Q&A: Fareeha Khan, Director of Marketing & Communications at Makpar, Discusses Government IT Marketing Successes

In the world of government IT, marketing is completely different from the B2B and B2C sectors. With longer sales cycles and highly sophisticated buyers who are often challenging to target directly, content marketing is the ideal avenue for influencing and educating government decision-makers.

For Fareeha Khan, who was recently promoted to Director of Marketing & Communications at Makpar, this is the foundation for her marketing strategy. Her vision for success comes down to developing content that is dynamic, creative and highly informative.

In this Q&A interview, Fareeha shares her story about how she got into government marketing, key successes to date, and where Makpar is headed marketing-wise in 2024.

The following conversation has been edited for length.

Q: Tell us about your background and how you got into government marketing.

Fareeha: After working in the nonprofit sector, and as a paralegal after college, I decided to pursue a career in marketing and web strategy. Once I gained some experience at a web redesign firm in Arlington, Virginia, I found my way into government marketing by working at Makpar, our family business.

I’ve been at Makpar now for nearly seven years. It’s been a great ride. I’ve really learned a lot through the process of trial and error, especially when I was running marketing on my own. I’ve also tapped into many resources from organizations like Government Marketing University and Market Connections to learn the intricacies of government marketing.

Now, we have a marketing team of three people, including our super star intern Elle Newman, and our trusted content developer, Matt Langan from L&R Communications.  

Q: Tell us about how you develop Makpar’s marketing strategy and how it’s evolved.

Fareeha: Well, our strategy really came from what I learned from Market Connections, which is that content marketing should be the foundation for any government marketing effort.

We have such a wide array of incredible subject-matter experts at Makpar that we consistently tap into for sharing insights with prospective government buyers.  Much of the buying process is all about educating prospects – whether on key IT modernization trends or on Makpar’s services. 

Our content marketing strategy also aligns with the Business Development team’s priorities. By doing this, we can take a more Account-Based Marketing (ABM) approach and develop content that aligns with potential new contract opportunities.   

Finally, we also show the personality and family-focus of Makpar through our content that enhances employee engagement. We often do Q&As with new employees, as well as with those who are uplifting communities, and we sprinkle in a little fun from time-to-time. 

Q: Can you share some successes?

Fareeha: Our most significant achievement at Makpar has been the development of our blog program, which is highly consistent and based on creating quality content. Each week, we publish our Fed Mission Success News Round Up, along with a deeper-dive mid-week blog post. Many of the mid-week blog posts are audio and video podcasts – to offer a wider-range of content options.

As a result, in 2023, we saw a 50 percent increase in web traffic. Much of our web traffic is coming from organic SEO, which reinforces that we are on the right track with our content. 

One of the great things about being such a small marketing department is that we can take creative risks with our content.  I don’t believe that this is something that larger industry members can do, and I believe this really helps us to stand out.

Also, I take great pride in the vibrant culture we've cultivated at Makpar through our marketing efforts. For example, Elle and I are consistently engaged in organizing various cultural initiatives, such as our upcoming dinner and trivia night for all teams.

From coordinating monthly knowledge shares to managing our internal Makpar Hub and fostering engagement through our internal social media platform, Makpar Connect, we're deeply committed to enhancing both our internal and external communications. Balancing these responsibilities can be quite hectic, but I'm immensely proud of what we've achieved.

Congrats on the recent promotion to Director of Marketing & Communications at Makpar! What do you see as the future of your work at Makpar?

Fareeha: Thanks! In 2024, we're embarking on a significant brand refresh at Makpar. This includes refining our service offerings and messaging, as well as revamping the look and feel of our website.

I'm genuinely excited to witness Makpar's continued growth, especially considering our impressive 50 percent increase in employee hires last year. As we expand, it's important for us to uphold our strong culture and further cultivate employee engagement.

Moving forward, our focus remains on company growth while ensuring its stability. Regarding external marketing efforts, I'm excited to continue our current strategies, while also exploring new avenues for growth and maturity. For example, we will be doing more case studies, white papers and webinars.

As for the overall future of our marketing, I'm open to surprises and eager to embrace whatever opportunities come our way.

We would like to thank Fareeha for taking the time to speak with us, and we look forward to seeing Makpar continue to shine in 2024!