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Are you ready to give content marketing the time, money and resources it deserves?
While your answer may be yes, it’s never easy to get up and running with a new marketing strategy. There are questions to answer, challenges to overcome and various tasks that need addressed.
With 88% of B2B marketers currently using content marketing as part of their overall strategy, neglecting to do so will put you in the minority.
As you get started, you’ll soon find a variety of ways to better research, plan, create and distribute content.
What I’ve created here is a list of content marketing tools that you’ll want by your side as you roll out your first campaign.
These tools cover the most important details you’ll need to address before you get started, as well as in the early days (and weeks) of running your campaign....
Consumers’ top purchase influencers are also their top sources of new product awareness, according to results from a recent Nielsen report [download page].
The study, based on a survey of 30,000 consumers across 60 countries, found that friends and family (56%) and TV ads (52%) are the leading sources of information about new products for consumers. These are also consumers’ top purchase influencers, according to studies by MarketingCharts and by Deloitte....
So, how is it possible that so many businesses (especially small or online-based businesses) are failing to utilize social media for PR? After all, it can only be vastly improved by the use of direct engagement with both customers and the press -- and social media is perfect for both.
Here are a few tips to get you started.
In other words: change becomes more manageable when you understand what's going on, how long it will last and whether you are on course to conquer it change becomes more manageable when you understand what's going on, how long it will last and whether you are on course to conquer it. Within companies, "change management" is generally a focused effort; but within industries, there is less support and less understanding of these changes without centralized leadership to navigate.
As an industry undergoing massive changes — with journalists fleeing to brands and budgets shifting to data-driven metrics — PR stands at a fork in the road, which requires both a new way of thinking and new, diverse skill sets.
Online readers may have a harder time remembering news stories than print readers, according to a recent study from the University of Houston.
The study got two groups of university students to read the news and recall what they read. For 20 minutes, one group of 25 read a hardcopy of the New York Times, while another 20 read the newspaper's online version. Both groups were required to abstain from the news for the day until the study session, and participants weren't told that they would be tested on their recollection of what they read.
The results: although both groups read similar amounts, print readers remembered an average of 4.24 news stories, while online readers recalled an average of 3.35 stories....
With each passing day, PR is being nudged away from the familiar comfort of text-based communications to more visual forms of communications, especially in digital campaigns.
Today, among other platforms, Pinterest must be part of your social PR campaign strategy, especially if your target audience is female. It’s easy to dismiss Pinterest as a site where women just share pictures of fashion and food, but do so at your peril. Consider this: • One-third of the women in the U.S. use Pinterest, according to Pew Research Center’sSocial Media Update 2013.
• 85 percent of the estimated 40.1 million monthly Pinterest users in the United States in 2014 are female.
• New data from social sharing service ShareThis shows that for the first time, Pinterest outpaced email to become the third-most popular sharing channel in the fourth quarter of 2013.
• Pinterest is the channel of choice for moms, who share three times more than the average user, according to MarketingLand.com.
Still need to be convinced? Here are three examples of creative and effective PR campaigns using Pinterest as a central communications hub:
Sometimes it’s easier to just follow the dotted line as you’re looking to ensure your digital marketing is balanced and complete. This infographic compliments of Two Legit aims to do just that, walking you through your web presence, mobile, ecommerce, outbound, inbound, content and social media marketing initiatives.+ One element lost in this infographic is the ability for all of the strategies to work with one another. For instance, utilizing your content marketing to power newsletters that are optimized for mobile devices. That’s not defined in this infographic but it’s an absolute necessity if you’d like to fully leverage email and ensure your emails are read properly. I’ve written before that the modern digital media consultant is more of a conductor, balancing the volumes of each strategy to make some sweet, sweet music!+ More often than not, we find that the key to marketing well isn’t doing everything… it’s balancing a combination of strategies, amplifying the impact by having them work together, and understanding how much of each strategy to initiate in order to maximize results. That said – this is still a great checklist to go down and ensure you’re not missing anything! This infographic also provides some statistics behind the digital marketing trends.
The omni-channel, real-time, everything’s available environment we are currently living in has changed the marketing fundamentals quite radically. The world is no longer the same place for which The marketer E.Jerome McCarthy proposed a four Ps classification in 1960, which has since been used by marketers throughout the world.
This age requires us to re-design them. Here’s my attempt. Please comment and let’s make them even better: - Position – in customer’s mind - Performance – the user experience - Proximity – How close the brand is to it’s customers, Customer intimacy - Price – Price is no longer a fixed figure - Presence – instead of Place - Product - Promotion...
Why Social Media & Search Marketing go hand in hand. Taking the example of the Flower & Gifts Industry.
...We believe that Social Media and Search Marketing go hand in hand because Social conversations can lead keyword strategy in a certain direction, and Search keywords can influence Social content strategy. By combining your Search & Social Marketing efforts, you can make sure to provide your audience with the right content, based on what they search for the most and what engages them on Social Media. Today we will take a look at the Flowers & Gifts Industry as an example of Social Media & Search Marketing alignment...
You start with an idea, create an explainer video, spend a minimum amount of money, and 8 weeks later you've got more than 17 million YouTube views, thousands of quality links, 900,000 registered supporters and coverage in many of the world's leading media. And to cap it all, one of the world's top cell phone companies, Motorola contacts you to explore a partnership.That's the story of Dave Hakkens and his concept Phonebloks – not yet a finished product. It's a story that has much to teach SEO professionals about online public relations....
...showcase–those who are doing the hard work to integrate social media into some of America’s bigger companies. And then I got to thinking–there really is no list of these people anywhere.
Oh sure, there are Twitter lists here and there. Jeremiah Owyang has his list of social media new hires (and the last time he posted it was April 7). But, I really haven’t seen a good list of corporate social media leaders anywhere.
Probably with good reason. These folks are in high demand. Any such list would be pretty valuable to recruiters and agencies/companies (insert Arik evil laugh here). So, I thought, why not create one? Or, at least START to create one.
UK plumber Charlie Mullins' Pimlico Plumbers which has a reputation for being head-and-shoulders above the rest when it comes to marketing. He explains his tricks to get yourself noticed....
Even those that don't use his firm for their plumbing needs will, in all probability, have watched or read about him on television, online or in newspapers. Here are his top tips on how to make a small business stand out in a crowded marketplace....
Your website is the hub of your inbound marketing efforts. Every piece of content you create or campaign you run should be designed to drive traffic to your website and landing pages, giving you the chance to convert visitors into leads and customers. It makes sense, then, to start by looking at insights from your web analytics platform, such as Google’s free Google Analytics, or a paid platform like HubSpot .
Let's review the 8 essential metrics you should be tracking on your website and its landing pages, and how you can use these metrics to optimize and improve your website’s performance....
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In this volume of our biannual trend publication, we explore the theme of Evolution. Agencies, consultancies, brands and other industry thought leaders largely agree that 2016 is shaping up to be an evolve- or-die year. Or, to put a positive spin on it, we might say it’s a year to thrive through intelligent adaptation. While some agencies are going the way of the dinosaur, a forward-thinking cross-section of shops are reporting increased revenues and profits by partnering with clients in new and innovative ways, by bringing their own IP to market and more. Other industry players need to evolve as major shifts in the way consumers use technology, consume media and engage with the world around them are forcing massive changes. Throughout the 2016 editions of The SoDA Report, we’ll explore top trends and behaviors that leading practitioners in our industry won’t be able to ignore as the year unfolds, and we’ll cast a spotlight on brands, agencies and individuals who are flourishing in this environment. Within Modern Marketer, Industry Insider and via our Digital Outlook Study (conducted in partnership with Forrester Research for the first time), we’ll also explore how the landscape of creativity and the modus operandi for agency-client relationships are shifting in radical ways. Spurred by rapidly changing consumer expectations and behaviors, agency-client partnerships are expanding in incredibly exciting ways beyond the marketing realm to include business strategy, R&D, product development and customer service. We are so proud of the growth and development of The SoDA Report over the past year.
Greg Daniel AM, national practice leader of KPMG SR7, discusses how social media has changed the way people respond to advertising and PR.
In 1997, direct marketing guru Lester Wunderman talked about a new definition of brand: “It represents a cluster of consumer needs. It is each customer who is becoming a brand. I am a brand – and each of you is a brand.”
At that time, he said there were 260 million individual people brands in the US alone. More than 15 years later, the rise of social media has seen Wunderman’s prediction become a reality – in ways no-one expected.
This new reality represents the biggest single opportunity the PR industry has ever had – at the expense of advertising.
According to Nielsen, only 16% of people are influenced by advertising they see on the Internet while 84% are influenced by what people tell them on social media. While the growth in online advertising is dramatic – it is still advertising!...
A brand new year is upon us. Before diving into 2015 and all of the promise it holds, it’s an ideal time to reflect on our experiences over the past year and what we have to look forward to in the upcoming year.
At this point, you’ve likely seen this comment in every business related article: Marketing became even more complex in 2014, with new platforms, users consuming media in new an exciting ways, and making purchasing decisions in drastically different ways than ever before.
We are indeed herding cats…...
Some things in the world of public relations will always stay the same: Be authentic. Strive for credibility. Build relationships. Create storylines. Act fast. Achieve thought leadership.
But, the ways in which we achieve some of these still-critical elements have changed greatly over the years.
From circulation numbers to embedded URLs, from event attendance to social presence, and from direct mail to SMS, the PR world is evolving. Here are five outdated practices that have undergone a modern makeover with successful results:
A new study from the University of Houston does sort of throw a wrench into that line of thinking, though: it found that readers are more likely to remember things like, say, your client’s name and the products they sell when this information appears in print.
Here’s the key finding: after reading for 20 minutes and being asked to recall as many articles as possible: - Print-only readers recalled 4.24 stories on average
- Online readers recalled an average of 3.35 stories
Interestingly, the gap grew even wider when it concerned the topics discussed in those stories and the main points made. Vox turned it all into a graph if you want to check out a visual representation....
Don't act surprised. You knew it was coming, and the brands knew it was coming. The bad-on-purpose Sharknado 2: The Second One premiered last night on Syfy, and people watched it.
Looking to plan an earned media strategy? Here are 7 essential questions that you need to answer.
Earned media strategies are the bread and butter of effective content promotion, and creating and promoting a successful piece of content comes with a lot of work.
If you fail to construct a solid strategy, your content may miss the mark—and more importantly, it may miss your audience all together. But how can you be sure you’ve built a foolproof strategy? Before working on your next campaign, ask yourself these seven questions....
2014 should be a very interesting year in digital marketing. Businesses are beginning to show more mature digital mindsets which are driving their agencies towards innovation, new media platforms are changing the landscape and the past few years of experimentation should lean toward major advancements and changes in effective digital communication. In my research I have found the following trends that should become evident in 2014...
...like thousands of other words and phrases, it has many definitions including “a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation.” However, in our world of marketing and advertising, it means something completely different and according to Aileen Lee, partner at venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, “In the age of the social web, social proof is the new marketing.”
Basically if someone else has done it or used it and talked about it online, that’s social proof. As a B2B or B2C company, how do you go about getting people to talk about you or your product? And more importantly what do you do with that social proof once you get it?...
Just when it seems social media marketing has gone as far as it can, a new year begins and the field continues to evolve. As businesses watch a new year approach, many are wondering how they should adjust their content marketing efforts to match any industry changes next year.
As you formulate a plan for your upcoming campaigns, it’s important to take into account the social media environment we can expect over the course of 2014. Here are a few major changes to the social media landscape that experts are predicting next year....
Lots of people talk about “viral marketing” but apart from a (very) few, lighting-strikes-once exceptions, there’s very few who have built a business or even a soundly executed marketing strategy from it.If anyone can honestly be said to have “cracked the code” on viral, it’s arguably got to be BuzzFeed, the social publishing/advertising company who recently passed 30 Million visitors per month in viewership, whose 2012 revenues tripled 2011s, and who has recently been featured in both the New York Times and The Atlantic. And what’s BuzzFeed’s secret?
Well, it would be a dramatic oversimplification to ascribe their massive success to just one “secret.” According to BuzzFeed’s founder and CEO, Jonah Peretti, it’s actually 7 things. But the real “secret” they know that you (likely) don’t, and that I guarantee will help you with your online video content marketing, is this:The have absolutely zero shame in promoting their “viral” content....
One of the big focuses in social marketing today is influencer marketing.
The idea being that if you can get one person to tell something to their large audience, their audience will listen.
For organizations this is seen as less effort and potentially high response.
In reality, things aren’t that simple.Let’s take a look at a few things to keep in mind when you approach influencer marketing....
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If you're new to content marketing or just starting up for your business, Neil Patel's list of tools is a great place to start.