David Kirkpatrick says, “Among the positive benefits of inbound marketing is the ability to track visitors and interactions on the website, through the content marketing channel and on social media platforms. A challenge is making sure all that data is more signal and less noise. UrbanBound, a B2B relocation management software company, realized that everything was tracked, but the metrics were too broad to provide any useful information for improving future marketing efforts. The team shifted its focus, and through content-rich campaigns and inbound marketing, the team increased leads 35%“. Content... [...]

Larry Kim says, “Content marketing can be a great way to gain exposure for your company, but getting the media to care about your brand’s news is difficult. Unless you’re a Fortune 500 company, mainstream media, and even industry publications, probably won’t cover your news. You can try newsjacking—inserting your ideas and commentary into breaking news in the hopes of being quoted. Journalists get a ton of such press releases, though, and yours is usually just another needle in the haystack. So how can you use content marketing to break into popular news stories? We recently... [...]

Alex Sobal says, “When you work as an inbound marketer, it’s inevitable that you’ll spend a lot of time online. And when your job duties include being your company’s social media manager, it’s also inevitable that you’ll spend a lot of time finding content to share on your various social channels. That being said, as someone who’s currently in charge of the social media duties at our inbound marketing agency, I sift through a lot of inbound marketing content each day looking for the best articles to share with our Twitter followers. As a matter of fact, in the past year alone,... [...]

Jerod Morris says, “Yesterday, Brian Clark published a highly anticipated answer to a question that’s been on a lot of entrepreneurial and marketing minds. If you missed it, that question is: Isn’t it time for more power and less hassle from WordPress … without breaking the bank? The answer is yes, of course, and he provides the solution — a turnkey, hosted platform for content management that is already providing the technological engine for many smart content strategies across the globe”. The Lede: Are You Overlooking This Cornerstone of a Smart Content Strategy? ‘Copyblogger’... [...]

Isla McKetta says, “Picture it. A room full of executives from a company you never thought you could land as a client. They’re so engaged in what they are saying that they’re leaning forward in their chairs. The CEO looks poised to ask a question but you can tell she doesn’t want to interrupt your flow. This is the moment content strategists dream of. But if you’re like me, it’s easy to get caught up in how new the field is and wonder, “Am I even doing this right?” There are lots of posts to help you, such as  How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy... [...]

Denice Surjan says, “It’s the time of year when many are finalizing roadmaps for the next year’s programs. If more cross-channel marketing programs are a part of your plan, it’s important to understand the challenges that lie ahead in order to be prepared to overcome them and achieve the success you’re after. In The 2014 Digital Marketer Report, 38 percent of marketers from around the globe named their organization’s structure as a top barrier to cross-channel success. It was second only to their company’s current technology (39 percent). We decided to dive deeper to get more... [...]

This is a reminder for Business 2 Community’s webinar on Blogging.  The ‘Business 2 Community’ team says, “One of the common frustrations among B2B marketers is that their blog posts aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing: generating new leads. You can get 100,000 visitors every day, but it doesn’t matter if only 1 of them converts into a lead. But, with the right execution, even companies in “less exciting” industries can transform their blog into a magnet for new leads. In this webinar, we’ll help you understand all the basic principles behind business blogging... [...]

Michael Gerard says, “As companies grapple with the challenges of producing high-quality content on a consistent basis, many are turning to outsourcing options, including freelancers or agencies, to meet their content needs. Some 17% of companies are outsourcing content to agencies or freelancers, or both, according to a recent survey by Curata (where I work). But who is faster and more agile—freelancers or agencies? And who makes more sense for your budget? Below, freelancers and agencies go head to head in a five-round match”. Outsourcing Your Content Creation: Agencies vs. Freelancers MarketingProfs  [...]

Brian Clark says, “Four years ago this month, Copyblogger Media was born. Up until that point, I had launched several businesses off of Copyblogger, with several smart partners. Each of those individual businesses were killing it and had me involved, but those smart individuals weren’t collaborating with each other … because why would they? The five of us convened in a Denver conference room – the first time the group had ever met in person. In just three hours, we worked through the seemingly impossible task of merging five companies into one new entity, with everyone’s equity interest... [...]

Joe Chernov says, “During a 1967 post-fight interview with Muhammad Ali, legendary sports broadcaster Howard Cosell said to the fiery champ, “You’re being extremely truculent.” Without pausing to catch his breath, Ali replied, “Whatever ‘truculent’ means, if that’s good, I’m that.” I’ve always thought Ali’s response was the coolest quip in sports history. Yet somehow I’d forgotten all about it until a couple years ago, when someone asked me to explain the difference between “content marketing” and “inbound marketing.”  I suggested she let others fret about... [...]