Modern Marketing Today
  • About
  • B2B
  • B2G
  • B2C
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Digital Transformation
  • Customer Journey
  • The Experts
  • Martech Innovation
  • Events
    • Dreamforce 2019
    • 2019 Sitecore Symposium
    • Modern Customer Experience
  • Resources
Modern Marketing Today
  • Digital Transformation
  • Customer Journey
  • The Experts
  • Martech Innovation
  • Events
    • Dreamforce 2019
    • 2019 Sitecore Symposium
    • Modern Customer Experience
  • Resources
No Result
View All Result
Modern Marketing Today
No Result
View All Result
Home The Experts

NetApp’s Amy Lewis Gives a Fresh Perspective on Marketing

by Jenna Sindle
June 23, 2017
in The Experts
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
NetApp’s Amy Lewis Gives a Fresh Perspective on Marketing
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Recently, GovDataDownload, an online community focusing on data management solutions for public sector organizations, spoke with Amy Lewis, Director of Influence Marketing at NetApp, about the often underestimated role of community building in marketing.  Amy brings a fresh perspective to marketing that shifts the focus from ‘the sell’ to relationship building. She also speaks to the importance of tailoring communities to their audience – there is no one-size-fits-all.  Read the whole conversation between GovDataDownload and Amy here:

GovDataDownload (GDD): Amy, thanks for chatting with us, can you tell us about your role at NetApp?

Amy Lewis: (AL): I’m Director of Influence Marketing at NetApp.  Contrary to what many people think I’m not in charge of the Twitter account, although social media presence is part of influence marketing. What I do is draw all the different threads of influence together to build a community of advocates.

GDD: You’ve worked at some very large companies and in the startup world, what are some of the differences in building customer communities?

AL: I’ve been fortunate to work for both established companies and startups. The thing that remains the same is that people are people are people no matter what the size of the company. While the scale and resources might be different, the goal of creating a customer community is the same.  If you attempt to build a community just by talking about your company, or yourself, all the time there’s little possibility that you’ll be successful.

GDD: Why is community building such an important part of marketing?

AL: Communities are such an important part of a company today. Technology companies have moved away from advertising-driven marketing to focus on community building. If you think about how we act as consumers, we never buy anything in isolation; we rely on our communities to make recommendations. That type of interaction has become part of the decision making process for businesses. Successful organizations are the ones that listen to their customers and build authentic communities.

GDD: What are some of your favorite tools or events for building authentic community?

AL: There’s a standard set of tools that are part of marketing in the era of social but when vendors come en masse with social messages it can be overwhelming and lacks authenticity.

To be successful, you have to know why you’re building a community. At Cisco I was looking to give a huge company a human face; at SolidFire I was building a community of advocates to help us punch above our weight, and at NetApp I’m inviting customers to be part of a major transformation.   Being aware of your motivation makes it easier to identify the tools and platforms that will best communicate the message.

However, my favorite thing is to bring the quirky.  Sharing a bit of yourself gets people talking.  I’ve done bacon-based events, which, even if you don’t eat bacon, gets people talking quickly and ‘Whiteboard-Offs,’ which are like dance-offs, but for engineers.  Whatever the tactics the guiding principles are the same: know your why, be genuine, and listen to your customers.

GDD: Tell us something about yourself that we can’t learn from your social media presence? 

AL: As your basic introvert, I feel over-exposed on social media!  From my Twitter profile write-up you’ll see that I’m a podcast host for The Geek Whisperers and Speaking in Tech as well as the creator of Popup Tech Talks.  If you read my Twitter profile you’ll see I like futbol. It’s a recent addition to my life and I’ve embraced it whole-heartedly.  I’m not just watching matches but I’m the coach of my eldest daughter’s team. True to my geek roots, you’ll find me watching matches and sketching out plays for next week’s practice.

Tags: Amy LewisComms Ninjacommunity buildingInfluence MarketingNurture StreamPopUp Tech TalksSpeaking in TechThe Geek Whisperer
Advertisement Banner

RELATED POSTS

Community Building
Martech Innovation

What Does Community Building have to do with Content? Everything.

October 27, 2017
Alexandra McHugh and Mavens of Marketing Fill the Networking Gap in Federal IT Marketing
The Experts

Alexandra McHugh and Mavens of Marketing Fill the Networking Gap in Federal IT Marketing

March 24, 2017
Events

Community Building in the Public Sector: An Exclusive Q&A with GovLoop Founder and President, Steve Ressler

November 17, 2014

TRENDING NOW

  • Customer Trends

    How Customer Trends are Shaping the Automotive Industry

    898 shares
    Share 359 Tweet 225
  • Spreading the Power of Optimism with David Oksman of Life is good

    530 shares
    Share 212 Tweet 133
  • What Google Announcement of Bard Means for the AI Space

    494 shares
    Share 198 Tweet 124
  • Brands Identify Target Audiences with AI Tools to Create Personalized, Relevant Campaigns

    586 shares
    Share 234 Tweet 147
  • Three Ways Generative AI Can Help Marketers & Publishers

    493 shares
    Share 197 Tweet 123

CONNECT WITH US

BECOME AN INSIDER

Get Modern Marketing Today news and updates in your inbox.

Strategic Communications Group is a digital media company that helps business-to-business marketers drive customer demand through content marketing, content syndication, and lead identification.

Related Communities

Financial Technology Today
Future Healthcare Today
Government Technology Insider
Retail Technology Insider
Today’s Modern Educator

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us

Become a Sponsor

Modern Marketing Today offers content and advertising sponsorships to leading technology solution and service providers. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact us!

© 2023 Strategic Communications Group, Inc.
Privacy Policy      |      Terms of Service

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Modern Marketing Today
  • B2B
  • B2G
  • B2C
  • Categories
    • Digital Transformation
    • Customer Journey
    • The Experts
    • Martech Innovation
    • Events
  • Contact Us