by Sally McMahon | Feb 10, 2015 | Content Marketing
Marketing has changed substantially over the decades, perhaps most rapidly over the last decade with the widespread use of social media. Content marketing is believed to be the future of marketing. Press releases and mass marketing emails no longer cut it. Consumers these days see the value in authenticity and want to do business with brands that go out of their way to build personal relationships with customers. Content marketing involves many different facets, but it is probably most widely associated with blogging and social media. These mediums of communication opened up a whole new world for individuals, giving them a fast and easy way to stay in touch with one another. From sharing pictures and stories to measuring Klout and keeping up with celebrities, there is something for everyone in the world of social media. In this fast paced digital age people want a lot of information fast, while also entertained in the process. Reaching Consumers Social media has been an indispensable tool for businesses to reach and engage with their customers. Social media made it possible to connect consumers and suppliers with one another, putting them on a playing field that has never been so level. Consumers are through with commercials and blatant ads, they want something with substance and entertainment value. Why not give them what they want? The infographic is a creative and effective way of marketing, without seeming like a heartless corporation. Instead of pushing the tried and true methods of advertising onto consumers, meet them halfway with an interesting, fun and informative infographic. The idea is that you create content that is useful or entertaining to your audience instead of focusing on a sales pitch. Infographics take a large chunk of information and chop it up into an easily digestible, well-organized narrative that is visually appealing. Research Matters Infographics aren’t magic, though. It takes more than just a bunch of words and pictures thrown together...
by Sally McMahon | Feb 4, 2015 | Content Marketing
Are you wondering what content marketing is (and isn’t)? Are you trying to figure out how to get started or how to justify a content budget within your organization? Or maybe you are already working with content marketing…but you want to get better results? You’ve come to the right place. Let’s review first. What is content marketing? Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action. Basically, it is the art of communicating with your customers without selling. There is a dizzying array of guides, checklists, tools and adaptations available online that explain how to begin your own content marketing plan. Because of the vast quantity, it is hard for some to connect the dots while sifting through this enormous amount of information available. One simple guide for newbies is “The CMI Content Marketing Framework: 7 Building Blocks to Success.” This guide includes resources, tools, methodologies and more that will provide a framework for success. Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, said that there are no silver bullets or onesize- fits-all plans that apply to every organization. However, there are some core, common elements across successful content marketing programs. Taking time to complete each of the seven steps with key members of your organization can set you on a path to developing a successful content marketing plan. You will learn the following: • What questions your content marketing strategy (i.e., “plan”) should answer • How to engage your audience early, and often, throughout your...
by Sally McMahon | Feb 4, 2015 | Content Marketing
By Ben Keeton You are an expert, now you need to let your clients know it. In the world of new media, the challenge is how to catch somebody’s attention in a crowded and noisy arena. The key to success is in developing a solid content marketing plan that will help you build your brand while getting the attention of your desired audience. Let’s establish one simple truth of today’s media environment: there is more information available to us every day than we can digest in a lifetime. Breaking through the noise and establishing credibility with the right audience is your key to success. If you try to be an expert for everybody on everything, you will fail. However, if you build your credibility with a specific audience, you will be able to build your brand, demonstrate your expertise and win new clients. The question remains, how do you credibly build your brand in an increasingly noisy environment? We believe there are three key elements to building a content marketing plan: Amplify Your Message First, you have to want to amplify your message. Each of us is an expert in our field. We have spent years training, practicing and perfecting the work we do each and every day. Often, we have unique access to information that we take for granted. The first step in developing a content marketing plan is to take that information out of your brain and find a way to tell your story. There are many ways to share this information in a noisy environment, from Twitter and LinkedIn to blogs and industry newspapers, the opportunities...
by Sally McMahon | Feb 3, 2015 | Content Marketing
Christopher S. Penn, VP of marketing technology at SHIFT Communications, said that the secret sauce of social media is the ability to find and be found by people who want to find you but don’t know you exist. You don’t need a large audience. Just the right audience. Think quality, not quantity. Think depth, not width. Penn shows us how to grow your audience on Twitter quickly and effectively in eight steps. Penn’s full article can be found here. We have consolidated his eight into five and will take a closer look at each of the five steps in the coming days. Decide on your audience and then build it up: Like a talented musician playing music to an empty room, you need to attract an audience if you want to be heard. Tweet stuff of value that’s worth sharing: This is the most important step and should be practiced over and over again. Remember good content is king. Assess: You’re wasting your time with social media if you’re not measuring it. After about 30 days of seeding your audience and sharing good stuff, measure your success using a multitude of tools. Follow You, Follow Me: Find the list of people who have retweeted you to their audiences and follow everyone who follows them. Repeat Repeat Repeat: Repeat step 2 for about 6 weeks. Then repeat steps 3 and 4. Next time: We will take a closer look one at step one – finding and building a relevant audience. Over to you: Do you have any other tips related to building more Twitter followers? Let’s discuss it further using the comment form below. ...
