Content Archives - Page 14 of 17

February 2, 2017February 2, 2017

5 Things You’ve Been Told About Social Marketing That Just Aren’t True

Social media is ever-changing, evolving, and taking on new roles in the world we live in. That means it’s also changing the way we do business. Although it’s definitely picked up in the last few years, the idea of social media marketing for your business has been around long enough to have spurred a few misconceptions. We’re here to debunk a couple of these myths. 5 common social media marketing myths 1. You need a lot of followers to be successful on social media Followings are great—it means people like your brand enough to subscribe to your feed and get regular updates. As a marketer, it’s tempting to measure your social media strategy by the size of your audience But keep in mind that just because someone is following you, it doesn’t mean they’re reading everything you post. Followers are a good metric, but an even better one is […]

Turmoil Ahead: The Future of Net Neutrality, Publishing, and Digital Marketing

In 2017, marketers will be at the mercy of politics. Net Neutrality, a pillar of Cloud-based content, apps, and services, faces extinction under the Trump administration. If the Web becomes a pay-for-performance utility, Cloud strategies could become prohibitively expensive for small and midsize businesses. So, where might marketing dollars go instead? Cloud strategies are enticing because they enable marketers to own an audience rather than rent one. Most social networks, newspapers, and magazines are in the rental business, and therefore poor substitutes. Thus, an end to Net Neutrality may push marketers toward open publishing platforms, which combine traits of paid, owned, and earned media. LinkedIn, Quora, Medium, podcasting, and their kin could rise meteorically on an un-neutral Web. RIP, Net Neutrality On February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted Net Neutrality rules designed to protect free expression on the Internet. The FCC banned Internet service providers (ISPs) […]

Creative Frameworks that Build Content Marketing Success

There are two ways to go about business. The first is to have an idea and then frantically do a lot of stuff hoping some of it works. It helps to only focus on tasks you’re already comfortable with, ensuring that critically important things will fall right through the cracks. This approach is closely related to the frequently made-up statistic that a billion percent of new businesses fail. Luckily, we have option two: Find solid frameworks and adapt them to your own unique circumstances. This way has the advantage of not burning through all of your money, leaving you heartbroken and living in a van by the river. On Monday, Brian Clark kicked off the week (He’s still on the blog! We’re very excited!) and walked us through a detailed framework for mapping a customer’s journey experience . That’s everything your customer is thinking, seeing, doing, and feeling as […]

How to Use Video Content to Accelerate Engagement

There’s no denying that today’s consumers are visual people. Did you know that landing pages featuring video content increase conversions by 80 percent? Video is by no means a new tactic in the realm of marketing. However, the trick is developing captivating branded content that brings an innovative engagement factor to the audience. Video content should do more than just inform and educate. It should tell a story that the viewer can relate to. There should be a certain level of mystique that provokes a reaction. Be honest: Would you rather learn about a brand from a compelling video or a wall of text? Let’s talk about four ways you can use video in your next marketing campaign to engage your customers like never before . Show, Don’t Tell, Your Unique Brand Story The hard truth of business these days is that there is an oversaturation of companies doing […]

Marketing Automation: Batteries Not Included

The sales pitch for investing in marketing-automation software is hard to resist. It goes something like this: “Our software will help you generate leads and then automatically nurture them along their journeys until they become your customers.” It sounds wonderful – a happy prospect skipping along a path paved by magical software. Every business is looking for more effective ways to acquire new customers, and the promise of marketing automation presents a compelling solution. As a result, marketing automation is exploding as the tool of choice for marketers. As of this writing, the 10 most popular marketing-automation platforms are Infusionsoft, HubSpot, Eloqua, iContact, IBM Marketing Cloud, Marketo, Pardot, Teradata, ActOn, and SimplyCast. Over 83,000 companies are using these platforms alone. Marketers need to remember, though, that all marketing-automation solutions – no matter how popular or compelling – present challenges. Challenges related to data quality and integration. Challenges related to […]

Why So Many Large Companies Stink at Innovation

Too many enterprises want it all: to be an established market leader, but with the buzz of a start-up Coca Cola recently closed its Founders start-up incubator , citing difficulties in combining start-ups and the corporation. No doubt a substantial investment to walk away from. But connecting innovation incubators, specialist R&D units and innovation teams into the wider workforce rarely meets with success. Such programs might have short term benefits, but it’s difficult to make them sustainable. Many a big business aspires to be an established market leader with the buzz of a start-up. Plenty of corporate vision statements proclaim innovation as a driving force in their business. Yet the innovation agenda remains aspirational rather than real. All too frequently it gets no further than a statement of intent. Even with significant investment, there is no guarantee the desired change will happen. What Separates the Disruptors from the Disruptees […]

8 Proven Ways to Skyrocket Your Website’s Conversion Rate

Nothing is worse than having a great product or service, but not being able to get anybody on board. You know you’ve got something special, yet you’re having an impossible time convincing anyone else to buy in. You thought that if you just built it, they would come, right? Well, you built it, but the rest didn’t really work out too well. So now what? Good news. You don’t have to remain stuck with a terrible conversion rate. With just a few tweaks, you can start seeing immediate improvements. Suddenly you’ll go from being a door-to-door evangelist, with no conversions, to being a cult leader (of sorts), where you can’t keep people away. Here are 8 ways to increase the conversion rate on your website. 1. A/B test the heck out of everything A/B testing is simply creating an “A version” of a page and a “B version” of […]

How to Make Your Content Marketing Impossible for Competitors to Copy

The more advancements in digital marketing we make and the more information on how to spy on competitors we share, the more those things are being adopted in various industries around the world. That means you’re more likely to be the target of a spying competitor. It’s all fun and games until they start using the same tactics to replicate the work you’ve been doing. Sometimes, competitors will piggyback on your hard work to steal market share and customers. When you’ve got a direct competitor shadowing your content marketing strategy, social engagement, and audience outreach, it’s enough to inspire vengeance and make you lose focus! I speak from experience. This has happened to me several times. It makes you question whether it’s something that should be promoted. Where’s the line between spying to replicate a competitor and just monitoring for awareness? It’s enough to make you question the ethics […]

Why Design and Coding Academies Need to Get in on Inbound Marketing

Supermodels may have ruled the world in the 1990s, but today it’s the creatives . Everyone wants in on disruptive, viral, [insert your own buzz word here] intersecting worlds of design and technology. Especially the savvy students who are looking for challenging, fun, and economically rewarding professions. Design and coding academies are rising to meet these opportunities, but there’s a lot of noise swirling around. If you want your academy’s message to shout out and reach your prospective students, you need to be using inbound and content marketing. Fortunately, your creative natures and enterprises are great fits to achieve great results with content marketing and inbound. You’re Already Flush with Content For a lot of marketing teams, creating quality content on a consistent basis is a big challenge. Not so for design and coding academies. Your faculty and students already create amazing content daily. Student projects, faculty lectures, and […]

How to Write a Case Study: The Ultimate Guide & Template

To help you arm your prospects with information they can trust, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to create effective case studies for your business — as well as free case study templates for creating your own. How to Write a Business Case Study: The Ultimate Guide 1) Find the Right Case Study Candidate Writing about your previous projects requires more than picking a client and telling a story. You need permission, quotes, and a plan. To start, here are a few things to look for in potential candidates. Product Knowledge It helps to select a customer who’s well-versed in the logistics of your product or service. That way, he or she can better speak to the value of what you offer in a way that makes sense for future customers. Remarkable Results Clients that have seen the best results are going to make the strongest case […]