Amish Tolia says, “Facebook warned brands late last year that beginning in January 2015 people would see fewer promotional page posts in their News Feed and that brands posting that type of content would see “a significant decrease in distribution.”Essentially, Facebook made it much more difficult for organic content from brand pages to make its way into consumers’ News Feeds. In fact, Facebook posts from brand pages now reach just 2% of their fans, and only 0.73% of top brand fans engage with each post, reports by Ogilvy and Forrester found.Although Twitter and Instagram... [...]

Pamela Wilson says, “Last week was a big one for all of us at Rainmaker Digital.We launched Digital Commerce Institute. Plus, we announced a new educational program, Digital Commerce Academy.And, as if that wasn’t enough, we announced next year’s live event, Digital Commerce Summit.Since a few questions have come up repeatedly, today’s post will answer the most-common questions we’ve fielded and provide the guidance you need.It’s especially important to read this today, because our ultra low-priced Charter Membership offer expires tomorrow, November 6, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific... [...]

Kelsey Libert says, “Some content is designed to “go viral,” while other times a piece of content intended to stay among friends takes the Internet by storm. But whether planned or unplanned, rapidly-shared content has several commonalities. One of the key factors is that the content creates a strong emotional response in viewers.Through our research on viral emotions, we’ve found that certain emotions are better than others at driving people to view and share content. In other words, creating the right emotional response is extremely important to getting your content widely shared.... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “Thanks in large part to WordPress, one of the world’s most popular open-source applications, the use of content management systems has exploded.This has been a positive trend, enabling companies to cost-effectively build and maintain dynamic, content-rich websites that are easily updated by non-technical staff.But is it time to reconsider content management systems (CMSes)?Mathias Biilmann Christensen, the founder and CEO of Netlify, a static website hosting platform, believes so and suggests that static website generators, which produce HTML websites that... [...]

Carla Johnson says, “Western Union banks on its customers’ passions to inspire remarkable content. Laston Charriez, the company’s senior vice president of marketing for the Americas, explains how it innovates in a conservative industry.Few brands have been household names as long as Western Union. Launched in 1851 as the New York & Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company (the company changed its name to Western Union in 1856), the brand boasts an impressive list of “firsts”: the first transcontinental telegraph, first trans-Atlantic cable, the historic telegram that confirmed... [...]

Neil Patel says, “Just a few years ago, you could get away with text-only social media posts and content marketing. But today? You don’t stand a chance unless your content is packed with visuals.Visual content is the new black for content marketers. It’s crucial that we understand how to use visual content effectively, because the distribution of our content depends on it.Listen to the numbersI’ve loaded this article with specific techniques because that’s going to be the most helpful. But before we dive into technique, take a look at the numbers. How important, really, are images... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “If you’ve ever written content and wondered “how long should it be and what should I include?” this episode of Hit Publish is for you.This week, host Amy Harrison talks about how long your content should be.How much information do you need to give your readers to encourage them to sign up, buy, get in touch, or take action? How much content is too much and is there such a thing?Should you use jargon or assume that your reader knows what you’re talking about?“.Converting Content: How Long Is Long Enough? How to Know if You’re Turning Perfect Customers... [...]

Daniel Rodriguez says, “Organizing and keeping all of your sales support content up-to-date can be challenging. Ensuring your content repository is easily accessible and searchable can be even more of a challenge.In fact, sales reps spend on average 30 hours each month searching for and creating their own sales content (per RingDNA), which results in less time spent selling, more dispersion of non-Marketing-approved content, and an overall loss of credibility.Marketers can reduce the dispersion of off-brand content and help their sales reps maximize selling time by housing their content... [...]

Demian Farnworth says, “I’m here today with a reminder about an all-important truth when it comes to content strategy: research is everything.When I evaluate copy and content strategies, I often see what amounts to copycat content.Not that these people are stealing. No.Typically, it’s clear to see they are working off of limited information (perhaps their client is stiff-lipped) or simply looking around to see what everyone else is doing — and then creating something similar and safe.Both those approaches will lead you to a content strategy that is DOA: Dead on Arrival.Here are... [...]

Thomas Stern says, “I’ll just come right out and say it – click-bait content doesn’t work anymore, and consumers are sick of it.Over the last ten years, social content has evolved alongside user expectations and the sheer volume of content production. Today, a demand for entertainment and education has been balanced with a need for transparency and value.It’s time to produce user-focused content your consumers want to read.Despite the whispers around the Internet, click-bait is not a product of the digital age. As far back as 100 years ago, journalists have used a catchy headline... [...]