Content Marketing, Engineered Podcast | TREW Marketing

TREW Marketing & Wendy Covey
  • 4.8 (23)
  • Marketing
  • Biweekly

If you are a marketer in a technical company, this podcast is for you. On each episode, host, author, and TREW Marketing CEO Wendy Covey will breakdown an industry trend, challenge or best practice in marketing to engineers and like-minded technical buyers. You'll meet colleagues and industry friends who will stop by to tell you their stories along the way. Learn B2B content marketing strategies and tips to build trust and grow your business with technical content. Visit trewmarketing.com/podcast for show notes, resources and to subscribe so that you'll never miss an episode. 

  1. 6d ago

    What Industrial Marketers Need to Know About AI Right Now

    Fresh from MAICON and Content Marketing World, Morgan Norris shares what industrial marketers can put into practice now. From expanding what teams can accomplish with AI to creating content that answers technical buyers’ questions, both conferences reinforced the importance of pairing new capabilities with clear strategy and human expertise.  Four takeaways from Marketing AI Conference (MAICON) 2026 AI can expand the work marketers take on. Beyond speeding up everyday tasks, AI creates opportunities to tackle valuable work that previously required too much time or capacity. Morgan shares examples ranging from deeper customer and competitor research to more detailed SEO strategies and PR monitoring. The opportunity is to identify where AI can help your team do more meaningful work while keeping people involved to evaluate and refine the results. Better context leads to better results. The conversation has shifted from writing better prompts to providing AI with the information it needs to produce useful, distinctive work. Your competitors have access to the same tools, so your customer insights, expertise, processes, and examples of successful work make the difference. Without that context, AI can confidently produce recommendations that miss the mark. AI visibility needs to build credibility. Being mentioned in an AI response does not necessarily mean your company is being recommended. Morgan cautions marketers to look beyond mention counts and examine what those responses actually say. Publications, testimonials, reviews, comparison content, and FAQs can help establish trust, but maintaining that presence requires ongoing effort—particularly when technical buyers spend months or years researching a purchase. AI is changing how teams learn and work. As AI takes on tasks that once helped junior marketers build experience, leaders need to be intentional about training people to recognize quality work. Teams also have an opportunity to rethink entire workflows around their desired outcomes. Instead of automating each step of an existing process, consider whether there is a better way to reach the goal. Takeaways from Content Marketing World Content strategy remains essential as AI makes content easier to produce. Drawing on colleague Jamie Tokarz’s conference takeaways, Wendy emphasizes defining what your brand should be known for and organizing content around the stories and questions that support that direction. A “story portfolio,” similar to topic clusters, helps connect individual pieces to a larger purpose. The buyer’s journey is also becoming harder to track through a traditional funnel. Technical buyers gather information through AI tools, communities, social media, and other sources before ever reaching your website. Wendy and Morgan discuss creating content around buyers’ questions and making valuable information accessible beyond gated assets. Staying visible matters even when buyers are not ready to purchase. Specific evidence and outside validation were recurring themes. Clear data, comparison content, recent coverage, reviews, and third-party mentions help buyers evaluate a company’s expertise. These practices already align with what technical audiences expect: useful information supported by facts rather than broad claims. Morgan also recaps her manufacturing marketing workshop, which explored turning scattered product information into a focused campaign. The process starts with goals and messaging, then connects content, channels, and measurement to those goals. Her recommendation for getting started brings the episode’s themes together: choose one question your technical buyers need answered, use your expertise and AI tools to develop a strong response, and build from there. Resources Connect with Morgan on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInRegister for the Industrial Marketing SummitApply for the Industrial Marketing Awards

  2. Oct 23

    Why “Request a Quote” Could Be Costing You Leads

    When a technical buyer asks for pricing, it rarely means they’re ready to buy. They may be building a budget, exploring options, or gathering information for a project that’s months away. So why do so many manufacturers treat every pricing inquiry as a sales-ready lead? In this episode, Dale Underwood, founder of SafePrice.io, discusses how companies selling complex products can rethink the pricing conversation and engage buyers earlier.  In this discussion, Dale distinguishes between budgetary estimates, which help buyers plan and evaluate options, and formal quotes, which support a purchase decision. He explains why the familiar “Request a Quote” button may discourage early-stage prospects who want pricing information without committing to a sales conversation. One simple experiment he recommends is changing that button to “Pricing” and measuring how engagement changes. The conversation also explores how a self-service pricing option can work alongside a traditional sales inquiry form. Dale describes an approach that lets buyers seek estimates while giving sales teams control of approving and sharing pricing information. Once an estimate is delivered, the follow-up matters. Rather than immediately asking when the buyer will purchase, Dale recommends offering help with project requirements or sharing relevant resources. That creates an opportunity to build trust and influence requirements before decisions are finalized. For industrial marketers navigating long sales cycles, this episode helps you turn pricing questions into productive conversations. Resources Connect with Dale on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInLearn more about safeprice.ioRegister for the Industrial Marketing SummitApply for the Industrial Marketing Awards

  3. Oct 8

    Breaking Down eCommerce Barriers for Industrial Brands

    eCommerce is changing how industrial brands serve customers, support sales teams, and prepare for AI. In this episode, Jason Greenwood shares what successful digital transformation looks like for manufacturers and distributors.  Jason explains that B2B eCommerce extends beyond an online checkout. B2B buyers want convenient access to inventory, pricing, order status, technical information, and quote requests. Even customers who purchase through other channels can benefit from digital tools that simplify everyday interactions. Successful adoption starts inside the business. Jason emphasizes aligning sales commissions across digital and traditional channels so representatives have a reason to encourage customers to use new tools. Automating administrative tasks gives experienced salespeople more time to build relationships and provide consultative support. Leadership commitment and employee buy-in are equally critical. The conversation also explores how conversational AI can help companies serve buyers through familiar channels, including email, WhatsApp, Slack, and Teams. Rather than requiring every customer to use a portal, businesses can bring digital capabilities into the workflows customers already prefer. However, Jason cautions against skipping foundational work to pursue AI. Complete, accurate product and customer data underpin effective eCommerce, automation, and AI applications. He also warns that hiding entire product catalogs behind login screens can limit visibility in search engines and AI research tools. For marketers, digital improvements create opportunities to connect brand promises with the customer experience. Something as straightforward as automated shipping updates can solve a significant operational problem and strengthen customer loyalty. Jason closes with a preview of his Industrial Marketing Summit session on eCommerce in complex and regulated industries. His message throughout the episode is practical: understand how customers want to buy, remove friction, and build the digital foundation that helps your business consistently deliver on its promises. Early bird tickets  for the Industrial Marketing Summit are available now through October 16, 2026. Get your tickets today! Resources Connect with Jason on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInLearn more about Greenwood ConsultingRegister for the Industrial Marketing Summit Apply for the Industrial Marketing Awards

  4. Sep 24

    Inside IMS 2027: AI, Strategy, Community, and What’s Ahead

    The Industrial Marketing Summit is returning to Austin for its fourth year! IMS 2027 is shaping up to bring even more depth, practical education, and connection to the industrial marketing community. In this episode, summit co-hosts Wendy Covey and Joe Sullivan preview what attendees can expect.  The 2027 Industrial Marketing Summit will take place in Austin, Texas on February 23 -25. Co-hosted by TREW Marketing and Gorilla 76, this event is in it's fourth year. Wendy Covey and Joe Sullivan reflect on how IMS has evolved over the past three years, especially the sense of community that has formed among marketers working inside manufacturing, engineering, and other technical organizations. The 2027 program will balance foundational marketing strategies with the technologies reshaping the profession today. Sessions will explore topics including messaging, product launches, omnichannel content, trade shows, marketing measurement, AI search, and practical ways marketers can use AI within their organizations. Attendees can also go deeper through three hands-on workshops focused on AI context engineering, go-to-market strategy, and AI-powered search. The episode also introduces 2027 keynote speaker John Graff, former longtime CMO of National Instruments and current business strategy and AI instructor at the Texas McCombs School of Business. Another major addition for 2027 is the new Industrial Marketing Awards, created to recognize standout campaigns, product launches, content programs, events, innovation, and individual marketers across the industry. Resources Connect with Joe on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInRegister for the Industrial Marketing SummitApply for the Industrial Marketing Awards

  5. Sep 11

    What’s Working on LinkedIn for Industrial Marketers Right Now

    LinkedIn remains one of the most important social media platforms for industrial marketers trying to reach engineers and technical buyers. But succeeding on LinkedIn looks different than it did a few years ago. Company pages still matter, but individual thought leaders can often gain more traction and amplify your message. We discuss what strategies marketers should prioritize on LinkedIn today.  What Should Industrial Marketers Prioritize on LinkedIn? Industrial marketers should build a LinkedIn strategy that combines company-page content with individual thought leadership. Company pages remain important for maintaining an active brand presence, sharing company news, promoting educational resources, and supporting campaigns. However, individual experts often have an advantage when it comes to reach and engagement because LinkedIn users want to hear directly from real people with real  expertise. An effective LinkedIn strategy should also involve executives, salespeople, subject matter experts, engineers, and other employees who can share credible perspectives with their own networks. Why Is Thought Leadership Important on LinkedIn? Thought leadership helps companies extend their reach beyond what their corporate LinkedIn page can achieve alone. Industrial companies may spend significant time developing useful content only to see a company-page post receive a few hundred impressions. Individual profiles can generate much stronger reach because audiences are more interested in hearing directly from knowledgeable people over brands. Engineers and other subject matter experts can bring a level of credibility and experience to a post that is difficult for a corporate account to replicate. Instead of asking only, “What should our company post this week?”, marketers should also ask: Which experts inside our company could be sharing content?Which executives already have an active LinkedIn presence?Which engineers or technical SMEs have perspectives our audience would value?Start with the people who are easiest to activate, then expand your program over time. Executives, founders, and salespeople are often the easiest place to begin because they may already be comfortable posting or building their personal networks. However, some of the most valuable voices can also be the hardest to activate: engineers and technical subject matter experts. Technical audiences want to hear from people who understand their problems firsthand. An engineer explaining how they approached a design challenge may be more compelling than the same information presented as a traditional brand post. A strong thought leadership program can therefore include a mix of: Founders and executivesSales leadersProduct leadersEngineersTechnical subject matter expertsWhat Should LinkedIn Thought Leaders Post About? Thought leadership content should connect to your broader marketing strategy while reflecting the expertise of the individual posting it. Start with your existing campaigns, product launches, company messaging, customer challenges, and educational content. Then adjust the angle based on the person sharing it. For example, several employees could support the same product launch without posting the same message. A founder might discuss why the company invested in solving a particular problem.A sales leader might discuss what customers are asking about.An engineer might explain the technical challenge the team was trying to solve or how a particular approach could be applied.This approach allows industrial marketers to get more mileage out of existing campaigns without simply copying corporate posts onto employees’ profiles. Do Personal Posts Belong on LinkedIn? Yes. Personal content can help LinkedIn thought leaders increase reach, build familiarity, and make their professional content more effective.  Photos from events, travel, team activities, career and personal milestones, and other personal experiences can give audiences a reason to stop scrolling. Those posts may also generate stronger engagement than traditional business content, which can increase the overall visibility of an individual’s profile. Personal posts should still use good judgment. Highly controversial topics or posts far outside what someone is comfortable associating with their employer may create risk. But authenticity itself is not something industrial marketers should be afraid of. Are LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads Worth Testing? Thought leadership ads can be an effective way to expand the reach of strong individual posts while being significantly less expensive than other LinkedIn Ad types. Instead of building an advertisement from a traditional branded graphic or video, LinkedIn thought leadership ads allow companies to promote posts from individual profiles. This works particularly well when the original content is already educational and credible. At TREW, we have experimented with promoting thought leadership posts from experts. In our experience discussed, these posts have produced strong engagement and relatively efficient results compared with some traditional LinkedIn ad formats. For industrial marketers already investing in LinkedIn advertising, thought leadership ads are worth testing when you have a particularly strong organic post. Do Company Pages Still Matter on LinkedIn? Yes. Industrial brands should still maintain an active LinkedIn company page. Some content formats are particularly useful for generating engagement, while others may be better at generating reach and impressions. Document posts, sometimes called PDF sliders or carousel-style posts, can be particularly effective for engagement because users click or swipe through multiple pages. Multi-image posts can have a similar advantage because users interact with the post as they browse the images. Higher interaction can signal to LinkedIn that users find the content useful. On the reach side, industrial marketers may see stronger results from: Team photosEvent photosPosts tagging relevant employees or partnersVideosContent employees are likely to share with their own networksA strong company-page content calendar should include a mixture of formats rather than optimizing every post around a single metric. How Can Industrial Marketers Improve LinkedIn Immediately? If your company has not developed an employee thought leadership program, start by identifying one person who is most likely to participate. Once you identify that person, audit their LinkedIn profile. Check: Profile photoBanner imageHeadlineFeatured sectionExperienceAreas of expertiseRelevant keywordsFrequently Asked Questions About LinkedIn for Industrial Marketers Should industrial companies still post on their LinkedIn company pages? Yes. Company pages remain important for maintaining an active brand presence and distributing company content. However, brands should combine company-page activity with individual thought leadership to expand their potential reach. Who makes the best LinkedIn thought leader at an industrial company? Executives and salespeople may be easiest to activate, but engineers and technical subject matter experts can be particularly valuable because they can speak directly to the technical challenges audiences care about. How often should a new LinkedIn thought leader post? For someone new to thought leadership, one post every other week can be a realistic starting point. As the person becomes more comfortable and the content process improves, marketers can work toward a more frequent cadence. Do LinkedIn hashtags still work? Hashtags may provide some value, but they should not be the centerpiece of a LinkedIn strategy. Event hashtags remain particularly useful for joining conversations around conferences and trade shows. What LinkedIn post formats work well for industrial companies? Document posts, multi-image posts, team and event photography, and videos can all play different roles. Document and multi-image posts can encourage engagement, while people-focused photos and videos may help expand reach. What is the easiest way to start a LinkedIn thought leadership program? Choose one willing employee, optimize their LinkedIn profile, identify topics connected to your existing marketing strategy, and begin with a manageable posting schedule. During the episode, we also previewed TREW Marketing’s What’s Working Now webinar on September 24, which will cover actions industrial marketers can take today, over the next few weeks, and as they begin planning for 2027. We also shared an update on the 2027 Industrial Marketing Summit, taking place February 23 through 25 in Austin, Texas, including new sessions shaped by attendee feedback and covering topics ranging from marketing leadership and reporting to e-commerce and sales training. Resources Connect with Kasey on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInRegister for the What's Working Now WebinarRegister for the Industrial Marketing SummitD

  6. Aug 28

    Beyond the Booth: Building a Smarter 2026 and 2027 Trade Show Strategy

    Trade shows can be one of the biggest investments in an industrial marketing budget, requiring significant time, money and resources. So how can marketers make sure that investment pays off? This week, we discuss everything from the 18-month planning cycle, to prepping your sales team, to accurately following up and reporting on quality leads.   In this episode, Wendy Covey is joined by TREW Marketing’s Kara Koch and Vicki Klanang Pfister to break down how industrial marketers can take a more strategic approach to 2026 and 2027 trade shows, from deciding which events deserve a spot on the calendar to creating an experience that attracts the right people. The conversation starts with strategy. Rather than attending an event simply because the company has always been there, marketers should consider business goals, target audiences, past performance and the desired outcome of each show. Those factors should also determine the level of participation, whether that means exhibiting, speaking, sponsoring or simply walking the show. They also discuss why successful trade show planning starts earlier than many marketers realize. Major events may require commitments 12 to 18 months in advance, while detailed booth, messaging and promotional planning should begin months before the show. But logistics are only part of the equation. Kara and Vicki share ways to build pre-show campaigns, align marketing and sales, establish clear lead qualification criteria, tailor booth messaging to the event audience and give attendees a compelling reason to stop by. They also cover common mistakes, from scanning every badge to staffing booths with disengaged employees. Whether you're planning one major trade show or an entire event calendar, this episode covers all the bases to a successful industrial B2B tradeshow strategy. Resources Connect with Vicki on LinkedInConnect with Kara on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInLearn more about TREW's Marketing Strategy ServiceExplore TREW's Case StudiesRegister for the Industrial Marketing SummitDownload the 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers Research Report

  7. Aug 6

    Inside Quarterly Marketing Reviews: What to Report to Leadership

    Quarterly marketing reviews are more than a chance to report results. They're an opportunity to align leadership, evaluate what's working, identify what needs to change, and prioritize the initiatives that will drive the next quarter forward. TREW Marketing President Jennifer Dawkins shares her framework for running productive quarterly marketing reviews that keep teams focused on business goals, spark meaningful discussions, and ensure future decisions are backed by data.  In this episode, TREW Marketing President Jennifer Dawkins shares her framework for running productive quarterly reviews. She explains that effective quarterly reviews should begin by revisiting the marketing goals established during planning. Rather than diving straight into dashboards, she recommends reminding stakeholders of the objectives everyone agreed upon and highlighting the major initiatives executed during the quarter. From there, marketers can review high-level health metrics before taking a deeper look at significant campaign performance, unexpected trends, and lessons learned. One of the episode's key takeaways is that marketers don't need to report every metric they track. While detailed data helps marketing teams optimize their work, leadership is primarily interested in metrics that influence business decisions. Jennifer encourages marketers to tailor reporting to their audience by focusing on business outcomes, meaningful anomalies, and initiatives tied directly to strategic goals. The result is a more collaborative discussion that leads to informed decisions instead of simply reviewing numbers. The conversation also explores several trends TREW has observed across industrial marketing clients. While organic website traffic continues to decline, AI referral traffic is steadily increasing. More importantly, the visitors who do arrive are proving to be higher quality, spending more time on websites and converting at higher rates.  Whether you're reporting to executives or leading your own marketing team, it's critical to define success before campaigns begin, measure what matters most, and use quarterly reviews as an opportunity to refine your strategy.  Resources Connect with Jennifer on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInLearn more about TREW's Marketing Strategy ServiceExplore TREW's Case StudiesRegister for the Industrial Marketing SummitDownload the 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers Research Report

  8. Jul 24

    How to Market Complex Products Without Being an Engineer

    Breaking into a technical industry can feel intimidating for marketers, especially when you're surrounded by engineers, product experts, and complex technologies. But you don't need to become an engineer to become an effective industrial marketer. In this episode, you'll learn practical strategies for building confidence, creating stronger content, and connecting with technical audiences. \ In this episode, Natae, Content and Brand Marketing Manager at Novaspect, shares how she immerses herself in new industries and markets by interviewing customers and subject matter experts, joining industry organizations, reading trade publications, and learning the language her audience uses. She explained her goal isn't to know every technical detail. It's to understand why customers care and what challenges they're trying to solve. The conversation also explores the growing importance of authentic, human-centered content. While product specifications and technical capabilities still matter, the people behind the brand often create the strongest performance across social media platforms. From showcasing company culture to capturing unscripted interviews with sales engineers at trade shows, Natae has found that genuine content consistently outperforms overly polished marketing. The episode also highlights why content creation shouldn't be limited to the marketing department. Encouraging leaders, salespeople, HR professionals, and technical experts to share their knowledge helps build trust, supports recruiting, and extends a company's reach. Marketing's role becomes one of enabling, amplifying, and repurposing that expertise across channels. Whether you're new to industrial marketing or looking for fresh ways to strengthen your strategy, this episode offers practical advice for building credibility, creating better content, and connecting with technical audiences in a meaningful way. Resources Connect with Natae on LinkedIn Connect with Wendy on LinkedIn Learn more about Novaspect Download the 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers Research Report Related Episode: AI Visibility: The Future of Search Optimization

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If you are a marketer in a technical company, this podcast is for you. On each episode, host, author, and TREW Marketing CEO Wendy Covey will breakdown an industry trend, challenge or best practice in marketing to engineers and like-minded technical buyers. You'll meet colleagues and industry friends who will stop by to tell you their stories along the way. Learn B2B content marketing strategies and tips to build trust and grow your business with technical content. Visit trewmarketing.com/podcast for show notes, resources and to subscribe so that you'll never miss an episode. 

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