Content Marketing: Page 161

  • Infographics: The Good and the Bad

    The purpose of infographics is to visualize data, to communicate information clearly and effectively. It's not an easy thing to do, as it requires a designer to understand the data first, then visualize the way to display it for others. Infographics created by clueless or inexperienced designers are often put together purely as link bait, with no meaningful content or worse - content that "lies."

    By • April 27, 2015

  • 9 Ways Brands Can Use Twitter Video To Drive Real Results

    If you haven't thought about incorporating Twitter video into your social marketing strategy, there are plenty of good reasons to start. But as with most tools, you need a little know-how to use them to get the biggest benefit. So, if you have no idea where to start, try these 9 great ways to get the Twitterverse a flutter with talk about your content.

    By • April 27, 2015
  • SMT Expert

    The Native Advertising Arms Race Is Underway and the Combatants Might Surprise You

    The lines between the media, brands, agencies, new media, social media and search engines are blurring faster than most realize. This was covered in depth on Mark Schaefer's blog and my Huffington Post column. The need, desire and promise of native advertising are major factors in this blurring and everyone is trying to get a piece of the action.

    By • April 27, 2015

  • Using Google Consumer Surveys for Timely Questions and Audience Insight

    The Google Consumer Surveys tool allows your company to make decisions based on the real-time data, and ultimately, this means that you do not have to wait to make a big decision for a new product or service. It also means that you can know when it is time to go back to the drawing board with an idea, or consider a marketing concept in a new light based on popular feedback that you were note expecting to get. The ability to set user specific demographics to further target the kind of responses that you get means that you can get even more detailed information from your audience. This is especially unique to Google Customer Surveys, and because of Google's publishing networks, you know that you are getting access to the biggest pool of respondents possible.

    By • April 27, 2015

  • 4 Awesome Tricks for Better Social Media ROI

    With hundreds of great social media management platforms available for small businesses, streamlining your social media calendar really can be as easy as picking a platform and scheduling posts to complement your current content marketing plan.

    By • April 27, 2015

  • 3 Ways to Build Brand Loyalty, Before They Buy!

    All too often, marketers view brand loyalty as something that occurs after customer acquisition. However, as Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks astutely points out, "If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand." And referral marketing programs have been shown to foster brand loyalty long before prospects convert into paying customers. Encouraging brand loyalty through word-of-mouth marketing, before prospects convert, can result in a lower customer acquisition cost. Curious?

    By • April 26, 2015

  • Content Marketing: Why You Need A Social Media Calendar And How to Create One [INFOGRAPHIC]

    Do you use a content calendar to plan your social media posts in advance? Are you wondering why you need a social media editorial calendar for your business?

    By • April 26, 2015

  • 9 Steps to Building a Unique Value Proposition in Management Consulting

    When professional services buyers look to hire a management consulting firm, they want to make sure they find the firm best suited to improve their performance and solve complex problems that are hindering growth. How do you prove you're the management consulting firm to do this? With a strong value proposition.

    By • April 26, 2015

  • Disruption and Transformation: The Only Thing You Must Know

    The title of this blog post is a promise. The blog delivers upon that promise. This is the only thing you need to know (as in must know) about disruption and transformation. Then the choice is yours.

    By • April 26, 2015

  • 10 Ways to Convince Anyone About Social Media Marketing

    If you're having trouble convincing your boss, business partners, clients or even yourself that social media marketing is worthwhile, then read on. Everyone talks about how social media builds brand and product awareness, but what does that mean, and how does it do that?

    By • April 25, 2015

  • What is Content Marketing?

    Content marketing. You've heard the term before, but what does it mean for your business? If you're looking to launch a new marketing campaign for your company, or are a marketer yourself looking for a new strategy, you should become familiar with the concept.

    By • April 25, 2015

  • Experience Cloud Brings Brands One Leap Closer to Omnichannel

    Imagine this: a customer visits your site, in search of the right suit for an upcoming wedding. He's presented with the season's latest styles, all in his size - all thanks to context from his latest product reviews and other actions on the brand's website. A week later, he needs shoes to match and tweets at the brand. Someone immediately contacts him with suggestions based on the suit he purchased. After the wedding, he gets an email asking him how everything worked out. Included is a promo code to use and share with friends. He raves about his personalized brand experience and shares their custom promo code - bringing in 20 new customers.

    By • April 24, 2015

  • The Way to a Millennial's Heart Is Through Our Ears

    If you haven't heard of Spotify, listen up. Spotify is a Stockholm-based music streaming service that offers free and "premium" (paid monthly subscription) based options, the latter of which allows users to listen ad free and download music to listen to offline or on their mobile device. Music can be browsed or discovered by artist, album, genre, playlist, or even record label.

    By • April 24, 2015

  • Can Social Be Seasonal?

    In a perfect world, your social connections would be within arm's reach of a smartphone, eagerly anticipating your next post or comment. And, anytime you wrote something brilliant or insightful, there would be multitudes of readers ready to jump in, comment, and add their own thoughts. In the real world, though, people are busy... no matter how great your idea is. Holidays, heavy work days, and even personal distractions can divert their attention in an instant.

    By • April 24, 2015

  • Blogging Is so Misunderstood: 8 Things Everyone Should Know

    Blogging has evolved into a critically important website feature that virtually every organization can benefit from; however, many people still harbor negative perceptions that prevent them from taking advantage of the benefits blogs can offer. This article is intended to update people's perceptions by sharing eight key facts about blogs and blogging.

    By • April 24, 2015

  • Why Stories Work for Business

    What happens when you get lost in a city filled with brands and the only one you're looking for is the one you can't find? Do you give up? Why is the find so important? Obviously it's more than brand recognition. A brand's story is what creates advocacy and solidifies loyalty.

    By • April 24, 2015

  • Don't Forget to Recycle...Your Content

    As people all over the world celebrated Earth Day this week, it seemed like an appropriate time to talk about recycling. No, not that kind of recycling, though that is clearly important too. I'm talking about recycling your content on social media.

    By • April 23, 2015

  • #CMOFail: How to Avoid Being "That Guy" on Social Media

    Etiquette may seem a tad old-fashioned, but it's never been more important now people are allowing big brands directly into their homes and lives via social media. Whether you look after an official brand social media account or use a personal account to broadcast professional information, it's important to get it right. Execute it correctly and people will support you and your brand and share their love with others. Get it wrong and it could have a detrimental effect.

    By • April 23, 2015

  • Baby Got (Feed)Back: How to Drive Article Engagement

    When it comes to articles, I like a big buzz and I cannot lie. Anyone who's ever spent time writing and publishing content knows the disappointment of a flat reception. No comments? No social shares? No republications? No feedback whatsoever? What an anti-climax.

    By • April 23, 2015

  • What the Apple Watch Can Teach Us About Social Marketing

    Digital marketers are constantly on the alert for the Next Big Thing. Each time a social media channel gains rapid membership or a new iPhone rolls out, it's evaluation time. Is the audience there to justify migrating paid advertising costs? Recently, there's been a lot of buzz around the new Apple Watch; specifically, which brands will be launching inaugural apps and how marketers can make use of the tiny real estate this wearable will offer up.

    By • April 23, 2015

  • We're Doing Responsive Web Wrong, But We Can Fix It

    For nearly a decade web designers have concentrated on transitioning websites to more responsive designs, but many have failed to take into account the rapid increase in screen size. From 2007 to 2011 screen size only changed by a half an inch, then at the end of 2011 screen size exploded. In the past 3 years the size of the average smartphone screen has increased dramatically, going from an average of 3.5" to over 5" diagonally across, the largest being the Asus FonePad 8 with a screen size of a whopping 8". The additional screen real estate is a double-edged sword, as there is more room to display content, but also now more dead space.

    By • April 23, 2015

  • Should We Create Shorter Content for Google's Mobile Update (or Not)?

    Google's mobile algorithm update is rolling out! Webmasters must have their sites up to par with accepted mobile optimization standards. Since this announcement from Google came out in February 2015, professionals that use the internet have been trying to figure out exactly how much of a change we're likely to see here. Whilst the regular desktop users won't notice any difference in the way they see the world, this mobile update makes it easier for mobile users to access content on the internet and read it comfortably in miniature screens.

    By • April 22, 2015

  • How to Make a Distinctive Mobile App That's Totally Worth It

    Now let's get down to the steady-win mobile app strategy. The things I write about here will work for the superstar apps I discussed in the previous post, but you should remember that creating a superstar app is usually a viral game, and you will still need luck to become excessively popular. The steady-win strategy is about good work that will always bring results for any app category.

    By • April 22, 2015

  • Is SEO Simply Good Writing?

    I have been running my own business for about seven years now and creating online content about the same amount of time. The genesis of my business - 2008 - probably represented the apex of the traditional notion of SEO - elaborate schemes for backlinks, keyword stuffing, and jamming links into every cranny of the web, including blog comments. And I virtually ignored it all. Sure, I learned about SEO. I even experimented with it. But I generally ignored all of the SEO best practices of the day. I was the least-optimized blogger on earth for one reason - I knew the structure of the SEO system could not last.

    By • April 22, 2015

  • Anatomy of a Social Media Post

    What makes blog and social media posts more engaging than a post of similar content quality? Is it that the author is more trusted? When we see a post appear in our stream on, say, Google Plus, do we read because of who wrote it, or because of something else? Reputation is a factor, no doubt, but the structure of a post is more important - especially if you are new to the poster, or the poster is new to that particular social platform. How do you structure a post? Whether it is a blog or social media post, the basics are pretty much the same. Read on to learn the anatomy of a social post.

    By • April 22, 2015