Get some delicious marketing insights from the Institute for Culinary Education's Social & Content Manager, Carly DeFillipo.
In this week’s Content Questionnaire, we asked Carly DeFilippo, Social Media and Content Manager for the Institute of Culinary Education, to share her insights on the digital marketing world. We trust you’ll find this foodie-turned-marketer’s answers are bite-sized and delicious:

Q: What’s your idea of a perfect piece of web content?

Anytime the medium perfectly fits the subject matter.

Q: What is your current content focus?

Our company is moving to a state of the art facility in Lower Manhattan – easily one of the most impressive spaces for culinary education in the US – so there are plenty of new stories to tell about that!

Q: What is your biggest marketing fear?

CarlyDeFilippo_Content_Marketing_Pet_Peeve

Falling behind on the never-ending changes on social platforms.

Q: What do you dislike most about your website’s appearance?

Our company has four different customer audiences, so it’s an ongoing challenge to maintain an easy-to-navigate site.

Q: What buzzwords are you guilty of using most?

“The future of food.”

Q: What brands do you have a marketing crush on?

Usually design brands. I envy their (ability to pay) uncompromising attention to detail.

Which results make you happiest?

I’m all about “shares.” It’s one thing to enjoy a piece of content, it’s another to forward it to a friend.

Q: What marketing skill would you most like to have?

A mastery of Google Analytics.

CarlyDeFilippo_Content_Marketing_Social_Shares

Q: What do you consider your greatest content marketing achievement (to date)?

The quality of our content, hands down. I think sticky, viral etc. is great – but at the end of the day it’s all about adding value (as opposed to noise) to an already crowded digital space.

Q: If you were a type of web content, what do you think it would be?

A great interview: Hard-hitting questions that get to the heart of the story.

Q: If you could do it all over again, what vertical would you work in and why?

Food, forever and always. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Q: What personal trait are you always trying to improve?

Professional distance from my work. I can be too in love with the subject matter at times.

Q: Do you think your office environment reflects your brand?

Well, there’s always delicious food around…

Q: What is your brand’s most valuable asset?

Our incredible chef instructors. I’m their biggest fan.

Q: What is your favorite part of the workday?

Plugging in my headphones and focusing on writing.

Q: What is the quality you like best in other brands?

When the product, visual branding and the marketing message are all seamlessly integrated.

Q: What’s the quality you like least in other brands?

CarlyDeFilippo_Content_Marketing_Invest_In_Story

Bad visual design.

Q: How can other brands/marketers get on your good side?

Integrity, creativity and an honest, collaborative spirit. But show me, don’t tell me.

Q: Who are your favorite writers/brand leaders (online or off)?

Francis Lam, Gabrielle Hamilton and Brooks Headley. But it’s more accurate to call them food “industry leaders” than “brand leaders.”

Q: What is your marketing pet peeve?

When companies value selling over storytelling.

Q: What’s one social media trend that you wish would die out?

Paying to get content seen by individuals who have already “opted in” as fans of your brand.

Q: What’s your current inspiration?

Hands-on time in the kitchen. Creativity begets creativity.

Q: What is your marketing motto?

People are no longer interested in “stuff.” They want to invest in a story.

Check out how Carly tells a story on the ICE.edu blog.
Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.