Ashley Faus

Kogan Page Publishing

My book, "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI" features three frameworks to help marketers build trust and attract, convert, and retain customers.

Key messages:

-	Trust is the key: People buy from people they trust, and people trust people like themselves. As marketers, we need to build trust with our audience to win and re-win their hearts, minds, and wallets.

-	The human connection becomes more important in the age of AI, because more technology makes it harder to find people you can trust and make authentic connections.

-	The Playground mindset shift: Marketing needs to evolve to match the modern journey. It’s no longer about rushing people to a purchase, it’s about building trust and rapport for long-term value exchange.

-	The Social Media Spectrum (communication, conversation, community): Social media continues to evolve, but too many brands are still focused on driving and participating in conversation about the brand, instead of meeting the audience where they are and fostering community.

-	4 Pillars of Thought Leadership (credibility, profile, prolific, depth of ideas): Thought leadership helps build trust, but it’s not the only type of content or creator that you need in the marketing mix.

Author, "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI"

Atlassian

Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Portfolio

Director of Integrated Product Marketing

Product Marketing Lead, Software Teams Content 

Sr. Manager, Integrated Media

Sr. Corporate Communications Manager

Skyport Systems

Skyport Systems, acquired by Cisco, provides secure, hyperconverged infrastructure to modernize the DMZ, protect Active Directory, and secure legacy applications and remote branch operations.

Sr. Product Marketing Manager and Content Strategist

Palerra

Palerra, acquired by Oracle, pioneered the API-based Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB).

Sr. Manager, Content Strategy and Marketing Communications

Duarte, Inc.

Strategy and execution for all things marketing.

In addition to previous duties, manage budget, forecast, and annual planning for marketing strategy.

Sr. Marketing Manager

Manage a team of creative experts
Marketo integration, strategy, and execution
Analytics/KPI reporting and analysis
IP launches - Resonate multimedia, Slidedocs, Persuasive Presentations eCourse
Email campaigns, social media, and ad campaigns
Website branding and content updates
Editorial content strategy and execution
Executive presentations

Marketing Manager

Killick Aerospace

Killick Aerospace encompasses several companies that provide engine maintenance, accessory maintenance, airframe support, and parts and engine sales to the aviation industry. I oversaw the marketing activities for all companies in the Killick Aerospace portfolio. My duties include, but are not limited to:

Work with management and IT department for requirements gathering, implementation and documentation of CRM strategy 

Manage 3rd party programmer to update company websites, content manager for company websites

Manage relationships with outside vendors including designers and promotional representatives 

Coordinate all aspects of trade show exhibits, including marketing collateral, shipments, promotional items, and travel logistics

Co-creator and co-manager for print advertising budget

Track and measure success of marketing activities, including website traffic/SEO, referral lead source, and email campaigns

Marketing Coordinator

UserTesting.com

I helped research and implement a social media strategy, including Twitter and reaching out to bloggers. I also helped with customer service.

Independent Contractor

Solar Designs, Inc

Account manager for the company’s largest project, a commercial solar installation, worth $150,000

Improved profit margin by 5% through bulk-price negotiations with supplier

Grew affiliate partnerships from 2 to over 50 within 8 months, used direct Marketing to offer qualified leads and guaranteed revenue to new partners

Increased revenue opportunity by creating a training package for installers

Strategic analysis of customer and installer needs, led to over-hauling information-gathering form and presentation of final customer proposal

Wrote proposals with details about solar system design, environmental impact, and financial implications including up-front costs, rebates, ROI, and payback

OpenTech Media, Inc.

Research, layout, and copy for corporate brochure and website to present a more cohesive message to customers

Virion Interactive Agency

Competitive analysis, post-project analysis, client invoicing and work order processing

Account Management Intern

Director of Integrated Product Marketing, Atlassian

Marketer, writer, speaker by day... singer, actor, fitness fiend by night!

I've handled all aspects of marketing strategy and execution, from product marketing, to demand-gen, to content and events. I love telling the high-level stories that resonate with an audience and connecting the dots between types of assets and distribution channels.

My writing has been published on TIME, Forbes, The Journal of Brand Strategy, and The Muse, and I've spoken on various marketing topics for INBOUND, Harvard Business Review, and MarketingProfs.

Visit https://ashleyfaus.com/ for more information about my book, "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI".

(Views are my own)

When you're friends with smart marketers, you feature each other as an example when you write a book 😀

Devin Bramhall released her book recently, and she featured my Playground framework.

I released my book in May, and I featured her community work from her time at Help Scout.

Per usual, there's a blooper pic if you swipe through 😂

Buy "Human-Centered Marketing": https://amzn.to/480QQLI

Buy "B2B Content Marketing Strategy": https://amzn.to/4i3SLne

(Thanks to MarketingProfs B2B Forum for the cozy background and in-person photo opp 😊)

Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Portfolio at Atlassian

I don't have many rituals before I step onstage to speak.

But I DO love my glitter face mask tradition 😀

Excited to speak about building trust in the buyer's journey MarketingProfs B2B Forum this morning, 10:20am EST!

Grateful for another award for my book, "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI" 🎉

Need a gift for yourself or a marketer you love? Get 40% through December 1st!

Grab a copy: https://lnkd.in/eJWZHRF8

Need some light reading en route to allllll the Thanksgiving dinners?

Free sneak peeks:

Thought leadership: https://lnkd.in/eXCZ2qPf

Buyer's journey playground: https://lnkd.in/esQDz9EK

Congrats to all the winners: https://lnkd.in/emxkNFZ2

When I was VERY early in my career, I had to make an expensive decision on behalf of the business.

I was SO worried about it!

Tons of money.
Literally minutes to make the choice.
No time to call my boss for approval.

I decided to spend the money, and trusted that my boss would be ok with it once I finally talked with her.

Y'all... It was paying $50 for valet parking.

But at that time in my life, $50 for parking seemed absurd.

At that time in my career, I wasn't well-versed in how businesses expenses and vendor agreements worked.

And I was genuinely worried about confirming with a vendor that they could pay $50 for valet parking because they were running late to film a customer testimonial during a big conference.

My boss was thrilled that I made the decision to spend the $50 on faster parking vs. potentially losing the filming slot with the customer.

Now as a seasoned marketer, I cringe at my younger self, thinking how silly it was for me to even worry about $50 valet parking. 

OF COURSE that is a no-brainer call!

But... does your team know when it's a no-brainer decision? 

Do they trust that their leaders will back them up when they need to make real-time "expensive" choices?

Do they have a framework for when to escalate?

If you're rolling your eyes at folks making bad calls, it's worth taking a step back to understand whether they have context and trust to make good calls.

Because it's ACTUALLY expensive to do things cheap.

"Which bakery did this come from?"

"Wait, YOU made these!?!"

"You should open a bakery..."

People say this to me frequently when I bring treats to the office, the theater, birthdays, etc.

There's some AMAZING commercial-scale bakeries out there, AMAZING home bakers out there, and everything in between (including my amateur baker status).

After baking treats and buying treats over the years, I've started applying my marketing nerdery to the questions of perception, compliments, trust, etc. in this space.

And so, I'm curious...

In the comparison below, which option would you pay more for?

How much would you pay for a dozen of the cupcakes shown in the picture?

Assume that each option has comparable cost of goods sold, etc. to not bias the results too much, and you can make whatever assumptions you want about where the cupcakes came from, who took the pictures, if they're AI-generated vs. human, etc.

Please nerd out with me about the intersection of my baking hobby and my marketing brain 😋

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." - Goodhart's Law

I've been on a bit of a metrics and attribution kick lately, and I talked a bit about Goodhart's Law in my conversation with 🍁 Glenn Schmelzle on the Funnel Reboot podcast.

The heart of it is something that marketers continually struggle with...

We know we gotta measure.
But we know we can't measure everything.
And without everything, it kinda feels like we have nothing.

The problem is that we're so focused on capturing every. little. detail. in a way that we can easily show in a dashboard, but we miss the big opportunities that actually help people move through a buying process.

We talked about the core frameworks in my book that help you do just that: create a journey that helps the HUMANS make decisions, take action, and solve their problems (and yep, drive revenue for your business)!

Hear the full episode: https://lnkd.in/emxHSDgk

Grab a copy of the book: https://amzn.to/480QQLI

Human Brands Win

Founded and scaled the business to $100K in revenue within the first four months by helping founders and executives build high-impact, trust-driven brands.

Assembled a team of expert partners to deliver full-scale brand strategy, content, and growth solutions for companies ranging from startups to enterprises.

Develop personal and corporate brand strategies that increase engagement, credibility, and industry influence.

Implement human-centered content strategies, incorporating podcasts, video, and storytelling to deepen audience connection.

CEO & Executive Advisor

Caspian Studios

I partner with the brilliant Caspian Studios crew to serve Founders, Executives, and marketing teams seeking growth through creative, video‑forward, AI‑accelerated content strategy grounded in human‑first storytelling.

Strategic Partner

Pavilion

I co-lead Pavilion’s 1,000+ member women’s community, driving engagement through virtual and in-person events, resources, and networking opportunities. Pavilion is the world's leading private community for go-to-market leaders.

Co-Leader of Women of Pavilion & Executive Member

Casted

Scaled VC-backed Casted 5x in 24 months, secured 100+ customers, generated millions in ARR, and achieving 125% net revenue retention.

Invented industry-first features, including unified video + audio publishing, audience analytics, and in-platform content clipping.

Launched with impact, drawing 300+ attendees to our in-person debut (despite a winter storm).

Created & launched Casted’s Amplify event to thousands of attendees virtually and in-person, defining a new approach to B2B content marketing .

Raised $13M across three rounds of venture capital as a Midwest-based, female, first-time founder, overcoming the challenges of VC fundraising outside major startup hubs.

Built and scaled a fully remote, culture-first team of 50+ during COVID, fostering flexibility, inclusion, and high performance.

Earned industry recognition, including three Mira Startup of the Year nominations, Mira Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, and Indy’s 40 Under 40 award.

Positioned Casted as an industry leader, with features in Forbes, TechCrunch, NPR and speaking engagements at SXSW, INBOUND, and 300+ podcasts.

CEO & Co-Founder

Emarsys

Owned the company's global brand & content strategy, including a $4M+ budget and a 20+ member team, driving brand consistency and growth leading up to SAP's acquisition of Emarsys in 2020.

Led the North American Marketing Team, including 10-person business development team (BDRs/SDRs), field and event marketing, email, social media, PR, direct marketing, and paid media. 

Positioned Emarsys as an attractive acquisition target by elevating brand equity, strengthening market perception, and showcasing customer success — contributing to SAP’s acquisition.

Launched several global, in-person events, including "Revolution", the company's first industry event, which attracted 1,200 attendees to London from around the world in its first year, as well as several Revenue Kick-Offs, and dozens of regional "Evolution" customer events worldwide. 

Created and hosted the "Marketer + Machine" podcast and "Revolution" video series — reaching more than 20,000 audience members in their first year, amplifying customer success stories, and strengthening industry relationships.

Spearheaded a global integrated marketing strategy to align and localize messaging, ensuring a cohesive brand presence across all regions and audiences.

Worked directly with several key accounts, including Tupperware, Char-Broil, Cosabella, and BrightWave.

Partnered with global marketing leaders to drive consistent, impactful messaging across digital, content, and event marketing, enhancing customer engagement throughout the lifecycle.

Global VP, Brand and Content and Director of Marketing, North America

Relevance

Managed strategic relationships with global brand accounts, including Intel, Office Depot, Vistaprint, Ashley Furniture, Humana, and L'Oréal.

Led a team of strategists and creatives to develop research-driven content strategies.

Shaped the agency’s strategic direction, overseeing services that fueled audience engagement, brand differentiation, and revenue growth—leading up to it's private acquisition in 2016.

Developed high-impact, data-backed marketing strategies, including:
- Content strategy and brand positioning
- Audience, competitive, and market analysis
- Buyer’s journey development and conversion optimization
- Lead generation and promotional strategies to drive measurable growth

Principal Strategist & Director of Content

Blueprint Marketing

Founded and scaled Blueprint Marketing to $100K in revenue within the first six months, delivering high-impact brand and marketing strategies to businesses and agencies.

Led strategy engagements for major brands, including LinkedIn, Cummins Allison, and CDW, helping them refine brand positioning and marketing effectiveness.

Pioneered a strategy-first approach to brand positioning, content, integrated marketing, and customer experience.

Developed fully customized, research-driven marketing Blueprints, including:
- Audience research and competitive analysis
- Brand positioning and marketplace opportunity identification
- Integrated marketing and lead generation strategies
- Designed a non-template, tailored approach—ensuring every client strategy was built uniquely to address specific business objectives.

Brand & Content Strategist

Maestro

Led the launch of the company's first marketing strategy, increasing website visitors by 93% in 12 months and boosting leads by 10% YOY.

Built a high-performing content marketing engine, publishing 20-30 pieces per month - up from 1-2 per quarter previously, significantly increasing traffic and engagement.

Expanded the company’s social media presence, attracting thousands of followers across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Planned and managed the company's first industry trade show strategy, overseeing participation in 24+ conferences annually to drive brand visibility and lead generation.

Optimized digital properties and CRM integration, ensuring seamless alignment between sales and marketing to maximize efficiency.

Introduced and managed HubSpot within the organization, leveraging automation to improve inbound marketing and lead nurturing.

Ensured brand consistency and market positioning, strengthening competitive differentiation and audience engagement.

Head of Marketing

Charles River Laboratories

Celsis (Acquired by Charles River Labs)

Led internal and external communications team of 10+ individuals and agencies for a global life sciences company, ensuring brand consistency and market positioning leading up to its acquisition.

Developed and managed content strategy, creating high-impact assets to support customer engagement and sales enablement.

Optimized and localized digital presence through website management, SEO, and paid media (SEM) to drive traffic and lead generation.

Managed CRM and database marketing, improving customer segmentation and outreach effectiveness.

Planned and executed conference & trade show strategies, enhancing brand visibility among key industry players.

Directed annual marketing strategy and planning, aligning efforts with business objectives to support growth and efficiency.

Head of Marketing Communications

HUMANeX Ventures

Managed brand strategy and positioning, ensuring consistency across all marketing and communications.

Led content creation efforts, developing high-quality materials to engage audiences and support business objectives.

Facilitated client consulting sessions, equipping teams with the knowledge and tools to hire top talent and increase team effectiveness.

Oversaw the production of marketing videos, driving brand storytelling and audience engagement.

Marketing & Branding

From scaling startups to leading global marketing teams, I've worked with brands like IBM, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Gong, HubSpot, L'Oreal and Intel to turn bold ideas into brands people trust, follow, and buy from. 

Here's a bit about where I am today:

- Founder & CEO, Human Brands Win: I help founders and executives grow their influence through personal brand strategy and increase trust in their businesses by making their corporate brands more human-centric.

- Former Founder & CEO, Casted: I built the first-ever B2B podcast and video marketing platform, scaling it 5x and to 50+ team members in 24 months and raising $13M in VC funding as a Midwestern, female, first-time SaaS CEO.

- Speaker & Thought Leader: Featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, NPR, and on 300+ podcasts and stages like SXSW and INBOUND.

- Community Leader, Pavilion: I co-lead Pavilion’s 1,000+ member women’s community, fostering connection and growth through curated events and resources.

I believe the strongest brands—personal and corporate—are built on clarity, conviction, and connection. If you’re looking to stand out, scale up, or sharpen your brand strategy, let’s connect.

Lindsay Tjepkema

Revenue is a result.
It’s not the whole story.

Too often, we treat growth like it’s as simple as a numbers game:
📈 Pipeline
📈 CAC
📈 ARR
📈 Conversions

Most of these metrics are lagging indicators. They reflect what has already happened.

All important metrics, of course, but none of them explain what created the conditions for those outcomes in the first place.

What actually drives growth begins long before anything shows up in a spreadsheet. 

In my latest Forbes article, I explore the other half of the growth story:
✨ The trust you build
✨ The clarity you create
✨ The story only your brand can tell

Because the companies that last aren’t just chasing quarterly goals
They’re earning long-term belief.

If we want sustainable growth, we need a more human scorecard. 

👉 Read the full article here https://buff.ly/MMPfmoF

Let’s Build Your Founder Brand. Former VC-Backed SaaS CEO, 3x Founder, and Global B2B Brand + Content Marketer

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ashley Faus's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAshley Faus's LinkedIn Performance