Build a B2B Growth Engine With Video (Caroline Wright)
Caroline Wright is the Head of Marketing at Fazeshift and a three-time zero-to-one marketer. I asked her how a one-person marketing team builds a growth...
Caroline Wright is the Head of Marketing at Fazeshift and a three-time zero-to-one marketer. I asked her how a one-person marketing team builds a growth engine, and where video and AI search fit into it.
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Key Takeaways
- Caroline Wright runs marketing as a team of one, working across Claude and Codex, and says solo marketers have never had more leverage.
- Start video with the goal, the audience and the channel. The right level of production quality follows from those answers.
- For GEO, do the SEO work you always did, then add a new category. Video has a higher barrier to entry, so fewer B2B players do it.
- Content is the fuel and distribution is the engine. An engine with nothing to feed it is a waste.
- You can't outsource the thinking to AI. Carve out focus time, then let the robots help you execute.
This fits inside a bigger picture. If you want the full view first, here's the bigger picture.
How does a one-person marketing team get so much done?
By pairing a clear plan with AI tools, Caroline says. She calls herself a "mighty team of one," swiveling all day between Claude and Codex and setting up systems.
"Solo marketers have never had more leverage than now." (Caroline Wright)
Her proof: what she has done in three months at Fazeshift would probably have taken more than six months at a previous company, because the tools are so much better. But there are still things the robots can't do, and that is where the time crunch comes from.
She has been the zero-to-one marketer at three different startups. That means building from nothing: defining marketing channels, setting expectations, and building the tracking infrastructure to support both.
Should your B2B video be made for robots or for people?
Both, and Caroline's team is asking that question right now. They just started a YouTube channel and are working out what kind of content to put on it, and whether it is for robots or for people.
My answer in the conversation: big picture, video is important, but start with what you are trying to accomplish. Video can be used for:
- AEO and GEO
- Sales enablement
- Thought leadership and PR
- Internal training
- Customer support
Once you know the goal, the audience and the channel, the answers on production tend to pop up on their own. My bar for quality: if they can see you, they can hear you and nothing is distracting, that is professional quality. There is room for a flashy brand video and for a down-in-the-weeds tutorial on a Miro board shot with a webcam or iPhone.
Where does video fit in a GEO plan?
Next to the SEO work you already do, not instead of it. Caroline's view is that a GEO plan includes a lot of what you would have done for SEO, plus a whole new category of work. She points to the structured FAQs now at the bottom of almost every website, which exist because the robots like them.
Video is part of that new category, and it has a higher barrier to entry. Not many B2B companies do it, especially smaller ones. Caroline's company is Series A. She writes the script, works with the people on camera, and is sometimes behind the phone camera herself. Even a casual video takes real thought, because a CEO point-of-view take is very different from a product demo.
My take on why text alone is not enough: a lot of people want to solve GEO with text, and we are realizing that won't be enough.
How do you keep video fresh when the content calendar falls apart?
Plan for it. Caroline says she has learned the hard way, at every job, that you start with a content calendar and think you will schedule everything. Then life happens, the industry moves, and people want a fresh take. So some work always happens the week of, or the day of.
AI helps smooth the production process, with limits. She has been working with Descript and the Descript MCP, and says it is pretty good. But it will sometimes end a video on a frame where someone's eyes are half shut or their mouth is wide open. She adjusts by hand, because a human knows nobody wants that to be the last take of them.
Should you gate your content?
Caroline's answer is a balance. Gating is a bar, and it is also a signal. When she is shopping for marketing software that will help her do her job, she is willing to put in her work email and phone number because she actually wants it.
At the same time, there is a school of thought that says ungate everything, because buyers are trying to form an opinion before they ever talk to you. Her team tries to strike a balance: they know they have a strong product and just need people to see it, and they try to leave people wanting more. A teaser of what you can do, then "let us show you what it looks like in your context."
My theory in the conversation: if you answer buyer question after buyer question on YouTube, your sales team should stop hearing those questions, because qualified people have already had them answered. Caroline's expectation matched. She thinks buyers will come in more educated and the sales cycle will compress a bit. She was clear that this is her own experience as a buyer, an "end of one."
What is the best name for this system: fuel and engine?
Caroline likes "the fuel and the engine," a framework she credits to Emily Kramer. High-quality content is the fuel. The distribution engine pushes that content into the world, in the places where your buyers want to see you.
"If you have an engine running, but you have nothing to feed it with, it's just a waste." (Caroline Wright)
She says it keeps her honest about what she is working on. Some days she is working on the engine, making sure the company shows up where buyers are. Other days she is spending time on the fuel. I had been calling the same system a revenue engine, a content flywheel, or a sales enablement video funnel. The fuel and engine language is simple enough that a whole team can use it.
What is the one thing marketers should do before starting on YouTube?
Carve out time to think. Caroline's advice: it requires focused thinking about the goal of the content, who it is for, and what they want to see.
"You can't outsource that thinking to AI." (Caroline Wright)
AI can give a lot of interesting ideas, she says, but you have to come up with the thing. That means sitting down and asking what is out there in your space, what options people are consuming, and how you can answer the questions people clearly care about in a way that is unique and adds value, something that is uniquely yours. That is the work the humans have to do, and then the robots can help figure out how to execute it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can a solo marketer run a B2B growth engine with AI?
Yes, according to Caroline Wright. She runs marketing at Fazeshift as a team of one, working across Claude and Codex, and says she has done in three months what would have taken more than six at a previous company. Some things still need a human, and that is where the time crunch comes from.
Where does video fit in a GEO strategy?
Caroline Wright says a GEO plan includes much of the SEO work you already do, plus a new category of work. Video is part of that new category and has a higher barrier to entry, so fewer B2B companies do it. Text alone is not likely to be enough.
How good does B2B video quality need to be?
It depends on the goal, the audience and the channel. Dane Frederiksen's rule: if viewers can see you, hear you and nothing is distracting, that is professional quality. Flashy brand video, webcam tutorials and iPhone footage each have a place.
Should B2B companies gate their content?
Caroline Wright suggests a balance. Gating can be a useful signal from a motivated buyer, but ungated content lets buyers form an opinion before they talk to you. Her team shares teasers and leaves people wanting more.
What does "fuel and engine" mean in content marketing?
Caroline Wright credits Emily Kramer with the framing. Content is the fuel, and the distribution engine pushes it into the places where buyers want to see you. You need both: an engine with nothing to feed it is a waste.
Most teams don't get this right on the first try. Here's how we approached it for a real team. Curious what it'd look like for you? Let's talk it through.
Full Interview Transcript
Dane: I'm joined today by Caroline Wright from Fazeshift. Am I getting that right?
Caroline: Yeah, Fazeshift.
Dane: So you are the Head of Marketing. Tell us a little bit about what we need to know about you and what you're working on.
Caroline: Right now I'm a mighty team of one. And so really just swiveling all day between Claude and Codex and setting up systems. But solo marketers have never had more leverage than now. I mean, I can tell you the stuff I've done in three months here. It's probably more than six months at a previous company, just because the tools are so much better. And the robots can do so much. But obviously there are so many things that they can't do. And so that really is the time crunch.
Dane: Yeah, I think we all went through the slop pocalypse where we thought, oh, it's going to just do everything for me. Like, well, man, I didn't quite work out as we were hoping. So I'm really curious kind of where your head is at, about what's the priority for you with marketing? What's the thing that keeps you up at night? What are you getting your hands dirty with all day?
Caroline: Oh, goodness. Well, I've been the zero to one marketer now three times, three different startups. And it's just so exciting to build up things from scratch. But it also means that you are just really building from nothing. So a lot of energy is going into how do we define marketing channels? How do we define expectations? How do we build the tracking infrastructure to support that, all of that kind of stuff? But also just thinking strategically, the way that stuff is going, how do we show up? How do we make sure that we are in the places where our buyers are? And since you're the video expert, it's kind of fun to think about that. I mean, video is such a big priority now, especially with the impact that it has on AEO, GEO, SEO. But really, it's thinking about what level of production quality do you need to get started? Can I do that myself? Can I do that with AI editing? Do I need to hire a videographer? Like I would have done in the past. And do you need to build out a podcast studio in your office? All of those things. It's just we just started a YouTube channel, and we're starting to think about what do we put on there? Like what kind of content? And is the content for robots? Or is it for people? Right? It's a crazy new world.
Dane: Yeah, it really is. And I'm glad that we're talking about the video stuff. Obviously, that's my focus. And I think I can answer some of the questions that maybe are annoying at you and other people is, big picture, yeah, video is important. But what are you trying to accomplish with it? It can be used in so many different ways. Like for AEO and GEO, it can be sales enablement. It can be thought leadership, like for PR, like internal training, customer support. Like all these things are possible. So I think it really starts with what is the goal you're trying to accomplish? And then crafting a plan that's going to work for that. Now, as far as like the quality thing, what I always say is if they can see you, they can hear you and there's nothing distraction. That's now professional quality, right? There's room for all of it. You can have flashy brand video over here. You can have down in the weeds tutorials with a Miro board and like webcam stuff like this or iPhone footage. There are legitimate uses for every company at all levels. So I think really just coming down to what is the goal? Who's the audience? What's the channel? And once you start working through that stuff, the answer is kind of pop up on their own. But I think the thing I was curious to get your take on is like with a GEO strategy, how do you feel like video fits in there? Because the way it's kind of been with SEO is like people didn't think they needed that. Then they realized that they do. Now there's budgets for that. And that is like a thing. Now here comes AEO and GEO. Is it different than SEO? What do we need to do differently? And now people are hearing about YouTube. So like in your mind, what portion of a GEO plan involves something like YouTube? And how much of that? Because I think a lot of people want to solve that with text. But I think we're kind of realizing that's not going to be enough.
Caroline: Oh, 100%. I mean, I think the way I'm thinking about it is we have to do a lot of the stuff that we would have done for SEO, but add this whole new category of thing. And also, honestly, if you look at everybody else's websites, everyone's got these structured FAQs now at the bottom of the page, right? Because we know the robots like that. But I think that video, honestly, video has a bit of a higher barrier to entry. So not as many B2B players, especially smaller ones like us. We're series A company, right? I mean, if you're a huge company, you've got a video team. You've got agencies, all that stuff. But for us, if I'm putting together a video, I'm writing the script. I'm working with the people. I'm maybe behind the phone camera, all of that stuff. It does take a lot more effort, and especially if you want to do it well. Even some of the unscripted or more casual, you still have to put the thought into it. Because as you say, it really depends, what are you trying to achieve with it? I'm like, a CEO, POV take is very different than a product demo, and just different setups, all of that kind of stuff. So yeah, I think we're starting a carve out budget for this kind of thing, and also think about how do we automate what we can, but make sure that we are creating content fresh, right? Because one thing I've learned the hard way through every job I've been to is that you always start off with this content calendar, and you think you're going to schedule everything, and it's going to be great. But life happens, the industry moves, things change, and people want a fresh take. So there's always going to be stuff you have to do like the week of, the day of. But I think that AI can help smooth a lot of the production process. Although, side note, I've been working with Descript a lot, the Descript MCP. And it's pretty good, but it's still, sometimes it'll end a video when someone's eyes are half shut, or their mouth is wide open. And I'm like, a human, I know, I wouldn't want that to be the last take of me. So I adjust it by hand. But the robots are like, that's a perfectly good frame to end on.
Dane: Yeah, right. One of the things that I'm hearing is that you mentioned long sales cycles. These days, buyers go, what, 80% of the way through their journey before they're willing to do a demo or talk to sales. So that means then if you're showing up in AI search, with your video content, by the time they do book that demo or take a sales call, they're converting on the order of like three times as well. Is that matched kind of what you're hearing? I've heard from HubSpot was talking about that happening. And I don't see how that couldn't be the case. If they are consuming the content, they're being educated. Of course, they're more qualified. Does that sound right?
Caroline: Yeah, exactly. I mean, and honestly, this comes back to that age old question of, should you get your content? Should you not get your content? Because on the one hand, gating, I think, is a form of a, it's a bar, right. And if I'm thinking about marketing software or marketing products and services that I want to buy for me, that I think will help me get better at my job and deliver results for my company, like I'm willing to put in my work email. I'm willing to put in my phone number because I actually want it, right. So it is a signal. But at the same time, there's this whole school of thought, which is ungated. Let everyone consume it. Because you know that they are trying to form an opinion before they even talk to you. So I think we try to strike a balance. We know we have an incredible product. We just need people to see it. So I think there's a balance there. And also trying to leave people wanting more, right. Like here's a teaser of what you can do with this. Let us show you what it looks like in your context.
Dane: Yeah. Yeah. So sort of the last phase of this process after they've been watching the content and then they're taking some sort of mid-funnel action, downloading, doing a demo, something like that. My theory is that if you've done a good job with your video flywheel and you're answering buyer question after buyer question, so you're playing what I call content bingo, you're covering all the squares of all the things they could ask. So if you have that content out there on YouTube and people are clicking and watching and they're moving through the funnel, ideally your sales team should kind of stop hearing those questions anymore because they've already been answered by highly qualified people. Does that match either your experience or your expectation that those kind of questions would stop coming up?
Caroline: Yeah, that definitely matches my expectation. And I think that as we build out content, not just video, but other content too, I would imagine that buyers will come more and more educated and that the sales cycle will compress a bit because I know certainly like, you know, end of one, but when I'm looking at stuff, that's what I'm doing.
Dane: Yeah.
Caroline: And I can imagine it's happening in all sorts of different industries.
Dane: Yeah. And so what I've been calling this system is like a revenue engine or we could call it a content flywheel or a sales enablement video funnel. What is the sort of jargon that you think resonates most for you in like a B2B SaaS marketer or B2B SaaS CEO? What are they going to call that thing that we've just built and described?
Caroline: Ooh, good question. I mean, the terminology that has really resonated with me and as I have like in turn, I've socialized with, you know, our company really, like for us, for me, it comes from Emily Kramer. She is an incredible marketer who is very active on LinkedIn and has a bunch of frameworks and MCPs and all these things. But she talks about the fuel and the engine. And so, you know, thinking about content, high quality content as the fuel that you put into the distribution engine that pushes your content into the world. That's how I like to think about it because it's very simple. And it helps me to explain, you know, when I'm working on certain things, like, well, I'm working on the distribution engine. I'm working on making sure that we are showing up in the places where our buyers want to see us. And then other times, I'm spending a lot of time on the fuel because, like, if you have an engine running, but you have nothing to feed it with, it's just a waste. So I think that has helped us just like, are you creating the content that goes into the engine or are you working on the engine and making sure that it can pump out what you needed to pump out?
Dane: Right. So as we wrap up here, what would be like your one takeaway for other marketers about the importance of YouTube? What is it going to do for you? What happens if you don't do it? Like, how do we encapsulate that one thought into one piece of advice as we part ways here?
Caroline: I'd say carve out some time. It really requires some focused thinking, going back to what you were saying before. What is the goal of this content? Who is it for? What do they want to see? And is this a chance to grab their attention in a certain way? It's the kind of thing where you can't outsource that thinking to AI. I think AI can give a lot of interesting ideas, but you have to come up with that thing. And I've found at least for me, it takes some focus time because if I'm just running from thing to thing, I'm not really sitting down and thinking like, what is out there in our space? What are the options that people are consuming? How can I answer the questions that clearly people are interested in, but do it in a way that is unique and interesting and adds value to the people watching that is uniquely Fazeshift? And that's the kind of work that the humans have to do. And then the robots can help figure out how to execute it. But really, it's the focus time.
Dane: Yeah, that's great advice. Use your brain, everybody. You heard it here first. Caroline, thanks for sharing your insights. It's been really great talking to you.
Caroline: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Thanks so much, Dane.