Here is a transcript generated by Otter.ai of The Content Mix podcast interview with VeraContent’s Shaheen Samavati and Gabriela Orellana, marketing and comms manager at fonYou, on creating engaging content:

Shaheen Samavati 0:13
Hi everyone, I’m Shaheen from The Content Mix and I’m excited to be here with Gabriela Orellana who’s senior marketing and communications manager at fonYou, a fintech and telecom company based out of Barcelona. Thanks so much for joining us, Gabriela.

Gabriela Orellana 0:25
Hi, thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure.

Shaheen Samavati 0:28
It’s a pleasure to have you. So could you just start up by introducing yourself and telling us a bit more about your experience?

Gabriela Orellana 0:34
Sure. Well, I’m actually from El Salvador, living in Barcelona. I came to study a master’s in international management. And I’ve been working in telecommunications and fintech for almost seven years. During my master, during my master, I was working in Ding, an Irish telecom company, managing the business development and marketing site for Latin America and the Caribbean region. There I was in charge of the main key accounts and also leading with our marketing team, the activities for the Diaspora internationally. Then, after a while, I felt that I needed a new challenge, you know, to continue to grow and develop my career. That’s when I saw the opportunity in fonYou, my actual company, that it’s fintech and Telecom, that helps carriers to—and enterprises also—to fully automate their services using fintech marketing technologies and AI. And regarding your question about, well and then I joined first in fonYou, I joined firstly, as a BDM of EMEA where I had between a mix between marketing and sales for two years. And then the past year, I had a great opportunity and I transitioned to senior marketing and communications, and globally. So here, I’m purely focused on working on the brand itself. All the content is related to internal and external communication, including PR.

Shaheen Samavati 2:09
Okay, so your background it sounds like was like, was in business development, and you’ve transitioned into marketing. So how did you make that transition? Why’d you decide to move that way?

Gabriela Orellana 2:19
Yeah, well, I have always, always been very passionate about the marketing world. And I knew from a very young age that I wanted to study that. My dad has been always an inspiration, and he has been working in a multinational for almost 30 years. So growing up, I was always fascinated by hearing his experiences, about products, importance of communication, marketing and sales. And then when the time came to decide my major, I never hesitated that it would be marketing. But regarding the industry, I have always wanted to work and envision myself in FMCG companies, you know, and I was like, sure that that’s where I was going to end up. But suddenly, I had the amazing opportunity to discover another industry, fintech and communications. And literally my whole vision change. I found myself hooked in technology marketing. And I just remember, literally years ago, when I started, I was sitting every day next to one of the technical guys. And he was explaining me how integrations work, the API’s, the backend, you know, to someone who had zero knowledge of that. And I mean, it wasn’t something that I really needed for my role. But at the end, I was like, “Okay, I need to learn as much as possible”… to know how, the business works, not only in the commercial side, but also in a technical side. So during all these years working in telecommunications and technology, I’ve learned a lot. And I don’t know, it’s just really fascinating and so much to do, and a very interesting world to discover. So I’m very happy and in this industry.

Shaheen Samavati 4:16
Very cool. I was curious a little bit about a bit more about your story, because a lot of our audience are like international people working in Europe or who would like to work in Europe. So I was just curious, how easy was it for you to like break into the job market in Spain?

Gabriela Orellana 4:33
Well, as I came to do my master and my company has—my previous company—had here offices, but at the end, I was sure that I wanted to stay in Europe, like it was like…I when I came here, I was like, I’m not returning to El Salvador. It’s a one-way ticket. And I just, I literally emerged myself—I wanted to continue technology, I wanted to, yeah, to embrace myself there and to grow like a career. So yeah, it was kind of difficult. Obviously, it’s your international and all the applications and the paperwork and everything. But I’ll say like, I mean, what it’s meant for you, it’s meant for you. And obviously, it was a lot of investments, applications, time consuming, but I was decided that I wanted to stay here in Europe. So I think that when you visualize something, and you go for it, and you focus on what you want, at the end, your mindset, everything helps you to achieve that goal. So…

Shaheen Samavati 5:48
Absolutely, yeah. That’s really cool. And yeah, basically, so you came to study and then like, looked for jobs while you were studying and then made it happen?

Gabriela Orellana 5:56
Yeah.

Shaheen Samavati 5:56
Awesome. Yeah, that seems like a good approach, a good way to make it happen. And so I wanted to ask you a bit, a bit more about like the content marketing work that you’re doing at fonYou. So just like when it comes to—well, maybe you could just start out by sharing an example so we can kind of get an idea of the kind of content that you typically do. So just like an example of a campaign or a piece of content that worked really well.

Gabriela Orellana 6:22
Yeah, I mean, we’ve recently launched a white paper where we described like an outstanding use case with a mobile operator in Latin America. And there, we demonstrated the KPIs like high conversion rates, and valuable information that resembles our solution in today’s industry. Actually, this piece of content worked really, really well, because it drove not only thought leadership articles, we also used it for speaking opportunities. We used it in LinkedIn campaigns. And also it secured an online video debate that we had the past month with another company in the same industry. So I think that, especially for us, that kind of content helped a lot to all those like brand awareness, leads, speaking opportunities. So yeah, I think that it was a good piece of content.

Shaheen Samavati 7:23
Yeah. Cool. So you’re kind of…I mean, can you tell us who’s your target audience like, who are you creating content for?

Gabriela Orellana 7:29
Yeah, our target is mainly mobile operators and financial institutions. So our reach involves an active trade, and especially it’s media, our community of industry analyst and many events. And as you know, at the last year, we have seen all those physical events move online. So that has made the content more important, because everything is online, and we are doing a lot of campaigns—LinkedIn, Twitter, and as well, all the… we’re participating a lot in online events. So at the time of doing all those activities, we need to know and we need to be sure what we are promoting or writing or sharing to the audience.

Shaheen Samavati 8:15
Okay. Cool. So, I mean, in terms of the kinds of content you’re creating, it’s a lot of like you were saying thought leadership content, it’s focused on it’s like, B2B and kind of reaching decision makers. Yeah. I was curious, like, in the example that you gave before, like, could you tell us more about like, the video panel debates—what was the format of that? Was that something that you were planning to do, or that was like a consequence that came out of what you were…?

Gabriela Orellana 8:44
It came and it was, yeah, it was a recording like this. And we had the moderator and, yeah, they especially liked that we were like in the same industry, we can share thoughts and results and how…our solution and their solution, or just insights of how the industry it’s going, you know, and some of the visions or things that you are getting into the future. But we talked about there, about the white paper we launched and I think it’s because the KPIs or the result itself, and it describes a lot about the situation, the key takeaways and I think that’s really good for these kind of debates, because you not only sell, because I think it’s not just talking about your product, but creating a conversation around the situation that is currently happening, you know, so you give thoughts and opinions about a topic.

Shaheen Samavati 9:57
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, what do you think is important to keep in mind when it comes to content marketing in your industry specifically?

Gabriela Orellana 10:07
I think that it’s really important to be able to write correctly for your audience. I mean, get the right balance. So you’re not—so that you are explaining the market issue and technology solution to a mixed audience of marketing technologists and senior executives. So I think it’s always like a balance that you need to do and write well, you know—know what you’re writing.

Shaheen Samavati 10:29
Absolutely. And what about when it comes to like, tone of voice? What’s your approach?

Gabriela Orellana 10:35
I think, for us it’s best described as engaging. As a technological company, we really want to make serious points. But we don’t want to write so serious or giving too technical material. We want material that people can almost enjoy reading—it’s easy, easy to read, like, consumer friendly. And this means no barriers to comprehension by delivering a clear message and concisely, you know, that at the end, it’s something that you want people to be reading, and to share and everything. So writing, writing something engaging, and not so serious. It’s good.

Shaheen Samavati 11:27
Yeah, so making it kind of accessible, but at the same time, it’s like, educational, right? It sounds like the content you’re giving is like very practical and educational. In the case of like, the white paper, for example, is that like something that was for, like—I mean, are you creating different types of content for different stage of the funnel? So like, which stage would that be? Because that was based on case studies, you said?

Gabriela Orellana 11:54
Yeah, it was a case study. So it’s mostly for lead generation.

Shaheen Samavati 11:58
Okay, so but kind of people who maybe already know the product, but want to see a use case application?

Gabriela Orellana 12:05
No, and all lead generation, and also just to, for example, create brand awareness, because there you explained, you have the use case, as well. But we talk about the situation itself, how the industry is doing, the mobile operators, how were their situation. So we we start from situation, and there we apply the use case based on the situation. So it’s not only the use case, but we include a use case and give the KPIs.

Shaheen Samavati 12:34
Okay. So it’s more like a storytelling to get people like interested to see something, an example of something else?

Gabriela Orellana 12:41
Because at the end, you can get the first part like brand awareness and get interested in about the company or the situation, but then yeah, if the KPIs are really interesting, and everything, get into contact and start talking about the product or the solution.

Shaheen Samavati 13:00
Okay, cool. So what do you think that some companies get wrong when it comes to content marketing?

Gabriela Orellana 13:07
I believe that two main fault, it’s that they are being too heavy handed. I mean, very pushy with the sales message overly promotional, sometimes. I don’t know, when you are, like just talking, talking, talking about your product, then the, it’s like, okay, okay, I understand you want me to buy your product. And on the other side, I think it’s getting too deep into the technical solution. Especially if, you do that right at the start, I think it’s too harsh, like pushing the people to understand the technical side or to buy your product, you know? I think that for example, well written content covers the issues that challenge the audience. I think it’s demonstrates understanding before talking too much in detail about what the company has to offer, or about the product, so I think it’s really important to be like that—not too, like, too heavy, too harsh, because at the end, you don’t know who can be writing your—who could be reading, you know—your article, and if you’re being too pushy to like, salesy, you know, at the end it’s, I mean, maybe you can push them away and at the end it’s not beneficial for your company.

Shaheen Samavati 14:32
Yeah, absolutely. Like you’re saying basically to present solutions to their problems, right? Like, through content.

Gabriela Orellana 14:40
It’s a balance, you know?

Shaheen Samavati 14:42
Yeah.

Gabriela Orellana 14:43
Because obviously at some point you want to share about your product, and it’s completely fine but when you’re focusing only on trying to sell your product, you’re not given much more space to to your opinion, to the situation, to I don’t know, to giving insights or that kind of content.

Shaheen Samavati 15:06
Yeah, absolutely, totally agree. And so it was curious to know your favorite content or social media channel?

Gabriela Orellana 15:16
I would say that, Twitter and LinkedIn, for sure—like LinkedIn, for sure. It’s a complete distribution channel, and brand awareness, relationship building to generating high quality of leads. I think it’s a fantastic tool that helps also share insights from professionals that are seeking what they want to see and obviously, like new content, and the good thing is in LinkedIn, people that are willing to spread and share the content. So sometimes if, as I said, that if they like what they read, it’s not necessarily that you have to pay for that, because people naturally are sharing or liking or posting, you know?

Shaheen Samavati 16:03
Yeah.

Gabriela Orellana 16:03
It’s something very useful and very, it’s something that could occur very naturally, so…

Shaheen Samavati 16:08
But are these your personal favorites or that you think are best for the business, and it’s the business, how is it using these tools?

Gabriela Orellana 16:19
No, okay. Personally, for me, for example, it’s in my life LinkedIn and Instagram. I love Instagram—you get a lot of information. I love to travel, pictures going into restaurants. So I love Instagram. But, and LinkedIn, too. I get a lot of insights or thought leaderships or opinions from a lot of leadership leaders—yeah, leaders from the industry. So yeah, but professionally, from the business side for us is Twitter and LinkedIn.

Shaheen Samavati 17:00
Awesome. So well, switching gears a little bit like, what advice would you give to someone just starting out now in marketing?

Gabriela Orellana 17:10
I think that marketing, as you know, is ever changing. So the hunger to learn emerging trends should always be there as questions, whatever, whenever you don’t understand the concept—ask. I mean, by staying curious is how you will stay competitive. And make mistakes. Don’t worry about it, you will learn a lot and at the end, because it’s okay to make mistakes, you know, and yeah, for me, it’s that—it’s simple, but it’s an ongoing process of learning.

Shaheen Samavati 17:45
Yeah, absolutely. Totally agree. So well, going into like some of your recommendations. And what’s your favorite software tool or app right now, especially when it comes to marketing?

Gabriela Orellana 17:59
As I said before, LinkedIn, you can create a lot of exciting campaigns and share content that is valuable for the audience. And also HubSpot, their CRM platform makes everything very easy to proceed. And personally, I would say, Instagram, as I said before, and Spotify. I love music. I use Spotify every day—every day, like from starting to go into sleep. And I’m always listening. If it’s not music, or a podcast or a TED talk, I just write like, marketing and like random, then you know, start searching for something and listening.

Shaheen Samavati 18:41
Awesome. Well, well then, I wanted to ask you about like, if you have any, like productivity tips or hacks?

Gabriela Orellana 18:51
Yeah, well, I’ve been applying some of the learnings of some books I read. And I don’t know if you have heard about the 5am Club and Leader Without Title. Both are from Robin Sharma. I’m a true advocate of his teachings. So for me, he’s a truly inspiring author and activist. I know it’s spectacular how he describes the leadership and how to elevate your your life by owning each day the best way possible, you know. So he describes there how a strong morning routine can help you perform at our best and reach new levels of productivity. So for example, as you know, I’m in Barcelona. Since last year I started waking up at 5am.

Shaheen Samavati 19:37
5am is very early in Spain! Most of us start work at nine here!

Gabriela Orellana 19:45
Yeah, I know! But the good thing is that for example, I started like waking up at 5am I was walking to, I was going to watch the sun rise at the beach. And you know, it’s something spectacular. It’s beautiful and really peaceful. And obviously, that helped me start my day really productive because it started really early. And then, I mean, I’m not saying that you have to go into the same but waking up early and occupy those early hours to focus. So I mean, you can imagine how much you can do. Because I mean, if you say, okay, we start at nine, but you have that gap between five and nine that you can be doing, I don’t know, meditating, putting your list of things, you know, like, there’s a gap of time that—

Shaheen Samavati 20:40
—It’s time for yourself. Yeah.

Gabriela Orellana 20:42
Yeah. And also like organize yourself or but it helps you like during the day, because you have that productivity. So yeah, I mean, you get energetic from that. And I can tell you, it’s difficult the beginning if you’re not an early riser. But in the end, it’s all worth it. So I think it’s really good. And awesome. I don’t know if you have heard about the Five Minute Journal. And there are a lot of influencers were recommending it lately, so that’s why I decided to try it out. And it’s been one month since I started using, and it’s literally part of my daily routine now. And I mean, I just love having them, this focus at the beginning, and at the end of the day, and just being grateful for the big and small things of my life. And I’m really noticing like a shift in my mindset and in my productivity, because you start putting like, what did you do today? What are you grateful for? What will be good to do today? Affirmations. And at the end, what could be better? So I think that makes between waking up early and having that journal helps you not only in a personal level, but also professional.

Shaheen Samavati 20:43
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Those are great tips. And well, next, I just wanted to ask if you have any favorite marketing or business book to recommend?

Gabriela Orellana 21:12
Yeah, I would say The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath. Their book is focused on creating meaningful moments and how the right moment can have extraordinary outcomes. It’s amazing. Their book offers solid advice on, I don’t know, how to build pit moments into peak moments, moments of insights, connection, pride, that honestly add intangible value to the customer experience across every industry. So you have to take advantage of those moments, you know, because lately people it’s all consumers, or it’s just about experiences. How can they…I don’t know, how can they make the process is easy for them or, or making points that are that can embrace, you know, the product or the solution?

Shaheen Samavati 23:10
Very cool. Yeah. Some great recommendations. And like lots of things to add to my reading list, because the productivity things you mentioned also, where some book recommendations are as well. So good. All sound very inspirational, actually. But speaking of inspiration, I wanted to ask if any source of inspiration or professional role model that you might have?

Gabriela Orellana 23:32
Well, for me, it’s Simon Sinek and Jeff Weiner. I admire the way they preach and speak what matters the most. I think it’s impossible for me not to stop and read whatever they write. For me, they have this human touch that attracts then reflects the integrity of a true leader. And I think now more than ever, we need people who can lead with compassion, you know? And also, last, but definitely not least, a leader and businesswoman I admire a lot is the CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe. You know, she became like, lately, the, the youngest woman, CEO ever take a major American company public. And I think she really demonstrated that there aren’t barriers to achieve and pursue what we want. And especially for me, I think it’s a major inspiration as a lead woman that has been shattering the glass ceiling in the tech and marketing world. So you see her and it’s like, oh, my God, she’s really young, and in a technical in the tech world, and she was against all the issues and the challenges that she had at the beginning. So yeah.

Shaheen Samavati 24:51
Yeah, absolutely. That’s a great example and very, very cool story that she has.

Gabriela Orellana 24:57
Yeah!

Shaheen Samavati 24:57
Yeah, definitely. So as we’re kind of reaching the end of the interview, I just wanted to ask if you had any, like final takeaways or parting advice for other marketers in Europe.

Gabriela Orellana 25:11
For me, I think that I would recommend to attend Hubspot’s online events. They have a lot to offer and have very valuable informations and insights of best practices. Also one of the podcasts that I’ve been listening to—but just randomly—its the Marketing Over Coffee. It’s just about 20 minutes long. And it’s filled with the kind of marketing tips and tricks that you can only get from careful conversations. And also, I like to read blogs from other industries, because there are some insights that sometimes can help you a apply or get ideas from them. So yeah, and mostly of all this content, I read it on LinkedIn. So just scrolling there and I see it is interesting that the leaders I follow or somebody I know, or new.

Shaheen Samavati 26:05
Very cool. So if anybody like wants to follow you or what you’re doing at fonYou, what’s the best way to do that? Or to get in touch, as well.

Gabriela Orellana 26:15
In LinkedIn, in LinkedIn.

Shaheen Samavati 26:19
Cool, okay, well, we’ll definitely share your LinkedIn profile in the in the show notes blog post that goes along with this episode. Well, yeah, it’s been great having you on the show. Thanks so much, Gabriela, for sharing your insights with us today.

Gabriela Orellana 26:31
Thank you for inviting me.

Shaheen Samavati 26:33
Yeah, it’s been great having you and thanks to everybody for listening in. For more perspectives on content marketing in Europe, check out VeraContent.com/mix and keep tuning in to the podcast for interviews with content experts. See you next time. Bye!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai