AMA: Apollo.io Director of Social, Community & Customer Marketing, Katie Jane Parkes on Demand Generation Strategy

Best-in-class Customer Marketing teams are deeply integrated across all of marketing. They build tight knit relationships with Customer Success, Sales, Product, Brand, and Demand Gen so they can support all of these teams in driving retention, expansion, and advocacy. Ultimately, the best Customer Marketing teams don't just support customers and give them a community to be part of, they treat their role like a real marketing discipline and activate their best customers to create a growth engine. ...Read More

Awareness stages should still inform your demand gen strategy, but customer journeys in 2025 are anything but linear. People jump around, self-educate, and make decisions in unexpected ways. So while it’s helpful to map the content you create to funnel stages, the idea of a perfectly sequenced full-funnel campaign is kind of dead. Here’s how I approach it: Top of Funnel (Unaware → Problem-Aware)Goal: Get on their radar by acknowledging the pain or opportunity.Content strategy: Thought leadership ...Read More

I always provide recommendations across performance, process, and future strategy. The goal is to level up for the next round. Here’s what I typically include: Performance Analysis & Optimization What worked? What didn’t? Why? Recommendations might include adjusting targeting, creative, timing, or CTA placement. Audience Insights Who engaged the most (persona, industry, channel)? Suggest refining segments or tailoring messaging based on what resonated. Channel-Specific Tweaks If paid social ...Read More

Because the customer journey doesn’t end at the sale, you need to focus on a process that evolves their experience with your product (and brand). You need to focus on driving continuous value so your customers will not only stay and grow, but also become advocates for your brand. In my experience, here's what those stages typically look like: Onboarding: Create a tailored onboarding journey for your ICP, including product walkthroughs and quick-win educational content that can get your customers ...Read More

Top inbound channel is our website. If I need to drive more top-of-funnel volume fast, here’s where I invest first: SEO & Content Foundational. High-intent, cost-efficient over time, and great for education-stage buyers. I’ll double down on blogs, landing pages, and ungated assets that map to common search queries and pain points. Paid Social Best for quick scale and awareness. Video and “teach, don’t sell” content works well here. Thought Leadership via Exec or Founder BrandWhether it’s Lin ...Read More

Really hard to answer this well these days. Customer journeys are just not linear. If you're using a multi-touch attribution model, chances are your prospects are engaging very chaotically with different pieces of content or campaigns at every stage of the funnel. It's likely they've downloaded a guide, watched several videos, liked a bunch of social content, participated in a demo call, spoken with sales multiple times, checked you out on G2, read customer stories, etc. and it might just be the ...Read More

My go-to demand gen strategy is actually really straightforward: gain deep audience understanding + create content that educates, not just sells. It’s simple, but wildly effective when done right. Here’s what that looks like in action: Start with actual customer insights Interview customers. Talk to them as much as you can. And ask them about their lives, not just your product. What movies do they like? Do they have kids? What is the biggest time suck in their day? Know what their lives are like ...Read More

If we're looking at Customer Marketing strategy, there's a few key variables that can shape where we focus and how we allocate resources: Audience/customer segments: Different personas might have different needs. For example, execs might respond to thought leadership and advocacy programs, but end users will need in-product guidance and education. This segmentation will change your messaging, channels, and content formats. Product complexity & maturity: If the product is hard to use, you'll ...Read More

I think this question is meant to say 2024 to 2025! So here we go. Outside the usual suspects (email, PPC, SEO, affiliate, and social), here are some pipeline drivers that delivered in 2024 and I'm already doubling up on in 2025: Customer-Led Growth: Influencer marketing is in a weird place. But the "influencers" that always win? Your loyal customers. Turn your best customers into your best marketers. Founder/Exec-Led/Employee Content & Distribution: Personal brand > company brand in many ...Read More