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We’ve been together for a while now, Marketing Blog readers. I’ve shared stories with you about business school, my surprise revelation that I’m an introvert, and other personal tidbits here and there. Here's one that I hope won't lower your opinion of me: I have a bit of a potty mouth. My first instinct is to apologize for it. But then, I came across new research that shows astrong correlation between cursing and authenticity in character. If only I had known that when I was a rebellious teen and could have retorted, as my colleague Kierran Petersensuggested, "I’m being authentic, Mom!" But it's true -- the study showed a positive connection between profanity and honesty -- on both a micro (individual) and macro (society) level. I've seen real-life examples of this phenomenon. Gary Vaynerchuk -- (in)famous for his profuse utterance of the "F" word in content and public appearances -- has experienced tremendous success as a marketer. And Doug Kessler, creative director of the agency Velocity Partners, has given numerous presentations on the power of swearing in your marketing. So how can this whole thing be executed without risking a loss of respect? And why are we so drawn to it, anyway? We had a look at some example and research, and drew some, er, freakin' conclusions....
Online, your product is unbundled. You get 10 words. Or 8. Or maybe 13, like I used above, to market your work. Digital success is like selling a newspaper story by story rather than day by day or week by week. And in selling that day’s paper, by subscription or newsstand, there’s just less urgency to make the headline awesome on that 150-word story buried at the bottom of page 11. Sections and geographic centers all are comfortable assumptions you can’t make in digital headlines. You must have a certain sense of desperation in writing web headlines, like those eight words are the difference between that column’s or blog’s life or death. Mostly, because it is. You aren’t owed readership. Your headline helps earn it — along with a handful of other factors like author and brand.
So any strategy involving growing and sustaining digital audience must incorporate excellence in headline writing. Must.
A few points to clarify here as we begin. I’ll be discussing writing for readers here, not for search engine optimization. That will be a consideration at times, but mostly we’re talking about people creating headlines for people....
In addition to the Discover, Create and Engage modules, we have included a guide for journalists that will explain how to get started on Facebook or simply grow your presence. We’ve heard from journalists that they need more information when deciding between setting up a Page or a profile and about how to manage privacy settings. The “Getting Started” course seeks to answer all of those questions and covers key steps for building out a professional journalistic voice on the platform, including how to apply for the Facebook blue badge that indicates verification.
In the coming weeks, we will also commence a series of webinars on the site which will be tailored to journalists who are both new and old to Facebook. These webinars will be organized according to new products and features, a person’s level of experience using Facebook as a journalist, and their role (newsgatherer, content creator, or audience engagement specialist)....
Most brands have some form of newsletter to connect with customers. But for many brands, more emphasis is placed on getting people to sign up than on giving them a reason to sign up.
Last week David Hieatt, founder of Hiut Denim and the Do Lectures gave a workshop in London on the power of the humble email newsletter. I didn’t go to the workshop, but how he described it got me thinking about this often overlooked communication tool:
“In terms of using social media to grow your business, we are all looking for the next new platform or app. We want to find that magic ‘Multiplier’ that gets our story out to the world…
“A great newsletter can do that. And yet most people ignore it, dismiss it, or if they use it, use it poorly. Yet, this tool, in the right hands, is as powerful as they come…
“I am fascinated by the power of a simple newsletter to grow a business. I am also fascinated that most businesses don’t pay much attention to theirs. It’s an afterthought. A poor cousin.
“But when done right, they become something else. With a strategy, with a simple methodology, they become one of the most effective tools in your digital toolbox. They build community. They build your brand. And they relentlessly build long-term growth. They are pure and utter gold.”...
Which of these sums up your view on content production?
“Content is about quality, not quantity. We should be producing high value, authoritative content regularly, not publishing lots of short posts. Less is more.”
“Winning in digital media now boils down to a simple equation: figure out a way to produce the most content at as low a cost as possible.” (Digiday 2013)
Do you agree with first statement? Me too, until recently. But now I think we could be wrong.
The Washington Post now publishes around 1,200 posts a day. That is an incredible amount of content. My initial reaction when I read the statistic was ‘surely that is too much, the quality will suffer, why produce so much content?’ The answer seems to be that it works. The Post’s web visitors have grown 28% over the last year and they passed the New York Times for a few months at the end of 2015....
It’s no secret that we as consumers are exposed to a plethora of promotions and ads every single day. In fact, according to some we are exposed to somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 ads per day, a staggering number that is only increasing. So how can we as marketers cut through the noise and reach consumers where they are? The answer may lie in the intersection between personalized content and mobile technology. According to an infographic by Microsoft and VMob, utilizing real-time data can lead to hyper-personalized content creation. For example, a retailer who aligned seasonal marketing and promotional messages with localized weather trends saw sales increase by 18%.
Take a look at the infographic below to find out how you can use targeted metrics to create personalized content....
Do you want more people to join your LinkedIn group?
Are you looking for tips to get more exposure for your group?
LinkedIn groups are a great way to generate leads and increase influence within an engaged community.
In this article, you’ll discover five ways to quickly build a larger membership for your LinkedIn grouP....
A surge of traffic may look great in your stats – but it won’t necessarily result in many new long-term readers.
Instead of thinking just about traffic, you want to focus on getting subscribers: people who keep reading your posts day after day, week after week, and month after month.
A great first goal is to get 1000 subscribers to your blog, either through email or RSS subscriptions. (Unless you’re writing about techy things, you’ll probably find most readers prefer to subscribe through email.)
When you’re just starting out, though, with just a handful of subscribers, or none at all, 1000 can look a long way off. Here’s how to get there, step by step....
One of the most frequent questions we get from aspiring and current inbound marketers is, "How do you manage all of that content?"
When we tell them we use an editorial calendar, the next question is often, "Oh, how much does that cost?"... Nothing. Because, for the most part, we use Google Calendar....
Sometimes, the jump from zero readership to several hundred, thousand, or ten thousand hits per day happens in a few weeks, more often it’s several months after a project begins that regular readership begins to take shape. It’s 9 parts hard work and 1 part serendipity, getting your posts in front of the right people at the right time.
This blog is young, and I’ve far from cracked the code, but I can share with you what I’ve been doing with each post that goes up on this blog in order to nudge some initial traffic towards it.
In fact, if you’re reading this right, now, it’s highly likely that your visit is a direct result of one of the methods below – so it’s at least working a little bit, right?...
Every time you write a new post, you share it on the social web, right? Well, how’s that working for you?
It’s unfortunate, but most Twitter and Facebook feeds look like a graveyard – no likes, comments, or shares. That’s because no one shows you how to use social media properly.
Today, I want to share with you the strategies that I have used to maximize the number of social shares I get from each post. Social media traffic can play a big role in growing a site as you might have seen in my 100k challenge.
Problem is, actually creating all these beautiful visuals isn't exactly every marketer's forte. Oh, another problem? Design software can cost an arm and a leg (plus all the classes you need to take to learn how to work the darn stuff).
But there's good news -- there are plenty of free and easy-to-use tools out there that can make you look like a master designer. This post will break down 21 of our favorites so you too can create visuals and images that'll make your marketing pop. Get ready to create visualizations, banners, infographics, and more like a total pro....
40 Ideas for Visual Social Media That Connects | Shoutlet
Humans process visuals faster. In a world where social media feeds are packed with content, visually based content that can be processed in an instant is more important than ever. Every social network is different. They have different audiences, require different voices, and display posts differently. Creating visual content with specific platforms in mind will make the experience better for your customers active on those networks.
(Tip: Remember to optimize for each network – they all require different image dimensions and file sizes to display at their best.).... View here: http://info.shoutlet.com/rs/shoutlet/images/40_Ideas_for_Visual_Social_Media_Shoutlet.pdf
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When it comes to business blogging, how much time do people put into creating posts? How long are their articles? What goes into them? How often do they publish new content? How do they promote their posts? Do they measure the results? The answers to any and all of the questions deliver interesting insights on the state of digital marketing. And thanks to the work of Orbit Media Studios, this data has been collected, made available and fun to consume. For three years running, Andy Crestodina -- the web design and development company's co-founder -- and his team have surveyed 1000+ bloggers about how they create content and compiled their findings into blog posts, infographics, and SlideShares. Let's take a look at some of the trends over the years ......
People often assume that trade blogs are dry and uninteresting by their very nature. That isn’t—and shouldn’t be—the case.
After all, who will keep coming back to your blog if they’re bored to tears whenever they visit?
Luckily, there are plenty of easy ways to spice things up.
Here are 25 useful tips to turn your B2B blog into something that delivers the returns you deserve. It’s never too late to make your B2B blog an effective part of your online marketing strategy.
In fact, I’m bursting with ideas for making industry blogs more dynamic and engaging. Here are my 25 best tips....
What you need is some help from artists who’ve already blazed a trail and discovered what actually works. Because some of those ideas might work for you too. So check out the following list of excellent role models for tons of ideas. And don’t just stick to your own field – cross-pollinate and explore ideas from other disciplines....
Your blog goes dormant, and you curse yourself every day for it. Sound familiar? It happens to a lot of people. For all the craze over content marketing, there sure are a lot of people who fell off the wagon a long time ago. I get that. I understand. It’s tough work. It’s grueling at times. It’s thankless. It’s challenging. And to write an article every single day, day in and day out, year after year? Sounds impossible. It’s not. And I’m going to tell you how and why. Here’s what you need to know about what it takes to write a blog post every day....
Andreea Ayers founded LaunchGrowJoy.com in 2011 after selling a successful t-shirt business, and realised she had plenty to share in terms of selling products successfully online. Her blog focuses on her experience with ecommerce and selling online, moving into PR and teaching product entrepreneurs how to get their products featured in print media and on influential blogs. Andreea has some tried-and-true strategies for building a buzz around your blog or business through media promotion, both traditional and online. She walks the talk, with her blog being featured in more than 500 media outlets since she started five years ago. I asked her what her non-negotiables are when it comes to seeking publicity as a solo blogger or entrepreneur....
As a content marketer for Bizzabo, a growing SaaS company, it’s often challenging to know if what I spend my day doing is working. I worry about generating more visits and more leads while serving the best interests of our readers. A year ago, the challenges were even steeper. I knew that inbound marketing was effective. I knew that blogging was a good thing and that it was generating some great leads for us. But I wasn’t sure if blogging more frequently would have a tangible positive impact on our key metrics. After talking with my team, we decided to give blogging more frequently a shot. We committed to publishing 3 posts a week for one year, and we got pretty darn close to that ambitious goal (averaging 2.5 posts per week). We were able to grow our readership by 190% in that time. We also increased the number of people who subscribed to our blog by 980%. By publishing quality content so frequently, we learned a thing or two about what makes a B2B blog successful, and what doesn’t. Here’s what I wish I knew when Bizzabo started this initiative a year ago....
Do you want more exposure for your content?
Have you considered publishing your content on Apple News?
Apple News lets you deliver both visual and text-based content directly to a growing number of iOS mobile devices.
In this article, you’ll discover how to become an Apple News publisher....
How do successful authors engage their fans on social media? And what can authors post on social media besides links to their own books?
Below you’ll find 23 ideas, along with examples from successful authors. Many of these tactics can help promote a book, but in more creative and engaging ways than simply posting a link to a book’s retailer page.
Publishers and agents, this post is written for authors. We encourage you to share it with your authors to help them build more engaging profiles.
Authors, we hope hope you find the list useful — and please share your great ideas in the comments!...
When you’re planning to write, but before you’re actually writing, you create an outline. Unfortunately, most outlines are worthless. You need a better outline: a fat outline.
Outlines are helpful for mapping out the structure of a long piece of writing — anything more than 1,000 words (a couple of pages). An outline ought to help the people you’re working with — your boss, your clients, your editor — to understand what you’re going to write. It should also force you, the writer, to think clearly about content.
The problem is, traditional outlines don’t do this very well.
Without consistent output, your results will be a fraction of what they could be.
And since we both know the power of content marketing, it’s a shame.
But I have good news! It’s a problem that can be fixed if you’re willing to keep an open mind.
I’m going to show you six writing tactics that can turn you into a more focused and efficient writer. They have worked for me and other top notch writers.
You might not be interested in trying them all at first, but give one or two a try, and once you get good results, try others....
So whether your content is being consumed within social channels or on your website, visual content remains a powerful tool – but only if done correctly.In short, the rules of visual content have changed.
Why should you use visual content?Just take a quick look at these 3 snack size facts about the visually wired human. In a visual content format Below are 10 new rules of visual content marketing. Break them and you risk losing your customers....
...When it comes to organic search, Google and other search engines place a premium on backlinks. They interpret backlinks as “votes” for the content.Of course, to generate backlinks, you must create content that prompts other digital properties to share your content with their audiences.
For the type of content that grades out as shareable, it’s typically not product information or a personnel announcement or an industry award — information we characterize as company-centric. Instead, it’s the type of business storytelling that’s useful or informative and ultimately helps people in their jobs.In short, thought leadership plays at the industry level, not the company level, ideally offering takes that can’t be found elsewhere.
Such dot-connecting points to blogging as one of the best platforms for thought leadership....
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Amanda Zantal-Weiner uncovers the reasons why we're naturally drawn to marketers who curse. Hell yeah!