Martin Beck says, “Chances are you spend a significant amount of time producing your content. You dwell on the points you want to get across, you outline your content in a way that’s easily digestible, and you hit “publish.”Then… radio silence.One of the most important aspects of successful social media marketing is the promotion of the post — and to get your content shared, you need to understand your audience.Who shares your content? What triggers them to share this content? How do you inspire your audience to take action?Look Who’s TalkingHere are five levels of promotion... [...]

Ronell Smith says, “”Man, I’m sorry. You guys weren’t ready to adopt the brands as publisher mindset. I suspected you’d never be ready to do it successfully. I knew it; I could sense you knew it. I wish I’d spoken up when I saw the intra-departmental debates waging. That’s on me. My bad.”Those were my words to the executive of a midsize lifestyle brand I worked with in 2014. It took me months to get up the nerve to reach out and make it right, even though I’d done nothing wrong.He seemed to understand. But he did have a question that stopped... [...]

Zia Daniell Wigder says, “Yesterday I had a chance to join the fantastic Global eCommerce Leaders Forumhere in New York. Leaders from Puma, Borderfree and Alibaba delivered keynotes at the event, and in the afternoon, I did a quick presentation on five key themes in global eCommerce to tee up a panel on global expansion:The Asia pivot. Arguably the biggest story in global eCommerce over the past five years has been the rise of China as a global eCommerce force. No other eCommerce market has rivaled China’s ascent to power: Between 2009 and 2014, revenues increased by 16-fold, reaching... [...]

James Carson says, “Chances are some sort of content marketing will be happening in your business.After all, it’s a fairly nebulous term that covers digital marketing disciplines where there’s no media spend.But while you might be doing content marketing, are you sure it’s working?Surveys suggest that many marketers are uncertain of the effect of content marketing.Working in a range of organisations over the last few years as a content strategy consultant, I’ve seen quite an array of specific business problems that hamper content marketing efforts.But these often boil down to the... [...]

Andrew McDermott says, “Throughout your journey to overcome online obscurity, you produce a lot of content.Content marketing is about making a connection with your audience and building relationships. Since you invest time and effort into your writing, you want to see tangible results.But what if your posts aren’t getting the engagement you need to take your digital media platform to the next level? How do you create content that deepens your connection with your audience?The answer may lie in the specific reason why we absorb certain information, while overlooking other content”.7... [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “Peter O’Neill here.  We held our annual research planning meeting the other week and ended discussing yet again the eternal question of B2B marketing versus B2C.  This is also a common discussion point with clients in my experience. Many of the documented marketing stories and best practices seem unsuitable for B2B marketers, they claim. B2C marketers respond that even business buyers are people and so the lessons they have learned apply equally to B2B.  Now, as is always the case with these interminable arguments, both parties are partly right — and they are... [...]

Laura Kane says, “Most marketers know the importance of creating unique content for different social mediums. For instance, would you use the same exact copy in a paid search ad that you did in a tweet? I hope I’m hearing a resounding, “No!”And yet, many marketers aren’t fully prepared for what comes next: when a visitor actually clicks on a link and lands on their website. If a visitor comes from a paid ad promising a coupon — and then they don’t see the coupon as soon as they arrive on your website, how do you think they’re going to feel? Confused; maybe... [...]

Amanda Disilvestro says, “Do you know how to leverage the value of your blog? It’s true that popularity is great for your content because it shows people are interested in your brand and shared content increases your visibility. However, it’s important that your blog transcends popularity and actually contributes to your overall goal – profitability.While it stands to reason that if your content is popular it is more likely to be profitable, there are things you can do to focus specifically on profitability to make sure your content is offering all it possibly can to your business... [...]

Mohit Maheshwari says, “Probably what Bill Gates claimed back in 1996 still holds valid for the digital industry – Content is King; and it will reign for years to come. But what’s the worth of a king without a strong team backing him? Likewise, though content alone takes the throne, content marketing strategies are central to the success of social media. As the year swifts towards its latter half, here’s a look at the good and the bad of content marketing strategies, finally arriving at 10 that have made it to the top of the ‘most effective list” in the world of social media.Businesses... [...]

Ryan Skinner says, “The problems of content marketing apply to you as a marketer whether you’re actually practicing “content marketing” or not.In any enterprise, there’s a New York Times-scale amount of content getting produced.[i] And your customers are hoovering up content (from a brand or otherwise, in many channels, interchangably) and making decisions based upon it.[ii]That means you’re in the content business. And the more customers control the purchase path, the more marketers find themselves in the content marketing business.Which means you will be dealing with the problems... [...]