 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
There are two types of social network — sharing tools and content tools. Find out how social media content tools can complement your sharing strategy. Use these tips to get in the game...
...Who doesn’t immediately share their Vine videos to Twitter and/or Facebook? Relying on Vine alone to get your six-second video to the masses would completely miss the point of why Vine was created in the first place. Vine is meant to create content for those other networks.Vine, Instagram, and others are smartphone apps first and social networks second.
And that changes how we should approach them from a social media content strategy standpoint. By all means, create away using these tools, but do so with these recommendations in mind...
Social media marketing is a critical piece in the online marketing puzzle for local businesses today. But it’s just one part of a successful online marketing system, and some days, there is so much to juggle that you just need a quick, easy way to fill your social media feed with interesting, engaging content. So, here are 10 ideas you can use to keep your social channels full of relevant, timely, and useful content – fast!...
Learn 10 principles for effective B2B content marketing, including creating content that solves pain points, and repurposing content to save time.
Content marketing does have its drawbacks. It cannot be relied upon to create a direct cause-and-effect; i.e. running a blog piece will usually not result in a direct sale. It is also very difficult to measure the results; content marketing is somewhat like public relations in this respect. However, it is not a “warm fuzzy,” either. Any marketing program should be using a variety of channels to reach customers so that its messages come from multiple different sources.
Content marketing is one of the many tools with which a company can deliver messages to its customers and prospects to “condition” them to purchase...
Sure, you have a business, but whether you sell a product or a service, you must provide SERVICE. What makes you so much different from your competitor that your prospects are knocking down your door? Or are they?
Solving problems is your real product not your widget or your services. Anyone and everyone does that. It is you, your service and your ability to meet the customer/prospect needs that will drive your business.You already know that people buy from people. You are “people” not just your brand or your company. It is your responsibility to meet needs, solve issues and instill a level of comfort and trust with your audience.
The buying decision occurs in the emotional environment.“Too many business owners and sales people try to sell their product or service, neglecting the fact that their customer is a person. In fact, the customer is a person who has feelings, influences and a mind of their own. They want to be connected with, and to trust and believe the person from which they are buying.” Rebecca Wilson....
As a content marketer, there are always questions you need to ask yourself and your clients in order to maximize your content. Ross Simmonds shares his. One of the ways I’ve helped clients achieve success is by really getting into the weeds of their work. I try to immerse myself into what they’re doing and what people think of them so I can identify what content is actually going to move the needle.
Here are three of the questions I always ask...
There are lots of articles that cover how to create effective calls to action (see below), but the question that really interests me is this: when it comes to content marketing assets such as eBooks, blog posts, articles, social media promotions, and beyond, when do you define your call to action? When do you decide that, yes, this is what I want the visitor to do? Hopefully, you answered, “before I ever lay finger to keyboard and begin to type.” That’s right. A call to action should never be an after-thought. It needs to be defined from the very start....
Modern marketers have to juggle many disciplines and wear many hats in order to succeed.... ....Psi shaped content marketing roles Psi, the Greek letter Ψ, is the letter that will come to symbolise modern marketers the most. It is a slightly more advanced version of the pi shaped marketer – Ď€. Whereas the pi has a broad knowledge base and two distinct specialisms, psi shaped marketers have a slightly different spectrum of knowledge; three specialist skills, or personal traits, that they then channel into one even more powerful, all encompassing specialism. The result is that three distinct skills and personal traits feed into one specialism. That specialism is increasingly going to be content marketing. Why? Because, as lots of brands are discovering, the digital blurring between search, social, PR and display, which all form part of the make-up of content marketing, means that those that practise it need to have multiple skillsets....
|
This is not another article about content marketing. It’s not intended to convince readers that content marketing can help differentiate them from their competitors, showcase thought leadership, drive traffic, or engage their customers. A quick Google search of the phrase “content marketing for small businesses” yields more than 200 million search results, meaning that there are already plenty of people out there talking about these things (and probably trying to sell small businesses something in the process).
So who is this article for? Anyone who’s convinced, but not sure how they can make it work for their business. It’s for anyone who’s ever wondered whether it’s possible to have a content marketing strategy without creating any content.
While the short answer to this is no, there is good news. The first is that the investment of time and money it takes to create great content doesn’t have to be a barrier to entry. Almost any small business that really wants to get into the game can do so by being smart about how they’re allocating their resources and maximizing the content they do have.
The second piece of good news is that the sheer amount of free content online makes activities like curation arguably more important than content creation itself.
That said, content creation still needs to play a role in your strategy. Original content--whether it’s in the form of a blog, case studies, videos, infographics, etc.-- will help you define the point of view you want to convey and should help set the tone for all of your content marketing efforts. The key is to maximize the ways in which you distribute and supplement it with other, lower touch tactics. Read on for five of the best....
As someone who spends most of his time talking to brands and agencies about content, I see far too many of them keeping content in a silo, rather than using it as part of a holistic marketing plan. Here are a few best practices for using content to supercharge your marketing spend....
Content Marketing is the New SEO. Having a Content Marketing strategy for your online business is key to SEO success in 2013. However, Content Marketing should be done correctly by following certain guidelines. Below is an infographic which shows the Do’s and Dont’s of Content Marketing....
In this age of noise, it’s critical that your message cuts through the static and connects with customers.That’s why persona research is an essential part of your overall content marketing strategy – to ensure your content is speaking to, and connecting with, the right people.
Persona research is as much an art as it is a science. In Raven’s recent post “48 tips for SEO newbies from 48 experienced SEOs,” Sarah Peters says this about content: “Know your audience/customer, first and foremost. What do they need? What are they searching for? How much do they know already? Where do they gather? What do they value? Find out, and then give them that.”That’s awesome advice, and it’s really the core concept behind persona research. In this post, I’d like to walk you through my process of using this research to create targeted content....
...The latest research from the Content Marketing Institute showed us that everyone is creating content and yet only about a third of us have a document content strategy. We’re struggling to rise above the marketplace noise and we need a plan to get there. So, we have all have a content problem, whether we have accepted it or not. We need to create more of the kind of content our customers are looking for and less of the stuff no one reads, or acts upon. Are you looking to define your content strategy? Before you start, it’s important to identify the questions you need to ask before you can really get started? In my latest presentation, I outline the questions you need to ask before you can define your content strategy. I have embedded the slides here and also will provide a high-level overview of the main points....
...Creating more content” was cited as the biggest challenge for content marketers in 2013. But without a content strategy of some kind, you simply don’t know if that’s true. How can more content fix your problem when you have no concrete plan? It’s like building a house with no architectural plans. So, we are going back to basics here. Expert content marketers with defined and working strategies can skip this article. For the other 90 percent of you, all I ask is that you start thinking about some of the steps below before creating any more content....
Content Marketing is important to the success of your biz, so we’re going to keep bringing you lots of info, including this newly released infographic from Uberflip. If you’re targeting other businesses (B2B), you may wonder how your marketing tactics compare to others, or may be looking for inspiration. We think you’ll find both in this infographic; here are a few key points: 94% of B2B marketers create new content rather than share. 82% of B2B marketers use content marketing to gain new customers and leads. The top three ways to share content: Social media 87% Website articles 83% Email 78%...
|
A thoughtful look at content marketing and taking a different approach to sharing valuable content in social media.