How A Solid Content Strategy Can Empower Your Team - Ep. 272 via @sejournal, @lorenbaker

SEJ is thrilled to announce that Amanda Zantal-Wiener is our Editor-In-Chief!

This is a newly created role focused heavily on leadership and strategy. Amanda will be overseeing the entire editorial team and guiding us into our exciting future.

Amanda joined me to talk about her new role, content strategy, leadership, and how a solid content strategy, married with a strong editorial team, can empower and inspire your team.

Before coming to SEJ, Amanda served as Senior Deputy Editor and Content Manager for HubSpot’s social media team.

SEJ is in this critical moment of growth and scale where it’s an extremely important time but an extremely exciting time to be entering this environment because it is a time of great change with maybe a few growing pains. So it’s really being able to see the impact you’re going to have on this growth and evolution for SEJ, specifically as it evolves from a blog to a full-fledged media presence, a full-fledged publication. –Amanda Zantal-Wiener, 20:01

I love a good corporate culture that doesn’t need a handbook to tell people how to have a good corporate culture. –Loren Baker, 22:57

There’s a lot of opportunity in broadening the view that a publication has of news and creating editorial content that is not necessarily breaking but is still timely and relevant and therefore newsworthy, and that gives you a little bit more time to really sit with information and think about what it really means and add different perspectives to it. –Amanda Zantal-Wiener, 49:11

[00:00] – About Amanda.
[08:08] – How Amanda got to Hubspot.
[14:52] – What are Amanda’s management & leadership philosophies.
[18:59] – What attracted her to the SEJ’s Editor-In-Chief role?
[24:23] – The content marketing goals of publishers vs. those of tools and brands.
[35:27] – What else is she bringing into this new role?
[41:40] – What to keep in mind when writing content, and do AI tools have a place?
[48:17] – Where will she steer SEJ editorial?

That’s what was what drew me to SEJ’s environment. In particular, it seemed like an environment where there were a lot of strong-minded smart people. Everybody I interviewed listened. So being able to come from that strong stance and that strong point of view with respect was something that stood out to me during the interview process, and that’s not an environment, and that’s not a workplace dynamic that you find in too many places. –Amanda Zantal-Wiener, 21:06

Everything is so multi-pronged now. You have to have a multi-channel approach to content strategy, or else you’re going to fall behind the start line. That is probably the biggest difference: you have to keep brand awareness in mind, brand recognition, brand recall, thought leadership, and all of those things. –Amanda Zantal-Wiener, 29:24

As long as you have that audience, you could always introduce new components and new things.–Loren Baker, 34:02

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Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener:

Amanda brings a wide array of experience to the table. From HubSpot, she has worked as an editor and writer for companies such as Fast Company and EcoSalon. In addition, her byline can be found in various media outlets, including Thrillist.

SEJ is fortunate to have Amanda on board as Editor-In-Chief. Her expertise in content strategy and editorial work with solid teams of writers and editors makes her ideal for the challenges we face as an organization navigating constantly changing media landscapes, where relevance is key!

​​Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandazantalwiener/
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amanda_ZW

Find her works on her website: https://www.amandazw.com/

Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal:

Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker
Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker