All Things Content with Kevin Nichols AvenueCX

Personalization has become so ubiquitous that nearly every content-related service has incorporated it, from social media algorithms to email lists to training blogs. Personalization allows content to cater to an individual’s unique needs and interests, improving stakeholder engagement and comprehension. But how does one maintain these benefits while attempting to personalize content at scale?



The podcast episode features a discussion on how standardization equals personalization for content. Kevin P. Nichols is joined by Christine Ceuller of Scriptorium, a company specializing in structured content solutions and enterprise content strategy. They talk about the importance of content strategy in organizing and streamlining content creation, management, and distribution. They also highlight the role of standardization in setting up effective personalization for organizations. The conversation touches on the benefits of structured authoring, the reuse of content components, and the connection between creativity and limitations. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the relationship between standardization and personalization in content strategy.



Christine is an experienced marketing strategist and content marketer passionate about connecting people. As the Marketing Coordinator for Scriptorium, she excels in identifying target audiences, creating seamless connection pathways, and showcasing the company’s talent. Known for optimizing processes, Christine has developed project management systems that enhance efficiency and reduce friction. Starting as a copywriter, she advanced to content marketing management and strategy, making her a perfect fit for Scriptorium. Outside work, she enjoys coffee, kayaking, hiking, stand-up comedy, and movies, and she holds black belts in karate and kickboxing. Christine graduated with a BA in finance and a minor in banking from New Mexico State University and has GDPR and CPPA certifications. She lives in Seattle, Washington.



Resources Mentioned:

Standardization = Personalization Article: https://www.scriptorium.com/2024/02/training-content-paradox-standardization-personalization/

CaaS and Componentization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdytjtH8jeU

Personalized Content: Steps to Success White Paper: https://www.scriptorium.com/2022/01/personalized-content-steps-to-success/

Dr. Carlos Evia’s book, Content Operations from Start to Scale: https://publishing.vt.edu/site/books/e/10.21061/content_operations_evia/

LearningDITA: https://learningdita.com

LavaCon 2024: https://lavacon.org



Christine’s Info:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-cuellar/

Articles: https://www.scriptorium.com/author/christine/  

Media: https://www.scriptorium.com/media/  

Bio: https://www.scriptorium.com/about/christine-cuellar/



Kevin’s Info: 

Kevin’s Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l

Kevin’s Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG 

Kevin’s LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG  

AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR


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AI is a groundbreaking technology disrupting nearly every industry, especially the content field. Services like ChatGPT are making writing many forms of content exponentially faster than traditional methods, and similar tools are being integrated into products like Dropbox and social media platforms to improve their usefulness and efficiency. Because of the explosion of interest and implementation into AI, terms like generative AI, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning are assumed to be referring to the same concept. What are the differences between these terms? And how can a content specialist without a background in computer science start to learn how to utilize this revolutionary new tech?



Kevin called on his friends from Reltio, Megan Gihooly and Rob Sylvester, to help answer these questions. They explore AI's definitions and use cases, particularly in content development. Megan and Rob expound on the importance of machine learning in AI and how it can solve customer problems. They emphasize the need for clear and structured content to train AI models effectively, as these models are only as valuable as the information fed into them. Lastly, the episode concludes with a reminder to approach AI tools cautiously and focus on solving specific problems rather than relying on plug-and-play solutions.



As a Sr. Director of Self-Help and Content Strategy at Reltio, Megan Gihooly, leads innovative initiatives that help customers unify their data autonomously using the Reltio platform. With over 20 years of experience in technical and marketing content, change management, e-learning, and process development, she is passionate about creating engaging and effective content experiences that drive business outcomes and customer satisfaction. She has successfully launched an award-nominated documentation portal, adopted a new content tech stack that supports publishing in minutes, and secured executive support for a generative AI assistant inside the doc portal and the product. Megan also has a strong background in customer experience, having worked at Zoomin, a SaaS content delivery platform, where she delivered customer insights, collaborated with cross-functional teams, and impacted revenue and growth.



Rob Sylvester, a Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Reltio based in San Francisco, was born and raised in Alaska. He's pretty good with computers but much better at working with people, and he enjoys it a lot more. His background is in full-stack web development and linguistics, but nowadays, his professional interest is centered almost entirely on NLP and deep learning. He has a degree in Italian and is an avid fan of Italian cinema.



Megan's Info:

Megan's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/megangilhooly 



Rob Info:

Rob Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/robmsylvester 



Kevin's Info:  

Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l 

Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG 

Kevin's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG  

AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR


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Given that the modern consumer ecosystem is so complex, finding ways to organize and optimize the customer experience can be difficult. There are countless ways customers can interact with a brand, whether that be through email, mobile apps, SMS messages, in-person experiences, and many more. The amount of options for consumers to utilize and for companies to track can be overwhelming. Due to how complicated customer experiences are today, diligent use and maintenance of customer journey maps are a necessity. 



To help outline best practices for customer journey mapping, Kevin Nichols is joined by his good friend, Steven Keith of CX Pilots. Steven and Kevin share their experiences of clients ignoring journey maps and the benefits when those maps are given proper attention. They also go over the process of creating a customer journey map, its components, and how to get all the relevant and necessary corporate teams involved. Steven and Kevin provide an updated view on how customer journey mapping is important in 2024 and how AI is evolving traditional processes. 



Steven Keith is an internationally recognized expert and keynote speaker for customer experience in professional services firms. Steven works with companies in the Fortune 10 as well as the Fortune 10,000 by helping them transform their strategies and operations to become more systematically empathetic to their internal and external customers.  



Steven’s Info:

Steven’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stevenkeith

Steven’s Company Website: https://www.cxpilots.com

Steven’s Blog: https://www.cxpilots.com/epiphanies



Kevin's Info:  

Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l 

Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG 

Kevin's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG  

AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR


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The AvenueCX team has been doing a bit of traveling! We recently attended LavaCon 2023 this year in sunny San Diego and had a wonderful time. It was a great opportunity to reconnect in person with many friends we haven’t been able to see for the past few years. One of those friends is the incredibly talented Paula Land. Kevin sat down with her to catch up, talk about her current projects, and learn about content audits and how to properly execute them within a diverse organization.

Paula Land is the founder and principal content strategist at Strategic Content, a Seattle-based consultancy offering various services in web content strategy, digital strategy, user experience, content management strategy and CMS implementation, and content development and marketing. She is also a Guest Lecturer at the University of Washington Information School, co-founder of Content Insight LLC, and author of the book "The Content Inventory and Audit Handbook". You can see her full resume and purchase her book here: https://strategiccontent.com/about

Paula’s Info:
Paula’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulaland/
Paula’s Email: paulaland@gmail.com

Kevin's Info:
Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l
Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG
Kevin's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG
AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR


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Because of the competitive nature of the corporate world, it is incredibly easy to become cynical and jaded. This is especially true for those who work in marketing, as the entire practice is about getting the attention of potential customers before a rival grabs it up first. As a result, a mindset of “by any means necessary” becomes the norm. Manipulation and partial truths are often preferred over sincerity and honesty. This makes Marketing a field of study and practice many consider simply as a means to provide income and nothing to be passionate about.

Enter today’s guest: Gina Balarin. Gina is not only an accomplished marketer who has worked with countless prestigious brands but also has an excitement around marketing that is infectious. Her optimism and passion are shared with Kevin on this episode of “All Things Content”. In this installment, she talks about her idea of “Content with a Soul”. Instead of seeing content as just a way to sell a product or service, she views it as an opportunity to make viewers feel deep emotions that will affect them on a personal level. She shows this in action by discussing different campaigns that do this well and how they did it. Gina also goes into the power of words, and how words in content can have the power to better the world and help it strive towards a more egalitarian ideal.

Gina Balarin is a passionate corporate storyteller with over 15 years of marketing and leadership experience. She is a marketing consultant, working primarily with B2B technology companies. Previously, Gina has worked as a content marketer and a Marketing Director. She is the author of hundreds of blog posts and too many B2B case studies to count. She speaks regularly on panel discussions and at marketing conferences and counts herself lucky to have spoken at TEDx. She blames her success on having been on stage in various guises over the years, doing everything from being a magician's assistant and performing lead roles in ballet and drama productions, to having worked with top C-level executives and entrepreneurs. She has a Master's Degree in Education in the subject of Management Communication, is a Chartered Marketer and Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, has a BA (Hons) in Linguistics and English Language, and a BA in Drama and Linguistics. Currently, she continues to help companies create soulful content as the Founder and Director of Verbalilistics, a B2B marketing communications agency.

Gina's Info:
Gina's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginabalarin/
Gina's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/Gina.Balarin

Kevin's Info:
Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l
Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG
Kevin's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG
AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR


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On this episode of “All Things Content”, we’re trying something a little different. Instead of Kevin acting as the host and interviewer of the show, he is the guest! Join him and Mark Yirrell, Marketing and Sales Manager at AvenueCX as well as this week’s interviewer, as they discuss Kevin’s predictions for the content industry. They discuss everything from Web 3, the end of the third-party cookie, market adaptation to permacrisis, and more.

Kevin is an award-winning thought leader, digital industry expert, and author with over 25 years of experience in digital strategy, user experience, and content. He was a key contributor to creating MIT OpenCourseWare, grew one of the largest content strategy teams in the world at SapientNitro, and has worked on content for dozens of global brands. At AvenueCX, Kevin continues pursuing his passion for content, working with international enterprises to improve their content and customer experiences. This dedication to his field is exemplified through the writing of his book Enterprise Content Strategy: A Project Guide, and co-authoring of UX for Dummies. Besides being the host of this podcast, Kevin also hosts the webinar series “Let’s Talk Personalization” produced by The Content Wrangler, leading conversations on the latest trends in personalizing content. In addition to writing books and hosting videos, Kevin supports his colleagues by serving as the Chair of Content Strategy Alliance’s Best Practices initiative.

Mark-Joseph Yirrell is a marketer fascinated with emerging technology and its influences on content. Since his freshman year at Bentley University, he has managed campaigns, both as a freelancer and while working at agencies. He has worked with countless startups and nonprofits in the local Boston area, including Moira Studio, The Video Creators Lounge, and The Cambridge Society for Early Music. After transferring and graduating from Emerson College with a BA in Media Production, Mark’s mission is to merge his passion for producing visual and audio content with his background in marketing. He has continued this mission to Los Angeles, where he continues to educate both individuals and organizations on how to improve their digital presence through content and social media.


Mark’s Info:
Mark’s Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-yirrell-0b967765
Mark’s Email: myirrell@avenuecx.com

Kevin's Info:
Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l
Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG
Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG
AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avenuecx/message