Why Your Content Isn’t Working, and What to Do Instead
- Ian Greenleigh, Vice President of Global Content at TeamViewer
- Content Strategy and Marketing, Customer Experience (CX), Digital Transformation, Managing Your Career, Other Martech, Strategy and Trends
In a world where AI can produce endless content, what still separates content that people actually trust from content they ignore? The Martechify team recently sat down with Ian Greenleigh, Vice President of Global Content at TeamViewer, to talk about Ian’s unconventional career path, his content strategy for an IT audience, LLMs, SEO, and how he uses AI without losing the human craft of writing.
Watch the full interview with Ian Greenleigh, VP of Global Content at TeamViewer, to see how generous, high-value content cuts through noise and builds credibility with IT buyers. If you want to create impactful content, this is a must watch interview!
From political science to content leadership (via a creative “side door”)
Ian did not enter marketing through a traditional route. He studied political science at the University of Texas at Austin, graduated into the 2007 to 2008 crash, and found himself taking sales roles because the job market was brutal.
But he noticed something important: The tactics that made him effective in sales were often marketing tactics. He blogged to educate his market, used content to “warm” conversations, and learned how information can build trust before a pitch ever begins.
Then he pulled off a move that still sounds bold today: He used targeted Facebook ads to reach hiring managers directly, essentially turning paid social into a job application delivery system. That experiment helped him land at Bazaarvoice, which he described as a dream company at the time.
Later, he expanded those ideas into a book, The Social Media Side Door, built on a simple premise, “which is a way to think of the world as absent gatekeepers,” said Ian, meaning access to influential people is often possible if you approach it creatively and resourcefully.
But he noticed something important: The tactics that made him effective in sales were often marketing tactics. He blogged to educate his market, used content to “warm” conversations, and learned how information can build trust before a pitch ever begins.
Then he pulled off a move that still sounds bold today: He used targeted Facebook ads to reach hiring managers directly, essentially turning paid social into a job application delivery system. That experiment helped him land at Bazaarvoice, which he described as a dream company at the time.
Later, he expanded those ideas into a book, The Social Media Side Door, built on a simple premise, “which is a way to think of the world as absent gatekeepers,” said Ian, meaning access to influential people is often possible if you approach it creatively and resourcefully.
What he does at TeamViewer: Global content across the funnel, plus operations
Today, Ian leads TeamViewer’s global content function across multiple countries, supporting campaigns and field marketing with content throughout the funnel.
But his role is not just editorial or strategic. He emphasized the operational side of modern content leadership: reducing bottlenecks, managing stakeholder expectations, and building processes that keep the team productive without burning out.
In his words, the goal is “figure out how we can get stakeholders what they’re asking for and what they need while not overwhelming” the people creating the work.
But his role is not just editorial or strategic. He emphasized the operational side of modern content leadership: reducing bottlenecks, managing stakeholder expectations, and building processes that keep the team productive without burning out.
In his words, the goal is “figure out how we can get stakeholders what they’re asking for and what they need while not overwhelming” the people creating the work.
The “generosity” test: Would you read your own content?
If Ian had to boil content marketing down to one habit, it would be empathy applied with discipline.
He urged marketers to pause before publishing and ask a question many teams avoid because it’s uncomfortable: “If I were in the audience that I’m trying to reach, would I actually read this?” And then the even harder follow-up: Would it be worth the exchange marketers keep demanding from buyers?
He pointed directly at the common content value gap in lead generation programs, especially the “gated PDF problem”: “Would it be worth putting my information into some database to get this white paper?”
His standard isn’t incremental improvement. He believes companies should create content so valuable it could be sold, yet choose to give it away, because their business is selling products, not content. “They can give away content that’s so generous, people would pay for it,” he said. That mindset matters even more for IT audiences, where credibility is hard-won and skepticism is rational. Ian’s argument is that generosity is not softness. It is a strategy for earning attention and trust in a high-noise environment, then converting that trust later through sales.
He urged marketers to pause before publishing and ask a question many teams avoid because it’s uncomfortable: “If I were in the audience that I’m trying to reach, would I actually read this?” And then the even harder follow-up: Would it be worth the exchange marketers keep demanding from buyers?
He pointed directly at the common content value gap in lead generation programs, especially the “gated PDF problem”: “Would it be worth putting my information into some database to get this white paper?”
His standard isn’t incremental improvement. He believes companies should create content so valuable it could be sold, yet choose to give it away, because their business is selling products, not content. “They can give away content that’s so generous, people would pay for it,” he said. That mindset matters even more for IT audiences, where credibility is hard-won and skepticism is rational. Ian’s argument is that generosity is not softness. It is a strategy for earning attention and trust in a high-noise environment, then converting that trust later through sales.
AI in content teams: Look beyond generation
Ian is not new to AI. He described experimenting with early models long before the current wave. But he drew a sharp boundary between using AI to amplify a creator’s workflow and using it to replace the craft.
His biggest advice: Stop thinking of AI as only a writing machine.
“Think beyond content generation,” he said, and map AI to the full lifecycle of content creation and distribution. He outlined practical areas where AI can help without erasing a writer’s voice:
— Research support (absorbing background material faster)
— Pattern and trend analysis
— Ideation (topics, angles, headlines)
— Post-production (formatting, style guide checks)
— Metadata and SEO support
— Distribution planning (audiences, communities, repurposing angles)
He also pointed out a cultural reality that marketers ignore at their peril: Audiences are getting better at detecting synthetic-sounding writing. Even when the text is clean, people still get the vibe. As he put it, people have developed an instinct for “this sounds like AI,” and that instinct is spreading fast.
His conclusion was clear: Humans still matter most where it counts, in writing with clarity, judgment, and credibility.
His biggest advice: Stop thinking of AI as only a writing machine.
“Think beyond content generation,” he said, and map AI to the full lifecycle of content creation and distribution. He outlined practical areas where AI can help without erasing a writer’s voice:
— Research support (absorbing background material faster)
— Pattern and trend analysis
— Ideation (topics, angles, headlines)
— Post-production (formatting, style guide checks)
— Metadata and SEO support
— Distribution planning (audiences, communities, repurposing angles)
He also pointed out a cultural reality that marketers ignore at their peril: Audiences are getting better at detecting synthetic-sounding writing. Even when the text is clean, people still get the vibe. As he put it, people have developed an instinct for “this sounds like AI,” and that instinct is spreading fast.
His conclusion was clear: Humans still matter most where it counts, in writing with clarity, judgment, and credibility.
LLM search, AEO, and the trap of optimizing for machines
When the conversation turned to LLM-driven discovery and “answer engine optimization,” Ian returned to a principle that has been true throughout the history of SEO. If you make the algorithm your primary audience, you lose. “If you think about search engines as your primary audience… you’re going to fail,” he said. Instead, the primary audience must remain the humans you are trying to help.
He also offered a caution about measurement. With personalization, shifting interfaces, and inconsistent testing methods, “there are a lot of contradictions in the data that people are putting out there,” he said. The short version: The industry’s dashboards and benchmarks are not fully caught up to the new reality yet.
So what should teams do while attribution and measurement lag? Ian’s answer was consistent: Double down on value. If LLMs summarize content and reduce clicks, then the only durable strategy is to become a source worth summarizing.
He also offered a caution about measurement. With personalization, shifting interfaces, and inconsistent testing methods, “there are a lot of contradictions in the data that people are putting out there,” he said. The short version: The industry’s dashboards and benchmarks are not fully caught up to the new reality yet.
So what should teams do while attribution and measurement lag? Ian’s answer was consistent: Double down on value. If LLMs summarize content and reduce clicks, then the only durable strategy is to become a source worth summarizing.
PR is converging with discoverability, and trade publications matter more than ego
One of the most tactical insights from the interview was his view on PR in the age of AI answers. He argued that PR is becoming “more important than ever,” especially in trade publications that are close to the buyer’s daily work.
Prestige outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal may still be valuable for brand narrative, but trade coverage can be closer to purchase intent and practical influence. “So even though it might be better for our egos to be in The New York Times, it’s just as good for SEO and this new type of AEO to be in trade publications,” said Ian.
Prestige outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal may still be valuable for brand narrative, but trade coverage can be closer to purchase intent and practical influence. “So even though it might be better for our egos to be in The New York Times, it’s just as good for SEO and this new type of AEO to be in trade publications,” said Ian.
Final advice: Access is easy, influence is hard
Ian ended with a line that neatly captures modern marketing’s paradox. Distribution has never been easier, but getting someone to care has never been harder.
“You can actually reach people… and that’s not the hard part anymore,” he said. The hard part is influence: breaking through the noise with something that earns attention.
And for him, the best lever for influence is the same one he started with: “The best way to influence someone is to give them something they can’t ignore, which is generosity and value.”
“You can actually reach people… and that’s not the hard part anymore,” he said. The hard part is influence: breaking through the noise with something that earns attention.
And for him, the best lever for influence is the same one he started with: “The best way to influence someone is to give them something they can’t ignore, which is generosity and value.”
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