion that are building very scalable businesses or brands that are leaning into community. mean, you even have companies like Nike who are mega brands now sponsoring these run clubs that are starting to pop up and finding ways of just like, do we immerse ourselves not even from a direct product placement or obviously they're they're incredible at that and their branding and everything else and storytelling. But how do we enable this idea of run clubs and support that idea and shine a light on it and help compound that movement? And so I think it's finding where you can create that value and then compound that community effect. Benjamin Ard (14:54.496) I love that. That's so cool. I love this concept of communities only get built around people that can provide value to each other. That's what a community is. mean, there's not much of a community. If a group, a group of people will not be a community if they're not providing each other specific value. mean, while you're talking, I was thinking about, I'm a part of a neighborhood book club. And we read a book, you know, every month or two and get together and provide value by sharing our thoughts. And that's just the small like five, six person community that I'm a part of because there's a value around a common belief, a common idea, a common set of interests, something that we can provide value to each other around. And your business has values, you know, it's obviously trying to provide value, but There are specific beliefs like with this podcast in particular, you talked about this cool community of guests on the podcast. think that provides value because it's people who are passionate about not only marketing, but content marketing and giving a voice to that. And by hearing from other people and learning from other people, it's kind of gravitated and turned into a community. So I love this. I, you know, I can see now why you intertwine those two things so heavily. That makes so much sense. Sean Huntington (16:16.044) Yeah, for sure. It's just, yeah. Benjamin Ard (16:17.747) Awesome. Benjamin Ard (16:21.152) I love it. Very cool. Well, Sean, I told you these episodes go by quick and we have run out of time. I love your philosophies and how you build communities and care about values. This is amazing for anyone listening to this episode that like to reach out and connect with you online and maybe be a part of one of your communities. How and where can they find you? Sean Huntington (16:43.79) Yeah, I'd say probably the best place is LinkedIn. I'm fairly active on there. you know, go in ups and downs of content that I'm putting out, but I think that's a great place to start a connection and, you know, always happy and willing to provide whatever value that I can and be a resource, you know, when I can provide that. And so definitely, you know, find me on LinkedIn. happy to connect there and then in terms of communities, there's so many incredible networks and people that I've been able to connect with over the years, happy to either make an introduction or point you in the right direction for sure. Benjamin Ard (17:28.788) love it. love it. Well, for anyone listening, just scroll down to the show notes. We will link directly to Sean's LinkedIn profile right there. So you can click on that button and connect with him. Sean, thank you so much for your insis in. sorry. I can't talk right there. Sean, thank you so much for your insights today. I really do appreciate it. Sean Huntington (17:46.752) I appreciate you. I'm grateful to be a part of the show and I've enjoyed the conversation as well.