Kelsey Libert says, “In October 2013, Fractl published a study on viral emotions on the Harvard Business Review. The research was picked up by several high-authority publishers, catapulted our brand’s authority, increased our brand awareness, and drove dozens of qualified leads. To our expectation, we proved that our client-facing, research-driven content marketing strategy could have the same long-term impact on our own brand. Then, we were off to the races“. How Fractl Leveraged Content Marketing to Increase its Referral Traffic 6,718% MOZ Blog  [...]

Debbie Williams says, “Basic accounting rules require marketing costs to be listed as expenses on a company’s P&L. However, today’s marketers and smart executives consider marketing an investment in driving revenue rather than a cost. This is where an overall mind shift is needed. Marketing needs to be considered an investment, and your content an asset. We invest in technology, equipment and people to grow our businesses without hesitation. So, why wouldn’t we do the same with our content? It’s time to finally categorize content as an asset and treat it like you would any other... [...]

Neil Patel says, “You’ve got a responsive site with a kick-ass mobile design. You’re ready for Google’s “mobilegeddon,” right? Wrong. With all the excitement over Google’s upcoming mobile-friendly search-results update, marketers are neglecting one of the most critical features: copywriting. Those focusing too much on mobile usability are giving short shrift to mobile copywriting. Content marketers must understand how and why mobile content matters, and how to create content that mobile readers will love. Mobile copywriting. It’s a thing. Smashing Magazine makes the provocative... [...]

Eric Enge says, “It’s time to look at your content differently—time to start understanding just how good it really is. I am not simply talking about titles, keyword usage, and meta descriptions. I am talking about the entire page experience. In today’s post, I am going to introduce the general concept of content quality analysis, why it should matter to you, and how to use term frequency (TF) analysis to gather ideas on how to improve your content“. Using Term Frequency Analysis to Measure Your Content Quality MOZ Blog  [...]

David Kirkpatrick says, “By this point, I think most marketers understand the value and importance of the content marketing channel. It’s well known that prospects for both consumer and B2B marketers are now doing most research on their own — I’ve seen research reporting B2B prospects are now getting 80% down the pipeline before ever raising their hand and letting you know they might be a customer”. Content Marketing 101: Tips on content strategy MarketingSherpa  [...]

Nataly Kelly says, “For most of you, customers can come to you from any country in the world. That means all of your potential customers — the people visiting your website, reading your blog posts, and clicking on your calls-to-action — might speak a myriad of different languages or live in totally different time zones. Once they reach your content, how well will it resonate with them? As your international traffic grows, you’ll want to be sure that you can convert that traffic into leads — and that means keeping your international visitors in mind every time you... [...]

Jessica Ann says, “Are you down with UGC? It’s not just another content marketing buzzword. It’s naughty and unpredictable by nature. And it wants your brand to come out and play. You don’t have to be naughty. But you do need to understand the nature of how it works and how it will evolve. UGC is the acronym for user-generated content. But let’s be real: Can you say “user-generated content” aloud without squirming due to the tone that your all-knowing marketing mouth gives it?”. Turn User-Generated Content Into Undeniable, Glorious Connections Content Marketing Institute  [...]

Lee Odden says, “Recording last night’s BeanCast, Altruism or Consumerism, hosted by the talented Bob Knorpp brought up the topic of Content Marketing and whether paid placement of content is just advertising – among many other topics from Dove to Amazon Dash. This content vs. ad question was inspired by commentary from Mitch Joel in his post, Your Content Is Kidding No One where he states, “if you have to pay to have it placed, it’s not content. It’s an ad.” While I agree with what Mitch says in the post in terms of brands failing to create engaging, share-worthy and conversation-starting... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Half of all marketers say they do not have enough ideas to be successful in their content marketing efforts, according to a recent report from Kapost. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in February and March 2015 of 377 marketers (76% B2B-focused, 20% B2C, 4% both). Senior executives have more confidence in their company’s idea pipeline than entry-level marketers do: Some 80% of C-level staff think they have enough ideas to fuel content marketing efforts versus just 50% of coordinators/associates”. How Marketers Brainstorm and Use Content Ideas MarketingProfs  [...]

Tiffany Monhollon says, “Have you ever been so overwhelmed with running your business that you barely have time to do the very minimum when it comes to staying up with what’s new in marketing and managing vendors? Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that you overlook a critical aspect of marketing — measuring your return on investment (ROI). Here are five signs you might just need a system to track your marketing ROI so you can make sure you’re getting the most out of your investment. 1. You don’t know what matters — or why — on... [...]