MarTech Interview With Tal Klein, CMO at Relay Network

Tal Klein, CMO at Relay Network chats about the benefits of enhancing social media feeds to drive more online brand engagement with target customers:

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Welcome to this MarTech Series chat, Tal. Tell us about yourself and your role at Relay Network… we’d love to hear about Relay Network’s core offering as well!

Hi there! I came to Relay because as the world plunged into COVID-19 lockdowns I saw a huge opportunity for brands to foster better digital engagement with their customers. Relay’s unique approach to meaningful digital engagement via feeds really jumped out to me as the best way to bridge the digital relationship divide.

In short, Relay Feeds harness the engagement power of social and news feeds (just like those you see on TikTok or LinkedIn) to improve customer engagement experiences for businesses and the people they serve. The feeds deliver content in a way that’s familiar to today’s digital users and only catalyze users to engage when the algorithm identifies highly relevant engagement opportunities. Most recently, we launched Relay IQ, a new product that uses machine learning and customer interaction data to further tailor content shown on our Relay Feeds.

Now that I’ve been here for a little over a year, I’ve seen the difference feeds make in cutting through the noise that brands generate — by putting the most relevant and engaging content in front of customers when they are most likely to find it useful.

Take us through some of the most recent algorithms changes on platforms like Facebook / Google / Instagram that you feel marketers should know more about…

Social media platforms are realizing that algorithms have reached a limit when it comes to providing content that is actually meaningful vs. addictive. If the goal is to create a feed that is truly personal (as opposed to “personalized”), then the user should feel like the feed is meaningful rather than just informative or interesting.

As they evolve, each platform (including our Relay’s own) is making changes that allow people to provide enhanced feedback on what they like or care about, rather than putting all of their trust in the algorithm to make those decisions for them.

What are some of the things that marketers need to be wary or more focused about when it comes to meeting content requirements to feed algorithms?

Most of the time when I see bad content on good channels it’s because the content creator was too focused on tactical outcomes, instead of enhancing a long-lived relationship with each customer.

When our clients ask me about best practices for content, I tell them:

• How is this content relevant to the customer’s journey — that is, will they find it useful?
• How will this content elevate the value of your brand to your customer’s life?
• What business outcome is this content tethered to — revenue generation, customer sentiment, cost to serve, or something else?

Without clear answers to those three questions, I believe content strategies are in danger of driving customer disengagement and dormancy.

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What can marketers do to stay atop of constant changes to feed formats / algorithms?

Follow the data! Be careful of cognitive bias when developing content or journeys, and make sure to create and deliver content that is informed by outcomes rather than KPIs.

Above all, content that is relevant and personal will always find a way to the end user. By considering how your content will be meaningful to users, it’s possible to stay ahead of algorithm changes.

A few thoughts on the future of social marketing and how the above will impact the growth of these channels?

Social marketing is on the precipice of commoditization, but content will always be king. To the platforms with the best, most personally meaningful, and interactive content go the spoils.

In other words, personalization is what will drive the future of social marketing. Social media has shifted from a one-size-fits all mentality to become more targeted and personal for users — that’s why up-and-coming platforms like BeReal have skyrocketed in popularity.

Some last thoughts on the future of martech and B2B marketing?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the brands delivering the most meaningful content over the most engaging channels are the ones who will succeed in creating customers for life.

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