Friday Deep Dives ( Interviewing SMEs, and finding the narrative)

Welcome to the 1st issue of Friday Deep Dives, a monthly newsletter by me, Dozie Anyaegbunam, where I try to go all in one question on content marketing from you all. I'm glad you're here. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you need your own: Subscribe here.

Halloooos,

How’s everyone doing? Not sure what’s going on, right?

Let me explain.

After this post on LinkedIn 👇🏽

A couple of you reached out to me on LinkedIn and Whatsapp to ask if I could expand on this tip.

Ain’t going to bore you with all the hand-wringing and thinking of how to do this while keeping 3-2-1 Friday alive. But Friday Deep Dives was the outcome of all that.

So here’s how the chicken crosses the road:

• 3-2-1 Friday is every other Friday except the first Friday of every month.

• On that day, I pick one question from all the ones you’ll send in and answer.

Sounds good? Let’s do this!

I believe we are in plop in the midst of a B2B content arms race.

Every brand wants to get a word in - pun intended. So, while it’s great if you can:

• Write well

• Repurpose content

• Or create great videos

You'll be competing with many other writers, including the e-writers that never need to rest (copy.ai and the likes), unlike you and me.

So, the ability to recognize the types of stories your audience consumes and shares is unparalleled. But you must also be able to mine and develop these stories into formats relevant to your audience.

Plus, the recent Google algorithm updates (information gain) are more likely to reward you if you go down this path.

Information gain = content that adds new information wins. Not the one that optimizes for SEO best. Of course, you still need to optimize for SEO.

It’s time we started thinking of ourselves as brand journalists. One whose job is to find the best stories that communicate our brand’s key messages in such a way that the following happens:

• We educate our readers about the value of our product or service

• We improve their ability to use our product or service

• We change their beliefs about our product, service, or industry

• And finally, we get them to take action

To do this well, I believe you need two foundational skillsets:

• Learn how to interview subject matter experts (SMEs)

• Learn how to find the narrative that matters to your audience.

How to interview SMEs

Here are four tips that can up-level the information you get from interviews instantly:

• Prep your guest beforehand: I often send a brief or email with the following:

  • A thesis or angle I am hoping to cover with the interview. But I also mention that I am flexible if there are angles I might have missed.

  • I send over any interesting stats or articles related to the topic. I then ask if these are still relevant and if they have others they could share.

  • Finally, I send over my questions or what I expect us to chat about. Think of this as an outline.

• Ask open-ended questions: This is probably obvious but to get the best out of your SME, ask questions that begin with how, why, what, or my favorite, could you expand on a point.

• Ask for examples: Examples are like Akara to bread (if you aren’t Nigerian, here’s Akara and bread in all its glory). So, ask your SME for examples of how they applied a tactic, theory, or approach.

• Finally, use the power of the pause: Don’t be in a hurry. Make sure you book enough time for the interview. Because there’s no interviewing skill as powerful as the pause. Here’s how I use it:

  • I ask a question

  • Once they are done answering, I usually have a follow-up question that gets them to expand on the points they just raised.

  • Now, this is where you get the gold. After they are done expanding on the points they raised. Don’t say a thing for 10 to 20 seconds. 9 times out of 10, they’ll continue speaking and then share even more detailed insights.

How to find the narrative that matters to your audience

Two rules I follow:

• How do we add to what’s already out there: It would be a waste of time if you had your SME repeat what everyone else already knows. Recap what’s existing on your topic. And then gently nudge out any new approaches. Your goal is to leave the interview with insights that build on existing knowledge. A couple of questions to help you think through this:

  • What’s new and innovative?

  • What does the future hold?

  • How are you responding to current trends in the industry?

  • What are you learning from the recent trends? 

• Focus on real outcomes: This is why examples are helpful. You want to share outcomes or stories that help your reader make sense of their world. Two questions to help you think through this:

  • What does all this mean for your industry, society, or customers?

  • How have you solved a particular challenge and what obstacles did you face while doing that?

And that’s it, folks. 

If you found it helpful. Let me know in the comments or by replying to the email. If you have a question you would like me to explain in-depth, send it in. 

If you would love me to review your writing and give you feedback, you can book a time here. Or just hit the reply button.

Thanks for reading this far. I am grateful!

Be good out there. If you can't be good, be careful.

Dozie

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