by Sally McMahon | May 22, 2015 | Content Marketing
Need specific examples of content marketing? Here are 25 ideas you can implement now. Research: Perform extensive keyword research to topic model its blog categories, then assigned experts to create “everything you need to know” about content for each topic. Enews: Create multiple newsletters if your audience has varied interests Give subscribers an option for a daily, weekly, or monthly newsletter. Adopt mobile-optimized design techniques—such as using a single-column layout, large text, and buttons, and spacing out links. Be sure landing page for web is mobile friendly. Eye Candy: Integrate exciting videos and entertaining infographics into publications. Polls: Create a quick poll on web site or social sites on a regular basis. Recognize them when you use one of their ideas. Case Studies: Think beyond straight text and consider adding visual elements such as videos and photos to make your stories come to life. Instead of focusing on traditional features/benefits, focus on the meaning of its technology. Blogs: Create valuable content, videos and answer questions about various topics in your industry. Focus on interactive conversations. Guest Posting: If you have individuals who are well-respected – or want to build a personal brand – consider using articles on other web sites. For articles to pack the most punch, it’s essential that they be about a specific need – not your brand. Articles on Web: Think about how members of your audience are segmented and what questions they may have, and consider organizing your content around these key areas. Consider who is your core audience and what is your content marketing mission? Events: In person events: If bloggers and the press are...
by Sally McMahon | Feb 11, 2015 | Content Marketing
Content marketing is all the rage right now, and there’s a good reason for it. The age of advertising is now shifting to digital; meaning that marketing efforts, transactions and even relationships are taking place strictly online. When it comes to marketing your business online, you have to do it effectively to see results. This comes from integrating several online signals. Whether these signals are your social media outlets or your company web site all depends on your goal. Start at the End: Your Goal Define your goal, no matter how small or big. Many folk underestimate the power of defining goals. When you want to be sure your marketing efforts are well spent, you should define one. Is your company’s goal to increase online sales? To acquire more email subscriptions? It starts with creating content (articles, blogs, etc.) that highlights your business’ main selling points. Start by identifying what your business is best known for. What products sell the most? What services are most utilized? Who is your target demographic? These are all very helpful to be aware of when crafting your online messages. Social Media Tips Get people engaged by hosting contests Success stories Ask followers to share your page Post videos and photos (these are very engaging) Post special of fers with a compelling call-to-action Link to your company web site Use bit.ly links instead of long, unappealing URL’s Share news, events and special promotions Invest in your page by boosting important updates Web Site Tips Take note of a competitors site and see where they shine (or don’t) Make sure headlines are keyword-focused Don’t have duplicate content on multiple pages Perform a web site audit to see what parts of your site need improving Include maps, directions, phone numbers, names and emails Include a FAQ section Update Your Web and Social Media Exist...
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. ...
