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O P I N I O N
But I’m not an expert!
Get your technical professionals comfortable with sharing their stories and they’ll promote your firm, their good work, and their team.
V alue-added, original stories are the crème de la crème of a strong content marketing program. Architects and engineers solve many design challenges that evolve into stories that need to be shared. From the designer’s perspective (original ideas), through the client experience, to people using the space, to the positive community impact, these narratives are compelling stories that resonate with clients and peers (value-added).
Jenny Phan
I half-jokingly tell my colleagues that my job is to make them famous. This entails capturing their original thoughts, developing the story and promoting it to the right audiences. Three critical elements help this process: 1) A compelling story 2) Strong imagery and graphics 3) A willing and able champion who is intimately tied to the client, project, and story The champion is critical to drive the editorial process forward. Your subject matter expert needs to be “willing and able” to collaborate. That is when sometimes the e-brake is pulled.
❚ ❚ “I don’t want to make a mistake. Everyone will see it.” ❚ ❚ “I don’t want to look stupid in front of everyone.” ❚ ❚ “But I’m not an expert.” Some of our best designers are very humble. Creating content can be misinterpreted as a form of self-promotion which is the antithesis of their core values. The other headwind is potential embarrassment with flawed or debatable ideas. This vulnerability can bring the process to a screeching halt.
See JENNY PHAN, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 10, 2021, ISSUE 1391
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