Do a quick Google search or scour the front pages of your favorite social media blogs and you’ll find a seemingly endless array of articles providing you with tips and advice on social media (this blog included). But if you read enough of them, which I do, eventually you’ll see those tips and bits of advice contradict each other. Don’t post on Facebook more than once a day, or your fans will un-Like you. Post more than once a day on Facebook to keep your People Talking About This score high. Photos are the most shareable content on Facebook. Videos are the most shareable content on…
Content Marketing
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Most Topular Stories
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5 Social Media Tips to Ignore
Post-Advertising19 Jun 2013 | 2:47 pm -
Top 4 SEO Tips for Small Business Blogs on a Shoestring Budget
Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad19 Jun 2013 | 4:44 amThe Search Engine Optimization landscape has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. One of the side-effects of these changes has been the fact that many low-cost SEO tactics have lost their effectiveness and power. Consequently, a lot of small businesses and professionals today are struggling to achieve their SEO goals on a restricted budget. After all, for small companies, hiring an expensive agency is often not feasible. Having said that, there are still a lot of smart yet pocket-friendly SEO tips that businesses can implement on a shoestring budget. Here are 4 top SEO tips for… -
How Public Relations & Communications Can Win the Content Marketing Race
Online Marketing Blog19 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amIn today’s fast moving search and social web, content flows in every direction throughout a variety of platforms, formats and devices. With a global population of over 7 billion, there are over 2.3 billion internet users. More importantly, there are 6.7 billion mobile subscribers – 91% market penetration (source). Ubiquitous internet access is enabling consumers and brands alike to create, consume, publish, interact and transact – anytime, anywhere. At the same time, “newsrooms have 30% fewer reporters than in 2000, which corresponds with 31% of US adults that have… -
The Dark Side to the Collaborative Economy
Web Strategy by Jeremiah18 Jun 2013 | 6:56 amAs part of my ongoing coverage of the Collaborative Economy (read all the posts) it’s important we explore all facets of this disruptive trend to corporations not just upsides, but the downsides. I also see that marketplace friction is a sign of disruption as power changes hands, which should make the seasoned web strategist want to look closer. If you’re from the sharing movement and are offended by this post, first, read my opposite of this post is the three drivers of the Collaborative Economy where we’ve documented over a dozen specific attributes that are driving… -
Eight Silly Data Myths Marketing People Believe That Get Them Fired.
Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik29 Apr 2013 | 2:40 amIt turns out that Marketers, especially Digital Marketers, make really silly mistakes when it comes to data. Big data. Small data. Any data. In the last couple months I've spent a lot of time with senior level marketers on three different continents. Some of them are quite successful, but sadly many of them were not. In the latter group I discovered two common themes: 1 Some absolutely did not use data to do their digital jobs. This group should be fired immediately, so I'm not going to talk about them. [A benchmark for you: If you are not spending 30% of your time in 2013 with…
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Content Marketing Institute
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Find the Heart of Your Brand Storytelling with These 6 Questions
19 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amWhat’s the first thing you do when meeting someone new? You ask them questions to unveil their story: Where are you from? What kind of work do you do? Do you have children? Do you come here often? Questioning a stranger is more than a polite way to pass time — it’s the core of trying to connect. Stories make life interesting and give people a way to connect. People crave them, which creates a big opportunity for brand storytelling. Unfortunately, a lot of companies don’t think of themselves as a brand, let alone consider whether they have a story to tell. But the problem… -
4 Reasons Content Creators Should Celebrate Google Penguin 2.0
18 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amWhen Matt Cutts, head of the Webspam team at Google, announced the launch of Penguin 2.0 last month, he directed people to a video that explained the upcoming goals of his team, what actions to avoid, and what actions Google wants to reward. The video appeared to be a preemptive attempt to address questions post-launch. This post will attempt to analyze and translate Google’s post-launch comments and explain how they impact content creators. SEO analysis & translation #1 If you’re doing high quality content when you’re doing SEO, then this [Penguin 2.0] shouldn’t… -
34 Essential Research Reports for More Effective Content Marketing
17 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amAs a content marketer, you’re likely seeking reputable research reports and white papers to inform several of your processes, such as: Planning your upcoming strategies Validating the directions you’re taking Making the business case for content in your organization At CMI, we’re pretty passionate about research, too. In fact, we conduct original research every year to help set budgets and benchmarks for your effective content marketing efforts. But, we also like to keep tabs on what others are saying about content marketing, so we can make sure we are keeping up with the… -
Video Content Channels: Which Should You Use?
16 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amCMI video on Vimeo Have a sneaking suspicion that you’re missing out on a world of video opportunity? You may be right. Limiting your brand to YouTube without combing through the other available options may curb your video content marketing potential. A quickly evolving marketplace means frequent stops to reevaluate your online video strategy. To get some perspective on video distribution channels, I spoke with some video experts, including Eric Leslie, President of OnScene Productions and the man behind the lens at events like Content Marketing World. Eric helped me assemble a… -
Create Content Perfection With These 5 Essential Ingredients
15 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amSerial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis often talks about the qualities that, in his opinion, describe the perfect content product: real-time, fact-driven, visual, efficient, and curated. Let’s review: Real-time: Does your content take advantage of current trends and relevant news stories? Oreo created a memorable brand moment with its spontaneous — and perfectly-timed — delivery of the tweet, “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark,” during an unexpected blackout in the middle of Super Bowl XLVII. The image was retweeted more than 10,000 times and received free press from nearly…
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Online Marketing Blog
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How Public Relations & Communications Can Win the Content Marketing Race
19 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amIn today’s fast moving search and social web, content flows in every direction throughout a variety of platforms, formats and devices. With a global population of over 7 billion, there are over 2.3 billion internet users. More importantly, there are 6.7 billion mobile subscribers – 91% market penetration (source). Ubiquitous internet access is enabling consumers and brands alike to create, consume, publish, interact and transact – anytime, anywhere. At the same time, “newsrooms have 30% fewer reporters than in 2000, which corresponds with 31% of US adults that have… -
Top Content Marketing Posts of 2013
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amI think our team has done a pretty good job on this blog of advocating internet marketing tactics according to their practical use over the years. Our goal: To help marketers put things in perspective and make informed choices. One particular area of focus has been on content marketing. Rather than just pontificate about the latest trend, our approach is to experiment, optimize and share what we learn. For example, we’ve implemented content marketing projects for organizations that range from several Fortune 50 companies to Content Marketing World, the Mac Daddy of content marketing… -
Opening Up Twitter Analytics to All – Smart Marketing Move ala Google
17 Jun 2013 | 6:07 amIs Twitter the right place for your social media investment? Whether you have time or ad dollars to spend, this is a question that marketers are visiting and revisiting as the demand for social media performance increases. According to Twitter, 35% of consumers that follow a brand are more likely to purchase from that brand. Twitter users are also 47% more likely to visit the company’s website and 35% are more likely to retweet content from a business they follow. Is Twitter right for you? How do you know the performance of your Twitter engagement and marketing activities? -
Online Marketing News: Digital Agency of the Future, Facebook Hashtags, Google Gets Waze, Apple Money, Amazon Grocery
14 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amImage: Detail of Skyword Infographic The acceleration of social technologies along with continuously evolving consumer behaviors has many agencies in a state of flux and asking: Where to invest resources? Which positions to staff and how to structure the agency to be adaptable and to grow? For the past few years we’ve been modeling our agency at TopRank Marketing to better adapt and integrate. The holistic approach I talk about here and in Optimize are a reflection of the changes we’ve made to better integrate content, social media and search optimization. With this context, I… -
20 Plus Tips on How to Optimize Your Presentations & Public Speaking
12 Jun 2013 | 4:01 amWhat does it mean to “optimize” your presentations? Keywords in your speech? Including your Twitter handle on all slides? Repurposing the slide content through Slideshare, Flickr, Visual.ly and on blogs? The answer is yes – all of the above. And more. More marketing and communications pros are getting on board with the idea that public speaking is fuel for content marketing. The problem is, the focus on creation and promotion centers around individual content objects or presentations. An optimized presentation strategy means having a narrative or story that includes your…
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Copyblogger
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The Evolution of Permission Marketing: What You Need to Succeed in 2013
19 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amAre you familiar with the phrase Permission Marketing? If you’re trying to sell anything online (including your ideas), you should be. In 1999, a certain smart marketer made some observations about what kinds of persuasive communication worked well as we moved into the 21st century … and what kinds didn’t. Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. ~Seth Godin The 20th century was the era of interruption. Your favorite television shows were “brought to you… -
How To Leverage the Science of Relationships to Gain True Influence
18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amIf you define influence by the size of your Klout score, you can stop reading this right now. If you believe influence is driven by the creation of a relationship between two parties, where one sees the other as truly knowledgeable about a particular product or service, then let’s talk about the science behind that influence. Establishing influence is a multi-step process that moves the influenced through four key stages. They move from awareness of the influencer, to knowing the influencer, to liking the influencer and finally finishing with preference for the influencer’s advice and… -
How to Build a Massive Email List (Without Being Annoying)
17 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amFact: Email is still (by far) the most profitable online sales channel. That means an essential aspect of your audience is the segment that trusts you with their primary email address. So, it seems fair to say that enticing your prospective customers and clients onto an email list is crucial. Once you start building that list, you always want more. It’s like crack, really. Email subscriber count crack, to be exact. And like any addiction, you start considering desperate measures to get more. Things like annoying the majority of your site visitors in order to increase your daily sign-up… -
“Content” Isn’t a Buzzword, It’s the Future of Your Business
14 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amContent Marketing is a hot topic, no doubt. What you may not know, however, is that it’s been around for a long time, and that it’s finding itself in the midst of yet another “Golden Age” with the rise of the Internet. This is very good news if you’re a content creator. It’s even better news if you’re building authority online. But, are you actually getting the job done? Whether you have no idea what I’m talking about, or you do, and you’d like to take your content marketing skills much further online, we’ve got your back. We’ve… -
5 Writing Links That Will Help You Get Better … Stronger … Faster
13 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amThis week on The Lede … How a 40,000 Word PDF Earned a Massive Audience The Overwhelming Force of “Gradual” How to Write a Good Blog Post, Fast On Finding Real Pleasure in Our Work Twitter’s First Bona Fide Star Want to grab even more useful links, beyond those that make The Lede, plus additional obscure references to The Six Million Dollar Man, adjusted for inflation? You only have to follow @copyblogger on Twitter. // How a 40,000 Word Guide Earned 361,494 Site Visitors and 8421 Email Opt-ins Mr. Patel is a master of taking action on real data. Through this…
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Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad
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Top 4 SEO Tips for Small Business Blogs on a Shoestring Budget
19 Jun 2013 | 4:44 amThe Search Engine Optimization landscape has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. One of the side-effects of these changes has been the fact that many low-cost SEO tactics have lost their effectiveness and power. Consequently, a lot of small businesses and professionals today are struggling to achieve their SEO goals on a restricted budget. After all, for small companies, hiring an expensive agency is often not feasible. Having said that, there are still a lot of smart yet pocket-friendly SEO tips that businesses can implement on a shoestring budget. Here are 4 top SEO tips for… -
Better Blog Writing: Attract Clients, Make Sure Your Posts Get Read!
12 Jun 2013 | 5:30 amYou want to Engage your Blog Readers and encourage them to subscribe to your blog and become regular visitors. Ideally, you want to attract a large number of hungry customers who are interested in partaking of this written food for the soul, but how can you rise above the constant online buzz to attract attention to your blog post? The Internet may be constantly chirping with activity, but that doesn’t mean that all content is worthy of users’ attention in the same manner. According to Neilson.com, there were 181 million blogs around the world at the end of 2011. (In 2006,… -
Your Business Blog: Guest Blogging Etiquette
5 Jun 2013 | 10:53 amLast month, we contributed a post asking if guest blogging is really a necessary element to a good blog. The answer was a pretty resounding “yes.” In light of that, I thought I should elaborate on a few tips for how to be a good guest blogger. First, reciprocal guest blogging can be a great opportunity for all. It helps bring new readers to each blog that is involved. Set standards/boundaries – make sure that before you begin a guest blogging relationship, that all parties involved know what is expected of them. Setting standards for things like post length, how often the swap will… -
Engage Your Blog Readers with Meaty Content
29 May 2013 | 5:31 amYou already know that, “Content is King” on the Internet, but great content is what helps you build a community of loyal blog readers who buy from you. Your goal should be to engage blog readers with the highest quality content you can muster, with absolutely no fluff. There is far too much garbage floating around online that doesn’t help to solve your target market’s problem or add anything new to a discussion. Good business blogs – the ones that have large readership – are like good restaurants. You go there for a good meal and leave pleasantly satisfied. Compare… -
Guest Blogging: Just How Important Is It?
22 May 2013 | 7:30 amHaving guest bloggers post content for your blog can be a great tool to get more readers to visit your site. Typically, guest blogging involves a good deal of cross-promotion, which can be beneficial for all parties involved. Guest blogging has recently become much more common, likely because bloggers are seeing the good things that can come to their blog when they invite others to share. A guest blogging relationship can be as basic or as involved as you and your guest blogger would prefer. You may just want to invite one or two writers to write posts that are their take on content that you…
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Influential Marketing
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15 Big Brand Lessons From The 2013 Corporate Social Media Summit
13 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pmThere are all kinds of ways to judge the quality of a conference. Some people look at the venue, or the number of attendees. Other look at the list of speakers, or the keynote presenters. Across the dozens of events I attend every year, I have seen or used almost all of these metrics myself. But yesterday I discovered a new metric while networking with speakers and attendees of the Corporate Social Media Summit. People brought their bosses. Some speakers from last year invited their bosses to come and speak this year. Others brought their peers or bosses to attend. Every annual conference… -
How To Get Better At Networking: 7 Questions With Porter Gale
6 Jun 2013 | 9:03 amRecently I had the chance to sit down with Porter Gale and pick her brain about some smart tips that can help anyone get better at networking. Her new book Your Network Is Your Net Worth features a cover quote from Sir Richard Branson. As if that weren’t impressive enough, she is the former CMO of Virgin America and someone who I’ve crossed paths with a few times at events over the past few years. As you’ll see in the interview below, she’s also one of those people who happens to be gifted at making connections and building an amazingly connected and powerful… -
What An 80s Cult Hit Can Teach You About Curation …
4 Jun 2013 | 2:42 pmIn the 1987 cult hit film Mannequin, a chronically unemployed artist landed a job decorating a department storefront window after saving the owner’s life. His partner is a mannequin who comes life at night – and together they create storefront window displays that get people stopping in the streets. It’s a tale of fantasy, but what if there was a way for your brand to create the same sort of irresistable display, no matter what industry you happen to be in? Content curation is a hot topic these days, as marketing teams everywhere are starting to put more time and effort into… -
Brand Reputation And Why All PR Actually Is Good PR (Unless You’re Already Famous)
28 May 2013 | 10:18 amLots of people who don’t work in public relations will tell you that “all PR is good PR.” In other words, if people are talking about you – it doesn’t matter what they are saying. Then there are those who are in the profession who will usually tell you the exact opposite … that PR can be positive or negative and you need to focus on improving your reputation above all else. Who is right? The problem is, they both are … in the right situation. The Challenge of Obscurity If you are trying to launch an unknown brand, you have the challenge of obscurity. -
How Do Big Brands Answer 16 Essential Social Media Questions?
22 May 2013 | 8:26 amIn just a few weeks, it will be time once again for one of my favourite marketing events of the year. No, it’s not the party-filled serendipity fest of SXSW, or the Las Vegas geek-pride gathering at CES. The event I’m talking about is all business … and that’s why it’s one of my top events all year. On June 12 and 13th in New York, The Corporate Social Media Summit will bring together several hundred corporate brand marketers to talk about a single broad topic: the business value of social media for large brands. It is this singular focus that led me two years…
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Web Ink Now
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PR vs marketing vs social media
18 Jun 2013 | 11:53 amOn the Web, there is very little differentiation between types of content. People don't really care where they get the best content: mainstream media, content created by organizations (what I call brand journalism) or things that people share via social media. Arguing that one is more legitimate (mainstream media) leads to flawed marketing and PR strategic decisions. In an offline world, marketing and PR are usually separate departments with different people and different skill sets. Creating silos in companies for marketing and for public relations and for social media doesn't work when… -
What Mick Jagger Teaches us about Public Speaking
13 Jun 2013 | 7:53 amLast night, my friend Nick Morgan and I caught the Mick Jagger Show... er, the Rolling Stones... in Boston. It was a terrific show. Nick is my speaker coach, so we used the Stones show as a "field trip" to watch a master performer in action. And boy, is Sir Mick a master. There is no doubt that anyone who speaks in public can learn from Mick Jagger. As Nick says, "Any time I get a chance to see a legendary performer like Jagger, I jump at it, because it's a chance to learn stagecraft useful for public speakers." The rest of this post is jointly authored: What Mick Jagger Teaches us about… -
Reinventing your product category for a new market
10 Jun 2013 | 6:53 amOne of the best parts of being active on the global speaking circuit a chance to learn from marketers working in a wide variety of businesses. Yesterday I delivered a keynote speech at the Oticon Marketing Boot Camp. Oticon is based in Copenhagen and is the oldest hearing aid manufacturer in the world. The Marketing Boot Camp is a gathering of 200 hearing care professionals, Oticon staff, and outside speakers. What do you think of when you consider hearing aids? I think of skin-tone colored instruments that people use but they want to hide. Usually, needing a hearing aid means you're getting… -
The revolution in business today
7 Jun 2013 | 2:50 pmI recently finished Mitch Joel's new book Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It and enjoyed it very much, I asked Mitch to answer some questions for us. As I was reading. it struck me how similar Mitch and I think. We're both talking about the revolution going on in business today, but we come at if from different perspectives. Oh, and we’re both live music fans Mitch is President of Twist Image - one of the largest independent Digital Marketing agencies in North America (although he prefers the title, Media Hacker). So while I spend my days… -
How long does it take you to respond?
3 Jun 2013 | 7:58 amOn Friday, I presented at BMA Blaze, the Business Marketing Association's annual conference. I delivered a mini-keynote and then led a panel In the Moment: How and Why to Do Real-Time B2B Marketing with: - Matt Petitjean, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, ADP - Rich Jurek, Group CMO, The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc. - Jeff Beringer, Global Practice Leader, Digital + Social Media, GolinHarris During my talk, I used an audience response system to get a sense of the 500 or so senior B2B marketers in the room. My question was "How long would it take you to respond online to a…
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Straight Talk with Nigel Hollis
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The software side of the smartphone battle
19 Jun 2013 | 3:15 amTimothy D. Cook, Apple’s CEO, believes that Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 7, is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone. If so then it is just one more sign that the smartphone battle is evolving from the tangible to the intangible. I am not saying the new iOS won’t give Apple a competitive advantage but it won’t be such a big advantage as when they launched the iPhone. Reporting on Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference on the Bits blog Nick Bilton states, “Mr. Cook’s bold claim was based on something that is well understood in… -
Google Glass
17 Jun 2013 | 8:34 amA while back I was in a shoe store in New York and saw a young guy who appeared to have a flashlight strapped to the side of his head. Everyone, including the store assistants, were clustered around him ooh’ing and ah’ing. Then I realized. I had just seen my first Google Glass, the device intended to liberate data from the desktop or handheld device and put it right in front of your eyes. Most of the people who have tried Google Glass to date seem to have a similar opinion to Robert Scoble who states: I will never live a day of my life from now on without it (or a competitor). It's that… -
Why Google turned itself into a movie set
12 Jun 2013 | 8:11 amHow do you capitalize on the advantage of a strong brand? Make your brand a movie set. That’s what Google did. The Internship starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson opened at the weekend in the US. While Google did not pay to feature in the movie, there is no doubt that the brand will benefit from the attendant publicity. The Internship probably will not show up at my local movie theater for a while and even when it does I am not sure the Google linkage will be enough to get me to go see it. Any movie that gets a review stating, “Believability has no place in The Internship” and… -
Coca-Cola's Happiness Campaign raises the marketing bar once again
10 Jun 2013 | 7:08 amI am in awe of the latest incarnation of Coca-Cola’s Happiness Campaign. This is marketing at its best, addressing a challenging issue and connecting people to share a moment of enjoyment with someone that they would otherwise never meet, and might distrust if they did. It is common knowledge that the relationship between India and Pakistan is a tense one. Armed border clashes make the global news and low level antagonism linger on decades after the partition of the two nations. The tension is reflected in the curiously choreographed and daily Wagah Attari border closing ceremony. The… -
The more persuasive the claim the better the results? Not in China.
5 Jun 2013 | 8:32 amImagine that every marketing claim you make is met with intense skepticism by its target audience. The more persuasive the claim the more likely it is to be questioned and scrutinized by a host of independent investigators. This might sound like a nightmare, but for marketers of food and personal care brands in China, this is today’s reality. I recently helped deliver a ValueDrivers workshop for a major Chinese brand. After the workshop I was chatting with the group marketing director when he made this thought-provoking statement: Chinese consumers believe they are the most poisoned on…
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Conversation Agent
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Visualize Your Story Automagically
11 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amUse your own script or find among an inventory of existing ones and create a storyboard with Amazon Storyteller. As described on the site: Amazon Storyteller is a new application from Amazon Studios that lets you turn a movie script into a storyboard. You choose the backgrounds, characters, and props to visually tell a story. A successful storyboard can tell the full story of a script, or capture its essence in short form, like a trailer. Either approach can be a great way to build an audience for your story and see how people respond to it. The tool is free to use for anyone on Amazon… -
Why so Many Companies Fail to Deliver on Customer Service
10 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amIt is disheartening to experience such a race to the bottom. This past week I made three separate inquiries about a recent booking to American Express Travel, the last one on Twitter because I was hoping against hope... No response. From a company where I have been a loyal customer since 2002. American Express refers to its cardholders as members. Is the yearly fee customers pay the only sign of that membership? Membership alone is not enough According to a new survey by J.D. Power and Associates#, membership -- in the example is a club associated with a sporting goods retailer -- is not the… -
What I'm Reading Now
9 Jun 2013 | 2:39 pmDisruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy -- McKinsey Global Institute, cuts through the noise and identifies 12 technologies that could drive truly massive economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years. The One Thing that Makes a Company Last Forever -- by Marina Krakovsky, Stanford Graduate School of Business. Staying competitive calls for ambidexterity. Instead of choosing between exploiting current opportunities and exploring new ones; you have to do both. The companies that last for decades, according to the author, are… -
Become a Master at Connecting
7 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amRecently, I had the opportunity to meet two incredibly talented and generous pros in person. They both work in the field of innovation for growth, and we discovered we have many more things in common than we thought, even though we have lived in distant parts of the world from each other. It's uncanny how that happens, isn't it? This idea that making connections is also (and I'd argue especially) about helping others get what they want is a good practice. Characteristics of good connectors Good people are fairly easy to spot, even though they are usually head down getting the work done. By… -
Tapping into Your Sense of Purpose
6 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amPurpose is a powerful motivator and ally. Tap into your sense of purpose and there is no limit for better. Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.
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Marketing Darwinism
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How to Make the Zero Moment of Truth Work for You
5 Jun 2013 | 9:55 amPosted in Behavioral TargetingBusiness IntelligenceConversionConversion OptimizationCustomer ExperienceInteractive MarketingInternetSearchSEOStrategyUser Generated Content When faced with multiple products, the time it takes for a shopper to make a purchase decision between them is usually three to seven seconds. These critical moments are known as the First Moment of Truth (or FMOT), and they determine whether or not all the advertising and promotion marketers have invested will pay off. Thanks to the Internet, another critical moment for consumer/brand interactions is also getting… -
6 Tips for Turning Big Data into Great Customer Experiences
29 May 2013 | 11:00 amPosted in Behavioral TargetingBusiness IntelligenceConversion OptimizationCustomer ExperienceEnterprise 2.0Interactive MarketingOnline TestingStrategy The phenomenon of big data certainly comes with big promise. After all, having terabytes of data on customer history and behavior is certainly better than trying to extrapolate from just a few data points. For sure, online marketers who make sense of big data are going to be better able to build customer experiences around hard data and evidence rather than on hunches and guesswork. Instead of working on intuition, or crude analytics, you could… -
Amazon vs. Wal-Mart: How Online Strategy Can Meet In-Store Opportunity
22 May 2013 | 11:00 amPosted in CommerceeCommerceStrategy When Wal-Mart announced plans to use its retail locations to fulfill online orders last week, the media and business community broke into a collective game of word association. The word? Amazon. Prior to breaking the news, Wal-Mart was already one of the few companies that could compete with Amazon online. But after unveiling how it plans to do so—by fulfilling online orders in its own stores—Wal-Mart became Amazon’s first serious threat. The irony is that Wal-Mart will fulfill these orders using Amazon’s own in-store locker strategy. Wal-Mart… -
Why CMO’s Need To Be More Involved in Ecommerce
15 May 2013 | 11:00 amPosted in CommerceConversion OptimizationCustomer ExperienceeCommerceLeadershipOnline TestingOptimizationPersonalizationTesting If the $42.3 billion spent online this past holiday season has taught retailers anything, it’s that capturing customers—and their dollars—online is crucial. But online is a big place. And mobile, which can seem like an entirely different universe, looms ever larger. So where to even start if you haven’t yet…started? And who should lead the charge? The modern day merchant must have an intimate understanding of the importance of online and mobile commerce,… -
3 Ways Social Media can Boost Sales Success
7 May 2013 | 10:45 amPosted in BloggingBusiness IntelligenceCommunitiesContent MarketingConversational MarketingEnterprise 2.0FacebookLead GenerationLead NurturingPeopleSalesSocial Business IntelligenceSocial MediaSocial NetworkingStrategyThought LeadershipTwitter Recently there has been a lot of conversation against the importance of relationships in selling such as this recent Harvard Business Review article on Selling is Not about Relationships which makes it seem like social media would not make a good fit for sales people. But a new RAIN Group report proves otherwise and shows that sales people that truly…
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Post-Advertising
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5 Social Media Tips to Ignore
19 Jun 2013 | 2:47 pmDo a quick Google search or scour the front pages of your favorite social media blogs and you’ll find a seemingly endless array of articles providing you with tips and advice on social media (this blog included). But if you read enough of them, which I do, eventually you’ll see those tips and bits of advice contradict each other. Don’t post on Facebook more than once a day, or your fans will un-Like you. Post more than once a day on Facebook to keep your People Talking About This score high. Photos are the most shareable content on Facebook. Videos are the most shareable content on… -
5 Types of Social Media Content Your Audience Really Wants
12 Jun 2013 | 2:39 amWhy do we follow brands? What’s the point? They’re not our friends. We’re not going to make plans with them on a Friday night or invite them to our birthday parties (though some we would if we could). Why do we let them into a world where we’re sharing and consuming content from the people closest to us? Social media has provided a unique opportunity for consumers and brands to connect on a level much deeper than that of a monetary transaction. It may sound obvious, but it’s worth noting that historically, a true fan of a brand didn’t have many options for celebrating his… -
Getting the News into “Brand Newsrooms”
10 Jun 2013 | 1:47 pmCelebrating Oreo’s now-famous twi-jacking (Or is it “twit-jacking?”) of the Super Bowl for the brand’s own milk-and-cookies purposes, the ad business erupted early this year with ecstatic chatter about so-called “brand newsrooms.” While the chatter focused in minute detail on brands and to a lesser extent on rooms, there was virtually nothing about what constitutes news. Apparently, the ad people peddling brand newsrooms know nothing about news. So the brand newsroom conversation has been ill informed at best and nonsensical the rest of the time. The focus on news from brands is… -
What Billions of Cicadas Taught Me About Storytelling
6 Jun 2013 | 8:25 amThe cicadas are coming. Billions of buzzing (relatively harmless) insects will descend upon the eastern United States from Georgia to New England in the coming weeks. If you’re not familiar with them, cicadas are a unique species. For most of their lives, cicadas live underground as nymphs, digging and feeding on roots. After 17 years underground, in the last few months of their lives, they emerge by the billions, seeking high ground (mostly in trees) on which to shed their exoskeletons and emerge as beautiful winged insects. They mate, the females give birth to new nymphs deep within tree… -
Not Everyone is a Storyteller
29 May 2013 | 7:57 amLately, everyone in advertising has become a “storyteller” specializing in “engaging content.” This isn’t true, of course. But I understand why everyone’s making the claim: Digital is the only part of advertising that’s growing rapidly; social media is the red-hot center of digital; to make social work, you need conversation-starting (and sustaining) content. So content creation now is the biggest challenge of 21st century marketing. It’s time-consuming and complicated. Most startling to ad people, it requires a creative and strategic mindset that is alien to…
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Conversation Marketing from Portent, Inc: Internet Marketing with a Twist of Lemon
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Correlate, Damn it!
19 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amIdentifying the Issue with Your PPC Account Have you ever caught yourself staring at data from AdWords, trying to find an explanation to why your conversions dropped x% month over month and y% year over year, and not even knowing where to start searching for an explanation? So many variables come into play on a daily basis in any given PPC account, how do you know what caused this decrease? You could stare at a spreadsheet and create more pivot tables than you know what to do with, hoping you come across something that will give you a better understanding so that you can fix the problem. -
Building Successful Low Budget PPC: Tracking your Success
14 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amIn charge of building your first PPC account? Don’t have a lot of time or money to spend within AdWords? Well you came to the right place. This is the last post of the six-part blog series in which Portent PPC Strategists Chad Kearns and Tim Johnson lay down the knowledge on best practices for achieving PPC success. Follow along the way or look back to pick up tips on how to build your first PPC account like a PPC superstar. Post #1: Building Successful Low Budget PPC: Account Structure Post #2: Building Successful Low Budget PPC: Understanding your Campaign Settings Post #3: Building… -
Google Webmaster Tools Query Data is Worthless
12 Jun 2013 | 3:46 pmThe short version, if you want to skip me ranting like a lunatic: Google Webmaster Tools query data is, as far as I can tell, completely, 100% useless. It’s not a good ‘relative comparison.’ It’s so wrong that it might actually be a bad idea to use it at all. Now, here’s the whole, tragic story: What happened I’m a pretty empirical guy. I like my numbers. They’re comforting. So, when the realization dawns that data we all depend on is a big, fat chunk of steaming camel manure, I get a little… Perturbed. This week, Google Webmaster Tools has me reaching for the Valium, when a… -
Google AdWords – Third Party Sitelinks
12 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amOne of the most exciting (and frustrating) parts of PPC marketing is that it’s a constantly changing landscape. A big part of anyone’s job when working in PPC is to keep up on the latest changes to the systems you’re using. The only problem is that Google releases roughly five billion changes to AdWords every day or two (a rough guesstimate on my part). With only so many hours in the day to watch Twitter for new product announcements, it’s really easy for something to go unnoticed or slip through the cracks every now and again. For instance, I was rather surprised… -
3 Ways to Keep Content Zombies from Eating Your Brains
11 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amThe undead are white hot these days. From the “Walking Dead” to “World War Z,” zombies have hit the mainstream—they’re everywhere. Some talk about a Zombie Apocalypse as if it’s a forgone conclusion. A friend recently told me he’s shopping for a new vehicle, and it needs to be a four-wheel drive SUV so he can outrun the zombies. The recent growth of the non-living community includes what I call “Content Zombies”—online content that’s had the life and meaning sucked out of it, but continues to shamble along on corporate Websites and blogs. Content zombies will…
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Brian Solis
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Small Business Survey: Technology a Challenge and Opportunity, Steve Jobs Recognized as Idol
18 Jun 2013 | 1:32 pmDid you know that the 23 million small businesses in America account for 54% of all U.S. sales? Did you know that small businesses provide 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs since the 1970s? While big business has eliminated four million jobs since 1990, small businesses added eight million. Why the focus on small business today? It’s National Small Business Week in the United States and to commemorate the occasion, I partnered with Cox Business to discuss the importance of connected consumerism amidst the release of its inaugural small business survey (#SBWSurvey). Available… -
Disruptive Selection: Nature’s Way of Weeding Out the Average Business
13 Jun 2013 | 9:38 amDisruption! It’s everywhere. I live in Silicon Valley where many say that the terms disrupt and disruption have become buzzwords. Pundits believe that the word is losing its promise and impact through the acts and examples of entrepreneurs and businesses that misuse the word to describe intentions rather than associating it with a desired or natural effect. In some of the startup meetings I attend for example, digital disruption is actually a stated business objective. Instead of “killing it” or “crushing it” many businesses are aiming now to disrupt it! Kidding… -
Plugging into the Future of Humanity: Exploring the Human API
4 Jun 2013 | 11:02 amI had the opportunity to present at LeWeb in Paris, arguably Europe’s largest conference dedicated to the future of technology. The theme of the conference explored the Internet of Things, where devices and things connect to one another to perform certain tasks and/or track activities to improve what we already do or make possible what we’re trying to do. The Internet of Things is bigger than we may realize. We are experiencing a shift from a world of inanimate objects and reactive devices to a world where data, intelligence, and computing are distributed, ubiquitous, and networked. My… -
Content is King! Amazon Invests Millions In Original TV Shows…But Why?
31 May 2013 | 9:26 amMy friend Tim Stenovec (@TimSteno) just published a great story on Amazon’s move to create original programming a la Netflix for The Huffington Post. He was kind enough to include me in his article (thank you Tim). He sent along a few questions as I was boarding my flight from NY to LA. As Tim was on deadline, I needed to send a thoughtful response as soon as I’d have the opportunity to turn my phone back on. The quote in italics is what made the cut…but, I also wanted to share the additional thoughts I sent along for context. Amazon’s move is an interesting one indeed… -
Tune in with Twitter TV
30 May 2013 | 4:34 amHave you ever watched TV while using a laptop, smart phone, or tablet? Wait, why am I asking. Of course you have. That’s what we all do now right? So I guess the real question to ask is how often do you use Twitter vs. Facebook while watching TV? In many ways, Twitter is becoming a bona fide second screen experience while watching television. And in many ways, TV may also serve as the second screen to those engrossed in their Twitter streams. If you think about it, the idea that the TV becomes the second screen to digital experiences is rather provocative. Perhaps this is why Twitter is…
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The Toad Stool by Alan Wolk
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Cablevision, New Jersey Transit and the Rise of TV Everywhere
13 Jun 2013 | 3:31 pmThere's news today that Cablevision and New Jersey Transit have just signed a deal for Cablevision to introduce WiFi service onto all NJT trains. (By 2016, but hey, you can't have everything.)Now as a daily NJT commuter, I was thrilled to read this on a personal level, but it's the potential impact on the TV industry that's really got my interest piqued.What this offers is one of the first examples of a legitimate use case for regular out-of-home TV viewing. As I've noted in previous posts, outside of live sports, there just aren't that many places where you'd watch TV away from home. (It's… -
The Not So Secret Life of the American Teenager
7 Jun 2013 | 7:08 pmThere’s been so much written lately about teenagers in the age of social media, so much of it patently ridiculous (e.g. I talked to my sister and her friends and thus extrapolated what all teenagers were up to) and/or posited by people who haven’t actually seen a teenager since they themselves were one, that I felt a tirade was in order. So here goes: What’s the one constant about teenagers, of any generation, beyond the whole horniness thing? The fact that so many teens are constantly trying on new personalities and new identities just to see what it feels like or to see what fits. And… -
The Perils Of DIY Development
5 Jun 2013 | 7:30 am“We’re just going to build it ourselves.” There are few words more disheartening to a tech company than a potential client who decides to build something on their own. It’s easy to understand why: there’s an IT director who’s constantly having to battle the impression that his only function is to fix the printer when it breaks down. Who looks at the product, gets a sense of what it does and decides he can figure out how to build it for half the price the external vendor wants to charge him. There’s the marketing team, who wants to bring in their preferred design team and who… -
Maybe The Meteor Is Inside A Roku Box
22 May 2013 | 1:47 pmWe talk a lot about how it’s going to take a meteor to disrupt the way we watch television, so tightly bound are the legal arrangements that impede innovation. But maybe that meteor is already here and we don’t know it yet.Maybe that meteor looks a lot like a Roku box.Roku is far and away the most successful of the streaming devices, both from a sales perspective and from a usability perspective (I test them out both in the office and at home and Roku is the winner hands down - more content, easier to use and cheaper.)And now, in addition to all the network apps, there are MVPD apps: Time… -
Heresies
24 Apr 2013 | 6:33 amEvery so often it's a good exercise to examine some of the core beliefs of a company or industry and call out the ones that don't make any sense. In the short run, saying out loud what a lot of people have been thinking pisses off those who are heavily invested in these now outmoded ideas, but in the long run, it's healthier for all involved to recalibrate.TV Everywhere Wasn’t Worth The Battle. It sounded like a great idea at the time: you can take your television with you anywhere you go and watch it on your tablet or smartphone. The reality, however, shows a very limited number of…
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Servant of Chaos
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Is Facebook the New Las Vegas?
13 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amYou know how it goes at the international airport check-in counter. Greet customer: “Hello sir” Determine destination: “Where are you travelling to today?” Check passport, print boarding pass etc It’s all pretty functional. From time to time, there might be some off-script personality sneaking through, but it’s rare. Unless you are travelling to Vegas. When I checked-in for my first ever trip to Las Vegas, the routine started as usual. But when we got to point 2 – and I explained where I was heading, the woman stopped and looked up. Her eyes glistened and she smiled. She nodded… -
The Participatory Revolution
3 Jun 2013 | 3:44 amAs part of the Vivid Ideas Festival, innovator, Michelle Williams (founder of Ideaction) curated a knock out event designed to transform the thinking of business, creative and innovation professionals. The resulting one day conference brought together an eclectic mix of speakers, audience members and yes, active participants. If you were like me and could not make it in person, this Storify stream is the next best thing. And Michelle promises a video stream some time in the future. [<a href="//storify.com/MiA_Will/take-part-13" target="_blank">View the story "Take Part 13 -… -
Note to Brands: Make Things People Want
2 Jun 2013 | 6:17 amHave you ever wondered why marketing and advertising is such hard work? We are constantly trying to change the way that people behave and think – positioning brands and businesses in the centre of a relationship that is only ever on the peripheral of our customers’ worlds. And while for us – for the business owner, brand manager or agency – there is a real centrality to our relationship with the brand, it is simply not the case for the vast majority of the people that we want to talk to. As Hugh MacLeod explained back in 2006, “if you talked to people the way advertising talked to… -
Pitch the Future–Young Social Innovators in Action
30 May 2013 | 10:23 pmYou know what it’s like when inspiration hits … an idea galvanises in your mind like a bolt of electricity, sending your pulse racing. And the more you think on it, the more you feel your nerve fibres tingling. But what happens when you tell someone about your idea? Your mouth dries. The words tumble out one on top of the other … you get tongue tied, excited and afraid. What happens if someone steals your brilliance? What if your idea is no good? Now imagine, that you are taking your idea and pitching it to a room of strangers. Imagine that this idea is a deep seated passion and could… -
Twitter + TV Goes Beyond the 30 Second Spot
29 May 2013 | 3:58 pmMany companies spend a great deal of time, money and effort getting people to do something. Like switching brands. Trying a new product. Or watching a TV show. And to do this, they use advertising. TV has been the great transformer of the 20th Century – it has educated us, engaged us and even amazed us. And the thing it transformed was not the world, but our behaviour. But it has always been a one-way street – broadcasting its message from a single point to the masses. And then along came the internet and provided a whole new way to be educated, engaged and amazed. We have always known…
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Hard Knox Life
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Midwest Reboot
29 May 2013 | 8:27 amOn Thursday June 6, I’m headed up to Detroit to take part in Brand Innovators Made in America conference. Fittingly taking place in the Ford Motor Company Conference Center, the conference will look at iconic American brands and their impact on the world. While the day is going to be packed with great sessions, what I’m most excited about is the panel that I’m hosting entitled Midwest Reboot. As we described the panel: When the recession hit in 2008, there were fewer places hit harder than the “Rust Belt” of the Midwest and Detroit was at the epicenter of this… -
The Modern Marketer [Infographic]
19 May 2013 | 1:24 pmThrough my posts on Brand Manager 2.0, I have written quite a bit about how technology is changing the job of a marketer today. Of course, that means I was quite a fan of this infographic from Pardot which talks about a Modern Marketer being part artists and part scientist. In their words, a modern marketer must master: Written Content Visual Assets Social Media Email Marketing Performance Tracking Budgeting and Operations Analytics Campaign Performance Courtesy of Pardot, an Exact Target Company -
A Merging of 19th Century and 21st Century Entrepreneurship
29 Apr 2013 | 9:55 amWhen the Mercantile Library in Cincinnati opened its doors in 1835, the 19th century institution stood in the middle of the fast-growing nation’s busiest startup community. It was a community that would give birth to some of the largest companies in the country including names like Procter & Gamble, Kroger, and E.W. Scripps. A group of 45 young, energetic, and confident merchants came together to organize the Library and put themselves on track to become the entrepreneurial engines of the growing city’s future prosperity. Mercantile LIbrary – Courtesy of Urban Cincy This… -
Business Is About Motion
7 Jan 2013 | 5:30 amOne of my favorite books of 2012 was Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business, which was written by the co-founders of Get Satisfaction. Get Lucky shows businesses how to succeed by fostering the conditions for serendipity to occur early and often. One of the principles in the book is “Motion”, the skill of putting yourself in unfamiliar situations, but within familiar environments, in order to engage with previously unfamiliar people and ideas that are connected to your job, your projects, or your interests. Motion is the reason that… -
Kincast makes it easy to video share moments with your family
12 Dec 2012 | 11:18 amEarlier this summer, the guys at Sproutbox introduced me to one of their newest investments, a company called Kincast. In their words, “Kincast is a fun and special way to engage loved ones in a worry-free environment. Chatting, sharing video, sending video messages and creating video cards get everyone involved.” Today, Kincast launches their version 2.0 with a new app that has completely reworked the user experience. The below video does a great job of capturing the value proposition of the company. More importantly, the video captures a key insight that all consumer…
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Web Strategy by Jeremiah
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The Many Forms of Transaction in the Collaborative Economy
19 Jun 2013 | 6:08 amAbove New Image: An advanced view of the Collaborative Economy Value Chain in an ‘exploded’ view. This exclusive image, which was not included in the seminal report on the Collaborative Economy, shows a potential new business model that taps into new transactions beyond traditional selling. In the final phase of “provide a platform” the crowd is building new products. [The Collaborative Economy is an economic model where ownership and access are shared between corporations, startups, and people] First, it’s key to read the full report, and watch the 18 minute… -
The Dark Side to the Collaborative Economy
18 Jun 2013 | 6:56 amAs part of my ongoing coverage of the Collaborative Economy (read all the posts) it’s important we explore all facets of this disruptive trend to corporations not just upsides, but the downsides. I also see that marketplace friction is a sign of disruption as power changes hands, which should make the seasoned web strategist want to look closer. If you’re from the sharing movement and are offended by this post, first, read my opposite of this post is the three drivers of the Collaborative Economy where we’ve documented over a dozen specific attributes that are driving… -
Collaborative Economy: Live Like Royalty Without Owning a Throne
17 Jun 2013 | 5:26 amEver wanted to live a life of luxury but are just shy of a few billion dollars? Now, with simple web technologies, anyone can have access –without owning it. In fact, I’m living this too, as I wrote a personal, heartfelt note to brands, telling how I want an open relationship. As part of my ongoing coverage of the next phase of social business, I’m covering the collaborative economy, where people are sharing goods and services using the internet, you can read the definitive report, or peruse all the posts. A collaborative economy of shared ownership and access in luxury… -
Infographic: Collaborative Economy Startups Proliferating
14 Jun 2013 | 11:41 amThis inforgraphic is part of my ongoing coverage of the collaborative economy (see all posts), which is the next phase of the social business. What’s that? We’ve published a seminal report on what it means for corporations including video, slides and additional resources. Altimeter’s segmented 200 sharing startups to find out why –and how –these disruptive startups are spreading across many verticals, here’s some of the key findings: Excessive influx of startups in every industry. One of the findings is that there is a cambrian explosion of startups,… -
Internet Phases: Past, Present, and Future
11 Jun 2013 | 5:45 amThanks to you, last week’s report on the collaborative economy was readily received, and has been viewed over 26k times, the media picked up on it, and bloggers alike. As we digest what it means, it’s important to recognize this is the next phase in the internet, and the next phase of social business. An interesting finding is that the second era (social) and the third era (collaborative economy), use the same technologies (social technologies) but instead of sharing media and ideas –people are sharing goods and services. This is all part of a continuum and we need to…
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Drew's Marketing Minute.
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Is it time for a website re-design?
18 Jun 2013 | 11:47 amIn today’s marketplace, a company’s website is their first impression with prospects. It’s a rare purchase today that doesn’t begin with some sort of research or due diligence. And as consumers (both B2C and B2B) find themselves more time starved and more web savvy – the research tool of choice is often a Google search. Long before they’ll set an appointment for a consultation or walk into your retail establishment – they’re scoping you out on the web. It makes sense then, that when it comes to your web presence you’d want to put your best foot forward, doesn’t it? And… -
Guilty of the frantic scramble in your marketing?
5 Jun 2013 | 4:55 amI grew up in Minnesota in the 70s and I love football which meant that back when I was a kid, my world revolved around the Minnesota Vikings and our incredible quarterback, Fran Tarkenton. At the time of his retirement, Fran owned EVERY major quarterback record out there. Fran was known as The Scrambler because he was famous for being able to pivot and run around in the backfield, dodging defensive players and giving his teammates time to elude a defender or get open for a pass. He was something to behold. Off the field, he was articulate, intelligent and called a “thinking… -
Is your marketing making you a rock star?
31 May 2013 | 4:39 amMack Collier has hit a home run with his book Think Like A Rock Star* and I really want all of you to get his message. As consumers get more jaded by traditional advertising and marketing that interrupts rather than connects — this book serves up the answer. Why not be so good, create so much goodwill and treat your best customers like the super stars they are — all so you can unleash the word of mouth power of those best customers? We know that there’s nothing more influential than word of mouth and that an endorsement from a trusted friend/source absolutely influences… -
In marketing the constant is change
29 May 2013 | 4:04 amYou know, the annoying thing about clichés is that they’re based in truth, even though that truth may be a bit worn in places. And lately I’ve been very aware of the idiom “the only constant is change” as it relates to business and especially to marketing. Maybe it’s always been this way and our parents and grandparents had to wrestle with constant change too, but it seems to me that the acceleration curve has gotten incredibly steep over the last 15 or 20 years. For example, when I started my career, computers were certainly a part of the mix but we never showed a client a… -
So you want a career in advertising?
21 May 2013 | 4:18 amI was recently contacted by a college student who asked if he could interview me for one of this classes. One of the questions he asked is one I get a lot, so I thought I’d share my answer with you here. If you aspire to be in our business — I hope it helps. If you’re already in the business — what did I miss? What advice would you give to anyone who was aspiring to enter the field of advertising? Yikes… there are lots of things to know but here are some of the biggies. You cannot do it alone so surround yourself with really smart, good-hearted people who you can…
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Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect
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Quid pro quo (you can't play ping pong by yourself)
19 Jun 2013 | 2:56 amThe irony of "getting in return for giving" is that it doesn't work nearly as well as merely giving. Giving because you care, because you have something to say and because it feels right. No Tat. Bloggers who measure the return on investment of every word, twitterers who view the platform as a self-promotional tool instead of a help-others tool, and those that won't contribute to Wikipedia and other projects because there's no upside... these folks are all missing the point. It's not that difficult to figure out who's part of the online community for the right reasons. We can see it in your… -
The confrontation waiting to happen
18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amIt's not between you and your boss, your critics, your editor, your competition, your spouse or some other outsider. The essential confrontation, of course, is with yourself. You are your own biggest critic. And your own biggest competitor. Now that it's easier than ever to pick yourself, the question is, "why haven't you?" And now that it's easier to ignore the competition and become a category of one, the question is the same. Our instinct is to externalize the forces that are holding us back, but in fact, that's not the problem, is it? -
The thermostat and the frying pan
17 Jun 2013 | 2:45 amIf you want to cool your house to 68 degrees fahrenheit quickly, setting the thermostat to 62 degrees isn't going to get it temperate any faster than if you set it to 68. It blows full cold until it hits the number, then it stops. (For those down under where it is winter, the opposite is also true--extreme thermostat settings won't warm you up any faster). Frying pans don't work that way. Turning the temperature on the burner all the way up will certainly heat up that pan faster. Ah, an analogy! There is significant pressure on marketers to get it done fast. And so the inclination to spend a… -
"I get it"
16 Jun 2013 | 2:28 amNo need to read the whole book, I can just glance over the Cliffs Notes... I get it. I don't need to hear your whole pitch, just show me the summary slide... got it. No, I already heard about your vacation... remember, I saw the Instagram feed. Him, why would I go out with him? I read his match.com profile. You're probably smart enough to 'get it' merely by reading the 140 character summary of just about anything. But of course, that doesn't mean you understand it, or that it changed you. All it means is that you were quickly able to sort it into an appropriate category, to make a decision… -
Angry is a habit
15 Jun 2013 | 2:13 amIt's easy to imagine habits like a scotch after dinner, biting your nails or saying, "you know" after every sentence. An event or a time of day triggers us, and we go with the habit. It's easier than exploring new territory--it's merely a thoughtless response to an incoming trigger. But emotions can become habits as well. Distrustful is a habit. Lonely is a habit. Generous is a habit. When that stranger doesn't do what you expect, is your response to assume that she's out to get you, trying to make an extra buck, looking for a shortcut? Or do you default to the habit of giving that new person…
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Greg Verdino's Marketing Blog
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How To Take Time Off From Technology
28 May 2013 | 8:18 amFor many people here in the U.S., Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start to summer. And even in an always-on world, summer often gives us a bit of a breather — a chance to slow down, an opportunity to take a bit of time off from work. Two of my colleagues are wasting no time. As I write this, both have already unplugged and set off on extended vacations to remote regions where cell signal is scant and email is inaccessible. Both have made me wistful for a long-ago time when I once took a break with little-to-no access to technology. Or for that matter, a time when it seemed… -
6 Innovation Roadblocks Worth Breaking Through
29 Oct 2012 | 4:59 pmIf there’s a poster child for innovation, it’s most likely Thomas Edison. And if there’s a slogan scrawled across his poster, it’s probably his often-cited quote, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”which is generally believed to relate to his work on the light bulb. If you’re looking for a nicely packaged call for the power of perseverance, the rewards received for taking risks, or the benefits of having a go-get-’em can-do attitude you really can’t do much better than these words of wisdom from the man who gave the world the light… -
The Red Queen Effect in Marketing
24 Oct 2012 | 6:40 amIn the well-known race scene in Lewis Carroll’s classic Through the Looking-Glass, the Red Queen tells Alice, “It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place Given the pace and pervasiveness of change happening everywhere around us — in technology, in culture, in business, in consumer behaviors and expectations, in media and more — I’d imagine that many marketers feel like they’re racing alongside the Red Queen in Looking-Glass world. Writing and rewriting marketing plans in a constant state of flux. Favoring near term wins over long term value. Adopting agile… -
See the World With Both Eyes Open
16 Oct 2012 | 8:26 amI recently wrote about the curse of knowledge, and — as a recurring theme — my posts often urge business readers to consider common tasks and so-called truths from a new or different perspective. So naturally, I enjoyed Geoff Livingston’s take on a similar topic when he wrote this week about “How Experience Blinds You.” The more experience we gain, the more likely we are to be bound by preconceived notions of the right and wrong ways to get things done. The more likely we are to bring our biases to the table — biases that might have served us well in the past, but might not serve… -
Making Innovation a Core Capability
19 Sep 2012 | 6:12 am“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.” – Peter Drucker It should come as no shock that marketers love talking about innovation. And you’d think that if — as Drucker once said — marketing and innovation are the only two basic functions of the enterprise, then the marketers who can crack the code on innovation, bringing the two together into a single, sublime discipline, would be bathing in tubs…
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Find and Convert » Find and Convert Blog OptimizeThis
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Compelling Visual Content New Tricks and New Tools
18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 pmImages are vital to success in social media If you have worked hard to put all the pieces in place to create content that you hoped would “WOW” your readers but you’re not seeing the engagement or leads you expected, you might be underestimating the power of visual content to create that “Wow factor” you want? Do not make the mistake of overlooking the value of compelling images to get more readers and to create more action on your content. The effect can be exponential as more people get to your site, more are inspired to share it and even more people will see it. You can also use… -
Content Marketing for SEO
13 Jun 2013 | 2:32 amModern SEO Starts with Content Marketing The challenge for the modern digital marketer is the paradigm shift away from optimizing content for the purpose of ranking in Google and toward creating content that serves humans with a great user experience. Unless you’ve been living in a digital cave, you know that Google’s Penguin updates are like a verdict in a court of SEO law: Un-natural back links are guilty of web spam. Relevant content that answers people’s questions is in Google’s favor, resulting in positive SEO results for marketers. Add to that the fact that rankings are… -
Boost Your Content The Power of Quality Images
11 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pmA Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – and more! Have you ever asked yourself “How do I get more people to read my content?” Of course you have. There may be things you can adjust or do differently to increase your readers’ interest and attention span to your website and your blog. But the reality of our busy, fast-paced, visual world is that people are just moving way too fast to see it. Something has to make people stop long enough to want to read your blog or to find out what you have to offer. You have to stop people in their tracks and gain their attention in 3 seconds or… -
Google’s Bottom Line: Quality Content Prevails
2 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pmThe web is abuzz with Google’s latest algorithm update with much focus on the direction of Google search and the ramifications it holds for SEO and digital marketers. Penguin 2.0 is one more example of what digital marketing experts have been preaching for years; delivering a positive user experience through quality content and quality web assets creates a quality outcome. And, this is what Google wants to reward. Quality Content Google’s on-going quest appears to be to filter out the attempted nonsense by some marketers so that the user search experience produces valuable results. Poor… -
3 Skills Needed by The Modern CMO
30 May 2013 | 9:00 amThe Evolution of the CMO Much has been written about the evolution of the Chief Marketing Officer, aka CMO. While not all companies use the CMO title, I like it because it acknowledges the top marketing person as a “chief” level executive in the coveted C suite of an organization. In my view the CMO in today’s business climate must possess three key skills to be successful in the role and for their employer. Each of these skills could be dissected further. Let’s look at each one. Diplomacy An effective diplomat has vision, communication and relationship skills. The CMO must have a…
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EAT » Blog
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Where Words and Pictures Meet
17 Jun 2013 | 12:19 pmMarshall McLuhan theorized that as new media replaces old, the old media revert to being a culture’s vehicles for art, while new media carries “popular” communication (commercial speech, entertainment, journalism). As we move further and further from the most recent changing of the guard, that of broadcast/print to digital, we’d do well to revisit the artists—the Ray Pettibons, Barbara Krugers, John Baldessaris—who rode the last transition to success, anticipating our new media landscape and assimilating its implications, using the media of the arrière-garde even before the… -
Two Types of Work
12 Jun 2013 | 6:16 amYour Bottom Line is Your Customer’s Experience Finished products are often merely that – finished. Nothing more, nothing less — just complete. We’ve all been involved in these projects. Necessary on some level but uninspired, destined to move no needles nor make any waves. Upgrades rarely reassess. Instead they operate under the assumption that the original, proven hypothesis is still relevant—well, maybe it isn’t. Things change. Projects that affect your customers aren’t ever finished. Done correctly, these projects never really end. Customer-first projects… -
First Impressions: Real Tools for Adopting Brand Voice
10 Jun 2013 | 7:29 amWe’ve all had the experience of listening to a speaker and somehow knowing exactly what word they’re about to say next. With our family and close friends, this comes naturally. We complete their sentences, or roll our eyes when we know their gripes to the letter. Most of us can do a spot-on (not always flattering) impression of at least one relative. We’ve spent so much time with them that their speech patterns, vocabulary and hobby horses become second nature. When it falls on copywriters to speak for a brand, we have to adopt voice as close to perfectly as we do for our friends and… -
Focus On Your Weakness
4 Jun 2013 | 11:41 amStart-to-finish amazing is more of a process than a launch day goal. More often than not you don’t open your doors (virtual or physical) and start knocking off socks on day one. You put your best foot forward, cover up the rough spots with a smile or a well placed distraction and you iterate. Attempts to make everything perfect on day one are a fast train to delays and disappointments. Break it down It’s easy to rest on your laurels in those areas where you’re already doing well. But what about working on weak spots? Here’s a simple exercise that will relieve some of… -
Can We Have A Difficult Conversation, Please?
16 May 2013 | 2:33 pmActionable insights and channel optimization through proprietary technologies — Is that really what you want to discuss? KPI’s and modified metrics? Sounds like great stuff if you are in optimizing mode, but are you looking to optimize, or innovate and change? Is your product/service so good that you are squeezing the best .000001 from an already out-of-this world-amazing thing? Or is optimization easier than the innovation and change that promise greater returns? How about we really get into it? How about we discuss the really difficult internal change that will help your business by…
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HubSpot's Inbound Marketing Blog
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5 Simple Ways to Boost the Impact of Your Marketing Automation Workflows
19 Jun 2013 | 1:00 pmWe've talked about the basics of marketing automation workflows quite a few times before. If you're reading this post, you are probably already running a few workflows. So I'm not going to talk about how to get them started -- though if you want a refresher, here is a pretty comprehensive guide. Instead, I want to talk about what to do after you've got a few workflows under your belt. I think many marketers (myself included) get so excited that they have some workflows running in the first place that they kind of forget about them once they are set up. Lots of people don't… -
Apple's iDilemma: Can Apple Escape the Whirlwind of Disruption?
19 Jun 2013 | 9:30 amIn 1997, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen coined the term “Innovator’s Dilemma” to describe the situation in which a company becomes the victim of its own success and gets toppled by new technologies. The term gets bandied about quite a bit, but lately it has been applied to an unlikely target, a corporation that until recently has been seen as invincible, superhuman, and immune to the forces that disrupt ordinary organizations: Apple. Roger McNamee, co-founder of private equity firm Elevation Partners, tells Bloomberg TV: “Apple is caught in a classic… -
Must-Read Small Business Advice From Real Entrepreneurs [SlideShare]
19 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amSmall businesses are deceiving. Why? Because there's really nothing small about them. The ideas that spark them, the minds that lead them, the risks that advance them, and the heart that goes into them -- they're all pretty ... big. Not to mention, small businesses have been responsible for over 67% of the net new jobs created from mid-2009 to 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That ain't peanuts. We know that small businesses get their name from company size -- generally, businesses with fewer than 500 employees are considered "small" -- but I've always heard that… -
What You Need to Know This Morning: June 19, 2013
19 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amIf we were playing a game of Truth or Dare right now, and I choose "Truth," and your question was "What are you doing right now?," my answer would be "Sleeping." That's a lot of what-ifs, but it's my way of telling you that today is day one of a three-day staycation that I am so excited for. But it's also my way of showing you that I love you, dear reader. I wrote this roundup before I left with all the need-to-know stuff from the past 24-ish hours. (And seriously, this first one is like ... need to know stuff.) So hope you enjoy it! 1) Dumb Ways to Die Ads can work --… -
59% Say Running a Small Business Is Harder Today Than 5 Years Ago [INFOGRAPHIC]
18 Jun 2013 | 1:00 pmSmall businesses don't exactly have it easy. And with new marketing technologies emerging at a rapid pace in recent years, it's no wonder 59% of small business owners say it's harder to run a small business now than it was just five years ago. But "harder" may not necessarily be a bad thing, considering 72% of small business owners also expect their 2013 revenue to outperform their 2012 revenue. This all according to some new survey data from Constant Contact, brought to our attention by AllFacebook. The survey asked 917 small business owners to explain what it's like running their small…
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MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog
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How to Lose Weight While Blogging
19 Jun 2013 | 7:06 amIf you’ve ever said you didn’t have time to write or exercise more, this blog post is for you. We all wish we could create more content and shed more pounds, but inevitably, both goals get placed behind “doing my job” on the to-do list of life. But that ends today.Today, I’m going to show you how lose weight and create content at the same time. Talking vs. Typing I’m writing this post while walking on my treadmill. In fact I’ve written a lot of posts and even entire chapters of my new book, The Invisible Sale, while exercising or driving to and from the office. I can do… -
What Are the Characteristics of a Good Lead?
18 Jun 2013 | 7:03 amAh, the never-ending question: What makes a good lead? Well, I hate to say it, but it depends upon your specific situation—what you sell, to whom you sell, how you sell, and at what price. But there are also a few universal characteristics that will help you determine when a lead is truly a “sales-ready” lead versus being just an inquiry, research, or a random click. When evaluating how good a lead actually is, start with knowing what a good lead is within your organization. What criteria or profile does the lead need to have for it to be valuable to you? What title, size, industry,… -
Make Your Social #FAILPROOF
17 Jun 2013 | 2:00 pmSocial media fails are an unfortunate byproduct of marketing—and life—on the web. But let’s be honest—they also provide for some major entertainment. So, we have a laugh at another brand’s expense. We sit back, roll our eyes, and pity the poor person who made such a thoughtless mistake. But if you think you or your brand are immune to social media fails, think again. No brand, no matter how small or large, or how big its marketing budget, is safe from social mishaps. You can either choose to learn from the mistakes of others or be destined to repeat them. The #FAIL: Being Shady The… -
Six Big Lessons Marketers Can Learn From Improvisation
17 Jun 2013 | 7:04 amAs in improvisation, all great marketing is storytelling. Few things will stretch your comfort zone (read: scare the pants off you!) like improvisation. Improvisation is a storyteller’s weight training. There is no safety net or edit button—you are creating scenes in real time on stage based on audience suggestions. It can be downright uncomfortable, and yet, as with regular training, the results are worth it. Here are six lessons improvisation can teach us about marketing. 1. Risk Taking In a world of Big Data and analytics, marketing is a heck of a lot of art. Improvisation involves… -
Young Adults Say Goodbye, Radio; Hello, Internet
14 Jun 2013 | 7:20 amAs overall Internet usage continues to grow, it’s continuing to eclipse other forms of media—and for young adults, the internet has emerged as the place where they spend the most amount of time compared to any other type of media. “Radio’s Future II: The 2010 American Youth Study” from Edison Research shows that American young adults, age 12-24, spend nearly three hours a day on the Internet, which eclipses time spent consuming other forms of media. According to survey results, TV came in at a close second, followed by listening to the radio, playing video games, talking on the…
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Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik
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Excellent Analytics Tip #25: Decrapify Search, Social Compound Metrics
10 Jun 2013 | 2:29 amEveryone likes chasing big shiny objects all the time. What's not to like. They are big. They are shiny. :) But a lot of progress in life comes from doing the everyday small things better. A small improvement, every single day, to move the ball a little more forward. A best practice I've developed is to take a step back and reflect on if I have a good balance between chasing shiny objects and making incremental progress on small every day things. Today's post is from the latter category. It is a story about dealing with a complicated everyday challenge in an incrementally… -
Excellent Analytics Tip #24: Obsess About Real Business Profitability
20 May 2013 | 3:05 amThe art of analysis often fails to deliver ginarmous success simply because of how limited our worldview is when we go about identifying bottom-line impacting insights. Hence, this is a post on a simple concept that will drag you out of your current "what is happening on my website?" comfort zone, and out of your Google Analytics, Site Catalyst, WebTrends worldview silo. Sounds like fun? It is. And you end up becoming rich and famous. Not too shabby, right? Macro Business Context: The Big Deal Digital is an obsession for almost everyone who reads this blog. Part of the reason is… -
Eight Silly Data Myths Marketing People Believe That Get Them Fired.
29 Apr 2013 | 2:40 amIt turns out that Marketers, especially Digital Marketers, make really silly mistakes when it comes to data. Big data. Small data. Any data. In the last couple months I've spent a lot of time with senior level marketers on three different continents. Some of them are quite successful, but sadly many of them were not. In the latter group I discovered two common themes: 1 Some absolutely did not use data to do their digital jobs. This group should be fired immediately, so I'm not going to talk about them. [A benchmark for you: If you are not spending 30% of your time in 2013 with… -
The Lean Analytics Cycle: Metrics > Hypothesis > Experiment > Act
8 Apr 2013 | 2:17 amThis should not be news to you. To win in business you need to follow this process: Metrics > Hypothesis > Experiment > Act. Online, offline or nonline. Yet this structure rarely exists in companies. We are far too enamored with data collection and reporting the standard metrics we love because others love them because someone else said they were nice so many years ago. Sometimes, we escape the clutches of this sub optimal existence and do pick good metrics or engage in simple A/B testing. But it is not routine. So, how do we fix this problem? This thought was in my mind as I was… -
Excellent Analytics Tip #23: Align Hits, Sessions, Metrics, Dimensions!
18 Mar 2013 | 2:24 amWeb Analytics tools have become pretty feature rich, and the future promises to bring even more goodies (Universal Analytics anyone?). But these features bring with them new problems that we hadn't imagined before. Mostly because the limitations in the tools meant we were unable to make these mistakes. Today's post is about a new problem I'm starting to notice, which only exists because our tools have become so much cooler and handed us so much power: constant mismatching of hit- and session-level metrics and dimensions. This particular problem exists primarily because…
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SEO Copywriting
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SEO content marketing roundup, week ending June 19th
19 Jun 2013 | 3:02 amGoogle is using balloons to bring the internet to the more remote regions of the world in its aptly named “Project Loon,” and SMX Advanced takes Seattle by storm in this week’s latest and greatest online marketing news. Content marketers mark National Small Business Week in the U.S., and discuss conversions, B2B content strategy, blogging and blog monetization, sponsored content and content repurposing, as well as essential marketing stats and resources. In the SEO and search sphere, SMX Advanced 2013 steals the headlines with unprecedented candor from Matt Cutts on what to expect from… -
Leveraging content relationships & social proof for conversion rate optimization
18 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amThough content marketing has only recently reached buzzword status within the search industry, guest posting has been a popular method of promoting products and services online for a long time. It’s often cited as a great link building technique and when done well, can help your website in more ways than just search. Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) has long been a technical art within digital marketing, but there are also a few ways in which you can utilise guest blogging and the relationships you build in the process to help improve conversions: Qualified Traffic Search is a fantastic… -
Bad SEO content, good Google rankings: What now?
17 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amGreetings! Glad you’re here, as today mark the start of a new video series, SEO Content Writing Tips. The inspiration for this new series comes from you, our blog readers, and the questions you ask Heather. So thank you and keep ‘em coming! Today, Heather discusses a question that she gets all the time, which is: should I rewrite “bad” pages that have good Google rankings? This is an excellent question, because a lot of folks have pages on their sites that position well, but the content itself doesn’t really thrill them. So what’s an SEO copywriter to do? Listen in as Heather… -
5 SEO writing myths that cost you money
13 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amQuit letting money fly out the window. Tighten up your SEO writing campaign! SEO writing doesn’t work. Google keeps changing their algorithm. I guess I’ll go eat worms.. (No, not really – although I couldn’t resist throwing in that childhood ditty.) Although you may be laughing at the “eat worms” part, it’s true that many people are seriously confused about SEO writing. Instead of embracing it and seeing its potential, they pretend it’s “not important.” The result? Potential profits fly out the window. How sad. Here are the most… -
SEO content marketing roundup, week ending June 12th
12 Jun 2013 | 3:09 amIn this week’s latest and greatest online marketing news, content marketers discuss content creation, guest blogging, brand promotion and online communities, B2B and email marketing, as well as video and visual content marketing. The SEO and search community discusses Google’s recent announcement regarding mobile SEO and rankings, its disavow links tool and analytics, author rank, SMX Advanced 2013 sessions, Bing developments, and PPC. Meanwhile, social media marketers note Facebook’s cut-back of ad products and its killing off of sponsored stories, and discuss YouTube’s new…
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Convince and Convert: Social Media Strategy and Content Marketing Strategy
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4 Fresh Trends in B2B Social Campaigns
19 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amConsumer brands spent the early years of the social boom using campaigns to collect likes, create conversation, and distribute coupons. Meanwhile, B2B marketers sat on the sidelines waiting for social campaign technology to deliver against their more sophisticated needs. In the B2B space, having people follow you is not enough. You have to go beyond likes and simple conversations. For B2B marketers, the promise of social is user data, and first generation social campaign technologies just weren’t delivering. That’s changing rapidly. Marketers are seeing a tremendous uptick in demand for… -
7 Reasons Your Facebook Page is a Hot Mess
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amImage via BigStockPhoto.com A state of disarray so chaotic that it’s dizzying to look at. A mess that is beyond the normal range of disarray. Visual clutter that draws attention to itself. It may sound like I am describing Lindsay Lohan heading into court on a Monday morning. But no, I am describing a Facebook business page lacking a strategy without consistent engagement but has potential to become super-hot. Could this be your business’s page? Facebook boasts the largest user base of any social network, so if your business doesn’t have a solid Facebook presence, you’re simply… -
How to Create Customer Profiles to Reach Your Target Audience
17 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amCustomer profiling may sound like a mug shot lineup of your customers, but the goal of this post is not to imprison your customers. On the other hand, I hope to offer three steps to creating and evaluating the types of people you are looking to sell your products or services to so that you can effectively market to them. A useful customer profile (aka a persona) is akin to a comprehensive how-to guide on reaching your ideal customers. It gives you a structured look at their goals in trying your product, the features and content that matters most to them, and the messaging that will help them… -
Being Loud About 3M’s Quiet but Powerful Innovations
14 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amGreg Gerik, 3M @ggerik Greg Gerik, Social Media Leader for the Global E-Transformation Team at 3M, joins the Social Pros Podcast this week to discuss managing a diverse and international company’s social presence, innovation through product diversity, and why he wants to move away from being associated entirely with social. Read on for some of the highlights and tweetable moments, or listen to the full podcast. Please Support Our Sponsors Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors for helping us make this happen. Please support them; we couldn’t do it without their help! This week:… -
Pringles and Star Wars Channel The Force For Fun in Crowdsourced Video Contest
13 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amThe force is strong with this one. In a galaxy not so far away, a popular snack food brand, Pringles, has joined forces with the iconic movie franchise, Star Wars, to launch a crowdsourced video contest. Themed around, “The Force For Fun,” one video will win $25,000 and a chance to be featured as Pringles national advertisement. The contest is hosted on Tongal, a platform that facilitates creative and video content for brands through crowdsourcing. Described as a, “totally out of this world alliance,” the goal of the campaign is to take a fun, clever, and adventurous approach to…
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PR 20/20 Blog
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Marketers Need to Learn to Code: How to Get Started
10 Jun 2013 | 1:44 pmHello World! There is a significant push right now to learn to program, led in large part by code.org. Their video below features some of the most accomplished technology innovators, including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and the Miami Heat's Chris Bosh, and has been viewed over 10.3 million times. As marketers, we may never write full software programs. In fact, as described to me by an actual developer, to code programs and do it well, you have to live in these languages. However, this doesn’t mean we should ignore Chris Bosh’s sage wisdom. By nature of our… -
6 Ways to Win Executive Buy-In for Inbound Marketing
31 May 2013 | 7:30 amWhy do we need a blog? What is the ROI of social? What if we get sued? I want to review this before it’s published. Who will own this? Sound familiar? At times, working in a marketing department can feel like being on trial. You’re constantly defending programs, proving value, fighting for dollars. HubSpot’s 2013 State of Inbound Marketing annual report asked marketing teams about their top challenges. While only 5% cite executive sponsorship as their paramount challenge, the most common challenge—proving ROI—points to a crucial need to drum up and… -
You Are Not a Bot. Stop Marketing Like One.
22 May 2013 | 9:15 amThere’s an old riddle that asks: “Would you rather I give you a million dollars this month, or a penny today and double your money daily for a month?” The smart money is on the penny. You’d have $10,737,418.24 after 31 days. That’s the power of compounding—or exponential—growth. It’s not just a financial concept: It has critical implications for marketers, too, thanks to a guy named Moore. Gordon Moore was Intel’s founder. He showed us that the number of transistors you could fit on a circuit doubled every two years. Put in practical… -
Blogger Outreach: A Tactic to Keep Your Strategy Fresh
16 May 2013 | 6:35 amThis is a guest post by Kristen Matthews, marketing and community manager for GroupHigh in Boulder, Colorado. She loves the collaborative elements of modern marketing so feel free to contact her for anything at Kristen@grouphigh.com and follow her on Twitter @Kristenwords and @GroupHigh! As outbound marketing tactics become obsolete, establishing relationships with bloggers who can promote your brand via word of mouth is becoming more important than ever. Now that modern consumers are wired to tune out traditional ads and have the self-empowerment to research brands on their own, marketers… -
Schema.org SEO Markup: What Non-Coder Marketers Need to Know
10 May 2013 | 4:37 amWhen the world’s largest search engines, including Google, Bing, Yahoo! and more, collaborate on an initiative to improve the indexability of the web, marketers should take notice. In June 2011, these search giants did just that, and the result was a new microdata mark-up called Schema.org. Microdata is simply HTML tags put around different web page content to provide valuable context to search engines. There are a variety of microdata tagging systems out there, so to help webmasters, and in turn themselves, leading search engines banded together to create a standardized tagging system…
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Social Media Explorer
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When to Separate Your Brand From an Emotional Event
19 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amWithin the past 12 months, we’ve seen no shortage of disasters that range from Hurricane Sandy, the mass shooting in Aurora and most recently the Boston Marathon bombings. For some brands, it may appear that the marketing window of opportunity has opened; if so, my advice to you is, shut that window and board it up… immediately. Brands that refuse to shut the window and proceed to capitalize on these emotional events as a springboard for marketing ploys have quickly joined the ranks of ‘worst social media disasters of the year’. Just ask American Apparel (20% Off Sale during Hurricane… -
Life is Good Playmakers – #GivingTuesday
18 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amFew brands attract my love and devotion as strongly as Life is good. Their simple shirts, hats and other accessories have always made me smile. The vibe matches my love of the outdoors, a good dog and a kicked back approach to life. But, today I don’t walk to talk about their clothes and instead share with you something much more important and that is the work that The Life is good Playmakers do to help kids overcome poverty, violence, and illness by using the power of joyful play to heal and strengthen children. When you read their story about starting in 1990 as Project Joy and it… -
The B2B Sales Power Punch
18 Jun 2013 | 5:46 amMarketing has been shining the spotlight on the power of social media over the last few years. It’s been effective as we’ve seen budgets for social media and content marketing increase with hockey stick proportions. Now it’s time to add a new team in the race and look at how these tools can be used to drive sales in the organization. That means we need to take a hard look at where the sales team fits in the mix. I know a few of you just visibly cringed as you think of letting your sales team loose on social media channels, but the reality is that many of them are already there. If… -
Rebooting With Mitch Joel
17 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amThere are few authors I’d recommend buying their books based solely on who they are and what they know. But Mitch Joel is one of them. With his first book, Six Pixels of Separation (Business Plus, 2010) he solidified his reputation as one of the leading minds in digital marketing. His new book, CTR ALT DEL: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends On It (XXXX, 2013) Joel is at it again, telling us what we need to know to be successful tomorrow, not just today. The book goes beyond “be social” and “think mobile first” and makes the media… -
5 Key Elements of Viral Content [Infographic]
14 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amThe goal of every content marketer is to have his/her information shared across digital channels by their audiences. This is often easier said than done. What factors contribute to people sharing the content they consume online? In researching the content for this infographic I came across a post in my Delicious archive that helps answer this question. Leo Widrich over on the Buffer Blog wrote a great post about what makes content spread. In it, he analyzes some of the elements that helped one particular blog post get over half a million likes. He also references an interesting research paper…
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9 INCH MARKETING
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Top Restaurant Examples from Purple Goldfish including Five Guys, Rainforest Cafe and Maggiano’s
16 Jun 2013 | 8:05 pmDining out is the ultimate experience. A number of factors ontribute to the overall experience. More than just the food, things like service, surroundings and ambience impact this highly sensory experience. Here’s a slideshare showcasing the top restaurant examples from the book, What’s Your Purple Goldfish – [...] -
15 Ways to Drive Employee Engagement and Reinforce Culture via the Green Goldfish
9 Jun 2013 | 5:36 pmWhat’s Your Green Goldfish Executive Summary Motivation for employees is sagging. Recent reports show that motivation has fallen off at more that half of all companies. In difficult economic times, how can companies boost employee morale and drive high performance? The simple answer is doing the little [...] -
Top B2B examples from the Purple Goldfish Project including FedEx, Disney and Wufoo
5 Jun 2013 | 6:36 amLeading brands that give a “little extra” BtoB Special thanks to Derek Bildfell for inspiring this post. I had a chance to connect with Derek at the CXPA Member Information Exchange in San Diego. In Derek’s words: I haven’t seen alot of B2B Lagniappes, but I did [...] -
9 Customer-Centric Marketing Lessons from Apple to Zappos
3 Jun 2013 | 12:56 pmUnlocking the Keys to Loyalty and Word of Mouth Today’s consumer is empowered. Companies need to differentiate themselves to stand out in a sea of sameness. Brands need to find ways to leverage their most important asset: current customers. Referrals and word of mouth are keys to [...] -
7 Simple Ways to Raise Your #custserv from Ordinary to Extraordinary
2 Jun 2013 | 1:07 pmBook review: Delight Your Customers by Steve Curtin Delight Your Customers is a new book on customer service (AMACOM) by Steve Curtin @enthused. The official launch date for the book is June 11. You can pre-order it here, or opt to get the eBook right now by clicking [...]
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TheContentWrangler.com
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More Than 90% of Companies Do Not Have A Formal Content Strategy
12 Jun 2013 | 3:58 amAccording to research from Gartner, less than 10% of enterprises have a content strategy. Although they don’t use the term “content” (they say “information”), the result is the same: strategic thinking about the information we provide our customers is just starting to gain traction among upper management. In most enterprises, it is non-existent. Business leadership will need to make some major changes in order to tackle (and exploit) the “information explosion” occurring today. Gartner says most businesses need to introduce new roles and new skills in… -
The King of Topics: DITA XML Meets ‘Billy Jean’
10 Jun 2013 | 3:31 amBy Cheri Mullins Note from Cheri: With profound apologies to Michael Jackson in memoriam, Michael Jackson fans, songwriters, lyricists, and technical communicators everywhere. “XML” (set to the Michael Jackson classic, “Billy Jean”) [1st Verse] DITA has a lovely theme Using Schemes I Don’t Mind, But What Do You Mean You Are The One? That Will Dance With The Code That We Pound Apps Say They Are The Ones That Will Dance With The Code That We Pound [2nd Verse] They Said Its Name Was XML, And It Works So Well And Every App They Devise Dreams Of Being The One That… -
[Video] The Editorial Side of Content Strategy: An Interview with Margot Bloomstein
9 Jun 2013 | 4:09 amMargot Bloomstein, Brand and Content Strategist at Appropriate, Inc. shares what she does from the editorial side of content strategy, helping brands effectively communicate their value propositions. In this interview, filmed at the Intelligent Content Conference in San Francisco (February 2013), Bloomstein explains that her work centers around helping clients solve “thorny content strategy problems,” many of which are “laced with politics and intrigue”. Bloomstein says she leverages her experience to help her clients “confront, prioritize, and wrangle their… -
In Search of Professional-Grade Content Marketing
14 May 2013 | 3:07 pmScott Abel By Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler Most marketers just don’t get it. Twitter is not a fax machine. A PDF is not an eBook. Brands aren’t inherently interesting. Millions of people rely solely on smartphones to access the web. And nobody—except maybe your boss—checks your Facebook page in hopes of discovering your latest product announcement. In just a few short years, the marketing landscape has changed dramatically—but most marketers haven’t. It’s not entirely their fault. Change is hard and humans tend to resist it. Even marketers. Today’s consumers live in a… -
“Word Up!” Gets APE’d by Guy Kawasaki (That’s a Good Thing)
12 May 2013 | 11:00 pmEditor’s Note: Join us May 17, 2013 at 10:00AM PT for our BrightTALK webinar, Language Matters: How To Write Powerful Sentences & Paragraphs, featuring Marcia Riefer Johnston. Register today! It’s free. Marcia Riefer Johnston By Marcia Riefer Johnston Many thanks to The Content Wrangler, Scott Abel, for introducing me to Guy Kawasaki’s inspiring work and for encouraging me to tell this story. —Marcia Recently, I had an experience that any writer would give an arm for. I had my book APE’d by Guy Kawasaki. Who’s Guy Kawasaki? When big companies want a speaker to…
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Rex Hammock's RexBlog.com
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On another channel, stuff I’ve written lately
14 Jun 2013 | 10:22 amI confess. I’ve been a post-slacker on the RexBlog.However, over on the Hammock blog, I’ve participated in a couple of posts that might interest two or three of the 12 RexBlog readers.The post called “How Safari’s Shared Links Will Reward Content Your Customers Love” predicts that browsing patterns among non-techie users will change when links from their LinkedIn connections and Twitter subscriptions become a prominent default feature on the browser that accounts for around 10% of the mobile and desktop web traffic. (By the way, this post was from… -
The best recommendation I’ll give all year – Steep Canyon Rangers w/ Steve Martin & featuring Edie Brickell
30 May 2013 | 11:14 amCredit: Eric Frommer, via Flickr. (Creative Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)If you live in or near a city where the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers is playing, buy your tickets now and thank me later. As you can see from that tour link, most of their performances this summer include the addendum, “w/Steve Martin & featuring Edie Brickell.”Last night, my wife and I attended one of those “w/Steve Martin & featuring Edie Brickell” performances at Nashville’s spectacular Schemerhorn Symphony Center. As much as I hate to admit it, bluegrass sounds almost as good… -
Recommended listen: Ray Manzarek on Fresh Air
24 May 2013 | 7:31 pmPromotional photo of The Doors. From left-John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Jim Morrison. Source: Wikipedia CommonsOn the way home earlier today, I heard this fascinating interview by Fresh Air host, Terry Gross, in which she speaks with Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist for The Doors. Manzarek died from cancer on May 20, so the show re-aired this interview recorded in 1998.I highly recommend a seven-minute segment of the interview to anyone interested in the process of creation, be it music or any type of art that uses a collaborative process and draws from various sources. It starts… -
When disaster strikes “someplace else,” first send money (continued)
21 May 2013 | 4:38 amIt is with deep grief that we learn of the magnitude of the loss of life caused by yesterday’s tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. That so many of the victims were children is especially sad. Parents, especially, know it is the realization of that which we fear the most. Below is a re-posting of a blog post I’ve written, in various ways, in the past. As I know is true for all of us, my thoughts and prayers are with the people who are now coping with the aftermath of this disaster:Over the years, I have written about many natural disasters and the human toll they’ve taken. I believe… -
A great idea from Nashville featured on CNN
20 May 2013 | 2:50 pm[It's National Bike Month. And yes, this is another post about bicycling. You'll really like this one. I promise.]Last fall, I had the privilege of spending six Thursday evenings volunteering at Nashville’s Oasis Center’s Bike Workshop. As I said in a Flickr set I posted at the time, during a six week session at the Workshop, disadvantaged kids get to choose a bike they will learn how (by doing) to take apart and then completely rebuild. At the end of the program, their work will be rewarded by earning the bike — and the knowledge to know how to keep it maintained.Last…
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Savvy B2B Marketing - Latest Blog Entries
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Making allies of your enemies - Kona DataSearch
10 Jun 2013 | 5:52 amInnovation. We all know it’s important for business growth but how do we get to it? Where does it come from and how do we grab that elusive minx? In a recent TED Talk Martin Villeneuve explained the process and solutions he used to make his long-held dream of creating a science-fiction movie based on his vision of the future come to pass. He explained how passion in his group led to people coming up with answers. Villeneuve explained how, if a person couldn’t be there for the movie, well then they created a hologram of him. How futuristic instruments not yet made… -
Savvy Week in Review: May 2
3 May 2013 | 8:06 amIf you are like one of our 5-year-old daughters, you're very excited to see May is finally here. The flowers, the baby animasls, everything so new! Speaking of new, here are our favorite new posts from the week. Enjoy! Good Reads for B2B Marketing - Staple Yourself to a Lead via @PointClearPD A wrap up of terrific reads for our wrap up. The B2B Website Audience Litmus Test by @ardath421 Don't waste time designing your site for those who aren't likely to visit it. How to Use EBooks Strategically to Reach Your Content Marketing Goals - by @writemartpam via @copyblogger You say… -
Week in Review: April 26
26 Apr 2013 | 2:15 amApril is flying by! But we've managed to catch some real gems in our nets this week from around the blogosphere. Here's hoping they reinvigorate you as much as the new life springing up all around us! For Brands, Small Is The Next Big Thing by @davidbrier via @FastCompany This is an interesting concept that has some relevance for B2B (especially software) businesses. 19 Warning Signs Your Infographic Stinks by @neomammalian via @KISSmetrics Please, please don't publish stinky infographics. Write drunk; edit sober. How to blog like you mean it by our own… -
10 Must-Dos for Successful B2B Lead Generation
22 Apr 2013 | 4:00 amWe are pleased to present this guest post by Clare Moorhouse, Search Manager for Torpedo Group in the UK, named one of the top B2B marcomms agencies in 2012. Read on for ways you can set yourself up for lead-gen success. Lead generation is the lifeblood of any business. Yet many companies struggle to capture, manage and convert meaningful leads for their business. Effective B2B lead generation requires strategic planning and persistent monitoring. Whatever type of B2B lead generation campaign you are planning, the basic principles of generating… -
Week in Review: April 12
12 Apr 2013 | 8:00 amHave spring fever? Want to try something new? For some great inspriration, check out favorite posts from the week. What else do you have to add? Which Company is Most Useful to You? by @JayBaer This is a question you need to ask in terms of your brand's value to your customers. Linkedin Founder Reid Hoffman's Advice for Entrepreneurs by @zachcb1 via @KISSmetrics Lots of great lessons here! Double Your Leads Instantly With This Simple Evergreen Tweak by Garrett Moon of @todaymade via @KISSmetrics (it's a two fer!) This is a great tactic, IF it's used properly. …
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Article Writing & Marketing Insights - EzineArticles Blog
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5 Steps to Gutting Your First Draft
19 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amRevise and Proofread Your Articles Searching for information should not resemble panning for gold. Readers don’t want to wade through verbose sections of text to find the golden nuggets of information and won’t when more information is readily available. Stop wasting your efforts with the “won’t” audiences! After all, what’s the point in writing articles if your articles aren’t read? Get readers engaged in your articles by ensuring only the key information makes the cut. Take a Step Back Revising and proofreading are critical steps in writing and… -
Are You Killing Your Writing Success?
17 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amOn a Writing Hiatus? Come back before it’s too late! Your authority as an Expert Author is dependent on the frequency with which you write and publish articles. Perhaps you’ve taken a break from your writing efforts because … you thought you published enough articles you had extenuating circumstances, such as an illness you couldn’t find the time to write you didn’t know what to write Whatever the reason, you could be sabotaging every effort you put into writing by not writing. By not keeping up with your writing and publishing efforts … your audience will… -
Take Advantage of Your Expert Author Status
14 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amPublish to Gain Authority and Proven Credibility You could choose to solely post content on your own website and wait for the visitors to come (emphasis on the word “wait”). Or you could choose to be more assertive and proactive with your brand by publishing high-quality, unique content both on and off your website via article writing, guest blog writing, column writing, and more. Publishing content on a trusted platform helps you build exposure, enhance credibility, increase connectivity, and foster authority. Combine these great benefits together and you’ll have packaged… -
Creating an Effective Call to Action that Gets Results
12 Jun 2013 | 7:00 am14 Tips to Write Powerful Calls to Action Your time is precious, so it always strikes me as odd when Expert Authors don’t dedicate a little more time to the call to action in their articles. A call to action is a pitch to motivate your audience to take action. Calls to action commonly appear in the form of buttons or graphics on a website. In article writing, a text-based call to action occurs twice in article submissions: 1) in the summary where the reader is compelled to dive into the article and 2) in the Resource Box where the reader is encouraged to visit your highly relevant… -
Guide to Entertaining: Writing Informative Content with a Creative Twist
10 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amTake Time to Be Creative Anyone can have the perfect setup to entertain with the hip “this” and the trendy “that” to please guests. However, most parties will fall flat if your heart isn’t in it because you’re too distracted by achieving perfection. It’s a hard lesson, but we all learn it: You’re not going to please everyone. Once you get over that hurdle, you’ll relax and allow your creativity to become the driving force behind a party that will be remembered for a long time. The same is true for writing. Anyone can write a litany of…
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Pybop: Exceptional Web Content for Exceptional Businesses
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Three Geeky Terms Content Strategists Should Know
12 Jun 2013 | 11:10 amWhen building a mobile, video, or web content strategy and working with all the players who pull together an online content project, it’s helpful to know what the heck they Read MoreThe post Three Geeky Terms Content Strategists Should Know appeared first on Pybop: Exceptional Content Strategy & Brand Storytelling. -
How to Best Deliver Bad News by Email
22 May 2013 | 10:06 amLook on the Bright Side Companies change direction. Leadership shifts. People make mistakes. Sometimes a brand needs to communicate an uncomfortable story to its audience … while not making it Read MoreThe post How to Best Deliver Bad News by Email appeared first on Pybop: Exceptional Content Strategy & Brand Storytelling. -
The Interactive World of Mobile: Where Do Editors Fit?
20 May 2013 | 1:17 pmDo You Need a Mobile Editor? Does your mobile project need an editor? And will any professional editor do? The Interactive World of Mobile: Where Do Editors Fit? by Shelly Read MoreThe post The Interactive World of Mobile: Where Do Editors Fit? appeared first on Pybop: Exceptional Content Strategy & Brand Storytelling. -
Your Brand Story: Write the Last Line First
14 May 2013 | 11:00 amHow Does Your Brand Story End? The other day, I had lunch with an enthusiastic startup CEO; she really wanted to talk content strategy. She has an amazing product and Read MoreThe post Your Brand Story: Write the Last Line First appeared first on Pybop: Exceptional Content Strategy & Brand Storytelling. -
Exploring Your Brand’s Personality with Story
8 May 2013 | 10:35 amI’m declaring Wednesdays Creative Writing Day … and that means for brands, too! When you’ve worked with the same brand for a while, it’s easy to get stuck in a Read MoreThe post Exploring Your Brand’s Personality with Story appeared first on Pybop: Exceptional Content Strategy & Brand Storytelling.
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Straight North Internet Marketing Blog
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Infographics: Online Marketing’s New Best Friend
18 Jun 2013 | 5:52 amA few months ago, everyone seemed to be talking about how content was the next big “boom” in online marketing. While content is a very important (and cost-effective!) way to reach a large audience of potential customers, it needs to constantly evolve to keep up with consumers’ changing demands. But words are no longer enough, as people now want their information at a glance. With 90% of all information transmitted to the brain visually, the latest evolution in content marketing is infographics–which not only promote brand awareness, but also help you connect with your target… -
Profiting from Patriotism: Marketing the American Flag
10 Jun 2013 | 6:41 amThis week marks the celebration of Flag Day as proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and Americans have spent these almost 100 years debating whether or not the flag should be used in company marketing efforts, many citing the laws in place for the proper display of the red, white, and blue. Does seeing the American flag on your beer can inspire or appall you? Should the flag appear in TV clothing campaigns or wave from multiple poles in a car lot during a summer holiday sale? There is a pretty thorough list of ways to properly display the American flag, including rules that range… -
Smashing Magazine Launches Must-Read Download for Web Writers
5 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amWeb writers seeking to improve their craft and strategy will appreciate the new eBook offerings from Smashing Magazine, which has just launched a new eBook bundle centered on mastering content and copywriting. These new eBooks contain guidance, insights, practical tips, and all-out warnings about what not to do whether you’re a new writer or a seasoned pro. Straight North’s own Brad Shorr is a featured contributor to both books, sharing his advice on Web copywriting, SEO, content strategy in design, and more. Designed for anyone wanting to “improve your copywriting skills,” the new… -
How Niche Related Do Websites Need To Be For A Successful Guest Post?
28 May 2013 | 6:48 amGuest posting has become a strong strategy in a number of different industries. SEOs and link builders use it to gain back links, bloggers use it to spread their name across the web and to reach new readers, and webmasters use it to get outside views and opinions as well as more content on their site. All of this has led to an explosion of guest posting services and strategies that are supposed to make it easier, or at least make your guest posting endeavors more effective. One of these main strategies is to keep your target websites for guest posts within your niche, but just how related to… -
Compete with a Goal: How Product Reviews Make Your Product Soar
21 May 2013 | 9:30 amAhh, to show up on Google’s first search page, your product or service prominently displayed, front and center, for all of the Internet to see. What a lovely thing, indeed. Everyone can find you; you are feeling pretty darn good about your business prospects, aren’t you? The question is: How can you make this a reality through product reviews? Product reviews can be used in clever and search-friendly ways — even helping you decide how to rank specific keywords and create healthy competition within your industry. Many people read product reviews before making a…
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Jeff Korhan
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3 Facebook Hashtag Marketing Tips
13 Jun 2013 | 7:49 pmThe newly launched Facebook hashtags could prove to be the savior of Graph Search – the recently launched Facebook search feature. Graph Search does what it promises – returning search results based on the social graphs of your Facebook friends, fans, and followers. This means that you tend to see search results only for those friends and businesses with whom you are already closely aligned. If you happen to be using Facebook for outreach and marketing, the new hashtag feature will extend your reach dramatically. This will create both risks and rewards, so you will want to choose… -
Connected Economy Alignment is Value
8 Jun 2013 | 4:30 amIn this connected economy, the challenge is not connectivity – but alignment. If you look for differences you will find them; and if you seek alignment, cooperation, and collaboration, you will find that too. This is why learning to effectively manage your business networks is without question the key to your business success. Alignment is the result of taking connectivity to the next level. This is often accomplished by partnering or collaborating to progressively achieve mutually beneficial objectives. Who are these partners? These are logically team members, friends, and influencers,… -
Every Business is Now a Media Company
2 Jun 2013 | 9:55 pmThere was a time when every business courted the media. They (the media) were rightfully considered business partners because they could significantly help any company interested in publicizing an event or similar happening as news. Today, every business (large or small) is now its own media company - and that is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. If your business makes the effort to learn the new forms of media it can build a platform that will become an essential digital asset for connecting with current and future customers. Consumers are Hungry for News “Consumers… -
5 Tips for Using LinkedIn Contacts
23 May 2013 | 7:37 pmLinkedIn is in the process of rolling out LinkedIn Contacts. In addition to several new features that are giving it a new look and feel – if offers enhanced functionality for better managing your relationships and social engagement. There is no question that all of the major social networks want you to use their service as your social dashboard. However, many social networkers prefer to use an independent tool such as Hootsuite to effectively manage their social networks and build relationships. One of the challenges is there is a disconnect between public social networking and… -
Social Marketing is Relationship Selling
17 May 2013 | 4:16 pmThe Social Marketing Process ©Jeff Korhan Mainstream small business will more reliably get better results from social media if they view it more as selling than marketing. Why? Because effective relationship selling is personal, and now marketing is too. As social influences continue to profoundly affect business, just about every business activity is going to require relationship building skills. Traditional marketing or advertising was something you did – to your communities. Whereas, social marketing in our digital environment is something we do – with our communities. That…
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Sparksheet
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The Power and Danger of Newsjacking
19 Jun 2013 | 7:04 amDuring the 2013 Super Bowl the lights went out unexpectedly at the Superdome. Oreo devised and tweeted this ad in response. That night it was retweeted over 14,500 times. You’ve most likely heard of newsjacking. The portmanteau of “news” and “hijacking” has recently spread like wildfire, becoming the new buzzword for marketers looking to take advantage of current events to fuel their marketing efforts. But effective newsjacking is easier said than done. There are many grey areas when it comes to adapting topical content and it’s crucial to consider how to be most effective… -
After Groupon: What’s Next in the Evolution of Online Retail?
17 Jun 2013 | 7:08 amIn 2012, e-commerce within the United States accounted for 28 percent of all global sales. It’s clear that Americans love to shop online, but “global” is the key word here. In China, for example, the e-commerce industry is forecast to be worth $370 billion by 2015 – up from $74 billion in 2010. Over in Latin America, Forrester predicts that Brazil’s online retail sales will reach more than $25 billion by 2017, and eMarketer projects Mexican e-commerce sales will reach $7.98 billion this year and continue growing into 2016, when annual sales could reach $13 billion. Meanwhile, in… -
Vine: A Great Teaching Tool for Brands
14 Jun 2013 | 10:38 amGame of Thrones star Maisie Williams appearing in a viral Vine video. Odds are you’ve seen a Vine video even if you haven’t heard of Twitter’s six-second video app. After the shocking penultimate episode of the recent season of HBO’s Games of Thrones the Twittersphere blew up with reactions from devastated viewers. One of the best posts came from series star Maisie Williams, who posted a funny Vine video in reaction to the events in the episode. Millions watched it, including many who’d never heard of the social media platform. Vine is the number one free app in North American… -
The Purpose-Driven Company: Q&A with Whole Foods’ John Mackey
12 Jun 2013 | 7:02 amImage via wholefoodsmarket.com. You’ve said that you think companies today ought to be “purpose-driven.” Do you think there’s a difference between a purpose and a brand? Brand is just an abstraction. I use that word sometimes but I’m not a big fan of the word because sometimes when people talk about managing their brand they move away from authenticity. Your brand is just the way people think about the company or the product, so I don’t think the brand is more important than the purpose or the values of the organization. I sometimes think businesses get that confused. If you… -
Brand Marketing at Cannes: A Unique Challenge for Alcohol Brands
10 Jun 2013 | 5:04 amA crowd of Cannes revelers gathers in one of the festival’s many tents. The Cannes Film Festival attracts nearly 5,000 media guests from around the world to the South of France each year to report on the film industry and its stars. But in recent years, Hollywood has had to share the spotlight with the luxury industry, as global brands have dominated the festival with sponsorship programs, VIP events and high-profile marketing activations. As Le Monde reported, “l’enjeu de l’image” – the strategic importance of being seen amidst the festival’s in-crowd – has become an…
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Content Mastery Guide
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How to Get More Customers AND Referrals With Your Business Blog
16 Jun 2013 | 10:04 amYour business blog has two distinct audiences – those who will buy from you, and those who will refer you. 1. Those who will buy from you These are the people who may visit your business, buy your products, or hire you for a service. Before that, they may check out your blog to learn more about the people behind the business, get a sense of how you operate, and see if you really know your stuff. Once they’re fans, customers or clients, people keep visiting your blog to see your latest news, stay in relationship with you, and get your expert tips. 2. Those who will refer you… -
Which Types of Blog Posts are Right for Your Business?
10 Jun 2013 | 2:51 pmBusiness blogging is a great way to keep your website fresh and attract new customers, but some people find it hard to see how blogging could work for their particular business. This list of eight types of blog posts has something for everyone. 1. Advice, “how to’s” or instructions – People are online everyday looking for help and ideas they can trust. Success tips: Answer the questions you’re asked the most by clients, prospective clients, colleagues, friends and family members. Imagine you’re writing to an absolute beginner who knows nothing about the… -
Blog Before You Tweet: Lessons from Tweetstock 8
3 Jun 2013 | 10:44 amThough blogging is a form of social media, many business owners jump onto Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn long before they even consider blogging. And while it seems as though it will be easier to write a 140-character tweet than a 500-word blog post, the most common concern I hear about social media is, “I never know what to say!” I often use the expression that blogging is what turns social networking into business networking. Blog posts demonstrate your expertise and tell your story to the people in your social networks. You can accomplish this with various types of content,… -
Business Blogging Can Be Easier
25 May 2013 | 12:06 pmThe two core messages that I share with business owners are that blogging is an effective way to attract new clients, and that blogging can be easier than you think. If you’ve tried blogging and stumbled, or you feel stuck before you even start, these 10 strategies will make blogging easier. Reading other blog posts. When you regularly visit other business blogs that you find helpful, you will have real-life models to inspire your own blog. Repurposing existing content. There’s a good chance you already have things you could transform into blog posts, so why start from scratch? -
Once You’ve Met, Then Connect – Taking Your Local Networking Contacts Online
14 May 2013 | 8:21 amThis is the third post in a three-part series about building online and offline relationships. In Part One we discussed how blogging can strengthen your credibility with colleagues in your local community. In Part Two, I shared my story of building my local network by starting online and then continuing those relationships in person. Now, let’s look at how to transform your network of clients, prospective clients, and referral sources into an online community that reads, shares and benefits from your content. Step 1: Research When you’ve met someone you want to stay connected with, see if…
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SchneiderB.com
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Weekend Update – June15
14 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amHappy Social Media Saturday! Listed below in my Weekend Update are links to interesting things I found on the web this week: cool tools, great blog posts, or questions/comments from one of the SchneiderB.com online communities – anything that stuck out to me and I think is worth sharing. I encourage you to check them out for yourself! Blog Post: How to Claim & Set Up Local Profiles: From Google+ to Yelp – Claiming and setting up local profiles is an important branding activity that has tremendous SEO value. Most websites that offer local business listings follow the same… -
Ultimate Cosmic Listening Choices, Itty Bitty Digital File
11 Jun 2013 | 1:00 amBrandon Warren via Compfight This is a guest post by Kris Dietz – co-founder of RankPop.com – an SEO services firm. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stuck in traffic, but that wasn’t the reason I was angry. I was angry because all the radio stations I had programmed into my car were playing complete and utter trash. Either the music was too poppy or too metal or too… too… I don’t know. I’ve got needs, and they don’t involve a lot of the music I hear out there. Maybe I’m just getting old, and should switch over to talk… -
Weekend Update – June08
8 Jun 2013 | 1:00 amluke chan via Compfight Happy Social Media Saturday! Listed below in my Weekend Update are links to interesting things I found on the web this week: cool tools, great blog posts, or questions/comments from one of the SchneiderB.com online communities – anything that stuck out to me and I think is worth sharing. I encourage you to check them out for yourself! Blog Post: Six Steps to Mastering Online Stats – As a competitive youth golfer, I compulsively tracked everything from fairways hit to sand saves to putts. Every stat provided an insight that helped me improve. But as I grew… -
WOMbound: A New Term for Word of Mouth Marketing
3 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amThis blog post originally appeared on Rick Newberry‘s Enrollment Catalyst Blog and I thank him for letting me share it on SchneiderB.com. I have been a huge proponent of word of mouth marketing. Why? Because word of mouth works and is the most effective way to reach customers. Many of my blog posts and presentations focus on this concept as it relates to word of mouth marketing in independent and faith-based schools. Word of mouth is always the number one way that a prospective parent discovers a private school. As I have thought about word of mouth marketing in light of the current… -
Weekend Update – June01
31 May 2013 | 6:09 pmThomas Hawk via Compfight Happy Social Media Saturday! Listed below in my Weekend Update are links to interesting things I found on the web this week: cool tools, great blog posts, or questions/comments from one of the SchneiderB.com online communities – anything that stuck out to me and I think is worth sharing. I encourage you to check them out for yourself! Blog Post: Building Successful Low Budget PPC: Crafting Engaging Ads - In charge of building your first PPC account? Don’t have a lot of time or money to spend within AdWords? Well you came to the right place. We’re in week…
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OpenView Blog
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Series A Valuation: Dilution isn’t the Only Thing that Matters
19 Jun 2013 | 9:00 amQuite commonly, the biggest challenge to making an investment is coming to a valuation that works for both sides (see here – it’s rarely an easy conversation). Usually, the first valuation that gets placed on a business is in the Series A round (many times, if a seed round was raised, it was done through…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
Attacking Competitor Segmentation Blind Spots
19 Jun 2013 | 5:47 amHere at OpenView Labs, we’re big fans of segmentation. I won’t go too far into how or why we think you should develop a segmentation scheme, as we’ve written about this topic numerous times, except to say that tailoring specific portions of your product or website to like-minded groups of prospects can go a long…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
5 Reasons Why Relationship Marketing is Good for Your Organization
17 Jun 2013 | 3:30 pmI’ve been focusing a lot on how to plan, build and deploy relationship marketing campaigns as part of an integrated marketing strategy. As you can see, the idea is to start simple and build over time, always mindful of your target buyer’s behavior throughout their buyer journey. By doing so, prospects are more likely to…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
How Good Are You at Using Social Media to Distribute Your Content?
17 Jun 2013 | 1:27 pmThe number of social media sites has exploded in recent years, bringing hundreds of potential new marketing channels onto the scene. With so many options — more than 500 by some accounts — it’s easy to get distracted and to waste time experimenting with new channels to distribute content that may not actually provide any…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
Expansion-stage CEOs: Have You Found Your Second-in-Command?
17 Jun 2013 | 11:48 amphoto: subarcticmike Successful fast growth companies have a secret sauce: A problem solving, operationally focused second-in-command. I am not going to beat around the bush: Being an expansion-stage CEO is incredibly hard. CEOs are busy, overworked, super-stressed, and lonely. OpenView’s founder and managing director Scott Maxwell has written a whole series of valuable blog posts on…ᔥ via OpenView Blog
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ideaLaunch
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5 Reasons Why Your Blog’s Content Misses the Mark
19 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amWhen you started your new content blog you were very motivated, and your enthusiasm was literally boiling over into your blog posts. But over time your enthusiasm began to wane and the reason why is because you’re not getting the type of response you were hoping for from your readers. And the reason why this is happening is due to the simple fact that your blog’s marketing content is missing the mark, but the question you’re asking yourself is why? Let’s take a look at five things that your blog’s marketing content should provide to your readers…but is not. Not reaching the proper… -
Branding on the Cheap: The Advantages of a Freelance Writer
18 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amWhen a lot of people think of brand image, they mistakenly think of slogans: “Taste the rainbow.” “Have it your way.” “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.” While a good slogan can go a long way toward achieving brand recognition, developing a brand is about much, much more than taglines: It’s about creating a consistent message about your product and the experience your customers can expect when they choose your company to solve their problems. As an article on Forbes.com cleverly noted, “Brands are psychology and science brought together as a promise mark.” Since brand… -
Using Content Marketing Services Effectively: Build a Better Profile
17 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amWhen sending out dozens of pitch articles without hearing one response is becoming the norm, many writers breathe a sigh of relief when they find good content marketing services. These virtual employment marketplaces are the ideal way for writers to work with many different clients without spending hours pitching titles and sending emails. Your profile is the first and only impression you’ll have with potential clients here, so you need to tailor it to make the biggest impact. Learning what to put in and what to leave out can make a difference between getting hired and being passed… -
Hire a Freelance Writer–Who’s Best Qualified?
14 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amAt one point or another, every business/nonprofit may need the services of freelance writers for hire. The services may pertain to different needs: website content, white papers, organizational/staff profiles, employee handbooks, blogs, SEM traffic-building articles, etc. Regardless of the reasons for hiring one, it pays to hire writers that are experienced, skilled/talented, and capable of completing assignments according to specified deadlines and guidelines. The “right” writer can help you achieve your goals; the wrong one can cause unnecessary delays and hamper progress. Fortunately,… -
Developing a Content Brand to Drive Your Blog
12 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amStorytelling is the heart of a good business blog. What does that mean? Some companies look to build a brand and use content marketing blogs to get there. That would technically be branded content – people don’t mentally connect with the blog, just the company that produces it. That approach lacks finesse. You’ll get the occasional passerby looking for tips on how to clean a hard drive or make effective use of cloud technology. Yeah, I’m yawning already. What Steve Jobs Got Right “Do you want to spend you life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?” Steve Jobs…
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The Content Lab
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Jay-Z, Samsung and the New World of Social Media & Content
18 Jun 2013 | 3:36 pmIn this day and age, brands and marketers, like musicians, need to come up with creative ways to distribute content. The music industry is ahead of the curve when it comes to reaching out to its consumers in creative ways, not only by leveraging technology and social media but by tying their image to other popular brands in such a way that both brands can promote what they’re selling. Let’s take Jay-Z for example. Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail album is already platinum. It may not be on your favorite Spotify playlist just yet, but most likely you’ve heard about it. The album was… -
Your Content as Conversation: ConFab Minneapolis 2013 Recap
12 Jun 2013 | 11:44 amThere was a lot to love about this year’s ConFab Minneapolis, one of three annual ConFab events where businesspeople discuss content strategy and marketing, including how to make content better, how to organize it more effectively, and how content can help all our clients succeed. The most important learning we took away from Confab 2013 is that marketing content must serve as a conversation. The brand’s role in the conversation is to communicate your brand, vision, and the benefits of your products/services directly to the reader. Doing so builds trust with customers and improves… -
Apple's iTunes Radio and the Revenge of the Music Publisher
10 Jun 2013 | 1:15 pmToday’s launch of Apple’s iTunes Radio streaming service puts Apple in the rare position of playing catch-up to rival streaming services like Google All Access. And, for once, the balance of power in the music industry has tilted in favor of content publishers instead of the technologists. Marketers should also watch to see how successful the iTunes Radio advertising model plays out. iTunes Radio could signal Apple’s willingness to try more ad-supported models for an increasingly mobile society. Apple launched the highly anticipated iTunes Radio streaming service today at… -
iCrossing Studio Embraces Art and Science of Content
31 May 2013 | 9:43 amPrepping a presentation for the FedEx Future of Content Symposium in Memphis a few weeks ago gave me an unexpected chance to reflect on my first six months at iCrossing, and more specifically the Studio. Located in the Hearst Tower, the Studio is iCrossing’s internal production department, responsible for managing and producing all of the video content work that iCrossing creates. I believe the Studio is also an innovative resource for practicing the art and science of content marketing. Coming from a traditional content production background, I have been fascinated to work at a company… -
Three Reasons Why Agencies Make Great Content Marketing Partners
29 May 2013 | 10:03 amBrands and agencies used to have distinct roles in the marketing relationship. Now those roles overlap, creating some to question about who should own content marketing efforts – brands or agencies. Now that brands are making their own content, some argue (including this recent article in Digiday) that the agency role is up in the air. I couldn’t disagree more. Agencies are a critical extension to a brand’s content marketing efforts, and provide strategic value and experience to the process. Agencies Do More Than Just Advertising Even before the term “content marketing”…
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Outbrain » Blog
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“Fashion Heaven, Fashion Hell” – AOL’s MyDaily Amplifies and sees heavenly results
10 Jun 2013 | 7:04 amMyDaily is an online publication owned by AOL, aimed at stylish, quick-thinking women. With high quality content, MyDaily is always looking to attract new readers – specifically young fashionable women aged 18-24. MyDaily’s “Fashion Priest” campaign was a content rich, highly targeted campaign, featuring unique and original video and blog pieces, Twitter and Instagram content. The campaign was timed to launch in-line with the red carpet and fashion season when content is rich and in abundance and the audience are most engaged, and aimed to target core readers online, driving them… -
To Host or not to Host (Your Branded Video)
5 Jun 2013 | 9:44 amVideos comprise a growing proportion of content circulated by brands in Outbrain’s network. As you might expect, there is a lot of variation in where brands choose host the videos that they amplify on Outbrain’s platform. While many videos are hosted on owned domains (i.e., the brand’s site or owned domain designated for content marketing), others are hosted on 3rd party video hosting sites like YouTube, Vimeo, or Flickr. We were interested in finding out whether branded videos perform better on owned domains or on 3rd party hosts, namely, YouTube. To address this question, we drew a… -
Why Is Google So Afraid Of Paid Content?
4 Jun 2013 | 12:32 pmGoogle is dropping the hammer on paid content, which it defines as “advertorials or native advertising,” issuing forth a kind of edict that this kind of content shall have no effect on search results, and furthermore, if it’s not disclosed properly, even the publishers who support it may be barred from Google News. When it comes to disclosure of paid content, Google is 100% correct. Native advertising should be clearly labeled as such so users know what they’re getting into. Anything less is tantamount to willful deception on the part of both the advertiser and… -
How to Harness the Magic of Post-Click Engagement
4 Jun 2013 | 11:01 amRemember when you were a kid and you invited your class to a party? Do you remember anxiously wondering, “Will they come? How many will show up?” And then, as if by magic, the doorbell rings and, one after another, in they come… and it’s party time. I recently attended CMW Sydney and had the opportunity to learn, share and discuss insights on content marketing and native advertisement. I began noticing a common theme across those conversations – a tendency to focus on questions like, “How do I get traffic?” and “How much traffic will I see?”… -
How Labeling Blog Posts Impacts Engagement
24 May 2013 | 2:09 pmFor brands that are engaged in content marketing, there is little doubt about the importance of creating and sharing owned content, such as a blog hosted on the brand’s site. What remains a big question is how to best showcase links to blog content to customers on various digital platforms (i.e, search, social, content recommendations). With just a blog name, a post title, and perhaps a small image and brief text preview, how does a brand maximize engagement with that piece of content? We conducted a study on approximately 6,000 links to blog articles that brands paid to distribute on…
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@TMGmedia
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The Future Perfect: 3 Strategies Digital Magazines Can Employ to Provide Ideal User Experiences
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amWhen it comes to the digital versus print debate, can’t we all just get along? Recent innovations in digital magazines are certainly helping the cause. Mequoda Group recently released the results of a survey that reflect changes in how people read magazines. Some of their findings: 23 percent of respondents prefer reading magazines on their tablets. 13 percent of respondents had published a digital edition of a magazine within the past month. 57 percent of respondents said they generally preferred consuming content on their tablets. With the uptick in people reading magazines on tablets,… -
Why Content Marketing Is Good—For Me and You and Everybody Else
12 Jun 2013 | 1:18 pmRecently I was teasing a colleague who is making a bundle teaching a workshop on “storytelling” to a group of communication professionals, who presumably already know how to tell stories. Jocularly, he replied that the real sharpers these days are the self-styled “social media experts.” “Notice,” he added, “how I tiptoe around your newfound enthusiasm for ‘content marketing.’ ” The sources of my gathering enthusiasm, I now feel compelled to explain, are two: First, content marketing is the smoking-hottest trend in business communication since the advent of the Internet,… -
10 Mobile Trends for 2013 (That Brands Need to Embrace)
28 May 2013 | 4:00 amA revolution is upon us. Okay, so maybe that’s a little dramatic, but mobile is evolving and its value is growing with it. With more than a billion smartphones in consumers’ pockets—and more than a billion people now connected 24/7—it’s more important than ever for marketers to adapt their strategy to mobile trends. The Internet is constantly at our fingertips; we want what we want, when we want it and how we want it. Hear that, businesses? To engage with consumers in the mobile era, you must understand the shift in consumer behavior—immediacy and convenience fuel actions. Mobile… -
Lois Lane Isn’t Dead, She’s Reinvented: How Journalists Can Adapt to the Changing News Sphere
22 May 2013 | 11:25 am“When I went here, all I wanted to be—I mean from the time I was 13 years old and saw Lois Lane on television—I wanted to be a newspaper reporter.” This is a quote from Nora Ephron when she received an Alumnae Achievement Award from her alma mater Wellesley College in 2006. Ephron came to New York City in 1960s to work as a reporter at the New York Post. Fifty years later, her dream career now ranks as the very “worst job,” according to a recent survey by CareerCast.com that graded 200 occupations. So, is the once “glamorous” image of a confident, intelligent woman striving to… -
3 Ways to Engage with Today’s Empowered Consumer
20 May 2013 | 7:51 amThey say knowledge is power. If this is now the case, then consumers today are armed to the teeth with more of both in an increasingly competitive and dynamic marketing arena. First, let’s take a look at this ever-changing landscape: In 1970, consumers were exposed to an average of 500 ads per day. Today, this number is ten times higher. Brands are creating their own narratives, videos, and custom content—gradually transitioning to becoming the new media. Consumers’ relationships with brands have changed and consumers are now talked to, not at. (Heidi Browning Pearson, SVP of…
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GeorgePasswater.com
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Landing Pages: 5 Points to Remember for More Conversions
12 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amAs I’ve said before, landing pages are important to your marketing mix. To truly convert your audience and get them into your funnel, you need to use a landing page. Done right, they will be a primary tool in your conversion toolbox. Now, yes, done right, they convert like crazy and get you more leads, but done wrong, you’re wasting a lot of effort on a little return. From different clients and others I’ve seen on the web, there are many who understand how landing pages work, but don’t always do it right. Now I’ve been a part of many a project where I’ve built and even improved… -
3 Reasons to Use Buyer Personas in Your Content Marketing
7 Jun 2013 | 11:39 amWho are you writing to? What types of offers do you present in your content marketing? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you need to invest in nailing down who defines your target reader and/or buyer. Sure, you could just bang out content and throw it against the wall and see who reads it. Although something many might do, I know it doesn’t speak to who reads it, let alone help you generate any leads. Now you might be saying, “All valid, but WHY do I need to use a buyer persona in my content marketing?” 3 Reasons for Buyer Personas in Content Marketing You can’t be… -
Are You Making These 3 Email Marketing Mistakes?
28 May 2013 | 12:07 pmHow many unsubscribes did you get from your email list today? It’s normal to get some, but if you’re getting a mass exodus from your list, you might want to reconsider what you do with your email marketing. To calm the tides of people leaving your list, let’s look at 3 mistakes you should avoid to keep more email subscribers. 1. Irrelevant content Do your subscribers wait in anticipation for your emails? Or do your emails make your readers fall to sleep? Be sure your content is relevant to their needs and keeps them chomping at the bit for more. That means finding out what your audience… -
How to Get More Sales out of Your Email Newsletter
14 Dec 2012 | 7:17 amGreat googly moogly! How many times I’ve got them or had prospective clients have them? What am I talking about? Email newsletters that have no thought into them. They are powerful tools to nurture leads into opportunities and ultimately sales; only if you do it the right way. I have a checklist of sorts I follow for this and today, I’m going to share part of it. Segmented Target Readers I’ve talked about a target or “perfect” reader for your content. It’s someone you picture across from you as you’re crafting your email. Now, for an email newsletter that gets prospects talking,… -
How to Create Emails Your Readers WANT to Read
17 Oct 2012 | 10:02 amEmail marketing is a powerful way to connect with your audience and bring in more sales opportunities. The problem is many companies don’t know what to write about or just shoot out blatant sales emails. If you do that, you’ll see more unsubscribe rates and less success with your lead generation. Instead, let’s look at a few ideas for emails that your email readers WANT to read. Three Ideas for Creating Emails Readers WANT to Read Write About Your Day Remember the show Seinfeld? Wasn’t it the show about nothing? Each episode revolved around the goings on of the main characters. What a…
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Maastary B2B Marketing Blog
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Is Your Web Strategy Too Important to Leave to Your Web Team
6 Jun 2013 | 2:53 pmYour web strategy is an increasingly important part of your overall customer relationship and sales process. Yet many companies address their web strategy as just a visual, interactive medium with which to convey product and service messages. In effect, they treat it a little more than an online brochure. Today 85% of B2B customers start their buyer’s journey on line and stay on line through the purchase process. Indeed, CXOs have over 65% of their interactions online (Sirius Decisions 11/12). By 2020 Gartner predicts that over 80% of B2B purchases will be made without human interaction. -
5 Ideas on Building a B2B Thought Leadership Engine
28 May 2013 | 10:33 pmBarraged by an endless stream of information, decision makers are becoming far more discerning about what they read and who they look to for advice. They know where to find the product and solution details – vendor websites – but if you want to influence their decision criteria, you have to get to them early in their purchase process. Doing that means providing “insight”. Valuable insight is something that gets heeded, passed around and recommended. In fact, best practice is to trigger the buyer’s journey by challenging existing ideas with new ways to succeed. This approach… -
4 Ways to Ensure Your Digital Marketing Strategy Works
17 May 2013 | 10:29 amTo evaluate your digital marketing strategy, don't begin with your website. People often say to us. “My website isn’t working well. Can you help me with SEO? Or, I need to redesign my website, can you help me?” Unfortunately, starting with the website is putting the cart before the horse. Without an effective marketing foundation, the website is just an additional cost. Here are four steps to assess and realign your digital marketing strategy. Review Your Marketing Strategy: Your digital marketing strategy is a component of your over-all marketing strategy. As a result, it… -
B2B Web Marketing: Using HubSpot to Drive Sales via Social Media
7 May 2013 | 9:36 pmThe big challenge with web marketing today is that time has replaced dollars as the currency when it comes to building a successful online strategy. In the past, companies with bigger dollar budgets (and better agencies!) out spent their competition to get the best advertising placements. Today, while advertising still takes a large portion of enterprise budgets, it’s less effective. More must be done with digital marketing because the “eyeballs” have moved to a wide number of locations on the Internet and, in particular, social media sites. And the buyers who own those eyeballs… -
It’s Time to Transform Your B2B Web Marketing Strategy
26 Apr 2013 | 8:25 pmTen questions that indicate where in the spectrum of “buggy whip to maglev*” your current B2B web marketing strategy lies and whether you should rethink it – now! Have you a written document that describes your target market segments, your buyer’s journey and your target business personas? Without an objective and focused view it’s likely that your content marketing efforts will lack relevancy and appropriate personalization. The result could be poor quality leads and difficulty converting even seemingly good leads into sales. Are you influencing the influencers? PR and Media…
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Content Marketing Blog
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The #BlurredLines of #Facebook #Hashtags
19 Jun 2013 | 5:45 amAs it’s been widely buzzed about, Facebook is following in the social media footsteps of Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr and incorporating clickable and searchable hashtags on the social networking site. About 20% of all Facebook users will get the hashtag feature in an initial roll-out with a worldwide launch over the next few weeks. Hashtags allow people to find out what anyone else is saying about a particular topic on certain social media channels and let them follow discussions about everything from serious news (#Syria) to tv shows (#MadMen) or even eating #glutenfree. Like on other… -
Lessons Businesses Can Learn From McDonald’s Recipe of Brand Transparency
12 Jun 2013 | 5:30 amA recent unconventional Q&A session at the McDonald’s annual shareholder meeting showed that even some of the youngest consumers are concerned about brand transparency. After 9-year-old Hannah Robinson addressed the CEO of McDonald’s Corp., Don Thompson, asking, "Mr. Thompson, don't you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and happy life?" Thompson responded by talking about his children and their experiences eating McDonalds, according to an ABC news article. In this case, he chose to express appreciation for her interest in fruits and vegetables, adding that he also likes… -
Did the Sun-Times Jeopardize Journalism by Trading Photographers for iPhones?
7 Jun 2013 | 5:30 amOne of the most recognized newspapers in the country made a major move last week. The Chicago Sun-Times laid off its entire photography department, affecting 28 employees. Every single photojournalist, including Pulitzer Prize winners, was shown the door. Their replacements will be freelancers and reporters armed with iPhones. The Sun-Times released this statement: "The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities… -
Cheerios Faces a Battle Against Bigotry in Social Media Marketing
5 Jun 2013 | 7:22 amNegative reviews and comments can happen to the best of companies in social media, even family-friendly Cheerios. It’s how you handle them – authentically and professionally - that can actually put you back on top. Cheerios recently released a sweet commercial called “Just Checking” about a little girl trying to keep her dad’s heart healthy (by dousing him) with the cereal. The little girl is bi-racial, as her Caucasian mom and African-American dad are in in the spot. Cheerios posted the ad to YouTube, as it does all of its commercials. But, after a surprising bombardment of racial… -
Top Content Marketing Mistakes Many Businesses Make
21 May 2013 | 5:30 amMany brands are finally having an “a-ha” moment when it comes to content marketing. Although we’re making great strides in changing mindsets from traditional old-school marketing, there are still many mistakes being made by big and small companies alike. Here are the top content marketing missteps that are made most often. Throwing it out there to see if it sticks. Launching new content with no plan or clear direction is a waste of time and energy. Creating a content strategy with objectives and measurable results is essential. Putting too many chefs in the content kitchen.
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Content Marketing for Technology
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Using webinars in your content strategy
12 Jun 2013 | 9:54 amWebinars or webcasts are hardly a new technology, but they’re still hot in technology marketing. Content marketing as a marketing strategy has breathed new life into the whole idea of webinars and webcasts. In a new study published by the research organization Silicon Valley Voices, webinars rank highly as a strategy for multiple phases of the content lifecycle: [Source: Silicon Valley Voices, 2013 Marketing Trends report] Webinars and lead generation Webinars are great for lead generation because people are willing give you their email address in exchange for the anticipated value… -
Content marketing and the new marketing reality
24 May 2013 | 11:30 amIs content marketing an over-used term? Probably. Is it over-hyped? Maybe. But make no mistake, it is the new reality for marketing organizations – ignore it at your peril. [Google Trends shows recent uptick in search activity for Content Marketing] The trend has been building for years in the B2B technology area, as buyers have been changing how they research and buy solutions. Give away the good stuff When I started in technology marketing, marketing saved its really ‘meaty’ materials for the sales team. Anything that included target audience, potential objections or… -
Business blogging pays off
9 May 2013 | 4:57 pmNot sure whether it’s worth your time to create and maintain a blog for your business? HubSpot’s latest survey on inbound marketing answers that question with a resounding YES. The survey highlights the fact that blogging is a remarkably effective means of inbound marketing: “Seventy-nine percent of companies who have a blog report a positive ROI for inbound marketing this year, compared with just 20% of those companies that do not have a blog.” [HubSpot 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report] But blogging requires time and persistence Business blogging delivers… -
Curating research as a content strategy
11 Apr 2013 | 9:50 amMy last blog on research as a content strategy talked about the many content marketing benefits of creating original research. But what if you don’t have the time or resources to create or commission original research? Research may still have a role to play in your content strategy. If you can’t create, curate. Research can be an important part of a ‘content curation’ strategy, in which you collect relevant and interesting content for your followers or customers. Find some interesting research and put your own spin on it. I did that recently in this post citing… -
Research as a content strategy
1 Apr 2013 | 5:52 pmIf you’re pursuing a ‘thought leadership’ strategy and want to make some noise, consider adding original research to your content marketing strategy. Got data? The key is coming up with good original research. Look through your own data sources. You may be able to find emerging trends in the course of doing business with your customers or buried in your ‘big data.’ One of my clients, ThreatMetrix, publishes threat trends discovered in its global threat network. Commission a survey. Another option is to commission research into your market or prospects from a…
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Content Insights
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Exploring the Early Days of Engineering Automation
12 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pmShopped for a Father's Day card lately? You'll see plenty of golfing, fishing, and barbecuing themes. While my father enjoys many of those hobbies, that's not what stands out most to me about him. What stands out to me are two things: 1. As an electrical engineer, he could fix any appliance in the house, from the TV to the oven to the sewing machine. (The ice maker was his nemesis for a while, but eventually my dad even fixed that.) 2. Growing up, my friends never really understood what he did for a living. When asked, I'd mumble "Something about automation and… -
Trust and Travel Content
10 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pm"How on earth did we plan trips before the Internet?" my friend, Kate, and I pondered out loud as we chatted about summer vacations. "I remember growing up my parents used to write to hotels and parks asking for brochures, and that was pretty much all we had to decide on a family vacation," she said. You could always get the advice (and added fee) of a travel agent, but even that would not guarantee much more, or more credible, information. And I can't imagine what trying to plan a business trip or event was like. Things have changed quite a bit since then. In… -
Preparing for Content-Driven Collaboration
5 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pmMany companies talk about collaboration but fail to execute. Content has a lot to do with that. To actually do collaboration well, a content strategy must combine with both technology and a culture truly open to collaboration. For Lance Yoder (right), Program Manager at Cerner, collaboration must involve analyzing current content consumption and figuring out how technology can help Cerner do it better. And when you consider Cerner is a global health company that helps optimize processes and eliminate error for healthcare providers and consumers, the stakes for successful collaboration through… -
Two Must-Watch Experiments in Sponsored Content
2 Jun 2013 | 9:00 pmIn my last post, I explained what sponsored content (or native advertising) is. Since then, two rather juicy and high-stakes experiments in sponsored content launched. Let's take a look at each for lessons they might offer media properties and marketers. Yahoo!: Tumblr Serves Native Ads After acquiring Tumblr, Yahoo! added sponsored content within two weeks. What exactly is the change? Each time you log into your Tumblr dashboard, you'll see a sponsored post featured, such as this one on the right for a new family TV show: If you refresh the dashboard or leave it and come back, you… -
Sponsored Content, Branded Content, + Native Advertising
18 May 2013 | 9:00 pmSponsored content, branded content, and native advertising. Oh my. When it comes to content, we're not in Kansas anymore. As the worlds of marketing and publishing collide, you might hear such terms thrown around. Let's take a closer look at these terms and their implications for marketers and media properties. First Things First: Definitions + Examples Branded content, sponsored content, and native advertising are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is an important distinction. Branded Content Quite simply, branded content is content that brands publish themselves on…
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Jontus Media
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Which Microphone Should I Use for Podcasting?
17 Jun 2013 | 1:48 pmThe Rode Procaster, Sennheiser 421 ii & Heil PR40 Compared The Heil PR 40 A lot of podcast consultants out there talk up Heil PR-40 as the go-to microphone for podcasting. Listen to Cliff Ravenscraft, Ray Ortega, and Daniel J Lewis and they all rave about the Heil. It’s almost as if you feel you have to have the Heil to be a proper podcaster. Of coures, that’s not the case. The Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic mic is a great microphone for podcasting that comes in under 40 USD. I love my Heil PR 40 and use it on my Online Marketing & Communications Podcast;… -
What Makes a Great Business Blogpost ?
10 Jun 2013 | 1:52 amIn this week’s episode of Online Marketing & Communications I look at some of the key strategies we can employ to increase the way we connect with visitors to our sites with effective blog posts. Those of us that invest in blogging as part of our online marketing strategy really need to be getting the results we deserve for our efforts; however, often publishing without a clear strategy can result in traffic but little or no conversion. As far as I’m concerned it all comes down to creating content that really answers the problems and issues that people go online to solve. -
Teach Your Customers What You Know
6 Jun 2013 | 1:00 pmOne of the best things you can do on your website is to teach customers how to solve the problems they go online to find answers for. Let’s say, for example, that a solo entrepreneur is starting to build their own website with WordPress. They stumble upon the Genesis Framework and the excellent premium themes by StudioPress; they buy one and then start to customize it. Trouble is, they can’t figure out how to create different sidebars for different pages on their business site. So they go online to try to solve this specific problem and stumble upon a video I’ve made… -
Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey
31 May 2013 | 12:34 pmI talk to Jayme Soulati (@soulati) about her new book Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey , which is an exploration of the time she has spent blogging and thinking about blogging and business. Jayme is a creative thinker and generously shares a personal insight into her journey behind the keyboard. She also takes a stand for newbie bloggers, afraid to enter what might appear to be a very saturated place. We talk much more about Jayme’s attitude to blogging, her experiences and participation in the PR and Marketing community but that’s not to say we don’t consider just… -
Using Video Tutorials to Grow Your Business
25 May 2013 | 3:00 pmI invited Mike Russell, from Music Radio Creative, onto the podcast this week because he produces some outstanding video tutorials. Mike Russell I first became aware of Mike last year and have quickly become a fan of his own podcast which focuses on the tips and tricks you need if you’re getting started as a podcaster, radio host or DJ. What sets Mike apart from many of the other podcasters working in this space is the quality of his video tutorials. They primarily focus on using Adobe Audition, the audio-editing software, and offer such insight and clear tips that he’s quickly…
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Cohen On Content
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The “Ins and Outs” of Digital Signage Software.
14 Jun 2013 | 9:00 amThe “Ins and Outs” of Digital Signage Software. Click “>> Read more” or “>> Leave Comment” below to leave comments. -
Cohen Rants Content
9 May 2013 | 10:24 amCohen Rants Content and Motivating Digital Signage Viewers. Click “>> Read more” or “>> Leave Comment” below to leave comments. -
Stuart Armstrong – ComQi
16 Apr 2013 | 12:29 pmPlease be warned! My interview with Stuart Armstrong, President Americas at ComQi, is long…12 minutes. But didn’t want to cut into Part I and Part II and ruin the flow. A lot of great info about where the digital signage industry is going and convergence with mobile platforms. Click “>> Read more” or “>> Leave [...]
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Industrial Marketing Today
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Creating Thought Leadership for Manufacturing and Industrial Companies
17 Jun 2013 | 7:31 amThought leader is a term first coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the Booz Allen Hamilton magazine, Strategy & Business and used to designate interview subjects for that [...] [ This is only a content summary. Please click on the headline to read the full article. Visit my website for more content on industrial marketing.] -
How Mobile Technology Helps Component Manufacturers Make Their Printed Catalogs More Productive
5 Jun 2013 | 7:23 amComponent manufacturers are keenly aware of the fact that design engineers must first specify their components or parts before purchasing can place an order. These manufacturers have relied on their [...] [ This is only a content summary. Please click on the headline to read the full article. Visit my website for more content on industrial marketing.] -
9 Must-Have Content Assets for Successful Industrial Websites
24 May 2013 | 7:45 amCompiling any kind of list is always risky because we all have our own preferences and there is no way someone else’s list can satisfy everyone. This is my list [...] [ This is only a content summary. Please click on the headline to read the full article. Visit my website for more content on industrial marketing.] -
Does Your Website Content Meet the Needs of Industrial Buyers?
15 May 2013 | 9:40 amWhen was the last time you actually read the content on your industrial website? Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes and see if the current content will persuade you to [...] [ This is only a content summary. Please click on the headline to read the full article. Visit my website for more content on industrial marketing.] -
Industrial Content Marketing – Dazed and Confused
22 Apr 2013 | 7:24 amHow many of you remember the song “Dazed and Confused” from Led Zeppelin’s debut album based on a folk song by Jake Holmes? I am finding industrial content marketing in [...] [ This is only a content summary. Please click on the headline to read the full article. Visit my website for more content on industrial marketing.]
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ContentLEAD
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Small Business Week: Five ways SMBs can better manage their online reputations
19 Jun 2013 | 1:42 pmAs part of the SBA's Small Business Week, a panel of experts offer tips to help small business owners manage their online reputations. Related posts: No shortcuts to fixing bad social buzz: Yelp hands out first penalties for paid reviews Social media presents opportunity for small businesses to boost customer service Social media marketing helps SMBs engage fans and address negative feedback -
Offline retailers now generating leads & conversions via social media marketing
19 Jun 2013 | 10:16 amA survey from KPMG found that top offline retailers now embrace social marketing as a way to increase sales. Related posts: Mobile search helps SMBs increase offline conversions SMBs can use content to drive business strategies forward in 2013 Social media presences give SMBs a lift -
Why social media marketing makes small businesses’ audiences huge
19 Jun 2013 | 9:18 amSmall businesses' social media content can reach more people than ever before - 25 percent of the global population is now on popular networks. Related posts: The digital world grows, evident from digital ad spend H&R Block uses social conversations to amplify brand referrals SMBs look to big companies for social media marketing guidance -
SMBs must abandon print in favor of content marketing for better ROI
19 Jun 2013 | 6:30 amThe newspaper industry continues to decline in the United States, and businesses must make the leap to the web to see marketing success. Related posts: Twitter and Nielsen help brands identify new marketing opportunities U.S. consumers say they get value from website content Industry and audience insight fuels effective content marketing campaigns -
Google guidance: Feel free to use stock photos with your website content
18 Jun 2013 | 12:21 pmSmall businesses can give their website content an SEO and engagement boost with stock photos. Related posts: How images impact social media and website content engagement SMBs worried about PageRank slips find solace in website content Use SEO keyword synonyms in website content, Cutts says
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HarrisonAmy
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10 Ways to Build Trust in a Sales Page
14 Jun 2013 | 11:01 amCan you build trust with even the most nervous customer? You’re a trustworthy expert right? Of course you are, I know that, and you know that, but when writing sales copy it’s easy to take for granted that your readers should trust you. Even if you’re marketing to an audience that knows you, it helps to have a checklist of trust-builders you can use. So here we go: 1. Testimonials When previous customers write to tell you how great you are, don’t just enjoy the warm glow and file away the compliment, use it in future sales pages. As consumers we know that a company is… -
5 Things You Must Do When Asking Anyone To Review Your Sales Page
13 Jun 2013 | 6:25 amOkay, I’ve read your sales page and here’s what I think… You’ve got a product that will set your customer’s world alight. You love it, previous customers have loved it and you want to reach more people. So you sit down to write a sales page to let new people know all about the benefits of your offer. It’s not easy because you’re trying to fit in all of those selling points into a sales page structure that flows well, builds suspense, and reads easily. But you persevere, you get your headline in there, your opening, the details of your offer and a call… -
Direct Mail Copywriting Case Study: Selling Racing Tips
7 Jun 2013 | 8:17 amYesterday I received a direct mail package. I don’t know how the mailer got my address because the offer is to buy horse-racing tips and I can’t remember the last time I visited a track. Because I’m not the target market, my instinct was to bin the mailer. I’ve written previous copywriting case studies on direct mail packages and thought this would be an interesting one for the collection. Let’s see how the writer is using different techniques to try and encourage the reader to read the mailing in full and take up the offer. The Headline This style of headline is… -
CMS! Ep 8: How to Start Your Content Marketing
5 Jun 2013 | 2:08 amAlready in this series of Content Marketing… Stripped! We’ve looked at creating a customer profile, choosing topics for starter content, choosing the right tone of voice and setting content marketing goals. This is all good and well but there’s such a thing as too much planning. As you can see in this week’s episode: Why planning and learning cripples content marketing You might be familiar with a saying that goes something like this: A wise man learns by the mistakes of others, a fool by his own RUBBISH. If we’re not talking about mistakes that kill, I’ll… -
10 Twitter Headline Styles Readers Love to Click
31 May 2013 | 5:44 amEvery now and then you’re just not in the mood to master copywriting principles, you just need something you can swipe quick and use in your own copy. I hear ya. So this morning I did some research (aka hanging out on Twitter) to grab a sample of headline styles that use different copywriting techniques to get the reader’s attention. Use this list to give you some quick inspiration for your own eye-catching headlines. 1. Address Insecurities A powerful headline technique is to address the concerns and insecurities of your ideal customer. Carol Tice, the writer of this tweet, helps…
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Marketing with Video and Rich Media Blog
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We’re entering the ‘post-hardware’ era of corporate video production.
8 Jun 2013 | 1:55 pmVery soon, hardware will cease to be a differentiating factor in corporate video production. Way back in the day (i.e. five years ago) the equipment you owned defined your place in the video production hierarchy. Big production houses had very expensive equipment and charged accordingly. Then, out of the blue, Canon added a basic video capture feature to one of their portrait cameras and the video production industry has never been the same. Today, professional video editing software is virtually free – so cheap that the cost is immaterial. Premiere, Final Cut, Media… -
Video Pre-Production Planning Check-list – 11 Steps to a Successful Project
16 Apr 2013 | 5:51 pm“Let’s really think this through before we start” is likely the best business advice you will ever receive. Too many video production projects start part way through the process – with a ‘cool idea’, a bad idea, a misguided idea or worst of all, no idea at all. If you haven’t taken the time to properly plan out your production, it will likely fail. By ‘fail’ I mean fail to achieve any measurable business objective. (Being ‘up on your website’ isn’t a meaningful business objective.) There are many different types… -
Google Glass, Lifecasting and the Future of Business Video
21 Feb 2013 | 8:24 pmWelcome to the billion channel universe. {Overheard somewhere in the distant future, say…. next year.} “CSI Toledo is a re-run and there aren’t any new disasters on CNN, let’s watch Roger Kaputnik’s lifecast and see what he’s up to! The implications of Google Glass are far-reaching. From privacy issues, to changes in lifestyle, to new forms of entertainment and gaming, to education, to global communication, to new business behaviors, this is a big deal. While it’s difficult to say which new wearable devices will be the next big thing, or how these… -
8 Ways to Convince Your Boss to Invest in Video Marketing
12 Feb 2013 | 1:23 pmWe’ve seen this movie before… Remember a few years back when you were trying to convince your boss that your business needed a real website – not just a ‘web presence’ (an html version of your brochure.) Fast forward to today… finally, your website has evolved to become the information and transactional epicenter of your business (congrats!) but you realize that’s still not enough. Now, everywhere you look on the web you see video. Every social media ‘poke’, ‘share’, ‘link’, ‘favorite’ and… -
Is the video production company you hire properly insured?
8 Feb 2013 | 2:35 pmAnd is your company properly protected? When you hire a video production company or independent production professional you expect them to be fully insured against all reasonable dangers and liabilities that might arise as a result of their engagement. Chances are, nothing will go wrong… but if something does go wrong you’d better hope that you and your production company are fully protected. If you video production company is not fully insured they may not be able to ‘make whole’ any damages that result from their actions. Most video production professionals…
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Brafton
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Yelp announces new feature that closes gap between local SEO and sales
19 Jun 2013 | 12:49 pmCompanies use SEO best practices and invest in social media marketing to gain search visibility and engage their prospects online. Marketers know customers are turning to the 'net to research their upcoming purchases, but they may not be able to prove branded web content is actually generating conversions. Yelp aims to solve that problem with a new call to action feature that connects the dots between local search and sales. Marketers who list their businesses on Yelp will now be able to guide consumers toward a desired action (whether it's reserving a table for dinner, purchasing a ticket… -
Social marketing to fuel growth for major U.S. retailers [data]
19 Jun 2013 | 10:30 amBrick-and-mortar-based retailers may seem like dying businesses, but 85 percent told KPMG they feel optimistic about future growth. In many instances, the forward-thinking outlets are finding ways to drive foot traffic through their front doors by embracing everything web marketing has to offer. A new KPMG report surveyed approximately 101 key retail executives, 85 percent of whom said they will spend the same as last year or more in 2013 to grab customers' attention. In fact, 24 percent will invest more in advertising and internet marketing across various channels to nurture leads in the… -
Video content reaches almost 85 percent of internet users
19 Jun 2013 | 9:30 amVideo content is quickly becoming a staple in brands' web marketing strategies as they realize their target audiences watch streaming clips more often. In May 2013, online content videos attracted 182 million Americans, or just under 85 percent of all internet users, according to comScore's latest Video Metrics data. Viewers consumed approximately 41 billion videos that latest 5.6 minutes on average. This indicates more people went online to watch streaming content in May 2013 than in April 2013, when comScore's Video Metrix data revealed that 181.9 million Americans tuned into video content. -
Seven Content Marketing Insights To Fuel Success [List]
19 Jun 2013 | 8:33 amBrafton remains at the forefront of the content marketing industry, and we've compiled seven insights from the first half of 2013 to fuel your brand's success in the future. Through careful evaluation, Brafton believes these trends paint the perfect picture of what a solid content strategy should embody, and advises all marketing teams to consider how to execute their campaigns based on these data points. Transcript 1. Links still matter as votes Google launched Penguin 2.0 with new spam-fighting technology, and at SMX West Matt Cutts said, "links still have many, many good years ahead of… -
Marketing evolution: Video and email drive content ROI
19 Jun 2013 | 7:52 amMarketing departments take note - email and video will become the next content frontier to master. The Relevancy Group found that 81 percent of marketers indicate they are at least somewhat likely to include video content in their email programs in the near future. This practice makes sense as On Device Research noted earlier this year that 92 percent of mobile video viewers share content they enjoy with their personal networks. However, few have the knowledge needed to implement an email marketing strategy that depends on video content. The Relevancy Group report found that only 25…
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Content Writing Blog: Content Gyan
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Dedicated content writer to keep track of your personal branding
6 Jun 2013 | 8:21 amThe more content you have on the Internet, the stronger presence you enjoy. You need constant content for your website, for various blogs you might be maintaining and multiple social media and social networking profiles that you would like to keep abuzz with latest updates. You can either live a busy, productive life, or you can focus on generating content for your personal brand; you can’t achieve both. Gary Vaynerchuk, a well-known entrepreneur has hired a dedicated content writer who will constantly follow him, record his conversations and comments and then turn them into blog posts… -
How I handle repetitive revision requests from content writing clients
3 Jun 2013 | 1:49 amI normally don’t charge extra from my clients for multiple revisions. Whenever I undertake a new content writing assignment I let it be known to my clients that although I charge an hourly rate, once I have submitted a document in its complete form from my side, I stop tracking the time and afterwards, if there are some revisions, I don’t charge for that time. This can be a bit tricky and counterproductive and you have to draw a line somewhere. Why in the first place a document needs to be revised? It carries lots of errors in terms of wrong data, misspelled words, typos and… -
Why it’s important to search engine optimize your content
31 May 2013 | 9:45 pmLee Odden in a blog post titled The Truth About Content Marketing and SEO aptly says: What good is great content if no one can find it? How useful is findable content when it doesn’t engage and persuade? and then he says: The only thing worse than no SEO at all, is ALL SEO. This is where we have to be very careful. Most content writers and content marketers don’t know where to draw the line. My main point of interest is the first highlight, that what’s the use of writing and publishing great content if nobody knows of its existence, if nobody is able to find it? If you are… -
Does your business need a regular dose of content writing and content marketing?
30 May 2013 | 9:50 pmShould you regularly write and publish content on your website just for the sake of content marketing? Joost de Valk mulls over this question in his recent blog post. Being a content writer who makes a living off encouraging people to publish as much content as possible I would say yes. Otherwise, I would say, it depends. I repeatedly write on my website as well as on my blog that don’t write content merely for generating traffic, unless you earn revenue from advertisements (even then relevancy is very important). But I slightly disagree with Joost, and his friend whose post he has… -
Search Engine Optimization with Better Content Writing
29 May 2013 | 11:37 pmYesterday Business2Community posted my blog post, “Search Engine Optimization with Content Writing” in which I talk about how you can organically improve your search engine rankings by creating better, useful content rather than resorting to unreliable, the so-called, “SEO tactics”. Although there is nothing wrong in making your website SEO-friendly in terms of layout and source code, eventually it is your content writing, at least right now and in the foreseeable future, it is your textual content that ultimately impacts your search engine optimization results. Should…
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Content for Biz Blog
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What Makes a Thought Leader?
18 Jun 2013 | 9:01 pmIn any given market or on any specific topic there are persons or firms recognized as authorities.... -
The Buzz About Content Marketing
17 May 2013 | 4:18 pmThe Buzz About Content Marketing from jmariecostin -
Can Content Bring More Parts & Service Business?
14 May 2013 | 9:16 amIn preparation for this week’s AEM Marketing Council Meeting focused on CONEXPO-CON/AGG, I’ve... -
Trade Show Content Marketing Ideas That Work
13 May 2013 | 10:45 amTrade shows attract quality audiences with one in every two attendees planning to buy during the... -
Is Your Content Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?
7 May 2013 | 6:24 amSome companies value their content as much as the products they sell. As a service content can...
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Adventures In Digital Writing, Publishing & Marketing
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How Google’s Latest Penguin 2.0 Update Affects You
23 May 2013 | 2:29 pmGoogle has released their latest algorithm update which they have named Penguin 2.0. According to Matt Cutts (head of Google’s web spam team), this update will have an even stronger impact than Penguin 1.0 did, so I thought it would be worth talking about today. If you own a website/blog then you need to care about this. A lot of people get a little glassy-eyed when I start talking SEO stuff, so I’m going to keep this really simple. What are some of the changes webmasters like us can expect and how will it matter. Most of my readers are not into black hat SEO stuff. Link… -
How To Change The Name And URL Address Of Your Facebook Page
18 Apr 2013 | 6:44 pmI created my first Facebook Page several years ago when I didn’t really know what the heck I was suppose to do with it. Back then my brand was a bit narrower (article marketing), so like the SEO keyword freak I am, I gave my page the url address of www.Facebook.com/Article.Marketing.Income. This url served me well because my page came up pretty high in search engine rankings when someone searched for “article marketing income”. But that was then, and this is now. My brand has evolved and grown and article marketing is only part of what I know and teach. So I was ready to… -
Amazon’s Kindle Cover Creator
7 Apr 2013 | 2:20 pmThere may be another indicator that independent writing and publishing is on the rise and profitable. Amazon has a new Kindle Cover Creator tool in Beta testing for those using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). When I say that adding this feature proves that indie publishing is profitable, it’s because I believe Amazon wouldn’t bother with the cost of creating and adding this feature if they didn’t know that it meant increased sales for them. While the covers that you can create with this generator are average at best, some of them are still pretty decent looking versus some… -
Finding The Time To Write
13 Mar 2013 | 5:24 pmFinding The Time To Write Your First Book Can Be…Challenging One of the biggest obstacles that new writers tell me they face when writing their first book is finding the time in their already hectic schedules to write the darn thing. It’s such a prevalent issue among writers, that it can totally cripple them and zero writing gets done. That’s why I thought it was a topic worth discussing on my blog. So here are my thoughts on this issue. First Problem – Hearsay Paralysis One of the problems I see is that writers and aspiring authors often psych themselves out based on… -
Why You Should Never Delete Pages From Your Blog
21 Feb 2013 | 11:14 amLearn From The Blunders Of Big Companies Like Nivea® I have the hands of a great grandmother from years of neglect, so I thought that perhaps this year I’d start taking a little better care of them:) One of the solutions for that was to always be prepared with some sort of hand cream in my purse and at my desk (where I spend much of my time:) So I purchased a travel tin of Nivea hand creme probably about two months ago to keep at my desk. The tin lasts a pretty long time and today I noticed that they were running a promotion which was printed inside of the lid. The promotion looks like…
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Content Strategy Hub
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How to Grow Your Presence with a Formulated Content Mix
15 Jun 2013 | 12:30 amEstablishing a good content mix is very important to try to capture all of the benefits that can possibly come from content marketing. The benefits have been discussed in the past… Attract Traffic Gain Brand Awareness Get More Leads Get More Sales Establish Yourself as an Expert Earn Trust And the list goes on and on… But to get all of those benefits from a single piece of content is very difficult to do. It’s certainly not impossible…but I’ll make the claim that it is impossible to do so on a consistent basis with every piece of content you create. Focusing on… -
My Yogurt Tells Me Stories: Content Marketing Beyond The Sale
12 Jun 2013 | 8:37 amIt’s snack time. I’m currently eating a Siggi’s yogurt. Well…apparently it’s not really yogurt. It’s more like an Icelandic skyr. Before eating a Siggi’s I had no idea what “skyr” even was. So how do I know it’s skyr? Because it told me. Both the front and reverse side of the label tell a story. The front of the label is how I got this yogurt in my fridge in the first place. Rather, that’s how my girlfriend got the yogurt in the fridge. She’s a dietitian. And although I feel as though I can live off of cheese, bacon and… -
The Surest Way to Succeed as a New Entrepreneur (And 20 Tweetable Quotes)
28 May 2013 | 8:57 amThere’s a lot of stuff to read isn’t there? So much stuff that it can make your head spin. My “to read” list keeps growing on a daily basis. And it’s very easy to get stuck in the trap of constantly absorbing new information. Then some of that information contradicts each other. And now you’re in real trouble. You start analyzing. You get paralyzed. As a part of this month’s “Word Carnival” I am to pick ONE piece of advice to give to new entrepreneurs. Something I wish I knew on my first day of business. I had to rattle my brain a… -
Six Ways Accountants Can Use Content To Boost Their Bottom Line
17 May 2013 | 10:03 amAs a former accountant I recognized that there is a knowledge gap in the marketplace. After getting a Master’s degree in accounting from one of the highest rated programs in the country, I realized I knew plenty about accounting but close to nothing in terms of marketing. That is obviously a problem for anyone trying to start their own business. Because every business is in the business of marketing. Self-employed accountants aren’t in the business of accounting…they are in the business of marketing their services. Making the problem worse, accountants are often put into a… -
Value Proposition Testing: Optimize Through Email in 5 Easy Steps
13 May 2013 | 10:36 amCrafting a value proposition that speaks to your target audience can make a world of difference. People have wants and needs. And if you can explicitly address those wants and needs in your value proposition, you are much more likely to get more leads, and in turn more customers. But how do you craft a successful value proposition? You can address features, value branding. There are so many choices. But just assuming which part of the offer you should address can get you into a whole lot of trouble. In today’s post, I want to share with you a video from MECLAB’s Marketing…
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B2B Digital Marketing
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5 Lies About Easy Ways To Create Content
18 Jun 2013 | 4:45 amThere are easy ways to create good content, right? No. Sorry. Creating good content is hard. And it’s getting harder. If you take the content shortcuts that are recommended by so many self-labeled content marketing experts, you will be sorely disappointed in the long run. Here are five common bits of advice you shouldn’t follow. Easy Content Myth 1: Just Post Your Slides On SlideShare! When is the last time someone said “I love your slides!” And when was the last time you just put them on screen and advanced through them, not saying a word, and left the room wanting… -
Why Good Content Delivers Bad Leads
12 Jun 2013 | 4:45 amCongratulations, you are a B2B content marketer. You have created a great industry blog and library of premium content. You promote your content through search, social, emails, newsletters, even banners. You are seeing strong traffic, engagement with your blog content and a steady increase in registrations for your premium content. There’s just one little problem: the leads are crap. Ok, there are a few good opportunities mixed in, but most are not the decision makers you need to reach or they are from businesses that are too small. Others simply aren’t interested. Education Is… -
What Really Happens When Influence Increases?
6 Jun 2013 | 4:36 amJoe Fernandez of Klout recently said Klout’s goal is to help every person maximize their individual influence. It is no secret, as a marketer you want to influence purchases. You use advertising, content marketing, PR, and the influencer programs Klout wants to sell, to change perceptions and purchasing behavior. But what would happen if Klout achieved this goal and every person became more influential? How would it impact you as an individual and as a B2B marketer? (addition: I’m not saying Klout is necessarily a measure of influence, that needs its own separate discussion!) The… -
6 Best Tactics for B2B Lead Generation
4 Jun 2013 | 4:25 amYou need to generate leads, right? If you are a B2B marketer, particularly one focused on making a complex sale in a large enterprise, the answer is almost certainly a resounding yes. The B2B lead generation landscape has changed tremendously in the last decade. Today, B2B lead generation relies heavily on digital marketing and this list reflects that switch. To make this list, tactics must be cost effective, measurable and scalable. In addition, they need to offer sufficient targeting for the broader marketing efforts of many mid-sized or large enterprise marketers. The B2B Lead Generation… -
Outbound Marketing for Modern B2B Marketers
30 May 2013 | 4:17 amInbound marketing may be the hot topic for B2B marketers today, but today’s big B2B inbound marketers are all active outbound marketers as well. So how do you pair your outbound marketing activity with your inbound marketing? Here are six ways outbound marketing can support and scale your inbound marketing efforts and some of the channels that are appropriate for each one. Before we start, here is the purpose or definition of inbound marketing I use: Inbound Marketing: Be found through the recommendation of others and delight everyone that finds you. How Outbound Marketing Contributes…
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Right Mix Marketing Blog
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6 Things Good Content Marketing Can Do for Your Business
10 Jun 2013 | 3:32 pmGuest post by Ryan Currie Content Marketing is more than just a buzzword, it’s an essential tool for your business. Whether you own a small company, are working on a startup, or your business is booming like never before, you need to invest in smart content marketing now. Here are a few things a coordinated content marketing plan can do for your business: 6. Content marketing builds brand recognition. The great thing about content marketing is that you can use it to tie your brand to a product, a movement, or even whole adjacent industries. The more quality unique content you put out… -
Social Media and the Law: What You Need To Know
7 Jun 2013 | 11:12 amGuest post by Noah Kovacs Let’s face it, in today’s ever social world, your best friends, family members and work colleagues are only a click away. But what is an essentially a good avenue of staying in touch, can also be a dangerous one, too. Imagine having a Facebook photo of you imbibing a bit too much at a cousin’s bachelor party, passed on and viewed by your boss. Hardly an appropriate image of you to have representing his law firm, but where exactly do privacy and civil liberties collide with fire-able offenses or civil suits? Let’s take a look below and see: Where does… -
Google+ for SEO, Author Rank and Local: What’s the Verdict?
2 Jun 2013 | 10:24 pmGuest post by Daniel Page Opinions around the blogosphere and the tech press seem to be divided about Google+ and its value as a social media network for business. On the one hand we have SEO’s who are hyping it as the big thing for everyone involved marketing a business, and on the other hand we have the doubters and their constant refrain of “Google+ is a ghost town; I get no interaction there”. The truth lies somewhere in between. On balance, we think that businesses who are serious about inbound marketing can’t really afford to ignore Google+, at least in the long-term. -
How to Conduct an SEO Audit Using Free Tools
29 May 2013 | 12:31 amGuest post by Kapil Jekishan Carrying out an SEO audit on your website allows you to analyze its current SEO state and take informed steps to maximize its future performance. Audits are also a useful way to gain an insight into the SEO strategy used by your competition. By analyzing you website’s source code it is possible to gain free access to all the important information needed to SEO audit your site, but doing this manually can be a complicated and time consuming process. Fortunately for those looking to advance their SEO knowledge, using an SEO Toolbar can provide you with the… -
6 Reasons Your Blog Content Won’t Go Viral
22 May 2013 | 5:33 pmIt’s like Deja Vu. I’ve had this same conversation with representatives from a Fortune 500 financial services company, with a B2B industrial lighting distributor and several consumer-facing companies like wineries, restaurants, real estate agents and retailers. It goes like this. Them: We have a blog. We don’t seem to get any traction. Should we continue writing? Me: Do you know what your customers care about? Are you creating content that teaches them something, solves a problem, entertains them or provides information about tools or resources that they would care about?
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Copywriter
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Texting isn’t killing language – it’s just a different one
28 May 2013 | 1:40 amGreat TED talk from John McWhorter… -
How a one-track mind helps your business
28 May 2013 | 1:37 amSooner or later, your company will need to come up with an advertising message. All companies start with the same question: “How can we get as many people as possible to choose us?”. They set out to achieve, instinctively and -
Scripts
24 Sep 2012 | 12:42 pmCopywriter| GoReport Script GoReport needed a copywriter to create ideas and a script to promote their software, which helps users write reports faster than ever before. (Animation by David Henderson Design) -
Websites
24 Sep 2012 | 12:35 pmWalker Communications asked me to write their web copy in a way that captured the style and character of their agency. -
Advertising
24 Sep 2012 | 12:34 pmThis poster was part of a campaign I worked on for Innovation Flooring. They wanted a poster campaign to tell customers about they’re NI-made carpets, as they are one of the few flooring companies to sell carpets made in
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The Integrated Marketing Blog from D Custom
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Boost SEO, brand awareness, and sales with video
19 Jun 2013 | 6:30 amVideos are an integral part of the online experience and a great way to not only give your brand an opportunity to tell its story in a new, exciting way, but also to boost conversion rates. A Kelsey Group study found 55% of people who view a video visit the company’s site, 30% visit the physical store, and 24% make a purchase as result of watching.The post Boost SEO, brand awareness, and sales with video appeared first on D Custom. -
Friday Five: National Geographic’s multi-channel integration
14 Jun 2013 | 7:20 amRead about the multi-channel integration happening at National Geographic, a question all CMO’s and chief executive officers must ask, Hillary Clinton joining Twitter, the “war” between content marketing and SEO, and MTV’s newest venture, MTV Other, a digital content lab.The post Friday Five: National Geographic’s multi-channel integration appeared first on D Custom. -
Insigniam at the World Innovation Forum
12 Jun 2013 | 8:50 amOur client Insigniam is at the World Innovation Forum in New York City this week. It is a two-day event centered around challenging the conventional, celebrating the unexpected, and experiencing innovation.The post Insigniam at the World Innovation Forum appeared first on D Custom. -
Friday Five: Creative thinking for non-creative jobs
7 Jun 2013 | 6:30 amRead about tips on maintaining a creative-minded workplace, the Dollar Shave Club’s newest viral video, Feedly’s attempt to become the new home for Google Reader users, the Vine app welcoming Android users, and Google+’s ranking among US social media users in this week’s Friday Five.The post Friday Five: Creative thinking for non-creative jobs appeared first on D Custom. -
The history of the meme
5 Jun 2013 | 9:14 amContent marketing can be stressful. So when we need a laugh at the D Custom office, we're often trading animated GIFs and memes that we either find online or create ourselves. However, memes aren't always just for laughs. In some cases, created memes have turned out to be incredibly lucrative as brand marketing, and even spurred the creation of meme blogs that became real content creation businesses.The post The history of the meme appeared first on D Custom.
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Marketing Technology for Growth
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ModCloth: A Rad (and Obvious) Social Media Strategy
19 Jun 2013 | 4:03 amBrands should delight. Really, that’s what it all comes down to, right? People, humans, homo sapiens, peeps – whatever you want to call us curious creatures – want to feel special and loved. That’s human nature, baby. And just like an “I’m proud of you” from your Old Man makes you stand a little straighter and smile a little wider, so too does a personal, intimate shout-out from a brand. That "strut-your-stuff" feeling translates to brand affinity and higher sales for the brand. In fact, as reported in Psychology Today, fancy fMRI neuro-imagery shows that consumers mainly… -
The Benefits of Blogging to Generate Leads Online [VIDEO]
18 Jun 2013 | 3:35 amAs the business development specialist at SyneCore, I speak with a lot of business owners about the current marketing efforts and tactics they use to generate leads online. Along with some frustration, the common refrain I hear is this: I've got a website, but I'm not seeing any traffic or conversion. Ack! As the market – both in stores and online – gets more and more cluttered, it is getting increasingly difficult to "get found" in the digital world by those that matter most – your consumers. In this video, I share some of our favorite content marketing tactics that can really… -
Search Party: Google and the Evolution of SEO
17 Jun 2013 | 3:52 amWelcome to the search party, folks. It’s a bit crowded; everyone’s confused, and – oh, what’s that? Someone’s talking really loudly… OH HEEEYYY Google - How yooouuu doing? As marketers, we’re all grappling with the paradigm shift in search that’s happening. You’ve heard it all before: traditional SEO is dead, Panda update 28.4 is coming next week, Google’s going to take over the world, yaddy-yaddy-yaahh. Just the other day, my whiz of a colleague, Chris Horton, and I were talking about this crazy, always-changing definition of search that’s got us, frankly, in quite of a… -
The Best Branded Content of the Week: June 15, 2013
15 Jun 2013 | 6:16 amBranded content can be found in many different forms. Sometimes it appears as a video, sometimes an infographic, and other times integrated into a social app like Facebook. This week, we celebrarate the technological versatility of branded content by showcasing four companies that are doing it right. Even though they are big brands, the means they are using to create this content are available to everyone. Take note, and get inspired to create some excellent branded content marketing of your own. Adobe—Photoshop Live I think I may be a sucker for marketing that involves… -
Nobody is Watching Your Video Because Your Title Sucks - #MarketingTechMin
14 Jun 2013 | 3:40 amHere at SyneCore, we often like to discuss the value of creating video content for your customers. However, sometimes it can be a problem to get people to actually watch this content you create. In a world full of short attention spans and endless entertainment options, how do you produce video that people will actually want to click on and watch until the end? This week, Spencer and Jacey give a few simple tips (based on personal experience) for creating more valuable, entertaining video marketing for your customers. Hint: it all starts with an attention-grabbing title. …
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Legal Internet Marketing Blog
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5 Things that Have Changed Internet Marketing & Website Development
24 May 2013 | 4:00 pmThe constant factor in the relationship between Internet marketing and website development is Change. Whether you work in the field of online marketing or run a business, the evolution of content, SEO, web design, social, and local listings significantly impacts how a website is structured and how it targets visitors for conversion. Since listing all of the changes that have occurred since the Internet’s inception would take until Thanksgiving, the below blog focuses on the main evolutionary changes that we’ve seen at SLS Consulting. 1. Write for Your Audience First – In the past,… -
Even Google+ Needs a Redesign
16 May 2013 | 10:07 amIf you’re in the Internet marketing business or run your own company’s online campaign, you’ve probably heard about the 6th annual Google I/O conference in San Francisco that began yesterday and will last until May 17. Mainly targeted for software programmers, the developer conference has raised eyebrows and drawn the attention of many. One of the biggest highlights so far is the Google+ redesign. If you’ve ever felt like a website redesign wasn’t worth your time or money, think again. If Google launches a redesign of its social platform, it shows us that there is always room for… -
Hit by a Google Panda Update and Don’t Know Why? The Answer Might be in Your Content
15 May 2013 | 9:00 amContrary to what you might think, Google’s ultimate goal isn’t to sabotage your website’s search engine rankings. What makes Google the powerhouse that it is rests in its desire for webmasters to create the best user experience possible. All of the recent and up-and-coming algorithm updates are structured with this objective in mind. You have to remember that Google provides a service to the public. Whatever terms we enter into search, we expect to quickly and easily find the information that fits without having to do a lot of sifting through irrelevant or poorly written material. While… -
6 Tips on How to Blog When There’s No Time
13 May 2013 | 9:00 amWhether you’re a lawyer, mom, or SEO, or all of the above!, we all face the same problem – we have no time. Or at least, this is how most of us see it. If you love doing something, shouldn’t you make the time for it? I know, easier said than done. What about blogging? If you love to write, writer’s block still happens, and you may not have the time to sit at your computer for hours on end waiting for the words to come. If you hate to write, blogging can be that much harder. However, not being a writer or hating to write are not excuses for neglecting to blog if you run a business. If… -
Creativity and Online Content for Marketing, Not as Different as You Think
9 May 2013 | 2:04 pmFor many, the process of continually writing online content for a marketing campaign can be a draining task. While creating new content that has not been on a site before, or hopefully on any other site, is vital, a writer may feel like he or she is running out of topics or creative juices. If this is happening to you, do not be afraid, you are not alone. However, do not let yourself simply accept the idea of running out of creativity or topics. This will lead to monotony, which in turn leads to bad writing, which can negatively impact the strength of a marketing campaign. But what can you do…
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OpenView Blog » Kevin Cain
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How Good Are You at Using Social Media to Distribute Your Content?
17 Jun 2013 | 1:27 pmThe number of social media sites has exploded in recent years, bringing hundreds of potential new marketing channels onto the scene. With so many options — more than 500 by some accounts — it’s easy to get distracted and to waste time experimenting with new channels to distribute content that may not actually provide any…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
Social Media Lessons from @HillaryClinton
10 Jun 2013 | 2:59 pmHillary Clinton added a new accomplishment to her long list of achievements on Monday when she made her debut on Twitter. Within hours of setting up her account, she had followed four, sent out her first (and thus far only) Tweet, and picked up over 180,000 followers. In the process, she also brought a new…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
Marketing Confessional: I Dream About Viral Content
4 Jun 2013 | 5:47 amAs a content marketer, I dream about creating viral content that blows up online… I imagine the promotion I’d get after seeing OpenView’s latest eBook get shared a few thousand times on LinkedIn. The rock star status I’d attain if our latest video reached a million views on YouTube… And then I wake up. The…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
These 5 Steps Will Make Your Content Development a Breeze
28 May 2013 | 10:30 amAccording to the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs’ 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, the greatest challenge facing most B2B content marketers is content development, and specifically, being able to produce enough content to move the needle. Not surprising, right? Effective content marketing hinges on producing a steady stream of high-quality content — we’re talking…ᔥ via OpenView Blog -
Pump Up the Volume: What’s Your Content Promotion Strategy?
13 May 2013 | 2:33 pmIf you’ve ever taken the time to create a high-quality piece of B2B content, then you know that there’s nothing more frustrating than when it doesn’t get properly promoted. I mean, what’s the point of creating great content that never gets consumed? And yet, effective content promotion seems to be a recurring challenge plaguing many…ᔥ via OpenView Blog
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Content Equals Money
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How TeeFury Markets in the Moment
19 Jun 2013 | 2:00 pmCute, quirky, and artistically done t-shirts are huge hits with adolescents and young adults, so it’s no wonder that companies like Threadless have been popular for years. These companies allow artists to design graphics for shirts and clothing and, if they get enough votes, have their designs printed. Designs for One Day Only TeeFury takes this approach and runs with it: TeeFury’s t-shirt designs are also created by individual artists, but the catch is that these shirts only run for 24 hours, and then they’re gone. The company has a sizeable following, and this is because TeeFury’s… -
What Any Business Can Learn from Food Marketing
19 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amFood and restaurant marketing presents a unique challenge: advertisers need to convey major components of their products (taste, smell, feel) without being able to engage those very same senses. This means, of course, that food advertising has to pull out all the stops to create a visceral message that gets a product across without very much reliance on the product itself. Let’s take a look at what marketers in other industries can extrapolate from these successes. Get a New Perspective Food & Wine recently shook up the publicity for it’s annual Food & Wine Classic, hosted in… -
The Rumors Appear to Be True: Instagram to Get Video
19 Jun 2013 | 7:57 amI held off jumping on the bandwagon of rumors concerning Facebook’s news event slated for tomorrow, June 20th. When rumors break it can be easy to think they are true because we want to believe them. I thought I would hold off and my choice has been vindicated. It appears that multiple sources now are all claiming that Facebook’s Instagram will be unveiling some sort of video feature to rival Twitter’s Vine. Instagram: Not Just About Photos Anymore One of the stories concerning Facebook announcement of Instagram Video that convinced me that the rumor is almost certainly true… -
Want to Guest Blog? How to Pitch a Guest Post
19 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amYou already know why guest blogging is important. From quality backlinks to explosive exposure, there are few who would argue that guest posting is a waste of time. But how do you actually pitch a guest post? What are the steps between thinking, I’d love to be on that blog, and then seeing your work published on said blog? #1 Choose the Right Batter Before you get started on the pitch, ask yourself a few objective questions: Has this blog ever accepted a guest post before? What do I have in common with the blog’s other guest post authors? Why would this blog want to publish a guest post… -
Make More Sales with the Law of Averages
18 Jun 2013 | 1:13 pmPeople in sales, especially people in direct sales, talk a lot about the Law of Averages. You will hear people credit the Law of Averages for their successes and, less frequently, blame it for their setbacks. Still, understanding the Law of Averages could make a valuable impact on your sales. What is the Law of Averages? The sales-y people of the world condense the Law of Averages down into the catchy phrase “more equals more.” To be a little less pithy, the Law of Averages implies that the more doors you see (or prospects you call) the more sales you will make. Furthermore, each person…
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Velocity Partners
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Cool shit from The Future of Digital Marketing 2013
6 Jun 2013 | 3:13 pmFODM is a terrific, thought-provoking conference. Here's some of the cool shit I learned by going. -
Salesforce acquires Exact Target: what it means to B2B marketers
4 Jun 2013 | 10:23 amWhat does the latest consolidation in the marketing automation space mean to B2B marketers? A lot as it turns out. -
How to master Content Marketing Metrics in 8 easy reads
3 Jun 2013 | 1:18 amWhy metrics are a critical success factor in content marketing – including 8 really good pieces of content, -
I’ll have what she’s having is not a marketing strategy
29 May 2013 | 3:42 amCopying our peers' tactics is not the way to success; "I'll have what she's having" is best left to lunch decisions -
We’re looking for a writer
28 May 2013 | 12:55 amWriting is at the very heart of Velocity. Now we need a strong B2B copywriter to help us do great things.
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Video Maker Tips
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Small Business Video: 4 Tools To Make Great Videos Within Your Budget (Without Breaking The Bank)
17 Jun 2013 | 10:02 amBudget image by Shutterstock 4 Must-Have Tools To Make Your Small Business Video Looking to produce your own small business video? Smart move. Content rules on the web, whether it’s a promotional video, informational video, explainer video, or a testimonial. But how do you do this without blowing the budget or timeline? These four tools will make the process as quick and painless as possible without breaking the bank. GoAnimate How does the idea of creating visually appealing animations with no prior experience sound? Let your personality shine through in your small business… -
Site Update: New Business Friendly Looks!
13 Jun 2013 | 3:47 pmBusiness Friendly just got a little more casual. GoAnimate proudly presents our newest Business Friendly addition: New looks! Now your character can be a little overweight, look glamourous in pinstripes, rock a mohawk, show off a member’s only jacket, or wear a plaid shirt. Perfect for showing off a wide spectrum of diversity, your real client base, or just every day people. See just a few of the latest updates here: To take advantage of these new, fun assets, log in or sign up at http://goanimate.com/business. Open the Business Friendly Video Maker. Once inside the studio,… -
Case Study: Bond Agency Boosts Website Engagement with 22 GoAnimate Videos
10 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amJW Surety Bonds is America’s top surety bond provider and one of a very few that can approve bonds instantly online, using proprietary software. The bond agency normally ships bonds with 24 hours of payment, and its large bond volume allows it to negotiate the lowest rates with the top carriers in the country. The Challenge: Making a Dry Subject Engaging The surety bond industry overall is lagging in the use of technology, but JW has embraced the Internet to grow over a 10 year span, from a two-person operation to an agency that writes bonds nationwide. Still, the surety bond… -
The People Behind the Product: Meet the GoAnimate Team!
7 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amCartoon Faces, Flesh & Blood Hearts The team of us who bring life to GoAnimate’s creative space sometimes find it a little too easy to get lost behind our animated faces. We love the medium and we love the tools, but we make a point never to forget that everything we do needs to be used and usable by living, breathing, flesh and blood people. There’s no better reminder than to remember that we, too, are such people. (And to allay the suspicion that we’re all just virtual employees created by a Pinky-and-the-Brain-esque madman, intent on using animated video in a sinister and… -
Press And Mentions: Palo Alto Push For Nikola Tesla Statue
30 May 2013 | 12:50 pmImage via San Francisco Chronicle, by Terry Guyer Welcome to our Press And Mentions section, where we’ll show off some of our favorite mentions from around the web that feature GoAnimate for Business and our popular consumer site, GoAnimate.com, out in the wild! In today’s post, we’re featuring something a bit different. Our friends at Northern Imagination put together these animated videos using GoAnimate for Business to help promote a Kickstarter project to bring a statue of Nikola Tesla to the Silicon Valley complete with a free wi-fi signal. Nikola Tesla is an…
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The Wikipedia Marketing Blog
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Beware of "Best Practices" for PR on Wikipedia
17 Jun 2013 | 5:10 amIt's human nature for the field of public relations to develop best practices based on what "works." However, what's most effective and what is proper, ethical and legal to do doesn't always go hand-in-hand. Astroturfing review sites works and in some countries the press can be bribed. However, your company may have higher standards of ethical conduct, especially if the legal department has a say. For organizations that make it standard operating procedure to comply with the law, there's a lot of "best practices" on public relations participation on Wikipedia that are actually encouraging… -
Three Principles for Following Social Media Disclosure Laws on Wikipedia
31 May 2013 | 6:52 amThis post was first published by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Whether you’re reading WOMMA’s Social Media Disclosure Guide, the newly updated .com disclosures guide from the Federal Trade Commission or the FTC’s application of advertising and marketing guidelines to crowd-sourced websites, the message is clear: Readers must know when the source of their information is someone with a material connection to the subject. But many reputable and honorable companies haven’t thought about how this applies to Wikipedia or constructed policies to ensure compliance like they have… -
3 Keys to Successful Content Marketing on Wikipedia
20 May 2013 | 4:25 amThis blog was first published on SocialFresh. Offering content to Wikipedia's editorial community is different than traditional content marketing. The content is rule-bound. The editors are thorough. And we must produce neutral content about the company, rather than a thought-leadership subject. Some companies have such strong opinions about themselves and certain controversies they are involved in, it can be an emotional process to write neutrally on it. Recently I've seen many public relations professionals following the best practices established by Chartered Institute of Public Relations,… -
Five Lessons from British Petroleum's Wikipedia Debacle
24 Mar 2013 | 4:01 pmWikipedia's content on the Prudhoe Bay (depcited above) oil spill was written by British Petroleum This time it's British Petroleum who is at the center of media controversy for their participation on Wikipedia. BP's corporate communications team has been participating on the Talk page of BP-related articles for about a year, but Wikipedia's editors grew uncomfortable when entire rewrites of content written by BP regarding their environmental record were copied and pasted into the article by volunteers. BP followed Wikipedia's policies… -
6 Ways For PR Firms To Ask For A Correction On Wikipedia
18 Mar 2013 | 6:55 amThis post was first published on SocialFresh. Qorvis recently joined the ranks of PR firms like Bell Pottinger, Portland Communications and Finsbury that stand accused of manipulating Wikipedia entries for their clients. Something that stood out from the summary at The Daily Dot was that Qorvis is defending their actions with a familiar tune - accusing Wikipedia of not providing reasonable processes to correct errors and have their clients' reputations treated fairly. That inspired me to write this post on six ways to correct errors, address bias or contest content ethically and safely as a…
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Function Writing Group
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How Content Marketing Will Save The World
4 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amThe future of our planet hangs in the balance, and who would have thought that it’s up to you, the content marketer, to save the world? The future of news will be defined by our ability to inform, educate and communicate. Journalists, photographers and content marketing specialists will guide the population into a brave new world of information through the articles they choose to publish and the opinions for which they choose to advocate. Here’s how the content marketing machine will save our planet. 1. Content Marketing & Embracing Technology Let me qualify this: even though… -
How Shakespeare Promoted Blog Posts (WIthout Irritating the F&#K Out of Everyone)
23 May 2013 | 5:00 amDid you know that the only reason William Shakespeare was more popular than his brother Juan was that he didn’t hammer his plays, poetry and songs down everyone’s throat? It’s true. The lesser-known Juan Shakespeare was actually quite the wordsmith back in the day. Butter-Churn Magazine named him Stratford Upon Avon’s most eligible bachelor in the spring of 34. FIFTEEN-34, that is – which was coincidentally the year the blog post was invented. No one likes self-centred, impossibly unaware bloggers like Juan, especially when they drive their smart-donkeys to… -
Part 2: How Freelance Copywriters Meet, Greet & Monetize in 6 Months
15 May 2013 | 5:00 amThere’s no point in me lying to you at this point, right? Right. Becoming a freelance copywriter is about much more than just making the decision to switch to a freelance lifestyle and reading online resources – one needs friends in order to start getting paid. If I wanted to lie, I’d tell you that once you take a few online courses, say from Hubspot or Copyblogger, that a surging mass of zombie-like clientele will storm the door to your downtown exposed brick-laden shared workspace. This is part 2 of a two-part mini-series. Here’s part 1: How to be a Paid Freelance… -
(Part 1) How to be a Paid Freelance Copywriter in 6 Months
2 May 2013 | 10:30 amGetting paid to be a freelance copywriter is a wonderful gig: you get exclusive access to great parties your own bathroom, no one steals your sandwiches out of the fridge, and best of all, you don’t have to wear pants. Like, ever. This is the first in a two-part mini-series for people who want simple, tangible steps to becoming a paid writer. Alright, honestly, being a freelance copywriter isn’t ALL champagne and silk toilet paper all the time. What it is, however, is a rewarding, creative and interesting job that encourages daily personal development and life-long learning. I… -
How to Write Radical Headlines Without Even Trying
17 Apr 2013 | 1:14 pmIf you’re anything like me, you’ve gone through the five clinical stages of grief when trying to decide on an appropriate headline for an article, blog post or obituary: This is the greatest headline ever! OH GOD CRIPPLING DOUBT This headline accurately and scientifically introduces the subject of my piece. This headline is so boring, no one will read my article, I need to quit writing, pass the ice-cream How do I write a better headline that encourages new and existing traffic to read my post? Look, we all know that headlines are the most important element to getting your posts…
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Business Strategy Innovation
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Free Public Innovation Keynotes in Wyoming
2 Jun 2013 | 10:37 amThis week I will be giving two free innovation keynotes in Wyoming before heading off to Miami to do some client work. Both Wyoming innovation sessions will have free admission and are open to the public. If you live in … Continue reading → -
Now Available in Spanish – Nine Innovation Roles Cards
21 May 2013 | 5:41 pmI am proud to announce the Spanish language design of my Nine Innovation Roles card deck, made possible by the translation efforts of Vanessa López De la O from Mexico. Spanish speakers can read more about the Nine Innovation Roles … Continue reading → -
Partners Wanted – Taking Nine Innovation Roles Global
15 May 2013 | 5:24 pmI was in Boston, MA last week for the Front End of Innovation conference and had the opportunity to train dozens of potential corporate Nine Innovation Roles trainers as part of my quest to set the Nine Innovation Roles free … Continue reading → -
Free Nine Innovation Roles Train the Trainer Session
5 May 2013 | 10:33 amI will be in Boston, MA this week for the Front End of Innovation conference May 6-8, 2013 at the Seaport World Trade Center, joining 650+ innovation managers and thought leaders from around the world who are serious about learning … Continue reading → -
Las Ocho I’s de la Innovación Infinita
4 May 2013 | 6:37 amGracias Vanessa López De la O para su traducción! Algunos autores argumentan que la innovación exitosa es la suma de la idea más la ejecución; otros hablan más de la importancia de la intuición (insight) y su papel en impulsar … Continue reading →
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Content4Demand
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B2B Marketing Content: Not Everyone Finishes What They Start
13 Jun 2013 | 1:59 pmThere’s a fascinating article on Slate.com about how much — or how little — people typically read when they view online content. According to data traffic analysis firm Chartbeat shared with Slate, more than a third of the readers on a typical site won’t scroll down. A majority of visitors drop off during the first half of an article. Relatively few make it all the way to the end: I’m absolutely sure this is all true. It matches my own experience as a reader, and I’m pretty confident it matches your experience, too. So let’s cut to the chase and… -
Forrester: Diversity Is Driving B2B Marketing Tactics
31 May 2013 | 12:27 pmHere are some interesting results from a recent Forrester study of B2B lead origination tactics: There are several ways to slice this data. What interests me, however, is the fact that we’re still seeing growth across a pretty broad range of B2B marketing tactics. In fact, the only tactic that shows a net loss in terms of planned usage is video. (That’s actually a bit surprising, and I would love to know what’s going on there.) If I had to single out a particular tactic, however, it would have to be LinkedIn. It’s got a solid edge over Facebook and Google Plus in terms… -
Multi-Platform Content Marketing: Sometimes It’s Necessary, But Sometimes It’s Not
21 May 2013 | 1:50 pmAn interesting blog post by Joe Pulizzi recently appeared on Business2Community. It summarizes some of the most important lessons he’s learned during a his career as a content marketer. My favorite might be this one:You don’t have to be on every platform to assemble a killer content marketing campaign. In many cases, it’s smart to weave your story onto multiple platforms. It’s entirely possible to have a killer webinar series, amazing blog, outstanding video program, and cutting-edge digital magazine all at the same time. But there is another way. You may decide to focus and… -
For B2B Content, Sometimes Less Can Be More
9 May 2013 | 12:44 pmB2B marketers talk a lot about content creation. A lot of that talk centers around how hard it is to get enough content; we throw around phrases like “feeding the beast” and point to surveys that consistently show how a lack of content is a major headache for marketers. At the SiriusDecisions Summit this morning, we got a case study that took a different, and refreshing, point of view on this topic. Joe Levin, Head of Sales Enablement at CDW, said the company had colossal content challenge on its hands: four content portals, more than 20,000 pieces of content and no unified search… -
B2B Content Sharing: The Surprising Benefits Of A Balanced Attack
26 Apr 2013 | 6:13 amThe results of our 2013 B2B Content Preferences Survey continue to offer up food for thought. There’s a comprehensive summary available at Demand Gen Report, but today I wanted to share some results that didn’t get as much attention when I wrote that DGR feature. Here’s the raw survey data, which I think is descriptive enough to include here: First, let’s set aside the outliers: Podcasts are increasingly rare as B2B content assets, and interactive presentations (such as Brainshark or Slideshare) are an up-and-coming format that is still gaining traction. Next, look at…
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Reputation Capital: Premium Content for B2B Inbound Marketing
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5 Journalistic Principles to Improve Your B2B Content Marketing
19 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amWhen it comes to B2B content marketing, it’s easy to fall into the trap of writing dry, uninteresting material that’s unlikely to capture readers’ attentions. One of the biggest challenges companies face when they try to do B2B content marketing is the tendency to get bogged down in jargon, become overly dependent on sales pitches, and struggle to get their message across clearly and quickly. Good B2B content marketing is punchy and easy to grasp — not simple, but interesting and instantly understandable. Following the journalistic principles magazine and newspaper… -
15 Tips for Rebuilding Your Brand After a Major Mistake
18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amToday’s guest post is from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons. Question: After a screw-up, what steps can you take to rebuild your personal brand? Don’t Dwell on the Past “The worst thing you can do after you or “your brand” has suffered a… -
Healthcare IT Marketing: Think Like a Doctor to Get One’s Attention
17 Jun 2013 | 6:00 amThis guest post is by Emily Paulsen, who writes about health and healthcare for publications, healthcare organizations and government agencies. If you’re marketing a healthcare IT product — say an electronic health record system or a mobile health tool — you’re trying to get the attention of physicians. Even if your contact is the practice or office manager, you still have to sell the clinicians on the value of your product — and that’s no easy task. Clinicians are tough customers, and you’ve got some pretty tough competition for their attention— namely, their… -
Content Marketing News Roundup: Facebook Hashtags Edition
14 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amAt long last Facebook enabled hashtag functionality on Wednesday, which of course made Facebook hashtags the big social media, advertising and marketing story of the week. Both haters and lovers of the popular social media topic tagging convention came out to state their opinions and make predictions about what the change will mean for users and marketers. Of course only time will tell how Facebook hashtags will work out, but I gathered a few stories that help explain what the change means to marketers and advertisers and how they should take advantage of all the tagging that’s already… -
Startup Insights: An Interview With Mary Ellen Slayter
13 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amStartups are hot these days and starting a business is an appealing idea to people who are looking for more independence or seeking to escape a difficult job market. But, how do you get a startup off the ground? In a May podcast, InPower Women founder Dana Theus spoke with our own founder, Mary Ellen Slayer, about how she came up with the idea for this business, overcame obstacles and put Reputation Capital on the road to success. I’ve written up the highlights of the startup insights Mary Ellen shared during their conversation. Recognize Opportunities for Innovation The world is…
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Pamorama | Social Media Marketing Blog
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A Beginners Guide to Content Marketing
16 Jun 2013 | 2:24 pmContent marketing has changed the way consumers research and buy your products. Every day, people form impressions of brands from many touch points: Ads, product experiences, tweets, Google, Facebook, blog posts, websites, and conversations with family and friends. Unless they are actively shopping for something, a lot of that information passes them by. But when something triggers their buying impulse, those stored impressions become critical — they are top of mind as consumers look to making purchases. In the traditional sales funnel, consumers begin with a set of potential brands and… -
7 Popular Types of Social Media Fans [Infographic]
9 Jun 2013 | 11:47 amIf you’re using social media to market your company, you know that social media fans are not all alike. Many different types of people follow you on social networks. While every person is different, social media fans and customers can be broken down into roughly 7 categories. Once you understand who these customers are, it’s easier to target them to improve brand awareness, find leads, and drive sales. Here’s a look a who they are, why they’re following your brand on social media, and what to do to get the most out of them. The folks at ReachLocal, a localized-marketing… -
4 Tips for Providing Value to Your Social Media Fans and Leveraging the Network Effect [Infographic]
8 Jun 2013 | 2:57 pmAttract brand ambassadors by building relationships with fans and offering them what they’re looking for. Whether your customer community is large or small, the glue holding it together is devotion to your brand and the products/services you sell. Your social media fans will purchase more from you and are more likely to spread the word about you than customers who haven’t connected with you via social media. What is the network effect? The network effect is a phenomenon through which a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it, thereby encouraging… -
Social Media is Key to B2B Content Marketing [Report]
1 Jun 2013 | 5:55 pm91% of B2B marketers now use social media as a content marketing tool. B2B marketers are distributing their content on social networks more than ever before. A recent study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs confirms that content marketing remains a top priority for B2B marketers, with the vast majority leveraging the practice as part of their marketing strategy. But many are uncertain about how to successfully employ the many tactics available to them. Content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is… -
7 Facebook Marketing Case Studies
19 May 2013 | 4:26 pmLearn some inventive ways to integrate Facebook into your social media marketing strategy. Every day, businesses are inspired to bring creative marketing ideas to life on Facebook in ways that have a real impact on their bottom line. Many have discovered how to leverage their Facebook communities to strengthen brand loyalty and communicate directly with customers. As your company invests in the social network for marketing, advertising, and branding, it’s useful to have a few examples of what others have done with the platform. These case studies look at the goals, approaches, and…
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Create Better Content
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Guatemala on a Budget
24 May 2013 | 12:26 pmGuatemala on a Budget (and in a Backpack) from Pete Burr on Vimeo.Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to travel with 15 students and 2 other faculty members on a 12 day trip to Guatemala. For the students the trip is part of a religion elective entitled "The Church in the Modern World." It is offered every summer as an elective to a select group of rising juniors. The trip typically goes to El Salvador but because of a State Department travel warning issued earlier this year we are traveling to Guatemala.So what does all of that have to do with this Blog? One of… -
Why The Magic Lantern Raw Developments Matter...
20 May 2013 | 4:08 pm14-bit Raw Video on my Canon T3iIf you follow a lot of film blogs like I do, chances are you have heard more than enough about what the guys over at Magic Lantern have been able to do with their ever evolving software add-on.Side note - If you have never heard of Magic Lantern go Lifehacker has a thorough article explaining how it can supercharge your Canon DSLR.Just recently the guys over at ML discovered how to shoot Raw video on the Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 5D Mark IIBy keeping the shutter open to constantly capture raw images up to 24 frames per… -
Create Better Content.
17 May 2013 | 11:07 am"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. now you're a director. Everything after than you're just negotiating your budget and fee." - James CameronWe all have our own personal opinions about James Cameron and his work but you have to appreciate that quote. The more you create the better you will become. I've been toying around with the idea of starting a blog for quite some time. I didn't start initially because I wanted to try something different,…
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thereadywriter.co.uk
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Why I took my business off Facebook
11 Jun 2013 | 5:01 amWhy unpublishing the Ready Writer Facebook page was one of the best decisions we'd ever made. -
Why ‘So what?’ are the two most powerful words in your sales copy
21 May 2013 | 7:13 amFind out the two little words that can transform your sales copy in minutes -
Six FAQs about Author Rank and Authorship
7 May 2013 | 3:13 amExplaining Google Author Rank and Authorship to industry newbies can be a path strewn with confusion. Our quick answers to these six FAQs should provide some clarity about these two developments from Google. -
Preparing your business for Google Authorship and Author Rank
2 Apr 2013 | 3:53 amAuthor Rank – when it is launched – and Authorship offer great opportunities for your business in terms of your search engine rankings and the potentially higher sales that can come with increased visibility -
Google Authorship – what it is and why it can make or break your business website
18 Mar 2013 | 6:00 amGoogle has finally found a way to provide high-quality, authenticated content for their customers. It’s called Authorship, but what does it means for your web business?
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Inbound Marketing Blog
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How to Drive Blog Traffic With Pinterest
19 Jun 2013 | 5:05 amTake a Pin from These B2B Pinterest Boards B2B companies all know they need to be on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. But Pinterest? Since it’s so consumer-oriented, the image pinning site isn’t as attractive to B2B companies. But even if it doesn’t seem like it caters to your target audience, Pinterest is worth paying attention to. Because you never know who a Pinner is connected to—it could be your next big buyer. To help you drive Pinterest traffic to your blog, we’ve looked at some of the most successful B2B companies on Pinterest and identified what they do really well to make… -
The Rise of the Marketing Agency Project Manager
18 Jun 2013 | 5:05 amWhy Project Management Techniques Are Key When you’re juggling 15 clients at once, something is bound to go wrong if you don’t have someone keeping all your projects organized and on time. Between your designers, content team, and account managers, there are so many different projects to keep track of that it’s impossible for them to know exactly what’s going on with each project at any given time. This is why the role of the project manager is key. Here are the many ways that project management techniques can improve your team’s efficiency. 1.) Keep the Team On-Track A PM can help… -
A 7-Day Plan to Improve Your Twitter Reach
17 Jun 2013 | 5:05 amMake the Most of Your Social Media Strategy Are you unhappy with your number of followers? Do you sometimes feel like you’re Wile E. Coyote, and Twitter is your Road Runner—always one step ahead of you? There is hope. Yes, the Twitterverse can be big and complex. But with the right know-how and a little time spent on planning each day, you can navigate your way through the network and gain more followers in no time. Here’s our 7-day guide for improving your Twitter reach. Day 1: Look for Useful Content If you Tweet it, they will come. People will follow Twitter users who post helpful or… -
4 Ways to Make Sure Your Calls-to-Action Aren’t Utter Fail
16 Jun 2013 | 5:05 amYou Only Get One Shot Your call-to-action is arguably the most important feature on your landing pages and in your marketing emails. The whole point of this button is to pull visitors in, to get them to take the next step in the journey to becoming your customer. If you’re not taking full advantage of this powerful tool, shame on you. But what if you’re really trying? What if you’ve got calls-to-action on every pertinent page and email, but you’re still not getting traction? It’s time to take a look at your strategy and design to make sure you’re not making grave errors that cost… -
3 Reasons to Avoid Ridiculous Marketing Jargon
15 Jun 2013 | 5:05 amAre You Alienating Customers with Your Made-Up Words? Marketing jargon is a part of any marketing professional’s daily life, much to the chagrin of the average consumer. Still, even though most people react to made-up or repurposed words with the following expressions— —marketing professionals insist on throwing around words like low-hanging fruit or buzzworthy or, ewww, viral. Sure, there are some industry-insider words that mean nothing to anyone but the professional using them, and if that marketing professional understands the words coming out of his own mouth, more power to him.
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Content Warfare Blog
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7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Published My First Podcast
18 Jun 2013 | 7:33 amGrab the mic… Creating the Content Warfare Podcast has been one of the best decisions I’ve made as a content creator. Podcasting is a very intimate way of sharing ideas and creating value for your audience. There is no visual component to podcasting and it’s that aspect of the content medium that makes it unique and engaging. On a podcast you must be able to educate and entertain an audience with nothing but your voice, there’s no fancy images, editing or text formats that can prop up shallow podcast content. This is why I love podcasting. To me the podcast format… -
Transcending the Transaction through Useful Marketing with Jay Baer | #32 Content Warfare Podcast
16 Jun 2013 | 11:10 amJay Baer from Convince and Convert stops by the Content Warfare Podcast this week to discuss his new book Youtility and why the successful maketing of the future will actually be “Useful” to our audience. Useful marketing transcends the transaction giving consumers tools or resources they actually want to use in their everyday lives. I was very excited to have Jay on the show, not just because he was named one of America’s top 3 social media consultants, but because in general his advice kicks ass… If you’re not currently, listen to the Social Pros Podcast and… -
How to Properly Share Content on Google Plus [Video]
14 Jun 2013 | 4:42 amGoogle Plus is a different kind of social media network. In truth, Google Plus isn’t a social media network at all, but rather the “Social Layer” of the Google enterprise. Google Plus is the fabric that binds all Google platforms. It’s our history of authority… …and whether by design or destiny Google Plus has attracted a more sophisticated audience. We can’t share content on Google Plus the same way we do on Twitter or Facebook. We need to give our Google Plus audience a reason to +1, comment, share and ultimately follow our link. This engagement is… -
Where Inspiration DOESN’T Come From (how to invent your own Flux Capacitor)
11 Jun 2013 | 3:36 amAs the story goes, Doctor Emmett Brown invented the flux capacitor from a vision he received in 1955, after slipping off his toilet while hanging a clock and subsequently bumping his head on the sink. This is inspiration to most people. A brief moment in time, an accident, a gift in which we are chosen to receive a great idea. For the flux capacitor is the keystone to time travel, in the Delorian time machine in which the entire Back to the Future series storyline is based. Without the flux capacitor the story never happens. In their world, it would be impossible for Marty and Doc Brown to… -
Adding Social Love to Your Facebook Marketing Strategy with Amy Porterfield | #31 Content Warfare Podcast
9 Jun 2013 | 5:57 amThis week Amy Porterfield joins us to explain how adding a little “Social Love” to our facebook marketing strategy can drastically improve results. The audience we’re trying to reach logs into Facebook to be entertained and educated. That makes relentless self-promotion The Worst facebook marketing strategy for attracting the quality fans we need to grow our business. So how do we attract new fans and make sales using a Facebook marketing strategy that doesn’t interrupt and irritate our audience? Answering this question is the exact reason that Amy stopped by (and…
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Content Marketing Cardiology
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Customise your Facebook Business Page for lead generation. Here’s how!
13 Jun 2013 | 9:55 pmIf you're new to Facebook Marketing you may not know about Facebook Page tabs, so I thought it would be helpful to go over some of the basics on the blog. -
5 Pinterest Traffic Success Secrets From Pinning Pros
27 May 2013 | 5:18 pmBrands can learn a lot from how individual taste-makers grow and maintain their followers. Here are five success tips from the Pinterest pros. -
5 good reasons to set a hashtag for your business event
19 May 2013 | 3:16 amThe month of May is getting away from me. It doesn’t help that I’ve had back to back conferences in the past week and am in the midst of organising my 3rd annual mums’ retreat for next weekend. So, today is just a quick post about the importance of setting a hashtag for your next [...] -
Women entrepreneurs: Why you’re not the problem in your business
6 May 2013 | 7:33 pmIn my work as a content marketing mentor, I've seen it's not uncommon for women entrepreneurs to doubt themselves, especially when things don't seem to be clicking for them. -
Traditional marketing is dead and inbound marketing buried it!
29 Apr 2013 | 6:37 pmContent marketing and inbound marketing are relatively new terms in the marketing sphere but if you’ve been burying your head in the sand, it’s time to pull it out! When I was at uni (many, many years ago) and studying communication, the interruptive marketing model was drummed into us. Here’s what we were taught: What’s [...]
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Content and Curation Marketing Software and Services
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B2B Content Marketing Academy Report: 71% of B2B Prospects Find Statistics Unmoving
28 May 2013 | 6:20 pmStatistics and Content Marketing In a new report from the B2B Content Academy, 71% of B2B decision-makers claimed articles or sales presentations littered with statistics did not provide true motivation or assistance in their buying decisions, although 82% noted bottom-line results and ROI were important factors to them in the decision-making process. Alarming stats, indeed. But here’s the most interesting part about those numbers, as well as the B2B Content Academy itself: they don’t exist. That’s right, I made them up. Did I create these numbers and fake organization as a gimmick to… -
Content Marketing Infographic [Infograph]
23 May 2013 | 10:03 amA very comprehensive Content Marketing infographic by Demand Metric. This is on of the very few infographics that actually gets the whole process of content marketing. It tells you why you need content marketing (lead generation and cost savings long-term) and basic tactics on the content marketing process. A Guide to Marketing Genius: Content Marketing Powered by Demand Metric This eBook is designed for B2B content marketers who want to use curation as part of their strategy. We will try to be practical, helping you make the best strategic and operational choices. The post Content… -
The State of B2B Content Marketing [Infograph]
21 May 2013 | 11:16 amThe infographic below from Uberflip focuses on the B2B Content Marketing space. While the lead 91% number is often quoted, I believe if narrowed down to those who are “actively” performing content marketing as a strategy, the number would be much less. In the small to mid-sized enterprise space where we work, this number is certainly smaller. While most companies are testing or trying to use content in their marketing mix the major problems we see are a lack of strategy, low value content and consistent execution. One company we recently talked with paid a freelancer, overseas, to… -
Is Your Enthusiasm Killing Your B2B Sale?
16 May 2013 | 3:36 pmContent marketing centers around building trust with your audience (leads, influencers, prospects, and customers). Companies engage without hard selling as a means to drive profitable customer action. Their tools are content pieces that answer questions and educate. The medium is the internet, be it search, social media, or email. From a B2B standpoint, content marketing often concerns itself with generating leads that are sales ready or sales qualified. These leads are then handed off to a sales representative. From a business perspective, content marketing efforts are for naught if trust… -
B2B Marketing: 9 Ideas for Solving Your Biggest Content Challenges
15 May 2013 | 8:19 amThis blog post by Michele Linn from Content Marketing Institute tries to answer a question by our own Andy Detweiler, and thus I want to one of the first to curate it. She mentions “curtation” under the quantity answer, #2. I would argue that curation can and should be used under #1, engagement and #6 variety. After-all one of the fundamental tenants of content marketing is to engages with your customers and prospect without hard selling to drive profitable customer action. One great way to engage leads is to share with them curated content though social channels, an email…
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B2B Inbound Blog
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A Guide for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Company Page
12 Jun 2013 | 10:29 amAfter reading Viveka von Rosen's excellent book, LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day, and discussing how to make LinkedIn work better for you on my podcast with her, I decided to spruce up my LinkedIn Company Page. I have a ways to go, but focusing on the Home tab which included making and uploading a banner image was a good start. The other major feature to update and optimize for me was the Company Description (see example below). Here I share with you the updated information on such things as image sizes, character limits and thoughts gleaned from Viveka on how to best optimize these… -
The Rise of Social Business and Lovable Cultures
28 May 2013 | 6:55 amA note about this post: This is a companion article to two podcast interviews I conducted. One with Amber Naslund of SideraWorks on the topic of social business, the other with Katie Burke of HubSpot on lovable marketing and culture. Thanks to both Amber and Katie for the thoughts shared and actions taken to move these important concepts forward in practical ways! I am experimenting with expanding and cross-pollinating coverage of topics between the mediums of podcasting and blogging. If you've been reading this blog, thank you! You may also find the B2B Inbound Expert Interviews Podcast of… -
How to Make a Podcast More Visible in iTunes
12 May 2013 | 9:20 amBloggers love it when you comment on their articles, link to and share them with their friends and followers. You can do the same for podcasters - and they too will love you for it. Why? Leaving comments, sharing and linking to blog content helps the blogger in many ways. Most importantly, these activities foster engagement and helps the blog and blogger to grow. I'm not just talking about growing one's audience and influence, but it helps the blogger develop writing chops. It informs and helps to hone one's craft, voice and message. Advantage Podcasters Podcasters can have all that,… -
Clash with Conflict to Create More Engaging Content
1 May 2013 | 9:07 amSometimes, even well-written headlines, web copy, landing pages and blog posts fail to engage and move people to take action. By take action, I mean to sign-up to an email list, download a white paper, buy something or just make a tiny shift in consideration of an idea or different course of action. This is, after all, the goal of content marketing - to persuade and trigger action. This is what the Content Marketing Institute clearly indicated in the article What is Content Marketing?: "Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to… -
Doing Our Work in the Face of Tragedy
16 Apr 2013 | 12:17 pmIt is with the deepest of sympathy and love for Boston and all those touched by this tragedy that I offer these inadequate, yet heartfelt words. Yesterday I was gripped with shock and sadness over the terrible tragedy at the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon. I was deep in work when, for some reason, I happened to check Twitter and saw a series of tweets about what had just occurred. Desperate to receive and share information, I flipped on the TV to the news and network channels, monitored Twitter, Facebook and texted my wife. I have many friends, former colleagues/co-workers, business…
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Up All Night Creative
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We’re Hiring! Freelance Journalists With Great Interviewing Skills Wanted
16 Jun 2013 | 8:40 amUp All Night TeamUp All Night Creative is looking for writers with interviewing skills and an interest in customer experience and business intelligence.The post We’re Hiring! Freelance Journalists With Great Interviewing Skills Wanted appeared first on Up All Night Creative. -
Why Empathy is Good Business
11 Apr 2013 | 4:59 pmMegan KaperaEmpathy and business aren’t often used in the same sentence. But what most companies don't realize is how powerful empathy can be. In fact, a marriage between empathy and business has the potential to yield impressive results.The post Why Empathy is Good Business appeared first on Up All Night Creative. -
Embarrassing Writing Habits: Why I Have A “Writing Outfit”
26 Mar 2013 | 11:28 amCortney PhillipsCapote wrote lying down. Cheever wrote in his underwear. Once upon a time, I wrote in a blue fleece jumpsuit from Forever Lazy. Why do writers have embarrassing habits, and how do we get them?The post Embarrassing Writing Habits: Why I Have A “Writing Outfit” appeared first on Up All Night Creative. -
2013 Survey: CMOs Stumped by Social Media Measurement and Integration
4 Mar 2013 | 2:35 pmStephanie KaperaDigital media spend is on the rise, but marketing executives are struggling with basic questions like how to measure social media activity and how to organize content marketing workflows. I've got some suggestions and examples from brands like American Express and companies in the real estate sector. Read on to find out more.The post 2013 Survey: CMOs Stumped by Social Media Measurement and Integration appeared first on Up All Night Creative. -
Our Go-To Sources for Marketing Wisdom
26 Feb 2013 | 9:46 amStephanie KaperaIf you've had it with the "5 Ways to Use Twitter to Engage Customers" types of posts, we've got your back. This is our handpicked list of the "best of the best" marketing blogs, organized into a Google Reader bundle so you can click one button to subscribe to them all. There might be some you know, but we think we've also uncovered some diamonds in the rough you're not reading yet. The post Our Go-To Sources for Marketing Wisdom appeared first on Up All Night Creative.
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Copy Points
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The Power of Control
13 Jun 2013 | 4:52 pmPart 7 of a 7-part seriesControl is another powerfully persuasive word you should use when pitching customers, says Kevin Hogan, author of The Science of InfluencePeople desperately need to feel they're in charge of situations, able to shape outcomes, and prepared to counter threats.So let customers know they're in control. They'll listen to you. -
The Power of Your Customer's Name
11 Jun 2013 | 3:20 amPart 6 of a 7-part seriesYour customer's name is a powerful persuader, says Kevin Hogan, author of The Science of InfluenceInserting it into a verbal or written request can increase your chances of getting compliance.You instantly win favor, because you're honoring your customer's individuality.But exercise caution, or you'll creep her out.Don't wear out your customer's name. Excess will arouse suspicion. Insert her name only where it's natural to do so, such as the opening and close of your request.And be sure to pronounce or spell the name correctly. A… -
The Power of Thanks
7 Jun 2013 | 1:54 pmPart 5 of a 7-part seriesKevin Hogan, author of The Science of Influence, says the fourth "magic word" is pleaseSo it shouldn't surprise you the fifth stealthy persuader is, you guessed it, thanksThanks is a word we often forget to include in emails, posts, ads and verbal requests.But it's irresistible, because it says you're grateful for the customer's consideration.So use it more often.Thanks! -
The Power of Please
5 Jun 2013 | 3:48 amPart 4 of a 7-part seriesWe're taught as children to "Say the magic word" for good reason.Please is indeed magical, despite the fact we're all aware that its express purpose is to persuade, according to Kevin Hogan, author of The Science of Influence.Including the word in emails, posts, ads and verbal requests is guaranteed to boost their persuasiveness.So please do it. -
The Power of Imagine
4 Jun 2013 | 3:42 amPart 3 of a 7-part seriesImagine works as a persuader because it's one of the few requests we don't automatically resist.That's why Kevin Hogan, author of The Science of Influence, says it's one of seven "magic words" guaranteed to make you more persuasive.By asking your customer simply to imagine she's using your product, you're asking so little she's bound to comply with your request.
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blog.colosimarketing.com
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Lock in Attraction by Converting Website Visitors
6 Jun 2013 | 11:45 amWhen it comes to nurturing relationships with website visitors, you need to get beyond the initial attraction and impress audiences with content that keeps their interest. The next step is to convert visitors into leads for business development by gathering their contact information. Contact information is essential to continuing engagement. The question is…“how will you get visitors to voluntarily provide their contact information?" The answer to this question is that you need to give them something in return in the form of content. Content can be in the form of… -
Methods of Attraction in the Game of Inbound Marketing
23 May 2013 | 1:46 pmWhile the rules of attraction for the human species are not clearly understood, the rules of attraction in the game of inbound marketing are pretty clear-cut. The scientific rules have already emerged. Inbound marketing works on a conscious level to motivate complete strangers to take action for reasons that are tucked inside your firm’s content. Think back to when your long-term client relationships began with a spark. That spark is that initial message or action that caught their attention. What is that spark? What caught your client’s eye? It may not… -
Inbound Marketing Workflow for Professional Services Firms
16 May 2013 | 2:44 pmInbound marketing aims to create content people love. What does that mean? Create content people love? To understand this concept, begin by referring to the inbound marketing workflow provided below. This workflow aims to provide insight as to how to apply resources to put these methods into practice. It is also a tool for making greater strides in nurturing the relationships in a manner that is in alignment with meeting a firm’s business goals. The inbound marketing lifecycle stages include: (1) attract visitors, (2) convert leads, (3) close clients and, then (4) delight… -
Illustrate Ideas and Showcase Visual Content on Pinterest
26 Apr 2013 | 9:29 amWhen it comes to social media channels, Pinterest tops the chart for using visual content as an inbound marketing tool. Visual content in the form of an image or video can communicate a qualitative or quantitative viewpoint. They can show a vision or assist audiences with visualizing how to execute a plan. A series of images or a video can also show change. Combining this social media channel with a solid inbound marketing strategy, will help your audiences see how your firm can use pictures to illustrate ideas and provide solutions. Try telling a story about your firm by… -
Deliver the Magic of Digital Storytelling to Your Audiences
11 Apr 2013 | 10:40 amAs a professional services marketer, you are tirelessly looking for new ways to engage your audiences. It can get discouraging to perform traditional marketing methods and not know if you are really making a connection. You attend professional seminars and lectures that cover important points to consider. However, you can’t seem to find the right ingredient that allows you to bridge the gap from concept to emotional connection with your audiences. Along with many other marketing professionals, you’ve known your firm’s story for a long time. The story is part of the…
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Insights
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Navigating the Sales Funnel: Creating Content for All Stages of the Buying Process
19 Jun 2013 | 3:49 pmWe’re all familiar with our sales funnels. We know we have businesses or individuals at different stages of the buying process. They fall into roughly three categories: Looking for general information, likely related to a problem Has identified a need and is looking for a solution Looking to get that solution from your company About 50% of your leads aren’t ready to buy, but this doesn’t mean they aren’t interested. Here’s where inbound marketing with content comes in. Content falls into three segments that correspond to our three buyer groups. Those segments… -
Mobile Usability: Tips for Creating Great User Experiences
10 Jun 2013 | 12:15 pmToday, few of us have only one screen in our lives. And the number only keeps growing. Between tablets, smartphones, laptops, and the like, we access information via applications or websites from a variety of screens, on devices with a range of capabilities. What does this constant interaction with our inanimate friends mean? Businesses need to focus on creating positive user experiences. They need to develop applications and websites that are quick to load and easy to use. Nothing frustrates a user more than slow loading information and confusing… -
Marketing Automation Saves Time and Money for AEC Firms
5 Jun 2013 | 6:30 amYou plan, develop and track your projects - why not do the same for your marketing? These days, marketing automation seems to be the most popular kid on the block. And for good reason. It saves tons of time and can do wonders for your bottom line. It is a solution to the time constraints faced by a variety of marketers and companies, and offers particular benefits for AEC firms. As a professional in the AEC industry, most of your time is likely taken up with proposal writing, project management, office management and generally making sure office processes run… -
Introduction to Workflow Mapping
3 Jun 2013 | 10:08 amWorkflows allow you to create a customized marketing plan by automating the steps in your lead nurturing process. Types of emails, when communication is sent, at what time of day, lead status updates, and more can be automated to ensure that you are communicating with your leads in a way that effectively moves them down the sales funnel, without annoying them with too many emails or irrelevant information. So, how exactly do you map workflows anyway? HubSpot Workflows is a fantastic tool to automate your workflows, so we’ll use it as a reference to explore the possibilities in… -
How Buyer Personas Are Key to Enterprise Inbound Marketing
29 May 2013 | 6:38 amWe all know that customers can’t buy things they don’t know exist. Identifying and reaching them is crucial to the success of any business. With this in mind, defining buyer personas is the foundation for your enterprise inbound marketing strategy, and is crucial for creating and disseminating content that will appeal to and reach your target audience. Let’s look at out how to create your buyer personas and consider the people in and outside your organization that shape your content development process. Who is Your Customer? Who are your customers? If you’re unsure of the…
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Yaagneshwaran on Business!!
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Is your marketing Taken Already???
9 Jun 2013 | 1:06 amNo matter if you’re marketing a self-published or trade-published book, you as an author are responsible for your own marketing. There could be no better marketer than you as an author. The good news is that now is a much better time than ever for authors with the advent of social media and especially people vlogging(Video blogging)on Youtube!! Traditional marketing and advertising has largely become an ineffective waste of money and free internet marketing has allowed for exposure beyond any author’s wildest dreams. 3 KEY POINTS: 1. Define your target reader audience clearly- A clear… -
LivingSocial®- What went wrong?
2 May 2013 | 11:30 pmLivingSocial®, the daily deals site. What went wrong? The hackers gained access to customer data on their servers including emails and encrypted passwords. Although the company feels the passwords are encrypted and it would be difficult to decode them, more than 50 million of their users have been asked to reset their passwords. Now, does encryption save you? Encryption is all about transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge. So, if a third-party possess the knowledge to decrypt it, your information is safe no more!
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Convert With Content
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Twitter Analytics
19 Jun 2013 | 3:09 amIt looks like everyone's getting into the analytics game. We have Facebook insights, Pinterest Analytics, and now, even Twitter analytics. This is great as a Social Media Marketer because one of the toughest parts of our job is showing the impact of our work through measurable actions. To login, go here: analytics.twitter.com From there you can see a better view of what type of content is working best. You can see how many clicks a link received, how many retweets you received and how many replies you got from a specific tweet. From a marketing standpoint, I'm interested in what type… -
Social Media In A Crisis: +1 For Social Media
18 Jun 2013 | 2:24 amLast fall a huge storm hit New York City. Maybe you remember it? Super Storm Sandy took NYC by storm (literally), putting many businesses out for days, months and even for good. At the time, I was working for a NYC based culinary school. I managed all their day-to-day social media efforts as their Community Manager and Social Media Strategist. While my main job was engagement, I was always online and, luckily, I lived on the other coast with no interruption to my internet service. Unfortunately, the school was hit pretty hard and had to close for a week. Their server—an important and very… -
How To Motivate Yourself To Blog & Where To Find Inspiration
17 Jun 2013 | 5:30 amBlogging is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Of course, you have to have a website too, but the blog—the blog is gold. Websites serve as placeholders for people to find you and contact you. Blogs serve as lead generators. And as a small, medium, or large sized business, leads are something you need. Why Blogging Works Jason Clegg, our CEO, wrote a fabulous article about why blogging is the new SEO. A well-written and regularly updated blog will help get you to the top of the search engines naturally and organically. The main reason is that,… -
Facebook Hashtags And What It Means For Your Business
14 Jun 2013 | 10:12 amFacebook just launched hashtags. With the success of hashtags on platforms like Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram, this seems to be a logical move for Facebook. They only just launched today, so we'll see how it plays out, however, from a marketing standpoint, this is good news. What's A Hashtag? In its most simple terms, a "hashtag" is a way to categorize Tweets, photos, and now Facebook statuses by keywords. Hashtags make searching the social web much easier, because you can see posts by people you wouldn't have known existed otherwise. By connecting with people who use the hashtags… -
Socially Stephanie - Answering Your Social Media Questions
7 Jun 2013 | 9:18 amWe have great news, our VP of Social Media, Stephanie Frasco is now a weekly columnist over at Social Media Today. Make sure you follow Socially Stephanie every Friday as she answers your most pending social media questions. As a recap, here's what you might have missed. Socially Stephanie: Social Strategy for Wedding Photographers Socially Stephanie: Time Management Socially Stephanie: Social Media Outreach & Networking Don't forget to leave your questions for Stephanie here as well. ConvertWithContent is your source for social media and content marketing information, tips and…
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scribewise.com
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How to Achieve Authentic, Quality Content
18 Jun 2013 | 9:50 amWe’ve already clarified what content marketing is and what it isn’t. But how do you actually implement it the right way and produce content people actually trust? In addition to hiring experienced writers who know their way around research and syntax, you also need to establish guidelines to keep your content at the right quality level. A recent article in Forbes says that in order to do so, quality content must also be authentic. Let’s take a quick look at what this means. If we combine The New American Oxford Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definitions of authentic,… -
Content Strategy At The Speed Of News
17 Jun 2013 | 4:21 amA big question that many brands ask is what’s the right amount of content? And almost invariably, their position is we don’t want to do too much. People don’t want to hear from us, they say. Our industry is boring, they say. Quite frankly, that is antiquated thinking. Trust me – there are people in your industry, i.e. your prospects, that are searching online right now for information about your business. In this information age we crave the latest and greatest information. Consider this – the Wall Street Journal publishes several hundred articles every day. Huffington Post… -
Hashtag: #loveFacebook
13 Jun 2013 | 7:44 amThey got their start in one of the nerdiest (and now quite dusty) corners of the internet. Hashtags made the news this week when Facebook announced that it’s adding functionality to the pound key. It’s big. Just check CNN, the New York Times, and Aljazeera. Sure, people have been using hashtags on Facebook for a long time, but the new development is that Facebook hashtags will now be clickable and indexable like they are on other social sites like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine. The origin of hashtags can be traced back to IRC (internet relay chat) channels, one of the earliest… -
Has Your Brand Crisis Gone Viral? Follow Fathead's Example
11 Jun 2013 | 8:28 amLike a jaw-dropping episode of Game of Thrones, a PR crisis can gain attention and evoke all kinds of responses in a matter of seconds. In most cases, you just can’t make this stuff up; and I guiltily can’t get enough. What did a brand do wrong? How is it going to handle it? What crazy B.S. or brilliant apologies are being offered now? But since we all love a happy ending, it’s encouraging to see a brand successfully manage its reputation in the face a potentially detrimental PR crisis. While we recently looked at a company who did it completely wrong, we can now take a look at one who… -
5 Ways To Jumpstart Your Stale Corporate Blog
10 Jun 2013 | 4:15 amIf it’s been five weeks since your company updated its blog, you have a couple of choices. You can shake your head embarrassingly, roll your eyes and commiserate with colleagues about how “the company doesn’t get it.” You can take down the blog because you realize it looks ridiculous to have a blog that is updated so infrequently. Or you can try to fix the problem. A blog that goes weeks and weeks without being updated is an embarrassment. It demonstrates to the outside world that you really don’t have your act together. So, yeah, that’s bad. Here are five ways to jumpstart the…
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Social Media Explorer
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When to Separate Your Brand From an Emotional Event
19 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amWithin the past 12 months, we’ve seen no shortage of disasters that range from Hurricane Sandy, the mass shooting in Aurora and most recently the Boston Marathon bombings. For some brands, it may appear that the marketing window of opportunity has opened; if so, my advice to you is, shut that window and board it up… immediately. Brands that refuse to shut the window and proceed to capitalize on these emotional events as a springboard for marketing ploys have quickly joined the ranks of ‘worst social media disasters of the year’. Just ask American Apparel (20% Off Sale during Hurricane… -
Life is Good Playmakers – #GivingTuesday
18 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amFew brands attract my love and devotion as strongly as Life is good. Their simple shirts, hats and other accessories have always made me smile. The vibe matches my love of the outdoors, a good dog and a kicked back approach to life. But, today I don’t walk to talk about their clothes and instead share with you something much more important and that is the work that The Life is good Playmakers do to help kids overcome poverty, violence, and illness by using the power of joyful play to heal and strengthen children. When you read their story about starting in 1990 as Project Joy and it… -
The B2B Sales Power Punch
18 Jun 2013 | 5:46 amMarketing has been shining the spotlight on the power of social media over the last few years. It’s been effective as we’ve seen budgets for social media and content marketing increase with hockey stick proportions. Now it’s time to add a new team in the race and look at how these tools can be used to drive sales in the organization. That means we need to take a hard look at where the sales team fits in the mix. I know a few of you just visibly cringed as you think of letting your sales team loose on social media channels, but the reality is that many of them are already there. If… -
Rebooting With Mitch Joel
17 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amThere are few authors I’d recommend buying their books based solely on who they are and what they know. But Mitch Joel is one of them. With his first book, Six Pixels of Separation (Business Plus, 2010) he solidified his reputation as one of the leading minds in digital marketing. His new book, CTR ALT DEL: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends On It (XXXX, 2013) Joel is at it again, telling us what we need to know to be successful tomorrow, not just today. The book goes beyond “be social” and “think mobile first” and makes the media… -
5 Key Elements of Viral Content [Infographic]
14 Jun 2013 | 3:00 amThe goal of every content marketer is to have his/her information shared across digital channels by their audiences. This is often easier said than done. What factors contribute to people sharing the content they consume online? In researching the content for this infographic I came across a post in my Delicious archive that helps answer this question. Leo Widrich over on the Buffer Blog wrote a great post about what makes content spread. In it, he analyzes some of the elements that helped one particular blog post get over half a million likes. He also references an interesting research paper…
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CopyPressed
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Fresh Pressed: 6/19/2013
19 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pmToday’s Category: Curation How Much Is A Social Media Influencer Worth? Social media influencers are increasingly used by brands to advertize for products or services. Social media marketing company IZEA has researched the worth of influencer tweets, blogposts, photos, and such. Influencer marketing has been around for a steady while now. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: all can offer brands many influencers.But no one actually knows how […] Seven Tips to Tumblr Your Way to Success With Yahoo’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr in May, the startup’s future has recently been the source… -
Facebook Delays Video Ad Launch
19 Jun 2013 | 9:45 amWe’ve all been hanging on bated breath for the incorporation of video ads into the Facebook News Feed. By “we” I mostly mean marketers looking to drop $1 million for a day’s worth of ads and marketing bloggers looking to over-analyze them. Everyone else has been rather ambivalent. Facebook announced the video plan in April, and expected to release ads this summer. Now the launch has been delayed until October, according to AdAge. In Facebook’s defense, they’ve had a pretty busy few weeks. Between the launch of hashtags and a major press conference tomorrow, they haven’t… -
Online Marketing: You Get What You Pay For
19 Jun 2013 | 7:30 amEverything I write about on Copypress is related to content marketing. I am a die-hard believer in the benefits off all forms of it, but today I want to discuss some things that have an impact on the effectiveness of your content marketing. Everyone wants to get a “deal” on services, I do too, but the truth is that you get what you pay for. Lately I have seen some businesses actually investing in good content marketing, yet they have failed to invest properly in two things that help people see and find their content marketing efforts: their website(s) and their SEO. Websites Every… -
Fresh Pressed: 6/18/2013
18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pmToday’s Category: Connections Advanced Authorship: The Deep Dive Up Close Coverage From SMX Advanced 2013 I just attended the SMX Advanced session, “Authorship: The Deep Dive” this morning, moderated by Elisabeth Osmeloski, and featuring speakers: John Carcutt, Advance Digital, Janet Driscoll Miller, Search Mojo, Mitul Gandhi, seoClarity, and Mark Traphagen, Virante, Inc. There were a number of interesting takeaways. Mitul Gandhi […] 6 Steps to Turn Guest Posting on its Head Guest posts are getting old. Make no mistake, we wouldn’t be writing a guest post right now if we didn’t… -
Will You Try Digg Reader?
18 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amThe end is nigh: Google Reader dies in T-minus 12 days. Users have less than two weeks to find an alternative RSS feed or face a world without articles conveniently curated by topic and source. Digg, the company that Google accidentally deindexed after it announced the development of a Reader replacement, will be rolling out Digg Reader, version 1 next week. Clearly this RSS feed is legit, as their blog post included several photos of geeks sitting at computers and pointing at white boards. via Digg plans to open the RSS feed to everyone by June 26, so those who have clung so dearly to Google…
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Content Marketing Experience
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Michael Brito: the link between social business and social content strategy
18 Jun 2013 | 12:02 pmSocial business thinker, practitioner and author Michael Brito is releasing a new book. It’s called “Your Brand: The Next Media Company” and that already says a lot. The people at Edelman, where Michael is SVP Social Business Strategy, obviously pay a lot of attention to content marketing. But it’s not just from the PR and [...]The post Michael Brito: the link between social business and social content strategy appeared first on Content Marketing Experience. -
Content marketing and search engine optimization: tips and infographic
18 Jun 2013 | 9:48 amWe covered the ways Google is changing how people find content and the resulting increasing adoption of content marketing by search engine practitioners many times before. Content marketing and search: who can separate both? Google wants to make web search more relevant and content marketing plays an important role in the ways companies can respond [...]The post Content marketing and search engine optimization: tips and infographic appeared first on Content Marketing Experience. -
Prediction: brands will become audiences instead of publishers
15 Jun 2013 | 12:05 amToday, content marketing is strongly connected with social media. The significantly grown attention for content marketing and the “brands as publishers” view is related with a maturation of social media marketing and even of social business (that is part of digital business). However, content marketing and social are also connected in a way your business [...]The post Prediction: brands will become audiences instead of publishers appeared first on Content Marketing Experience. -
Industry news/analysis: Cision launches content marketing software
14 Jun 2013 | 6:44 amCision, mainly known in the PR, media and communications industry enters the content marketing software market. The company already offered solutions for PR professionals, including CRM tools for PR management, influencer lists, editorial calendars (media outreach), all-round media monitoring (including social and online) and media analysis tools. As content marketing is the hot topic among [...]The post Industry news/analysis: Cision launches content marketing software appeared first on Content Marketing Experience. -
Content and conversion: 8 recurring landing page mistakes to avoid
8 Jun 2013 | 12:25 am’8 landing page bloopers’ is a paper/presentation by landing page specialist Ion Interactive (see below), outlining some of the most common and ignored mistakes made with landing pages. In the end, many content marketing goals are about conversion and include landing pages. We covered the paper before somewhere else and originally it contained 7 landing [...]The post Content and conversion: 8 recurring landing page mistakes to avoid appeared first on Content Marketing Experience.
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Limor's Storytelling Agora
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Storytelling can’t be a buzzword!
6 Jun 2013 | 4:22 amBuzzword – a combination of ‘verbing’ a noun to make it look elegant, fresh and dynamic and an attempt to re-brand and hence own, something that has been out there for ages. As discussed on this blog before, storytelling is … Continue reading → -
I repeat: content marketing isn’t storytelling
3 Jun 2013 | 11:36 amThe other day I met a guy who ‘does’ content marketing. When he heard I’m a storyteller he looked at me as if he found his long-lost sister and cheered, “we do the same thing!”. A little sorry for ruining … Continue reading → -
Disruptive Innovation in The Arts
1 May 2013 | 1:19 pmThrough the past year I’ve seen so many references to the “democratization” of the arts by aid of technology and social media, that eventually I had to set my mind to look into these declarations. Paraphrasing on the definition of … Continue reading → -
Online marketing and media betray storytelling
29 Apr 2013 | 8:01 amOnline marketing and media betray the core principles of storytelling. Anyone care to argue the opposite? In storytelling, I can notice overt responses and reaction from you and work with them – or not. I can elicit a particular response … Continue reading → -
So, you want to be a storyteller?
28 Apr 2013 | 8:22 pm“Ladies and Gentlemen of the company, I am honored and grateful for your presence, for in your absence, my art does not exists.” In memory of Mimi (Bat Ami) Barthélèmy (May 3, 1939 – April 27, 2013). I’ve heard these … Continue reading →
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The Content Company
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Content Marketing Sweetens the Mix [Infographic]
12 Jun 2013 | 10:19 pmHow popular has branded content marketing become this year? In a recent article, Direct Marketing News reported that 66% of brands and 65% of agencies consider branded content marketing to be very important or most important to their overall marketing efforts. According to the following infographic, 70% of brands and 77% of agencies have used […] -
Content & Story Telling – The Pixar way?
23 Apr 2013 | 10:13 pmCan you think of all the Pixar movies you have watched or seen the trailers of? Now when I think back I find that there is not a single one where I thought oh crap no way am I seeing this. What I realised is that Pixar movies may be super blockbusters or mediocre but […] -
A Pint of Guiness & The Content Company
19 Apr 2013 | 1:56 amSo what is The Content Company all about? We figured lets get our colleagues to tell all about why they love working here and what they love about the people they work with. You’ll also get a glimpse of what each one of us will be bringing to the table at TCC. This month we […] -
Tête à Tête with ‘MAD’ about Comics Abhijeet
17 Apr 2013 | 1:45 amBeing a Comic artist is a really tough job in India and there are many talented artists and it’s a really competitive business. In the coming months we will be interviewing some talented comic artists across the Indian Landscape to give you their perspective on the Comic Industry here! Abhijeet Kini is a popular Mumbai-based illustrator who […] -
Understanding Cross-Platform Consumer Behaviour
12 Apr 2013 | 2:04 amFrom smartphones and tablets to laptops and television, 90% of all media interactions today are screen-based. We took a closer look and discovered that there are two distinct ways people move among screens to get stuff done: simultaneously and sequentially. This study shows how these two modes of interaction trigger specific behaviours such as online […]
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Content Marketing Blog
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The #BlurredLines of #Facebook #Hashtags
19 Jun 2013 | 5:45 amAs it’s been widely buzzed about, Facebook is following in the social media footsteps of Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr and incorporating clickable and searchable hashtags on the social networking site. About 20% of all Facebook users will get the hashtag feature in an initial roll-out with a worldwide launch over the next few weeks. Hashtags allow people to find out what anyone else is saying about a particular topic on certain social media channels and let them follow discussions about everything from serious news (#Syria) to tv shows (#MadMen) or even eating #glutenfree. Like on other… -
Lessons Businesses Can Learn From McDonald’s Recipe of Brand Transparency
12 Jun 2013 | 5:30 amA recent unconventional Q&A session at the McDonald’s annual shareholder meeting showed that even some of the youngest consumers are concerned about brand transparency. After 9-year-old Hannah Robinson addressed the CEO of McDonald’s Corp., Don Thompson, asking, "Mr. Thompson, don't you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and happy life?" Thompson responded by talking about his children and their experiences eating McDonalds, according to an ABC news article. In this case, he chose to express appreciation for her interest in fruits and vegetables, adding that he also likes… -
Did the Sun-Times Jeopardize Journalism by Trading Photographers for iPhones?
7 Jun 2013 | 5:30 amOne of the most recognized newspapers in the country made a major move last week. The Chicago Sun-Times laid off its entire photography department, affecting 28 employees. Every single photojournalist, including Pulitzer Prize winners, was shown the door. Their replacements will be freelancers and reporters armed with iPhones. The Sun-Times released this statement: "The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities… -
Cheerios Faces a Battle Against Bigotry in Social Media Marketing
5 Jun 2013 | 7:22 amNegative reviews and comments can happen to the best of companies in social media, even family-friendly Cheerios. It’s how you handle them – authentically and professionally - that can actually put you back on top. Cheerios recently released a sweet commercial called “Just Checking” about a little girl trying to keep her dad’s heart healthy (by dousing him) with the cereal. The little girl is bi-racial, as her Caucasian mom and African-American dad are in in the spot. Cheerios posted the ad to YouTube, as it does all of its commercials. But, after a surprising bombardment of racial… -
Top Content Marketing Mistakes Many Businesses Make
21 May 2013 | 5:30 amMany brands are finally having an “a-ha” moment when it comes to content marketing. Although we’re making great strides in changing mindsets from traditional old-school marketing, there are still many mistakes being made by big and small companies alike. Here are the top content marketing missteps that are made most often. Throwing it out there to see if it sticks. Launching new content with no plan or clear direction is a waste of time and energy. Creating a content strategy with objectives and measurable results is essential. Putting too many chefs in the content kitchen.
