Digital Marketing From The Coalface

Dave Robinson
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  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Digital marketing chat from people at the coalface delivering successful solutions to tech and engineering businesses in the UK, Europe, USA & Australia. It often descends into jibberish, but enjoyable jibberish.

  1. Stop Selling "Solutions": Should Engineers Run Your Marketing? Bridging the Technical-Marketing Divide

    6D AGO

    Stop Selling "Solutions": Should Engineers Run Your Marketing? Bridging the Technical-Marketing Divide

    Are you selling "global solutions to world-class problems"? If so, please stop. Your marketing messaging is likely confusing your buyers and costing you leads.   In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie dives into the marketing challenges faced by tech, industrial, and engineering companies. They explore why highly technical companies often fall into the trap of listing off features rather than focusing on the actual outcomes their clients want to buy.   If your marketing materials can't pass the "So what?" test, this episode is for you.   In this episode, they cover: The "So What?" Test for Technical Messaging: why relying on jargon and lazy buzzwords like "solutions" is destroying your pitches, and how to effectively position your firm as a "safe pair of hands". Should Engineers Run Your Marketing?: let's discuss the crucial balance between highly practical engineering teams and marketing professionals. Learn why your best technical minds make incredible subject matter experts, but shouldn't be left alone to run the marketing strategy. The Myth of the Marketing "Unicorn": Why hiring a single marketing manager to handle strategy, content, paid advertising, and video editing is an impossible expectation. Navigating Complex B2B Sales Cycles: Why ROI is incredibly difficult to track across an 18-month engineering sales cycle, and the hidden dangers of pausing your marketing budget when times get tough. AI Workflows for Tech Leaders: Practical tips for using Google's NotebookLM to distil massive technical documents into audio summaries, and how to supercharge Claude using Zapier integrations to automate your inbox and calendar. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A candid chat about navigating intimidating corporate boardrooms, class backgrounds, and dealing with the feeling that you're going to be "found out". Whether you are an engineering director looking to better understand your marketing department, or a tech CEO trying to refine your company's core message, this episode offers practical, no-nonsense advice to help you communicate your true value.   Brought to you by Red Evolution (a proud B Corp in case you missed that part).

    47 min
  2. From Keywords to Vibe Coding: The AI Era of Industrial Marketing

    MAR 17

    From Keywords to Vibe Coding: The AI Era of Industrial Marketing

    In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie explore the breathtaking speed at which AI is transforming both marketing strategy and backend technical workflows.   Both agree that traditional keyword stuffing is officially a relic of the past as search queiries get longer and more complex and search engines get smarter. But what does transitioning to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) entail, and how do B2B comapnies make sure they get cited by AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini?   It might be time to learn how to shift focus toward solving specific customer pain points by creating highly authoritative content clusters for niche industrial topics, in order to capture the high-intent audience you dream of turning into loyal customers.   Dave and Julie also discuss getting more insight into "zero-click" AI searches by exploring Google Search Console's new filters to measure the true impact of your branded search and reputation.   And before this episode comes to an end, they take the time to chat about the technical implementation of AI agents that are rapidly replacing traditional manual workflows.   Whether you are mapping out customer intent for LLMs or building the technical infrastructure to automate your business operations, this episode highlights why breaking down the silos between marketing and tech is crucial for the modern engineering firm.

    40 min
  3. What Marketing Really Is And Why Engineers Get It Wrong

    MAR 4

    What Marketing Really Is And Why Engineers Get It Wrong

    In episode 164 of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie cut through the online nonsense to explore what marketing actually is—and what it isn't. Fed up with self-proclaimed LinkedIn "gurus" making up their own definitions, Dave and Julie break down the fundamentals to prove that marketing is a strategic process, not just the "colouring in department".   Buckle up! In this episode, we cover: The Real Definition of Marketing: The official definition and an explanation of the "Marketing Mix" (the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion). Discover why advertising, PR, and branding are actually just subsets of the "promotion" piece of the puzzle and not whatever rubbish you are reading on LinkedIn. Why Engineering & Tech Firms Struggle: Dave and Julie discuss why companies run by engineers often get marketing completely back to front by building a clever product first and trying to force it onto an audience, rather than listening to the marketplace to identify a gap. Brand Successes & Failures: Real-world examples of marketing in action, from a local window cleaner who perfectly tapped into high market demand, to the recent struggles, closures, and brand tarnishing of major Scottish companies. AI Industry Updates: A quick look at the latest AI news, including ChatGPT's new ad tiers, Claude's clever anti-ad Super Bowl commercial taking a dig at OpenAI, and some frustrating user-experience bugs Dave has experienced with Anthropic's credit system. Life as a B-Corp: Celebrating B-Corp month! We share reflections on a recent B-Corp gathering at the Scottish Parliament and discuss our hopes for building a stronger local B-Corp community to help other businesses balance purpose with profit. Tune in for an unfiltered, highly practical discussion on business strategy, and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next episode, where we'll be tackling the rapidly changing world of keyword research and schema markup for AI search engines.

    42 min
  4. The Data Stream: Optimising Video Assets for AI-Powered Search

    FEB 16

    The Data Stream: Optimising Video Assets for AI-Powered Search

    In this episode of "Digital Marketing from the Coalface," Dave and Leslie explore the critical shift in how AI models and AI-powered search engines process and index video content. Moving beyond simple metadata, AI models now "tokenise" video, analysing visual frames and audio streams to extract technical data and sentiment.   High-fidelity video production is no longer just an "aesthetic choice" but a data integrity requirement to ensure AI accurately interprets complex products and engineering solutions.  The discussion also focuses on the strategic risk of "Brand Drift" a phenomenon where AI models, lacking sufficient and up-to-date high-quality data, begin to hallucinate technical specifications or fill knowledge gaps with obsolete data or competitor information.   To avoid the pitfall of AI hallucinating facts about your brand, and in order to allow to speak about your business with authority, your business needs to guide and correct the AI narrative about your brand. Relying on video production is a powerful way to feed AI models with plentiful relevant information.

    42 min
  5. We Discuss The Power of NotebookLM & Minimising Clicks For PPC Success

    FEB 9

    We Discuss The Power of NotebookLM & Minimising Clicks For PPC Success

    In this episode of Digital Marketing from the Coalface, Dave and Julie explore the counter-intuitive reality of B2B growth: why receiving fewer clicks often signals a healthier strategy than chasing high-volume traffic.   They discuss the "Mark Kermode Effect"—a bizarre algorithmic failure where YouTube's AI confused Dave with the famous film critic based on their glasses and grey hair, driving thousands of irrelevant views that immediately bounced.   For engineering and tech leaders focused on efficiency, Julie and Dave also dive into practical applications of generative AI in operational workflows. Dave shares his experience using Claude Code to rapidly prototype and update internal resource management software, allowing non-developers to fix issues and run test plans via GitHub.   Finally, they look at how NotebookLM is transforming how technical data is consumed, turning dense structural engineering reports on infrastructure into engaging audio summaries.

    27 min
  6. January Blues, Skinflints, AI And General Moaning, HNY

    JAN 28

    January Blues, Skinflints, AI And General Moaning, HNY

    In the first episode of the year, Julie and Dave unpack the shifting realities of online marketing and business software. They dive into the idea of the "great decoupling," exploring how AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT are disrupting the long-standing relationship between SEO and website traffic. The conversation also takes a critical look at AI-driven advertising, questioning its efficiency—especially for niche B2B markets where, for now, hands-on, manual management still comes out on top. The episode taps into a common frustration many businesses face: investing heavily in software without seeing meaningful returns. From Red Evo's perspective, technology alone isn't the answer. Julie and Dave make the case for prioritising human experience and expertise over fully automated solutions, emphasising that even the most powerful tools require skilled guidance to deliver real value. The takeaway? Investing in software is smart—but investing in the expertise needed to use it effectively is smarter.

    51 min
  7. No David, Franz Kafka Didn't Direct It's A Wonderful Life

    12/22/2025

    No David, Franz Kafka Didn't Direct It's A Wonderful Life

    We finally managed to record a new episode and we promise to properly ressurect the podcast in 2026. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our 2025 recap where we break down the seismic shifts in digital marketing that are actively reshaping how B2B buyers operate in complex sectors, including engineering, tech, renewable energy, and oil and gas. Discover how tech leaders are leveraging platforms like Claude and Gemini as highly productive coding agents for JavaScript and PHP, sounding boards for strategic planning, and tools for rapidly building minimum viable products (MVPs).   We also explain why blocking AI from crawling your site is a strategic mistake, and how doubling down on Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) is the only way to build the brand authority required to survive.   We also cover how generalist marketing doesn't work for highly technical B2B industries. We share the results of our own agency's pivot to exclusively serving industrial and tech businesses. Learn why demonstrating deep expertise in your specific niche—whether you manufacture heat exchangers or develop wind farm monitoring software—removes buyer "risk" and helps you win higher-value contracts!   Listen to the full episode now to ensure your industrial brand remains visible, authoritative, and profitable in 2026.

    54 min
  8. As AI & Google Keep Stealing Your Content, What Can You Do About It?

    07/22/2025

    As AI & Google Keep Stealing Your Content, What Can You Do About It?

    Are your buyers finding your complex engineering solutions through traditional search, or are AI bots intercepting their queries first? In this episode, Dave and Cam dive into the rapidly evolving landscape of digital visibility. They tackle the strategic dilemma of the modern web: should your technical documentation and web pages be written for human context, or structured as strict problem-solution data to be crawled and served by AI snippets? They also touch upon the topic of understanding how AI evaluates and uses your proprietary content, and why it is more important than ever, before exploring how the new Insights tab in Google Search Console will soon allow businesses to track exactly how often their content is being featured in these AI-generated answers. For tech decision-makers who manage infrastructure and vendor relationships, the episode also addresses a highly relatable industry pain point: the frustrating disconnect between technology marketing claims and realistic performance. The biggest threat to your business isn't necessarily your direct competitors, but failing to adapt to AI—and how partnering with specialised firms can strengthen your market position. Tune in to this episode to ensure your digital strategy is as robust and forward-thinking as the engineering solutions you provide.

    46 min
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Digital marketing chat from people at the coalface delivering successful solutions to tech and engineering businesses in the UK, Europe, USA & Australia. It often descends into jibberish, but enjoyable jibberish.

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