📣 Content, Marketing & Video: Thoughts from a Non-Marketer

I’m not a marketer. Nor am I a social media influencer.

But after spending the past two years observing, consuming, and occasionally experimenting with marketing content—especially on LinkedIn—I’ve built a fair perspective on what works… and what really doesn’t.

🔄 A Look Back: Marketing Then vs Now

Thirty years ago, marketing looked very different.
Dial-up modems squealed us online. AltaVista was the dominant search engine. If you wanted to find a business, you reached for the Yellow Pages. Advertising lived in trade magazines or newspapers, and “content creation” was the domain of journalists writing for traditional media.

Influencers? they existed but they were athletes, actors, or celebrities featured in glossy campaigns.

Fast forward to today:
Anyone with a smartphone can create and publish content. That includes me. That includes you.

🛑 PDF Posts on LinkedIn? Let’s Talk.

If you’re posting a PDF to LinkedIn as a marketing post, please STOP IT.
Corporate PDFs are rarely read in-feed. They break the flow. Engagement suffers. If it’s important, email it to your contacts or use it as a lead magnet. But don’t expect strong interaction by dropping a brochure or information pdf into a social platform.

🎥 The Best Content? It’s Often Raw, Honest & From Your Team

In my view, some of the most compelling content comes from staff—not the polished marketing team.
A short video from a phone, a behind-the-scenes insight, a story from the field… these human moments bring authenticity and personality to your brand.

If nurtured well, staff-generated content can become a powerful marketing asset. It pulls back the corporate curtain and builds trust.

📵 Less “Hustle Culture”, More Real Value

Let’s move away from the predictable “Up at 5:30am, smashed the gym, nailed 10 meetings, quality family time, then back online at midnight” posts.
We know some of that isn’t true—and it doesn’t connect.

Instead:
✅ Be consistent.
✅ Be relevant.
✅ Be different.
✅ Add value.

If you’re going to produce content, make it worth watching or reading.

👀 Content Creators I Actually Follow

Over the last couple of years, I’ve built up a list of creators who genuinely engage me. They don’t use fancy production kits—just a phone and a message that matters.

Here are a few standouts:

Collette Norval – Formerly at Cisco, now in SaaS sales at Emburse. Authentic, insightful, and a great example of mobile-first video done well.  watch this and some honest presentation skills

Jonathan Edwards aka the bearded 365 guy, he has done a lot in the managed service sector producing entertaining videos which engage both industry and potential customers.

Jaipal Aenugu runs Techforce a Cyber Security firm and more recently AskJai  a lot of his videos have been shot on his iPhone and uploaded to YouTube

Sean Nicol is director of Simpson and Marwick a property company based in Edinburgh, North Berwick and Aberdeen,  His content blends property insights with work-life balance in a relatable way his videos involves his work as well as his family

Rebecca Bonnington who runs Trices a business consulting firm she shot this award winning video with her phone.

🎯 Final Thought

You don’t need a studio.
You don’t need a script.
You just need a story and the confidence to tell it.

Encourage your team. Empower your staff. Show your business from the inside out.
The most powerful content isn’t always the most polished—it’s the most authentic.