As a content marketer, you can’t look forward without a detailed recap of the new developments, bright spots and cringe-worthy trends that occurred over the recent past. We’ve learned a lot, both from mistakes and from successes; we’ve also taken some risks that we wouldn’t have, as we’ve gained confidence by seeing others wander into uncharted territory. Studies conducted by top analysis groups on topics buzzing around the content marketing world in 2014 and the first half of 2015 can shed light on what we’ll be seeing next. Have a look at what the research is telling us.

1. A documented content marketing strategy is the only way to go.

If it’s done anything, content marketing research is cementing what the experts have been saying for awhile: No online marketing strategy will be effective unless it’s carefully documented. The proof is incontrovertible in every market sector and throughout the globe. And the “documented” part must certainly be taken literally, so write it down rather than just relying on some ideas you’ve tossed around with team members. A content marketing platform is the wise choice when figuring out the best way to document your strategy, and there’s a solution out there for pretty much any budget.

Read More »

Considering the amount of time you spend developing blog topics, creating content and promoting your posts, you’re probably pretty satisfied with your efforts when you see that your material really resonates with your target audience. But popularity isn’t going to convert sales or pay your bills. You need to leverage the profitability of your blog in order to make sure it’s contributing to your bottom line. Focusing on your blog content ROI ensures that it benefits your company just as much as your readers. Here’s how to make those posts really count.

Cash in on your most profitable content centers.

While you can’t make all your content more visible, you can to increase the popularity of

Read More »

True sports fans will always find a way to analogize their favorite pastime to some area of their lives. From relationships to household projects to cooking, sports nuts can draw parallels that give more meaning to mundane concepts. Even content marketers use sports when planning their approach, especially when it comes to analytics. Using your content marketing software to analyze stats and assess campaign performance doesn’t seem so dull when you think of yourself as a team recruiter, scouting new talent for the next star athlete. These numbers provide valuable insight to your sales team when they need a leg up over your competition. Here’s how.

Read More »

A well-developed approach to content marketing is what separates your company from your pack of competitors and attracts an engaged community as opposed to stagnant followers. Communities bring with them a long list of advantages to companies who cultivate them. Your sales and marketing, customer service department, product development and other divisions all reap the benefits from your customer community.

Your content strategy will vary depending on the community, but the overall objective to present membership with a spectacular experience remains the same. Here are some tips on developing a winning content approach for any chosen target audience.

1. Formulate a set of goals for your community. You need to figure out how you want to address your community by looking at how they interact with you. If they’re mainly transactional in nature as opposed to regular interacting, you need to analyze how you can continually build relationships.

Read More »

You’re keenly aware that frequency and consistency are key to content marketing success, but producing quality material without a little help can leave you strapped for time. You and your team need to be on top of all aspects of your marketing strategy, including planning, creation, distribution and analytics. If you let even one of these essential components get away from you, even increased focus on other areas won’t make up for slighting the others.

The good news is that content marketers don’t have to go it alone or use a manual workflow to get the best results. It seems like every week brings a new solution for handling the more mundane tasks, even beyond what a content marketing tool or platform can provide. And these tools just keep getting more advanced as online marketing becomes the norm among companies of all sizes. It’s time to take advantage of the latest tools, technology and content marketing software that will prevent you from reinventing the wheel. 

Read More »

I was fortunate to have been interviewed recently by Pamela Muldoon of Content Marketing Institute for their “Content Marketing Next” Podcast series.

Read More »

It’s not easy creating engaging content in the online world where so many companies are competing for a consumer’s attention. This is why it’s so critical that you’re able to rely on a dream team to put your online marketing approach into place by developing the social media posts, blog posts and videos you’ll need. They’ll also need to pitch in with overall strategy, the big picture and future content endeavors.

The fact is that we’re looking at content marketing in the rear view mirror as a mere possibility: It’s a marketing necessity. Content marketing software can assist with many routine tasks, but you still need creative types to bring the human element to the equation. It can be a challenge to find the brilliant, passionate, inventive team members that will help make your content strategy a booming success. But there’s also a possibility that these creative types are right under your nose.

1. A storyteller: If there’s one team member you can’t do without, it’s probably the storyteller. This person has the skills to communicate a massive amount of information by harnessing concepts like myth and classic tales with a recognizable structure – and then turning them into epic marketing messages. Studies on social media have revealed that brand characters, even cartoons and other characters, can boost shares exponentially than those that don’t incorporate a storytelling component to weave yarns into their online marketing.

2. A numbers geek: This isn’t the person that normally jumps out as being a creative type, but you truly do need an analyst on your team for one main reason: Analytics. Your numbers geek can take the analytics churned out by your content marketing platform and make some sense of them, giving you an idea of how to tweak your strategy as necessary. Creating it is just the beginning – you need to know what that amazing, eye-catching content means for the big picture if you want it to work for you.

3. An event planner: The ROI on a properly executed event can be astounding, whether you focus on the numbers of impressions, engagement on social media, networking opportunities or prospect schmoozing. An event planner can help make sure you’re squeezing everything you can out of your strategy. You want to see trending on Twitter and sharing on social media during the event, but not just anyone can get you the turn out you need. The best event planner takes the entire environment into account, giving life to your live content for the right audience at the right time.

4. A bird’s eye guru: Think of all the content marketing tools you use. Blogs, social media, image sharing sites, eBooks, podcasts. Now, think of all the content types you use; images, the spoken word, videos and text, to name a few. Trying to put your head around the infinite number of options available for content creation and publication is mind boggling. This is why you need a “big picture” creative type to gain perspective and put all the pieces of the puzzle together. This person is as instrumental as your content marketing platform when it comes to putting your strategy into effect.

5. An imagery expert: You’ll need someone that excels at the visual arts, as you know that great content marketing can’t thrive on text alone. Powerful images are central to effective marketing, whether through video, infographics or other visual content. The production process isn’t easy, so your team needs a mastermind who has an eye for imagery that communicates the message and brand seamlessly. At the same, the visuals need to be stunning and bold to set your company apart from competitors. The imagery expert is one of your core team members.

6. A linguist: When you pair an imagery expert with a talented linguist, you can expect results that make an impact. When these minds meet, you’ll see creative, cohesive content that engages prospects, whether it’s through blogs, press releases, social media and other content marketing campaigns. The linguist isn’t someone who’s concerned with the topic they’re covering or what format they’re creating content for: They just want to write, they love doing it and they can do it quickly.

7. A journalist: The majority of brands experience a boost in traffic when there’s a real time component involved with the content they publish, so some live marketing should be part of your content strategy. As such, you need someone with journalistic skills that knows the scoop and how to dig deeper. These are people who can write, edit and publish practically in their sleep, including proper sourcing and citing for quotes.

Does your team have the right stuff when it comes to creative impact for your content marketing strategy? Consider these seven creative types that wouldn’t normally fit the bill, but probably do have certain skill sets that you can build upon. Building the best team doesn’t necessarily mean hiring new; it might mean re-imagining your existing personnel. What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

A solid automated content marketing program can help you reach your audience more effectively while reducing your workload. Marketing automation can take care of some of the most complex and time-consuming aspects of content marketing, so that you can focus on creating and leveraging content marketing.

Read More »

Your content marketing program can benefit immensely from user generated content (UGC). Content that your users produce can be used to promote your brand and engage users with your content. Below, we’ll explore why and how you can incorporate UGC into your content marketing program.

Read More »

Your content marketing team is responsible for planning and creating great content, as well as getting it out there so that prospects and customers read and engage with the content. Great content marketing all goes back to the quality of the content marketing team, so building a content team that’s able to tackle it with skill is essential.

Read More »