content marketing

blog calendar/shutterstock

Without an editorial calendar, your blog posts can be arbitrary and off the mark. There is nothing worse than investing a year into your client’s blog, only to find out that it doesn’t resonate with its target audience and it isn’t driving results. This can cost you a client very quickly.[read more]

Golden age of copywriting

At the dawn of the online era, the persuasive and artful virtues of copywriting's golden age, in the '60s, were cast aside in favor of keyword stuffing and web scraping, which did more to win over the mechanical hearts of search engines rather than the true hearts of consumers.[read more]

Brooks Thomas discusses blogging

During a SXSW panel session on social customer service, Southwest Airlines’ Brooks Thomas made a somewhat passing comment about his company’s digital approach that struck a chord with me: there's a difference between "rented" and "owned" social media platforms.[read more]

CEOs and social media/shutterstock

CEOs at many Global 2000 and mid-market companies view content marketing, social media and sales enablement through a dated lens. Why is the top corporate brass such laggards when it comes to social media? And how can corporate marketers make them see the light?[read more]

how to blog in 5 minutes/shutterstock

Corporate blogging is not an either-or dilemma. There’s a way to have your cake and eat it too: you can write your own blog yet not have to spend hours or days on it. In fact you can spend as little as 5 minutes a week on your blog and still remain authentic. Here's how.[read more]

blogging & giving/shutterstock

We all have a purpose for creating and sharing content online. For some, it’s for therapy. For others, exposure. Regardless of “what’s in it for me,” one thing is certain: we want people to like it. But relationships are a funny thing -- you get back what you put into them.[read more]

A blog provides so much value and opportunity for virtually any company, brand or individual. But more importantly, a blog provides the platform for an online voice. Yes, a voice. Why on earth would you NOT have a blog integrated into any organization’s web site?[read more]

With some effort, a lot of excitement can be created around St. Patrick’s Day. Provide entertaining content that triggers readers to feel emotional engagement with your business and the holiday. Embrace the parades and leprechauns, but don't stray too far from your industry.[read more]

interactive content/shutterstock

Like traditional expectations for brick and mortar businesses, consumers now expect online experiences to be engaging and interactive. Here's what marketers need to know about bringing interactivity to their social media and content marketing efforts.[read more]

Having lots of Facebook fans and good interaction skills lead to brand loyalty. So the million-dollar question is, “What makes a post shareable on Facebook?” How do businesses connect on a personal level with their fans? Increase brand interaction with these tips![read more]

At one point, maybe even recently, you asked yourself, “I’ve opened a Facebook page for my business, but now what? What kind of content do I upload?” One of the biggest challenges facing a brand that's trying to develop its social media presence is planning a content strategy.[read more]

Attention, community managers: don't go nutzo with user-generated content. Because as transparent and effective as it can be, it can also be lethal to your brand or organization if overdone or done poorly. Follow these tips to make sure your brand isn't lost in the crowd(-sourcing).[read more]

Facebook is not a popularity contest! The number of likes you have is just a figure of how many people have been persuaded to click a little "thumbs up" icon. In increasing cases this is by acquiring fans by other than natural and organic means.[read more]

laughing/shutterstock

What do The Oatmeal, Cracked.com, CollegeHumor.com, and I Can Has Cheezburger? all have in common? Well, they all burn precious time that I could have used to write articles, that’s for sure. They’re funny, engaging websites, and, more importantly, they’re viral stuff.[read more]

Shutterstock

Let’s cut right to the chase. If the plan to market your new venture isn’t based on the way people make choices today, every day that follows will be an exercise in futility.Today, to abbreviate the story even further, I give you the ABCs, a starter set of three of the most important concepts in online marketing: authority, blogging, and content.[read more]

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With Company Pages, LinkedIn can be used as a powerful tool and enhancement to your content marketing plan. You may be asking yourself: do I really need a Company Page? Is this just another thing I need to check and update? The answer is yes and here’s why.[read more]

image via shutterstock

Everyone is jumping onto the content marketing bandwagon. Content marketing is often the only affordable marketing channel for small businesses and so a failed strategy could spell bad times for a small business. Here are some tips that will help you put together a solid plan.[read more]

Newsjacking is when you have an opportunity to blog about a current news event and add your own perspective. If you have an opportunity to work this technique into your content marketing strategy, it can be extremely effective at creating traffic and interest in your brand.[read more]

Fixing gunky corporate-speak is even harder than spotting it. But don’t worry. These tips will make it much easier. Keep them handy. And when you need a jolt out of jargon-land, pull them out and follow the four steps to a better, clearer, sharper way to say what you really mean.[read more]

A lot goes into a complete inbound marketing strategy, and one is required in order to fully capitalize on winning in social media. If you are still on the fence about the importance of social media, this infographic from Brafton should help convince you.[read more]