Stop Hiring the Wrong Person for Your Content

Most businesses know they need content — but hiring the wrong person (or the wrong type of person) sets you back further than doing nothing at all. 

We break down the real difference between a social media manager, a strategist, a freelancer, and a full content team — and why knowing what you actually want before jumping on a discovery call changes everything. 

They run through a few industries (beauty, fitness, product-based businesses) and what each one should actually be looking for when it comes to content. If you're in research mode trying to figure out your next move, this one's for you.

A podcast about what really goes on behind the scenes of building brands, businesses, and personal platforms. 

We talk marketing, content, branding, community, and the uncomfortable middle between idea and execution.
Built for founders, creators, and business owners who want honest conversations, not recycled advice.


Hosted by Matt and Olivia. Audio-only for now. New episodes regularly.

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Follow along
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@Mattortlieb_
@oliviamckerrow
@ortliebmedia 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back everyone. Episode 14. Catch us up on what has been going down. Live. Club 60 projects. What's been happening?

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Recently, I have not I've acquired a few different UGC projects, which is really exciting. So that's been happening. It's keeping me very busy. Club 60 is growing every day. We're just got three new members today this morning. And we have our huge launch event at the end of the month. So you also just launched a summer series. Oh, yes. My summer sweat series. It's a four-week series where you move for five days a week. It's just a way to keep people accountable and consistent with their movement, and just another way to be more interactive with my online platform.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

If someone wanted to check out the free trial or sign up, where did they go?

SPEAKER_00 0:58

My website, www.club60.ca.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Small blog.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Small blog. What about you, Matthew? What are you up to?

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Lots of projects, wrapping up a lot of projects. Onboarded a new assistant. Yeah. Which has been saving me a lot of time. My inbox has never looked so organized before. Yeah. Just going through the flow of things, getting stuff wrapped up, planning some fun projects coming out. And yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

This topic is for the businesses and the brands who are doing research into who they should hire when it comes to content, social media, marketing, everything when it comes to basically an online presence and who they need to look for, questions they need to ask. I think that also comes down to just being super clear on what you want out of it and what you need.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yeah. I think we can touch on our experiences lately and what that's looked like when even onboarding new clients and just the conversations we've had with them. Is there anything that's really stood out for you since then?

SPEAKER_01 2:15

A lot of calls we've been getting on, there's a lot of the same things being said. I think our approach on calls isn't more so going in as a photographer or videographer shooting whatever they need shot. Yeah. It's more so going in and treating it as a strategist. Yes. Breaking down their problem and almost being a problem solver. Yeah. And getting a super clear idea of what they're looking for and what they what they want out of it.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

A lot of the calls we've been getting on recently has been helping them through that. And it just honestly just comes down to them not really having a good idea of what they need yet. And so they're in the early stages of trying to figure that out.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Yeah, I feel like that's been something that we've noticed a lot recently is just a lack of knowledge behind what they actually need to do for their business.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

In those situations when you're talking to someone, what is the best way to deliver what we do to a potential client?

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Totally. I feel like our approach is, like I said, more of a strategist in the beginning. And then from there, that's when we're shooting the content.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

A lot of pre-planning, a lot of strategy calls, making sure everything is answered before going into shoot date. Where I think if you're hiring a freelancer, that's more so just show up on shoot date. Yeah. Film what's going on and sending it over the content.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yeah. I feel like we kind of have to prove the differences between what we provide as far as photo, video strategy versus a freelancer and someone who just or a hobbyist doing it on the side version.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Even talking to an agency who only edits. Yeah. You technically have to shoot the content yourself at that point still, and then send that content to be edited over to the agency. And at that point, there's no strategy going into it.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

No. And you're left to your own devices trying to figure out what to create too. When that's something that we also provide for people, is not only the content but the planning behind it and just everything else.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

100%. Yeah. I just thought of a cool game we could play quickly. Okay. I'm going to name these different industries. Oh boy. And we're going to try to break down the first what that age in industry should be looking for when they're trying to hire out either an in-house social media manager, strategist, freelancer, or a content team like us. All right.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Okay. Let's start with let's go in the beauty industry.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

And what they need as far as content?

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Yeah, or what they should be looking for. Do you think someone should immediately try to hire someone in-house?

SPEAKER_00 5:08

No. I don't think that's necessary.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Why?

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Just speaking from experience, I've worked both as a contractor and someone who's been in-house. And it's not necessarily something that you need to be a part of every single day. You can create a strategy for a clinic or a beauty brand and have it all set out months in advance with keeping up with trends and stuff like that. However, there's not a lot that changes within that industry. There's a lot of things that remain the same. So I think it's easy to hire someone outside of the business itself.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

And then once I think you get bigger and bigger, that's more talking small. But I believe that once you get bigger, maybe having someone in-house is a good approach, but I still don't think it's entirely necessary.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Yeah. There's a huge difference between a social media manager and let's say a social media strategist.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Huge difference.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

A manager going into a company in-house is typically scheduling the content, posting it, replying to comments, answering DMs, managing the account.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

They're not necessarily taking content.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Whereas a strategist is going in, doing a deep dive into your content, what's working, what's not working. Yeah. Understanding where you want to be in the next three, six months or to a year.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

And then creating content based on that. Based on how that's going to get you there. And that's what we do.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

We're not just here liking your stuff and commenting on it. Again, we will, but we do much more than that.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Yeah. That's also a benefit to hiring a freelancer or a team like us. You're basically getting both of us for a fraction of what an employee would cost to do something that we're experts in.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

I think that's really important to for people to understand too, is that it's different than hiring an employee an employee.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Yeah. You have to when you hire an employer, you have to train them. They're either coming out of school.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

And they don't have much experience. They gotta learn how to create content.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

They gotta edit the content. They have to yeah, you have to pay insurance all these things on top rather than hiring a team to come in and do the exact thing you needed them to do.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

And you get the benefits of people knowing and understanding the inner workings of social media and marketing. But you I don't know where I was going with that.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Okay, that's something in my head. Let's start with let's go back to the game. Okay. Give me an industry and I'll talk about it. Fitness. Fitness, like a gym. Yeah. I feel like it all comes down to finding someone who has been in the space.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

In industry. And not so much have worked in the industry, but has been inside of it. Whether you've gone to a gym pretty often, you're used to working out. Yeah. You're in that same circle. So you understand more of the business on the back end.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Yeah. From your experience, has it been like an easy thing to do to take on fitness clients?

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Yes and no. I think we all know what they need. When you look at a gym, there's a few things that they want out of the content.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Pretty photos is great. Yeah. But it's not going to get you new members. No. And it's not going to get you new clients for their personal trainers. And so you have to create content hitting on those pain points and directing people to those services. Yes. Why are why is someone signing up at your gym to be a member? Testimonials, case studies, hitting on those pain points. Same thing with Club 60. Yeah. Why is why is someone signing up for Club 60 compared to a studio or another online platform?

SPEAKER_00 9:13

Yeah. I think with those types of things, like you said, getting those real life experiences and testimonials is huge. Showing face and just having a team of people understanding that and backing that up and providing that content for you. I think an experience in fitness is huge. All fitness places are very different and the experiences are very different. So it's understanding what that space needs, what it looks like, what it feels, and embodying that through the content that's created.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Yeah. This goes back to the initial research, asking those questions and getting a better idea of what that person can provide for them. If it's just iPhone stuff, yeah, great. But if you're looking at a team who can deliver on those lifestyle aspects, the educational pieces, and cover all those buckets of content, I think you're gonna have a better result from that.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Let's do one more industry.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

I'm thinking something small, like a small business, maybe like a brick and mortar local business.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

That's it?

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah, I don't know. Let's do okay, let's do a product-based business, like a B2C company, either online or in-store.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Well, I think with any products, you need to have a team that's able to showcase the quality of the products. You need to enhance the product experience for someone.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Totally. I was gonna say that you have to highlight what that experience feels like for that customer and how it fits into their lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah. You can take a picture of a product and be like, okay, it's great. But you can feel absolutely nothing looking at it. No.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

What are the features? What are the benefits? What why is this shoe different from this shoe? But it could be the same brand.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

And I think that's where a team like us who does both photo and video can capture that in one big way.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

The one example was when we worked with runners toys. They're experts when it comes to shoes and fitting people and getting them right in the right shoe where whether they're training, a daily runner, race, a marathon. They're shoes for different types of runners.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

On the content side, we're experts. Yeah. So we're trying to figure out what they want, and then we can deliver on that. We know what's going to work based on what you need. And we can format the content tailor to that.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

And that's the perfect way of putting it. It's yes, our clients can be the experts in what they do, but allow us to be the experts in what we do. Trust us that we can deliver exactly what you're looking for. And that's why those conversations that we have are so important because we take a deep dive into everything that they need and what they're looking for. And then that's when we figure out how we can execute that.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Yeah. That was great. That was word worded perfectly.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

What's one thing we can let leave with someone listening to this podcast if they're in the early stages of doing their research, hopping on calls, trying to get a better idea of what they need and who they need?

SPEAKER_00 12:25

I think before anyone takes the step to jump on a discovery call, I think it's important for the business itself to reflect on what they want and what their goals are with content and having a better idea of what that looks like as a whole because then it creates an easier way or an easier conversation into what we can do for you or what we can't do for you. It's like you need to know what you want. And yes, a lot of what we do takes that pressure away from you, but it's important for you to establish what your goals are and what you want to attain from your content.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

It's the whole reason why we have discovery calls to make sure we're a good fit for each other.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

And that's a big thing too. It's like sometimes you're not. No. And that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

100%.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

And I think that's a good takeaway from this as well. It's like you can start here or you can start there, but it's just all about that initial conversation.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah. Totally. And we're always hopping on quick 10, 15-minute strategy calls for free. Yeah. Just to get a better idea of who the business is.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

And we learn a lot from those conversations too. And I think for business owns owners listening to this and other photographers and videographers or strategists, I think it's great to just hop on calls and like if those notes are coming in, it's okay. You've learned at least something from it and how to move forward in a bigger and better way.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Absolutely. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Thanks for listening.