Brewing Success with Forma: Using Story, Strategy, and Culture to Elevate Marketing

What does it take to craft content that truly connects in today’s crowded B2B landscape? Amanda Verdino, Director of Content Marketing at Forma, shares how a story-first philosophy and culture-driven marketing can transform the impact of your programs.

With over 15 years of experience spanning agency leadership and in-house roles, Amanda breaks down the frameworks she uses to guide her work in this new era of GenAI. She and Matt explore strategies to move beyond transactional content to build and deliver authentic messaging, tying storytelling directly to strategy.

You’ll also hear how Amanda transitioned from the agency world to her role now with Forma, why culture and collaboration are key to high performance, and how content marketers can partner with executives to elevate brand voice. Whether you’re leading content, building brand, or aiming to align teams around marketing’s value, this episode is filled with perspective for modern B2B marketers.

Amanda Verdino is a B2B marketing leader with over 15 years of experience driving pipeline and elevating brand narratives. Known for blending creative storytelling with strategic execution, she’s led high-impact content and communications programs for startups, growth-stage companies, and Fortune 500 enterprises. Amanda currently serves as Director of Content Marketing at Forma, where she helps shape the voice of the brand and connect with audiences in meaningful, measurable ways.

[00:00:00] Matt Hummel: Hey everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Pipeline Brew, the podcast that meets at the intersection of people and pipeline. We’re bringing you fun yet insightful conversations where you’ll not only hear from marketing experts, but also get to know them as well.

[00:00:24] Matt Hummel: Hey everyone. Today I’m super excited to be joined by Amanda Verdino. Amanda is a content marketing specialist with years of agency experience under her belt. Currently, she’s the Director of Content Marketing for Forma, the flexible benefits platform designed to help companies manage and deliver employee benefits in a streamlined and personalized way.

[00:00:42] Matt Hummel: You may be thinking to yourself, Hmm, Verdino, where have I heard that name before? Well, in Amanda’s life as an agency owner, she ran Verdino alongside her husband and previous guest of the podcast, Greg. Amanda, welcome to the show.

[00:00:55] Amanda Verdino: Thank you so much, Matt. I’m glad to be here. Appreciate it.

[00:00:58] Matt Hummel: Well, I’m glad to [00:01:00] have you here and I think you’re very aware that Greg is concerned that this is gonna be a much better podcast than his, and I can assure you that that’s my goal. So hopefully that’s yours too.

[00:01:12] Amanda Verdino: It’s always my goal. Absolutely. What marriage, you know, is that not the goal to outdo each other? I think it’s very a hundred

[00:01:18] Matt Hummel: percent. Yeah. What Support alignment. No, it is to outdo

[00:01:23] Amanda Verdino: each other. A little bit of, it’s a little bit of that.

[00:01:24] Matt Hummel: Absolutely. Exactly.

[00:01:26] Matt Hummel: Well, Amanda, what is your go-to beverage when you need a little, pick me up.

[00:01:30] Amanda Verdino: So I usually need to be picked up first thing in the morning. I think that that’s kind of how I have to start my day. Um, so really coffee tends to be my go-to. For me, the usual is hazelnut flavor with stevia and a splash of oat milk creamer.

[00:01:46] Amanda Verdino: And I always like my coffee hot, never iced. And um, today I’m drinking my coffee out of a Pipeline Brew mug that used to be Greg’s and that I stole.

[00:01:56] Matt Hummel: That is a beautiful mug. So. Stevia and oat [00:02:00] milk. That’s an interesting combination. Did it take you a minute to figure out that that was the right mix for you?

[00:02:06] Amanda Verdino: I don’t know. It’s what we have in the house because it’s what I buy for myself. But I used to drink regular milk and I just found that I, I prefer the oat milk.

[00:02:13] Matt Hummel: Yeah.

[00:02:14] Amanda Verdino: Um, texture. I, I’m not a milk drinker anyway, but Yeah.

[00:02:19] Matt Hummel: Isn’t it weird that as kids we would drink, literally drink glasses of milk?

[00:02:23] Amanda Verdino: Oh, I actually think about this more often than you might believe, but it’s really horrid of a thought. To me it is because I would be eating dinner and with a big old glass of milk that I was instructed to finish. Right. So,

[00:02:38] Matt Hummel: right.

[00:02:39] Amanda Verdino: Um, yeah, it weird times, weird times. Milk and green

[00:02:42] Matt Hummel: peas, those were the. Those were the memories of my childhood dinner at the dinner table and

[00:02:46] Amanda Verdino: no camping, and they really got hold of the moms back in the day.

[00:02:50] Amanda Verdino: So

[00:02:50] Matt Hummel: no doubt, no doubt. Anyways. All right. Well, before we talk about what you’re up to today, I’d love for you to tell the audience a little bit more about yourself, your passions, your [00:03:00] background.

[00:03:01] Amanda Verdino: Sure, of course. And I feel like this tell us about yourself question is always the simplest one, but for most people, myself included, it tends to be a hard one or it feels weird to answer.

[00:03:12] Amanda Verdino: But really when I peel it back and think about it, I’m a marketer and I’m a storyteller at heart and I really, I love to make connections. So for me, that could be between brand and product, that could be between a campaign and an audience, or even between marketing and sales. So as a content marketer for the last 15 years, I’ve really been focused on making those connections through designing stories, building strategies, and creating content assets that.

[00:03:37] Amanda Verdino: Make people feel seen and really bridge a divide. And that also at the end of the day are helping companies to grow. And I would say too, outside of my, the, my day-to-day self, um, or my day job. I’m a wife, as you know, I’m a mom, I’m a stepmom. I’m a daughter, I’m a volunteer. You know, I’m also as the Gen Z meme, say, I’m literally just a girl.

[00:03:57] Amanda Verdino: Um, so, you know, I’m a lot of [00:04:00] different things and feel very fortunate to have these different roles and feel fueled by, um, the different roles they have in my personal life. And really love, again, having those connections to different people in different areas in my family, in my community, and throughout my life.

[00:04:16] Matt Hummel: I love that, and I love to use the word storyteller because you are one of the first content marketers that I worked with that really helped open my eyes that you’re not creating content, you’re really trying to tell a story, and that’s how you capture people’s attention. So I love that you said that. I also wanna highlight that you assumed that I would know a Gen X meme.

[00:04:35] Matt Hummel: No, you said Gen Z meme. Gen

[00:04:37] Amanda Verdino: Z. Yeah, I am. I’m not Gen Z, but I, I try to identify with

[00:04:42] Matt Hummel: Well, I just appreciate that you think that, um, I’m hip enough to know what that is, so, um, I’m gonna have to Google it afterwards, but it sounds really cool. Alright, well you’ve had a great career. I’d love to hear some of those big lessons learned or aha moments that you may have had throughout.

[00:04:58] Amanda Verdino: Sure. Yeah, and [00:05:00] I, I think about this and look back, you know, 15, 16, 17 years of, of my career and I think a really interesting, for me at least, interesting aha moment came when I defined my philosophy toward content marketing. And I think. So many of us we’re rushing around all day. We have so many deliverables, we have so many meetings.

[00:05:23] Amanda Verdino: We have so many things that we have to focus on. So it’s really important to take a step back once in a while and say, okay, how do I really feel about things? Or what’s my attitude toward this? Or if I were to have nothing else on my calendar and I were only to approach this one project today, how would I do it in an ideal world?

[00:05:43] Amanda Verdino: So. Over the past several years, I’ve tried to carve out moments like that for myself, and I think several years back, one of those that turned into an aha moment for me was around this philosophy of content marketing, which is really anchoring to this idea of story strategy and stuff in that [00:06:00] order. And I know, Matt, you’ve heard me say this before, ’cause we worked together, you know, in the past.

[00:06:04] Amanda Verdino: So this probably won’t sound too foreign of a concept, but really starting with that story and really nailing down. Who we are, what right do we have to be sharing this message? Getting super, super clear on that, and also being unafraid to challenge things and make changes potentially to the story that you wanna tell.

[00:06:24] Amanda Verdino: And from there you build the strategy around that. So looking at the who, the what, the when, the where, the why, all of this and say, you know, who’s my audience and who am I as part of this relationship with the audience through content. And also then answering from a strategic perspective, what content do we need?

[00:06:41] Amanda Verdino: When should we communicate where and what channels? So you’re building all of that based around that story and that understanding. And then in an ideal world, comes the stuff, the real content assets that you’re building. And I get that in day-to-day real life marketing. It doesn’t always happen in a perfect order.

[00:06:59] Amanda Verdino: [00:07:00] We’re all moving really quickly, but really. That philosophy that I’ve been anchoring to. I always come back to that as a foundation of how, if I had it my way, if I could structure my time perfectly and make the world around me, bend to my will, you know, we’d really approach content from a story strategy and stuff perspective.

[00:07:19] Matt Hummel: I’ve heard you talk about this before and it’s one of the reasons I loved working with you and I, yes, the day to day gets people really busy, but you know, I’m in the content marketing world now with Pipeline 360 and. A lot of times demand marketers start with the stuff or they inherit the stuff and they don’t really have the strategy and then the content doesn’t perform.

[00:07:40] Matt Hummel: A lot of times I see content marketers starting with the strategy, which is really just starting with the audience, and inherently that isn’t bad, but I think it’s really, it’s a unique philosophy to start with the story. And I think even to your point, what gives you the right to tell that story? You know, people just assume if I talk, they’re gonna listen.

[00:07:59] Matt Hummel: And the [00:08:00] reality is no. There’s too much noise in the market that you can’t assume that. And so I think starting with the story really makes sense. And asking those types of questions is, you know, if you can make the time to do that, would really give your content a leg up in terms of how it’s gonna perform and resonate with the audience.

[00:08:17] Amanda Verdino: Absolutely. And I think too, another element of this, especially today is the stuff, you know, where you even said you might inherit a lot of stuff or a lot of assets that you’re kind of mandated to go and pump out through a campaign or you’re like, where is the strategy for this? I think today in particular with.

[00:08:37] Amanda Verdino: The proliferation of generative AI tools. There’s just more stuff than anyone could ever possibly read, watch. So I think that makes it all the more important to get clear on the story and to build the right strategy so that any new stuff people are creating and putting out into the world. Does you a service as a business does a service and [00:09:00] provides value to the audience, and that you’re not just making content for the sake of making content.

[00:09:05] Matt Hummel: A hundred percent. And you can’t talk about marketing without talking about Gen ai.

[00:09:09] Amanda Verdino: Impossible.

[00:09:10] Matt Hummel: It is. And so it is interesting though because yeah, jet Ai. It is cranking out more stuff. You talked about content. It’s just cranking out stuff in general. The thing I love about Gen AI is I think where people are finding success is getting back to the basics.

[00:09:25] Matt Hummel: It’s telling a really compelling story. It’s creating really unique creative, it’s getting in front of your customers. You know, it’s getting back to the basics that, again, Jenny, I. We’ll continue to serve an increasingly important role in what we do, but I think we have to be smart about it and then ultimately look for those areas that, frankly, gen AI cannot take the place of.

[00:09:48] Matt Hummel: So I think your philosophy will continue to stand the test of time. I. I

[00:09:51] Amanda Verdino: think

[00:09:52] Matt Hummel: so too. So as we’ve already talked about, you spent a large chunk of your career as an agency owner and only recently made the transition to client side. [00:10:00] I’d love to just dive a bit deeper into that and understand, you know, what led you to change roles and what’s that been like for you so far?

[00:10:07] Amanda Verdino: Yeah, it’s a great question and I feel like. Just from being on LinkedIn, I feel like you see more and more people making the opposite leap. Going from being in, in maybe in a big company and saying, I wanna strike out on my own. Whereas that was a decade ago.

[00:10:21] Matt Hummel: Yeah. For me

[00:10:21] Amanda Verdino: and for Greg. So I’m coming at it from the other direction, and so after doing the agency with Greg for almost a decade, which is kind of wild to wild to think about, I ultimately.

[00:10:34] Amanda Verdino: Had started feeling a bit like I was missing the sense of team, the sense of culture that you really can only get from being embedded in house. And all this is to say Greg and I are still a great team in life. I was like, I’m not, you know, discounting anything. And I think we made a great team at work as well.

[00:10:53] Amanda Verdino: Um, I just kind of felt like I was as the agency. Going in [00:11:00] and working with clients, it felt a little rinse and repeat to me. We were going in, I was forming these great relationships, helping solve problems, producing some great work together. And then after a certain point of time it ended and it was like, okay, time to move on.

[00:11:14] Amanda Verdino: And not to say that every in-house job is forever, but I really was kind of craving that culture and that a little bit more sense of belonging, I guess, uh, that comes with being client side. So that was really a driving factor for me. Yeah, and I think the other side of it was also, and it’s related, it was wanting to sink my teeth into and really own the work more.

[00:11:37] Amanda Verdino: Again, with that kind of, I’m just going in, I’m helping out in these different areas and I know I’m helping to make an impact, but at the end of the day, the work isn’t mine or I’m not held accountable for the results quite as much. And there was a drive there as well that really led me to wanna go back in-house.

[00:11:54] Matt Hummel: I love that. Well, I think we all know it’s a tough job market out there right now, especially for [00:12:00] marketers. Do you have any, any tips for those listening in terms of. Looking at moving from one to the other or just job hunting in general?

[00:12:08] Amanda Verdino: Yeah, it’s a great question and you are absolutely correct. It is brutal out there.

[00:12:13] Amanda Verdino: When I had made this decision, you know, definitively, okay, you know, Greg is gonna take the agency and pivot to the AI consultancy and I had made the decision, I’m gonna find a job, I’m gonna go back in-house in the one of the worst job markets for, for marketers and at least my career, my memory. So I had looked around.

[00:12:32] Amanda Verdino: I applied to a bunch of jobs that I saw on LinkedIn and you know, I got ghosted from a lot of them just like everybody else who’s on the hunt and I’m sure can commiserate with. Had a few opportunities that seemed like they were really exciting or became a finalist and nothing quite was panning out.

[00:12:50] Amanda Verdino: Again. I think a lot of the listeners who have been on the job hunt will understand that feeling of. Hey, why isn’t this happening for me? Um, I have so much to offer. What [00:13:00] am I not doing right here? And I think so much of it comes down to, unfortunately, in a way, patience and just riding it out and coming back to a place of firmly, unequivocally believing that you do have the skills, you do have the talent, you do have the value.

[00:13:17] Amanda Verdino: And that the right moment, the right opportunity is gonna come your way. So for me, I. Kind of manifested a moment, I guess, for myself. So where I had been applying, I wasn’t really feeling like I was getting traction. I’d wanted it to move faster. I had been working with a company who, they were my client, and I had worked with the head of marketing there a couple of times.

[00:13:40] Amanda Verdino: I. Before, you know, in other companies where he had been previously, really enjoyed working with the team. I really liked what the company was building. It was ex, you know, an exciting startup kind of environment. And I thought, you know, maybe there’s a way that I could. Go in-house and, and join this team.

[00:13:57] Amanda Verdino: And so after a few conversations, [00:14:00] it was like, yeah, you know what? This is a great fit. And that’s, you know, lo and behold, that was the small leap I made to go back in-house. And I consider that a really great transitional step in my career because I got to finally, again, experienced that culture, that team around me that I had been craving and I felt like I was going from.

[00:14:22] Amanda Verdino: Working, you know, a certain number of hours a week to, okay, I can really just jump in with both feet and, and do as much as I possibly can do here. And there was an element too where it was like, I knew I was making a big change going from doing the agency thing from so many years to going back and I.

[00:14:39] Amanda Verdino: Having a boss and having an HR department and you know, like these things that come with having an in-house job. But I, there, there was this sense of built in comfort because I knew the people, because I knew the team. So it made that transition a little bit. Easier on me. And I think there’s something really interesting, at [00:15:00] least from my perspective here, where we’re all told all the time, you know, take the big leap, take the risk, you know, go outside your comfort zone.

[00:15:07] Amanda Verdino: And while I completely agree with that, I still think it’s okay. And I think it’s healthy to seek out elements of comfort or preserving some sense of normalcy for yourself while you’re in the midst of making a leap or doing something that feels scary to you. So for me, it was. Kind of in a way designing this moment in my career where I saw this opportunity to make a big change, but have a little piece of it feel less daunting.

[00:15:35] Amanda Verdino: And yeah, so I think, you know, for anyone who is on the hunt or is maybe looking to make a big career jump or go into a different area of marketing, or maybe you aren’t in marketing yet and you’re trying to break in, look for those little moments of. Almost like self care as part of the process or things where you can give yourself some comfort, give yourself some grace to make the [00:16:00] rest of it feel a little bit simpler on for yourself.

[00:16:03] Matt Hummel: I love that. I think it’s such helpful perspective. It’s really hard when you’re in the moment to sort of have the bigger picture and I. That’s why they say hindsight’s 2020. And when I look back on my career, which you’ve experienced with me, you know, over the past several years, and there’s been ebbs and flows, right?

[00:16:18] Matt Hummel: And it’s really hard in the moment to understand like, why am I here? Why is this happening? And I know you had a great experience overall at that previous company. I. But it may have, it may be hard sometimes to figure out like, is this where I’m supposed to be? And, and now I know you’ve since moved on and it sounds like you’ve landed somewhat of a dream job, which is amazing.

[00:16:38] Matt Hummel: And whether or not you would’ve landed at for absent of having that step in your journey. We’ll never know. But I think now you have the perspective of, I was there probably for a very good reason and it’s opened up the store for where you are now. The last time we talked, I. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you described this job, or at least your satisfaction with it as it’s almost silly how [00:17:00] much you love your job.

[00:17:01] Amanda Verdino: Yeah, that’s a totally fair assessment. Yeah, it’s like silly. It’s like almost comical. Like people, you know, ask me, you know, how are you liking your, your, and I still say new job. I’ve been here for, at least as of this recording, I’ve been here for a little over five months now. But it’s almost silly because I just absolutely am having a blast over here at Forma.

[00:17:20] Amanda Verdino: For sure.

[00:17:21] Matt Hummel: That’s so cool. First of all, I love hearing that. What makes for, what makes your role there so special?

[00:17:27] Amanda Verdino: Oh, that’s a great question. There’s so many ways to answer this. I think going back to sort of my original why, of why I wanted to go on house and that team and that culture, I mean, Forma is just.

[00:17:39] Amanda Verdino: S has such an amazing group of people here inside the company, on the marketing team and across every department. So I have just been embraced virtually we’re, we’re actually fully virtual. We don’t have any physical offices anywhere, so really embraced by everyone from day one. I felt [00:18:00] really valued from the very beginning, and like I could bring any question, I could bring any idea.

[00:18:06] Amanda Verdino: I could challenge things and I had a voice from day one, which was really empowering and exciting. And I don’t know that you get that at every company in, in every type of role. So that’s something that has, has felt really special to me here. And I just think that we have such a vibrant and wonderful culture.

[00:18:25] Amanda Verdino: Our company values, we live and breathe them every day. Some of them that particularly resonate with me, um, we have a value called Never Settle. Um, we also have a value called We’ve Got you. Um, so there are elements that are just built in that I think Forma we attract. People who align with the values at the company and add to the culture.

[00:18:47] Amanda Verdino: Mm. And I feel like I’ve just had so much fun becoming a part of the culture here as well. So all of that. So that’s all sort of from the people culture side. Right. And then I think from my role as director of [00:19:00] content marketing, it’s just been. Such an amazing opportunity to come in and start shaping and reshaping the stories and the content assets that we are building as a team in a space that I believe is really exciting and is changing and, and is a really cool space to be in the HR tech industry.

[00:19:22] Amanda Verdino: So for what we do and really our claim to fame, I guess you could say, was really pioneering this lifestyle, spending accounts. Category where it’s a super flexible benefit where employers fund it and can essentially provide an amount of money or a fund to their employees to use for anything essentially that they want within a certain guideline.

[00:19:43] Amanda Verdino: So there could be a company that says, okay, you can, this is all inclusive. You can use it across a really broad. Your LSA, you can use it across a broad variety of categories. Other companies may decide to design them in a way where you use it for wellness and fitness or tuition reimbursement, and you can have specific [00:20:00] use cases, but ultimately, it’s a really, really fantastic benefit that allows employees to use their funds in the way that actually matters for them and their lives and their situation.

[00:20:15] Amanda Verdino: So there’s that aspect of it where. What we’re putting out into the market and what we believe in from a product perspective, from a category perspective, we’re living it and breathing it on the team as well. So being able to tell stories like that is just super exciting and having that. Ability to be heard and be valued.

[00:20:37] Matt Hummel: It’s interesting hearing your point of view because you’re working for an HR tech company and you’re not an HR professional, you’re a marketer, content marketer a, a great one at that I might add, but you know, you don’t sit in in an HR function, and yet the way that I just heard you describe your company, there’s a clear passion and appreciation for what your company does as a content [00:21:00] marketer.

[00:21:00] Matt Hummel: A relatively new content market to your, to your company and certainly to the industry as well. What advice would you have for other content marketers? I truly believe content sits at the, it’s like the heartbeat of companies. It’s, it’s how you tell the story, you know? What advice do you have for other content marketers who are coming into new companies, new industries, that they can really embrace their company, their culture, their product, and really set themselves up for success.

[00:21:26] Amanda Verdino: I love this question. I think part of it is being fearless. Ask the questions. Don’t worry about looking stupid. You know, I, I don’t believe in that. So ask the questions of your team. Find the people internally who have the expertise, who have been in the business longer. And also one of the things that the head of marketing here at Forma had encouraged me to do from day one was talk to customers.

[00:21:51] Amanda Verdino: Mm-hmm. Trying to understand what does a day in the life really look like for the people who are using our solution? What really makes them [00:22:00] tick? So that was something that was prioritized from the very beginning, and I am really glad to say I’ve started to form some really nice relationships with some of our customers and other people in the industry who.

[00:22:13] Amanda Verdino: Have taught me so much in such a short, relatively short time, and I feel like that has helped me to start speaking their language or speaking a language that resonates with them. I. Because at the end of the day, the content and the campaigns and the different programs that we’re building, they have to resonate with people.

[00:22:32] Amanda Verdino: They have to have our audience in mind. And like Matt, you said, content’s the heartbeat of, of the marketing organization. It’s like you have to have that heart. And so understanding from people and hearing it in their own voice what this job is like, what it’s really like to be a, a benefits.

[00:22:49] Amanda Verdino: Administrator or a program manager, you know, and not to assume, but to really hear how people talk and how they express things, that makes a huge, huge difference [00:23:00] in your internal, just understanding for yourself of your industry, your product, all of that, and then how you as a marketer can then turn that around and create different content and communications from there.

[00:23:10] Matt Hummel: I love that. You know, I think the audience could be saying, great, what is culture and job satisfaction? All that have to do with, with what I’m doing day to day. And it’s interesting. And the timing’s great. We recently released our latest wave of market research. We surveyed more than 500 B2B marketers, and we did this analysis of high performers versus low performers and the high performers.

[00:23:31] Matt Hummel: One of the three key differentiators was job satisfaction, and while that may not be surprising, I thought it was fascinating that there is a strong correlation between job satisfaction and actual performance. Not performance and like, oh, I’m showing up to work and doing my job. No, that I’m actually delivering results to the company.

[00:23:51] Matt Hummel: And this was all based on, you know, revenue marketers. So is pipeline being delivered? Are pipeline targets and revenue targets being achieved? And again, [00:24:00] significant difference for those who are truly satisfied with their job. So I think the takeaway, I think for me on this is. If you don’t love your job either, you know, find a way that that you can, and maybe that means getting out and talking to your customers and really understanding why you’re doing the things you’re doing and the difference it’s making.

[00:24:19] Matt Hummel: Or go find a job that you love because odds of you being successful are a lot higher when you’re in that position.

[00:24:24] Amanda Verdino: Totally. You know, it’s funny. Years ago I told my, I told myself, I convinced myself. I can believe anything is interesting. So no matter what type of company I was working with, any industry, I had just decided there’s a way to find something interesting in the story or there’s a way to find something, an angle that no one thought of.

[00:24:45] Amanda Verdino: So I think this is just a really, you know, interesting connection there as well. And I love this research, Matt, that Pipeline 360 has put out, you guys consistently put out really, really great reports. So, and I, you know, I appreciate reading them and I love that. [00:25:00] Disconnection to job satisfaction. I think it’s something that’s so.

[00:25:03] Amanda Verdino: Illuminating for us as marketers where it’s like, can you just that little bit of like, can I convince myself something’s more exciting or like, you know, can I uncover some other angle that might give me a little bit more fulfillment in what I’m producing or what I’m working on? You know, it’s interesting too, the research that you produced reminds me of a study that Canva did at the end of 2024 around culture of appreciation in the workforce.

[00:25:33] Amanda Verdino: And what they found from, I believe, and Canva, you know, chime in, tell me if I’m, if I’m getting this wrong, they’re actually a, a potential sponsor

[00:25:42] Matt Hummel: of the show.

[00:25:44] Amanda Verdino: Hey, Canva, love, love that your report too. But what they found was that employees who feel appreciated at work have better job satisfaction, have better.

[00:25:53] Amanda Verdino: Job performance and productivity as well. And employees by and large report, you know, it’s important to [00:26:00] them to feel appreciated at work. So I think this all plays together and I think is. You know, relates to me and my story because I feel appreciated work and I feel like I’m doing great work. Right?

[00:26:10] Amanda Verdino: Yeah. So I think that I’m kind of a embodiment of this research come to life. I guess in a weird way, I think about this too from a former perspective and an HR tech perspective, and what we’re doing as a company, enabling employers to offer really interesting, meaningful, valuable benefits that meet people where they are.

[00:26:31] Amanda Verdino: You know, that’s. Another differentiator in helping people to have more job satisfaction. We consistently see our customers being award-winning employers and you know, appearing on Glassdoor lists and you know, it’s not all down to what we’re providing. But you know, I really like to believe that when you have a company that’s offering benefits, that allows the employee to be the one in the driver’s seat.

[00:26:56] Amanda Verdino: That gives such a sense of trust and instills a [00:27:00] sense of feeling trusted on the employee side. It’s super, super powerful. So I think for me, in my own world, it’s like, you know, as a marketer I’m really interested in and driven by and fueled by the work that I’m doing. But then as an employee of this company.

[00:27:18] Amanda Verdino: Where we are, you know, our own users, we use our product as well. I feel appreciated, trusted, and I get all those benefits myself. So I’m seeing it from multiple different angles. And like you said, I’m not surprised that there’s a correlation between the job satisfaction and the performance, but it’s a very interesting insight to draw out that I feel like in the marketing.

[00:27:42] Amanda Verdino: Realm we don’t always talk about very much.

[00:27:45] Matt Hummel: Yeah. Awesome. I spend quite a bit of time on the road meeting with our customers and talking to various folks in the marketing org, and one of, one of the key challenges I hear, or where marketers spend a lot of their time is figuring out roles and responsibilities, and [00:28:00] then questions like, well, should demand start with content?

[00:28:02] Matt Hummel: Should it start with product marketing? Should it start with the demand or campaign folks? And then they go and they map out their swim lanes and they’re like, no, it starts here and goes here and goes there and, and then of course you get into the day to day and it’s all a jumbled mess and then you try to go back.

[00:28:17] Matt Hummel: Anyways, I just, I get the sense a lot of time is wasted there. You mentioned earlier one of your core values is we’ve got you. And my understanding of that when we talked last is you guys really embody this culture of. I don’t know if I’m gonna butcher it, but like togetherness and it’s, it’s, it’s not a every like who’s on first type discussion, but it’s really a, we are in this together, which I really find fascinating.

[00:28:42] Matt Hummel: How do you view collaboration? You mentioned you, you guys really live and embrace your, your cultural pillars and values. How does that play a role in terms of how you all work together and what’s the performative effect, if you will, of how, of how that comes to bear?

[00:28:55] Amanda Verdino: Yeah, absolutely. I love this and. It’s [00:29:00] so inherent to how we operate as a team in marketing, and I feel like a cross Forma that it’s almost hard to put your finger on what it is and how it works.

[00:29:09] Amanda Verdino: But yeah, in terms of We’ve got you as a value from the marketing perspective. Each of us, we have our zones of genius are our top talents that we bring to the table, but there’s some overlap where. I know I can go to another person on the team if I need help with X, where it’s, you know, maybe something that I’m leading, but I know that, you know, I can go to.

[00:29:34] Amanda Verdino: Any of these different people to help answer a question or to take the baton if I need to pass something on, or, you know, if I am sick for a day with like, you know, the train doesn’t have to stop on the tracks, you know, I know that people will have my back and I fully believe that, and I’ve seen it in action time and again.

[00:29:53] Amanda Verdino: And it’s, it’s a beautiful thing and it’s very much, I think you said, you know, like stay in your lane or like, are you in your lane [00:30:00] and. For us as a team, I feel we don’t really operate in that way so much. We do have our areas of expertise, but it feels a little bit fluid where we can jump in and help each other.

[00:30:13] Amanda Verdino: And one of the things that I have always felt is really important and that I’ve always embraced, is this concept of egoless collaboration. And I feel like at Forma that’s really at play day in and day out. So it’s this idea of. I may, it may be a, a content marketing program, but it’s not mine. I don’t, you know, it’s not like I am the queen of this and, you know, I make every decision.

[00:30:38] Amanda Verdino: This is a situation where I want input from other people on the team. I openly want to be challenged, ask me questions, make it better. Yes. And me, yes, but me, you know, and I think that that type of an attitude is healthy for a team and helps us to. Continually have each other’s [00:31:00] backs. And then another one of our values is around we raise each other’s bar here at Forma.

[00:31:04] Amanda Verdino: So that’s something where, you know, that plays into this egoless collaboration as well, where it’s like, you know, I can make it great and I am talented on my own and every person around me is talented together. To use your word, Matt, that togetherness of our. Passions of our skills, of our talents is only gonna make it better.

[00:31:22] Amanda Verdino: So for me, I think that here at pharma on, on our team, I, I feel like this is definitely, you know, alive and well.

[00:31:31] Matt Hummel: That’s so cool. It’s such an incredible dynamic that you’re describing. It’s like a bunch of talented chefs all in a kitchen with just a bunch of ingredients and you’re just organically orchestrating this amazing meal, which is.

[00:31:44] Matt Hummel: Gotta be very rare in our space. So kudos to you guys. That’s really cool. Alright, I want to transition to our last professional segment before I dig into your personal life a little bit.

[00:31:55] Amanda Verdino: Then we’ll get very unprofessional. That’s right.

[00:31:59] Matt Hummel: Exactly. We

[00:31:59] Amanda Verdino: can’t wait. [00:32:00] No.

[00:32:00] Matt Hummel: So we have to talk a little bit of content.

[00:32:03] Matt Hummel: Given your content marketer, I want to talk quickly about how you and your team have been working with your CEO on kind of broadening his LinkedIn. Reach and engagement. What’s been the approach you’ve taken? What lessons have you learned? What successes have you seen? Any advice you can offer there?

[00:32:22] Amanda Verdino: Yeah, no, this has been such a fun area to work on this year.

[00:32:26] Amanda Verdino: So one of the things that I feel like we’ve been leaning into is just having more fun and being more experimental with this, and I think in B2B marketing. We often feel like we have to lean a little more toward the safe way of doing things or the corporate speak way of doing things, and just in.

[00:32:48] Amanda Verdino: Meeting Jason, our CEO, and I have regular check-ins with him just to do sort of a casual interview, hear how he talks about different topics and see what’s top of mind for [00:33:00] him. He’s funny, he’s a funny guy and he’s, he has a good personality. So, you know, we wanna try to lean into that a little bit more and not be afraid to try a different style of post that, you know, maybe he wouldn’t have done in the past.

[00:33:16] Amanda Verdino: So. That’s really kind of been the crux of, of the direction that we’ve, that we’ve been taking things. So I’d say over the past couple of months we, we’ve definitely had some fun working with him on a few particular posts that, that spring to mind. One is Justin on my team came across a photo of Jason at, I think he’s at a, in a Costco and there’s a huge pizza and there’s hot dogs and there’s just so much.

[00:33:40] Amanda Verdino: A ridiculous amount of food on the table and Jason’s making this incredulous face at at the table, and it’s just this funny picture that he stumbled across and we thought. We could do something with this. You know, we can, you know, there, there’s something in here and we’ve worked with Jason to create a, a post or, or a [00:34:00] storyline around how, you know, do benefits managers, um, or benefits teams ever feel like, hey, I may have over ordered from the menu of, ah, of great solutions and, and benefits here and I have too many disparate solutions and vendors that I’m managing and like, this is like a tummy ache waiting to happen basically.

[00:34:19] Amanda Verdino: And so we used this funny picture as the inspiration for that story, work with Jason to make sure it felt really correct and in his voice and that he was confident about it. And it ended up being, you know, his best performing post that he is ever had by far. We did, um, LinkedIn thought leader ad we ran, um, on that.

[00:34:38] Amanda Verdino: And it, you know, has well over a million impressions on just that one post we’ve drawn in. More of the audience who we, you know, want to, to know the type of perspective that he has on this space. And we didn’t do that by just saying kind of the same old, you know, here’s what a lifestyle spending account is, you know, or you know, here’s, you [00:35:00] know, a product page or Here’s, you know, this, it was something where we kind of came at it from a different angle and.

[00:35:07] Amanda Verdino: We’re unafraid, I would say, or willing to experiment and try something new and that particular one paid off. So we’re just trying more of that and just, you know, we’re That’s so cool. Yeah, so we’re just, you know, having a lot of fun and, you know, I think he’s having fun, you know, seeing his, his profile expand on there as well.

[00:35:25] Amanda Verdino: So it’s been pretty cool these past few months.

[00:35:26] Matt Hummel: That’s really cool. How do you sort of reconcile. Your CEO’s voice with your overall brand voice? Does it influence, does it need to fit in? Can they be totally separate? What are your thoughts on that?

[00:35:38] Amanda Verdino: That’s a great question. I do feel like they’re separate, but they need to interweave a little bit or kind of braid together, I guess.

[00:35:47] Amanda Verdino: So Jason is totally Jason. I think his voice is inherently gonna be his own. And it’s gonna be different from the brand. I think for the brand voice. We’ve on that side too, been pushing a little more, having a little more [00:36:00] fun with that. Not that it wasn’t fun before, but I think we’re just kind of continually just pushing a little bit more and adding a little more joy, a little more pizazz, I guess, into, into the brand voice and different things that we’re putting out there.

[00:36:15] Matt Hummel: Yeah,

[00:36:15] Amanda Verdino: and a lot of that too is based on. What we’re learning and hearing from our audience. So, you know, making sure again, that we’re intaking all of that, synthesizing that, and then turning it around into content that we believe is gonna have the best chance of resonating.

[00:36:31] Matt Hummel: That makes sense. Well, it allows your brand voice to be the best version of itself that allows Jason.

[00:36:36] Matt Hummel: Same thing, but then it also, it keeps both authentic, which is obviously so important in in the way you communicate well. Awesome. Alright, well I want to transition to our last segment, which is called What’s On Tap. So what is On Tap for Amanda Verdino? So at the top of the show we talked about your favorite pick me up beverage, which if I remember it was a hot coffee with some type of flavoring.

[00:36:59] Matt Hummel: [00:37:00] Hazelnut.

[00:37:00] Amanda Verdino: Hazelnut, yeah. With

[00:37:01] Matt Hummel: Stevia. And oat milk. Did I get that right? You’ve got nailed hot, never cold. You’re like, you’re like the female James Bond where it’s shaken, not stirred, it’s hot. Never. Never. Frozen hot,

[00:37:13] Amanda Verdino: never ice. Yeah.

[00:37:15] Matt Hummel: Uh, never iced. I almost got it right. So if I flip that question around, I know you have a young son, so it’s very likely that from time to time you need a wind me down drink.

[00:37:26] Matt Hummel: What is that go-to beverage of choice?

[00:37:28] Amanda Verdino: Well, you know, I used to be a big wine drinker. Um, I used to love my Sauv Blanc in the, in the evenings, but over the past year, I’ve kind of cut alcohol out of my life for the most part. I do occasionally have a cocktail on a special occasion. So for me, my, my drink of choice these days is the lemon squeezed flavor of Vitamin Water.

[00:37:51] Amanda Verdino: Um, I actually have one here now. Delicious. How matters if I really need to unwind, I’ll pour it in a wine glass and [00:38:00] just have that nice sipping experience. But yeah, that tends to just be my go-to. If I’m going out and indulging, you know, maybe having date night with Mr. Verdino. I might have something like, like a espresso martini maybe after dinner and really smoke, you know, have some fun with that.

[00:38:19] Amanda Verdino: Um. But yeah, for, for me at this point, it’s, it’s really about so boring, but it’s really about the vitamin water.

[00:38:27] Matt Hummel: No, I, I hear you. I’ve, I’ve been on a similar journey and it’s remarkable. I feel like so many people have, it’s something that’s not talked about a lot, but I’m seeing it and hearing from a lot of people that they’re going down the same path and

[00:38:38] Amanda Verdino: Yeah.

[00:38:39] Matt Hummel: It feels so different. So,

[00:38:41] Amanda Verdino: totally. I, I actually think that there’s something that is sort of. A next chapter after COVID. I think during COVID everyone was locked up and we were virtually cheersing, uh, you know, on calls once in a while. Be able be able a late end of the day call, I remember, you know, having a wine cheers with [00:39:00] you.

[00:39:00] Amanda Verdino: And yeah, I think that so many people are now on this like, okay, that part of my life is over, you know, so some people like me gained a lot of weight during COVID. I, and it’s been this journey to kind of embrace wellness and embrace health and. I think also working for a company like Forma where we really champion wellness and self-care.

[00:39:21] Amanda Verdino: It’s been a nice, just natural place to lean into. So for me, at at least I think, yeah, I’m, I’m part of the trend that’s maybe drink drinking up a little bit less

[00:39:33] Matt Hummel: amazing. So. This is obviously an audio only podcast, which today is disappointing because as you’ve been awkwardly scratching your face throughout the show.

[00:39:43] Matt Hummel: Just kidding. Just kidding. Hold on,

[00:39:45] Amanda Verdino: let me, yeah, there you go. Get a good stretch. I have seen your

[00:39:48] Matt Hummel: nails and they are prominently displayed with some, some crazy stuff going on. So are those professionally done?

[00:39:56] Amanda Verdino: That was impressive. Thank you so much. No. [00:40:00] Um, so again, speaking about COVID, this was my COVID hobby that.

[00:40:05] Amanda Verdino: Got a little bit out of hand, pun intended. During COVID, I, you know, we all were getting ads, ads, ads galore of like something you may have done in the world. Now you can do it at home. And for me, I guess the ads that I got the most were the ones that worked on me the best. Were the do it at home nail kit.

[00:40:23] Amanda Verdino: So I was like, all right, I’ll try this. Like, you know, and I started with my own natural short nails and I did just a neutral color and that turned into, okay, mm, add some more fun colors. Let’s get some glitters into the mix. And then it turned into, okay, let’s try nail extensions, have longer nails. That sounds fun.

[00:40:40] Amanda Verdino: Um, then it turned into, let’s throw some gems on there. Or maybe some flowers or butterfly embellishments. And here we are today and. Um, my alter ego. I have a, a nails Instagram. I would consider myself like a micro, micro nano influencer in the, in the nail community, in the, [00:41:00] my, you know, other part of my life.

[00:41:01] Amanda Verdino: Um, but, um, it’s been such an interesting, uh, passion that I didn’t know I needed, um, or, you know, an artistic outlet that, that I never knew. I had in me, I guess.

[00:41:15] Matt Hummel: Yeah. But

[00:41:15] Amanda Verdino: I just love doing this. So I, I usually have mismatched hands ’cause I like to do so many different designs. And today, um, for the people who can’t see me, I’ve got like a light purple with some hand painted, um, springtime flowers.

[00:41:31] Amanda Verdino: And on the other hand I have more of like a tropical floral 3D embellishments with gems over a classic French tip.

[00:41:40] Matt Hummel: I have no idea what any of what you just said means, but they look amazing and

[00:41:44] Amanda Verdino: somebody listening will know somebody listening and we’re, if anyone’s interested, nail content. I mean like B2B content marketing message me.

[00:41:52] Amanda Verdino: But also, if you’re into, into fun manicures, definitely drop me along. Well,

[00:41:56] Matt Hummel: well, we can, we can link to your nail insta in [00:42:00] our show notes. So come on. We gotta get, we gotta spread the word. We can. We can do it. Awesome. Well, Amanda, this has been an amazing show and I just, I just wanna thank you for coming on, taking the time to share all your insights.

[00:42:13] Matt Hummel: It’s been really fascinating just hearing about your journey, hearing, I think digging in and understanding, you know, how from a different point of view, what you can be so successful as a content marketer. And it just comes down to finding your passion and really leaning into that. So thank you for all your great thoughts.

[00:42:27] Amanda Verdino: No, thank you so much for having me. I know. Um, you know, we go way back and, you know, this is just such a nice moment to reconnect and appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit about me.

[00:42:38] Matt Hummel: Absolutely. Thanks again.

[00:42:43] Matt Hummel: Thanks again to Amanda for joining us on today’s episode of The Pipeline Brew. I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation as much as I did. Please leave me a comment with your thoughts and make sure you subscribe to the show so you’ll never miss an episode. Once again, I’m Matt Hubble and I’ll see you next [00:43:00] time.