Promote positivity: Amal Ahmed, content and PR specialist

Shaheen Samavati recently spoke with Amal Ahmed, the head of communications, content marketing and PR at Itiviti: an innovative B2B technology company that transforms the way people interact with trading infrastructure. Amal is responsible for their global content strategy, PR coordination and stakeholder communication. In this interview, she gives us a glimpse into her role, and explains how the company tailors their messaging to highly specific audiences.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on our YouTube channel, listen to the podcast on Apple and Spotify, and read our recap below.

Key takeaways

B2B companies like Itiviti are increasingly investing in content as a way to nurture prospects, drive sales, and position themselves as thought leaders who truly understand the challenges their clients face.

Sourcing content from experts in technical fields often means guiding them through the process, structuring the content itself, and tying it into the company’s overall message and goals.

Although the current pandemic has forced Itiviti to completely reconsider their content plans, it has also provided abundant opportunities for creativity and new campaigns like “Positiviti,” a weekly effort to promote positive news.

The company invests in LinkedIn and Facebook for brand awareness, recruitment and communication, as these platforms are where their client base is most active.

As a content professional, it’s essential to understand the audience you already have, and to create a detailed process for content production that you can develop and expand upon later.

It’s essential to understand cultural differences in terms of how people digest and engage with the communication you’re sending them.

It’s never going to be perfect. Get it to 90%, put it out there, learn from your mistakes and keep doing the stuff that works.

Rapid-fire recs

What’s an app or tool that you can’t work without?

I absolutely love Grammarly, which is an app that checks your spelling and grammar. When you’re working with content every single day, it’s immensely helpful to just make sure things are right. HubSpot also has a lot of good information on best practices, tips and tricks and content on inbound marketing.

A marketing influencer who you follow?

Brian Halligan, the CEO of HubSpot. I think he’s really a pioneer in terms of how he’s grown his business. He’s been able to branch out into different areas like marketing, sales and CRM, really bringing together the inbound journey for B2B.

Also check out our interview with Inken Kuhlmann-Rhinow, EMEA marketing director at HubSpot

A valuable resource, event or group?

I go to the B2B Marketing Expo in London, which is really valuable when it comes to understanding new technologies and practices. I also read a lot of information from the Content Marketing Institute, which is a great resource for learning from the experience of people who’ve been in content a lot longer than I have.

Connect with Amal and Shaheen on LinkedIn.

This post was edited by Melissa Haun, a freelance content creator based in Lisbon.