What You Need to Know:
- AI fatigue is creating opportunities: As AI-generated content floods the internet, B2B buyers are looking for authentic insights from real industry experts.
- Your people are your competitive advantage: Engineers, product managers and technical sales professionals have firsthand knowledge that can help build credibility and trust with prospective customers.
- Time is often the biggest obstacle: Subject matter experts are busy, making it difficult for marketing teams to capture and share their expertise.
- One conversation can create multiple content assets: DeanHouston’s 5in5 video series transforms five targeted interview questions into videos, social clips, Q&A articles and other marketing content.
- Human expertise builds stronger connections: Featuring your experts helps buyers get to know the people behind your products and build confidence in your company before the first sales conversation.
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn lately, you’ve probably noticed something. Every company suddenly sounds remarkably similar. Apparently, they’re all thought leaders now, and every business challenge can be solved with a groundbreaking, game-changing approach.
Welcome to the age of AI-generated content, where producing a 1,000-word article takes less time than deciding what to have for lunch.
Generative AI has undoubtedly changed the way marketers work, making it easier and faster to research topics, develop ideas and produce content. But as more companies flood the internet with articles, social posts and videos, audiences are becoming increasingly selective about what deserves their attention.
For B2B manufacturers, that presents an interesting opportunity. While competitors are busy figuring out how to produce more content with fewer resources, an enormous amount of valuable knowledge sits inside their organizations and rarely makes its way into the conversation.
And chances are, the same is true for yours.
Your Best Thought Leaders Are Already on the Payroll
Think about the people within your organization who customers turn to when they need answers:
- An engineer who’s spent 30 years designing equipment for demanding industrial environments
- A product manager who understands every application and performance consideration
- A technical sales professional who’s helped hundreds of customers work through complicated challenges.
These individuals have something increasingly valuable in a world overflowing with AI-generated information – firsthand experience. They understand the questions customers ask, the mistakes they commonly make and the considerations that can determine whether a project succeeds or fails. Years of conversations, troubleshooting, product development and practical problem-solving have shaped their perspectives.
For prospective customers researching a complex purchase, hearing directly from someone with that kind of experience can be far more compelling than reading another article filled with generic industry observations. Unfortunately, getting that expertise into your marketing content is often easier said than done.
Your subject matter experts have demanding jobs, and writing articles or developing social media content probably isn’t part of their responsibilities. Even when they’re willing to participate, coordinating interviews, developing content and securing approvals can become time-consuming and get pushed aside for more immediate priorities.
The challenge for marketing teams is capturing that knowledge without creating another major responsibility for the people who possess it.
Give Your Customers a Reason to Listen
It’s refreshing to hear an experienced professional explain a complicated topic in their own words. They might share an unexpected lesson from a customer application, explain why a particular industry trend matters or offer practical advice that someone researching a purchase would genuinely appreciate.
Those insights help prospective customers better understand the challenges they’re facing while showing them the people and expertise behind your company.
This is especially important in B2B manufacturing, where purchasing decisions frequently involve significant investments, technical evaluations and multiple stakeholders. Buyers want confidence that the companies they’re considering understand their applications and can help them make informed decisions. Featuring your subject matter experts through video interviews, articles and other thought leadership content lets buyers get to know your team’s expertise long before the first sales conversation.
It also gives your marketing something that generic AI-generated content struggles to deliver: a recognizable human perspective grounded in actual industry experience.
Introducing 5in5: Big Expertise, Small Time Commitment
At DeanHouston, we’ve developed a practical way to help manufacturers bring more of that expertise into their marketing through our 5in5 video series.
The concept is straightforward. We interview (or they simply record themselves) one of your subject matter experts, asking five carefully developed questions about a topic that’s relevant to your customers and the markets you serve. The conversation is designed to feel comfortable and conversational, letting your expert share their knowledge without preparing a formal presentation or spending hours in front of a camera.
From that brief interview, our team develops content you can distribute across multiple channels, helping your organization reach more people while making better use of your experts’ time.
Depending on your marketing objectives, a single interview can generate:
- A full-length video featuring your expert’s perspective on an important industry topic.
- Five shorter videos highlighting individual questions and answers for LinkedIn and other social channels.
- A written Q&A article that brings the conversation to your website and supports search visibility.
- Social media content that extends the interview’s reach and encourages engagement.
- Additional opportunities for email and trade media content that keep your expertise in front of customers and prospects.
The format is also easy to repeat across different experts, products, applications and markets, so you can build an ongoing library of thought leadership content without starting from scratch every time.
See a DeanHouston 5in5 video in action! Check out the one we made for our Attack-A-Market book launch below.
Want to see more of our work in action? Check out these client examples on LinkedIn:
The Best Stories Are Already Inside Your Business
As AI continues to reshape marketing, the ability to produce content will become less of a competitive advantage. Nearly every manufacturer now has access to tools that can generate articles, emails and social posts in seconds, and the volume of content competing for attention will only continue to grow.
What remains unique to your organization is the collective knowledge of the people who develop your products, solve your customers’ problems and understand the industries you serve. That experience deserves a bigger audience.
The next time your marketing team needs a compelling topic, spend a few minutes with the people who know your business best. Ask them what customers struggle with, what changes they’re seeing in the market, or what they wish more buyers understood about their products.
You might discover that your next great piece of marketing content has been sitting a few offices down the hall all along.
Want to put your company’s experts in the spotlight? DeanHouston’s 5in5 video program makes it easy to turn their knowledge into engaging thought leadership content that helps customers get to know the people behind your products.
Let’s talk about creating some 5in5 videos for your business.
5in5 Video Program Frequently Asked Questions
What is DeanHouston’s 5in5 video series?
DeanHouston’s 5in5 video series is a thought leadership program that helps B2B manufacturers showcase the expertise of their engineers, product managers, technical sales professionals and other industry experts. Through a brief interview with five targeted questions, we capture valuable industry insights and turn them into engaging video and written content you can share across multiple marketing channels.
How does the 5in5 video process work?
The process begins by identifying a subject matter expert (SME) and developing five questions around a topic relevant to your customers. DeanHouston then conducts a virtual interview (or the SME records their own answers), allowing the expert to share their knowledge in a comfortable, conversational setting. Our team handles editing, production and content development, turning the interview into professional videos and supporting marketing materials.
How much time does a subject matter expert need to commit?
The 5in5 program is designed to minimize demands on your team’s time. The core interview is brief, and participants don’t need to write scripts, prepare lengthy presentations or have professional on-camera experience. DeanHouston manages the production process so your experts can focus on sharing what they know best.
What types of content can be created from a 5in5 interview?
A single 5in5 interview can generate several marketing assets, including:
- A full-length video featuring the complete interview
- Five shorter videos highlighting individual questions and answers
- A written Q&A article for your website
- Social media posts and video clips for LinkedIn and other platforms
- Supporting content for email campaigns, trade publications and other marketing initiatives
This approach helps manufacturers maximize each interview’s value while building a content library they can use across multiple channels.
What topics work best for a 5in5 video?
The most effective 5in5 videos address questions, challenges and trends that matter to your customers. Topics might include emerging industry technologies, common application challenges, product selection considerations, operational best practices or changes affecting a particular market. The goal is to share practical insights that demonstrate your team’s expertise while helping prospective buyers make more informed decisions.
How can 5in5 videos help B2B manufacturers generate leads and build credibility?
B2B purchasing decisions often involve extensive research, technical evaluations and multiple decision-makers. Featuring your subject matter experts in video content lets prospective customers learn from the people behind your products before speaking with your sales team. When distributed through your website, social media, email campaigns and other channels, 5in5 content can support brand awareness, strengthen credibility and create opportunities for meaningful sales conversations.
Ready to showcase your company’s expertise? Contact our content experts below to learn how our 5in5 video series can turn your team’s knowledge into valuable marketing content.
Jesse Severson
Content Marketing Manager
[email protected] | LinkedIn
Eric Hirth
Vice President of Content
[email protected] | LinkedIn