The value of "internal marketing"
It's time to get recognized for your work
We all know what it’s like to feel under appreciated in our marketing work.
We create content and launch campaigns we’re proud of, think our plate is already overflowing, and still get asks to do more—the channel we’re not on yet, the trend we’re supposedly missing, or that thing a competitor did that we apparently need to react to and copy.
Those asks can come in feeling like there’s a lack of appreciation for everything the marketing team is already doing:
The meetings you host, the social posts and blogs you publish, the sales enablement assets you create, and the care you take with the brand you steward.
It’s A LOT.
And you ask yourself: how can people focus on what you haven’t done in the face of all those things you’re already doing?
The problem? They don’t know about most of it.
Because you’re skipping out on internal marketing for your team’s work and your own work.
If you want more awareness for your marketing work — leading to everything from increased appreciation and motivation to fewer redundant marketing support requests — then stick around.
What is internal marketing?
Marketing by nature is an externally-focused role.
As marketers, we’re responsible for the face of the brand and we hyper focus on what our customers and audience think about it.
We write the copy, create the imagery, and drive the tone that defines how our company and the people who work for it speak in the market.
And while we spend our days focused on those external conversations, it’s easy to forget about how important it is to prioritize internal conversations.
Things like:
Keeping the sales team aware of the latest marketing assets.
Highlighting big wins and reporting on successful marketing initiatives.
Sharing the latest campaigns and thought leadership narratives so the company can support them.
That set of activities are examples of what I like to call “internal marketing.”
The difference between internal marketing and internal communications
When I say internal marketing, I’m not referring to internal communications in the traditional sense—that is, the dedicated marketing and communications function focused on keeping employees informed about key company news and updates.
Instead, I’m talking about communication from the marketing team to the rest of the organization, aimed at keeping everyone aware of the marketing department’s priorities, initiatives, and impact.
Internal marketing can be considered a subset of internal comms overall, but it serves a distinct purpose and doesn’t necessarily get managed by the internal comms team (although they may play a key role and be a partner).
Now that we’re good on definitions, let’s talk about why you should care about this marketing-issued form of internal comms in the first place.
The value of internal marketing
The kind of internal marketing I’m talking about here takes… marketing work. Just what you needed more of, right?
But it’s worth it. And here’s why.
Internal marketing delivers two major benefits:
It helps the business—When people across the company know what marketing is working on, they’re better equipped to amplify it. Sales teams share the latest messaging and know the tools they have available. And employees engage with thought leadership on social because they actually know where the brand is headed.
It helps you and your team—Visibility builds appreciation. The more your work is seen, the more it’s valued — and the less likely you are to get hit with questions like, “what’s marketing even doing?”
Chief Marketing Officer Jillian Puente recently summed this up well on LinkedIn. She talked about how often marketers face the challenge of people thinking they could do our jobs themselves or that we have room for improvement and more output. Her advice?
Bring stakeholders into your process early and often. The more they see how the sausage gets made (I hate this phrase, is there a better one?), the more they’ll respect the work. Over-inclusion beats under-appreciation. — Chief Marketing Officer Jillian Puente
In the context of internal marketing, that doesn’t mean inviting people into the process itself. Although that’s valuable, too.
It means telling the story of your work.
Giving people a clear view of what marketing is doing, what’s already been delivered, and what’s coming next.
That kind of visibility earns trust, reduces unnecessary asks, and shifts the narrative from “what’s marketing missing?” to “look at everything marketing already IS doing.”
Right-sizing your internal marketing efforts
I’m sure all of that sounds great in theory.
That is, until you’re staring down your calendar wondering where it fits.
When your plate is already full of externally facing priorities, adding “marketing for your marketing” can feel like a luxury, not a necessity.
But it doesn’t have to be ultra time-consuming or complicated. Internal marketing can be tailored to your company size, team structure, and available resources.
If you’re at a smaller company without dedicated internal comms or enablement, that’s okay. You can still make a big impact with lightweight updates. Things like curating your most-used content, sharing top FAQs, or linking to new pitch decks and messaging docs.
When I was head of marketing at a startup with a lean team, we issued a scrappy, but consistent calendar of Slack channel updates.
We’d link to the latest press releases, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, and sales assets. And where relevant we’d pair those links with an insider POV on why we were messaging a certain way, the external narratives we were connecting our brand to, and where we were headed next.
It wasn’t perfect, but it helped us maintain an internal voice to match the external one we were shaping. And it worked wonders for increasing awareness and appreciation for our team’s body of work.
At larger companies, internal marketing tends to be more structured. You might run your own newsletter and also contribute to broader internal comms channels — like company-wide updates or department all-hands.
For example, at the bigger tech company I work for:
Our field marketing team sends a regular internal newsletter highlighting their latest campaigns.
Our sales enablement team reinforces key assets and messaging in their comms.
My product marketing team contributes to internal newsletters and all-hands meetings to keep people in the loop.
It’s about finding the right mix of owned and borrowed forums to keep your work visible.
How I practice internal marketing today
Now that I’ve transitioned into a larger organization, my approach to internal marketing has evolved to match the scale and structure of the company.
And I’ve done that by balancing owned forums where I can keep my scrappy approach, while also leveraging the internal comms processes that are typical at a larger company.
Issuing my own internal newsletter
I work in product marketing and issue my own bi-weekly internal newsletter focused on my AI product marketing team’s latest work and priorities.
The distribution list includes executive stakeholders and peers from departments like product, sales, and other marketing teams.
My goal with this newsletter is twofold:
Help other teams get the latest tools and assets about the AI products we represent.
Keep my team’s work and impact top of mind for our cross-functional peers and stakeholders.
In my view, the more our colleagues are aware of what we’re creating and why, the better they can use those resources in their own work.
It also increases the likelihood that support requests take into account what already exists — our current body of work, available assets, and team priorities.
Partnering with the internal comms team
In addition to owning our own newsletter, we also tap into existing internal communications channels to amplify our reach.
For example, we:
Submit our latest campaigns and asset collections as highlights in company-wide newsletters.
Join all-hands meetings hosted by product, sales, and other marketing functions to preview upcoming campaigns and share recent launches.
Actively participate in the sales enablement team’s programming, using their comms and meeting cadence to keep our GTM teams up to speed on the latest narratives and tools.
It’s a combination of owning our own forum and being opportunistic about showing up in others.
And it’s made a noticeable difference in awareness, alignment, and respect for the work our team delivers.
How to do your own internal marketing
As you look to implement some internal marketing for your team, it doesn’t need to be overwhelming.
There’s a ton of value in starting small, staying consistent, and building from there.
To get started, here are a few of my favorite internal marketing tactics you can adopt:
All-hands and team meeting appearances—Ask for a few minutes to highlight recent campaigns, top-performing assets, or upcoming launches. Or better yet, rotate who presents so other team members get visibility.
Internal marketing newsletters—These can be weekly or monthly, depending on your pace of output and availability. Include links to new content, summaries of major initiatives, and clear CTAs like “share this post,” “use this deck,” or “bookmark this FAQ.”
Quick-hit Slack or Teams updates—Don’t underestimate the value of a quick message. Something as simple as “Our new blog is live — great resource for customer convos this week: [link]” keeps marketing top of mind and makes your work feel alive in the org.
Sales and customer team recaps—Send targeted updates to your go-to-market teams. Highlight what’s new, what’s been refreshed, and what’s working. Bonus if you include screenshots or real usage stories.
Enablement spotlights and “greatest hit” asset roundups—Whether or not you have an established sales enablement team to partner with, it’s helpful to regularly surface your most-used, high-impact assets. Think: “Most downloaded of the month,” or “3 links every AE should know this quarter” type of stuff.
Partnerships with internal comms—If your company has a dedicated internal comms team, work with them to get your team’s updates featured in wider employee newsletters, department-wide town halls, and company-wide town halls. They can be your distribution partners for keeping people aware of the latest marketing initiatives.
Better is the enemy of good here and consistency is the most important thing.
Find 1–2 of these that work for you and start there. Then build toward more dedicated, recurring forums as you get traction or see the need.
Final thoughts on internal marketing
Internal marketing doesn’t have to be complicated to make a difference.
What matters is consistently making your team’s work visible. And in turn, helping your entire organization stay better informed, aligned, and equipped.
Because the truth is: people can’t appreciate work they don’t see. The more your work shows up, the more others will show up for you.
Over time, that visibility changes everything: how marketing is perceived, how your work is used, and how much impact you can make.
As marketers, we know better than anyone that people aren’t going to tell your story for you. You have to tell it yourself — and help others to tell it with you.