Last month, I wrote about informational content and how the majority of searches on the Web are informational rather than navigational or transactional. This time, I’d like to explore the different types of informational content that you can use, and some ways you can incorporate it into your website. I came under fire last week because many people felt the research I quoted was too old, so I want to be clear up front that the rest of this article is filled with my opinions. These are time-tested, observationally effective, strategies, but they are not backed up with any empirical researc [...]

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The topic of affiliate network migration is at the top of the agenda for a lot of advertisers these days. Whether a transition is driven by the urgency around the closing of the Google Affiliate Network, or you've bandied about the idea of switching networks for some time, moving to a new network requires thoughtful, strategic planning. Otherwise, you may find yourself hopping across different networks while you disrupt your brand, sales and publisher relationships. Below are five key considerations when it comes to selecting a new network followed by a seven-step migration plan. 5 Questio [...]

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What's the biggest obstacle to effective content marketing? Surveys consistently reveal that enterprises -- large and small -- feel that creating enough content is the biggest problem. But, I'm not sure that quantity is the real issue here. The problem is quality. In other words, does the content that's already getting created actually perform the intended function? Quality online content marketing gets people to perform an action. Whether that's social sharing, joining an email list, contacting a sales rep, or making an online purchase, people have to be persuaded to do something [...]

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Social media and content distribution are often chief tactics included in a content marketing strategy; but, it’s not possible (or recommended) to share your own content 100 percent of the time. As a result, having a content curation and/or aggregation plan might be something to consider as a part of your long-term content marketing strategy. There are many tools available to aid in finding industry-specific quality content that you can share with your audience to continually position your brand as an expert. Additionally, these content pieces can serve as inspiration for future content c [...]

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Star Wars, "Stairway to Heaven," and the Apple Macintosh -- what do they have in common?  They're creative and cultural works of genius that have shaped and defined generations. We might also think that they're original works born of a lightning-in-a-bottle, "aha!" moment of creation by the lone inventor.  In fact, each one of these is a copy, combination, transformation, or remix of previous works presented as something new. Star Wars was based on Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces, "Stairway to Heaven" pulls its opening from Spirit’s "Taures," and the Macintosh� [...]

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When I started publishing online back in 1998, I didn't have a shred of traditional marketing experience. It may sound counter-intuitive, but that ended up giving me a huge advantage. The first marketing book I read was Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing in 1999, which sparked my "aha" moment regarding how the Internet worked from a marketing standpoint. Godin made it clear that the Internet was a direct-response environment that required an evolved form of direct marketing. You didn't buy mailing lists. You built audiences. Likewise, my company, Copyblogger Media, began a [...]

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With today's pressing content demands, every organization with a website, blog and marketing communication documents needs a content marketing strategy. Below are a few questions to consider when developing your own strategy. Do you know everyone in your organization who creates and/or publishes content? Where are your organization’s creative assets stored and managed? (“My Inbox” and/or “My Desktop” are not correct answers.) Do you have an editorial calendar? Do you have content specific metrics? Do you have a channel strategy? You’ve heard it a million times by n [...]

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Utilizing content marketing as part of a digital marketing strategy can prove to be beneficial for businesses and brands if these strategies are well executed. However, many marketers unfamiliar with content marketing don’t know where to begin to develop a successful plan.  They understand the concept, but still don’t know how to get started. In this post, seven content marketing experts share their advice for those looking to begin their content marketing journey. 1. Bernie Borges Bernie Borges is CEO of Find and Convert, as well as a social business evangelist, blogger and host of [...]

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Everyone is into content marketing these days. You can’t do well with Google or directly with people without creating valuable online content. Content, however, is one thing. Content that actually works as marketing is another. When done correctly, content marketing is a form of win-win persuasion. And, this type of persuasion is simply an exercise in getting people to understand the benefit to them when they choose your solution. How does this understanding happen? The Art Of Explanation Effective content marketing gets people to know, like, and trust your business. But, it a [...]

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How should organizations organize for content? Are brands really publishers? Very few have hired people with “content” or “editor” in their titles. Fewer still (read: almost none) have content departments or divisions within the marketing or other organizations. Yet, more and more companies are producing content like crazy. Also, multiple websites. Large corporations have tens of millions of visitors to their dot-coms each month, perhaps 5-10 million email subscribers. Then, there are blogs, YouTube channels and multiple social media channels on social networks. Like journalists, [...]

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As you may have noticed, using infographics for content marketing is an incredibly popular tactic right now. Infographics are being used to illustrate a range of different information, including new employee announcement, data visualization, humor and education. However, with the widespread use of infographics in marketing increasing every day, there is growing concern about maintaining infographic quality. Some believe that infographic marketing will go the way of article marketing if we begin to sacrifice content quality and placement. Thus, this post will focus on advice from experts on [...]

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"Data by itself is useless... It's only useful if it's applied." -- Todd Park, White House CTO Some of my best ideas, data, and information come from very unexpected sources. Sure, I can do a simple search on a topic, or look at Google Trends to see what people are interested in right now. But how do I help create something that really stands apart from all the other information available on the Internet? How do I add real value? I am always looking for new ways to accomplish this. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqY5ySylXg[/youtube] I’ve found open data, corporate and gove [...]

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Do you have what you need to "do" content? If you don’t, you’re hardly alone. We’re in the throes of conducting interviews with dozens of marketers at (mostly) Fortune 500 enterprises about how they are organizing, budgeting and resourcing for content marketing. Ironically, while technology has democratized the creation, production and dissemination of content in digital channels, few (if any) of these senior marketers feel they’re properly equipped with the most fundamental tools of the trade: content management systems (CMS) and digital asset management (DAM). [caption id="a [...]

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The relentless need to continuously create new content pains marketers across all verticals. In fact, 20 percent of B2B companies cited “producing enough content” as their greatest marketing challenge. Fortunately, marketing teams can offset content creation demands through user-generated content. There are many ways to collect content for your website from your fans, followers, clients, etc. Consider these options for user-generated content for marketing: Content Contests [caption id="attachment_32393" align="alignright" width="250"] All Images Courtesy of Vertical Measures[/caption] [...]

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Search is the de facto way in which consumers navigate content platforms. Not just the Web via traditional search engines, but all types of platforms, from television to radio to music libraries. The fact that search has always been lacking from Facebook has long been a source of criticism and frustration. Facebook Search Graph There’s a lot of content on Facebook. Until Facebook Graph Search was announced by the company last Tuesday, there has been very little way to find or use it. It’s been impossible to search actual content, aside from given names or perhaps classmates. Graph Sea [...]

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Content marketing is used by businesses of all sizes and in all industries. In some cases, businesses have large marketing budgets and are able to put hundreds of thousands of dollars towards content marketing initiatives. That’s certainly not always the case, however. One of the questions I am often asked is: “What kind of content marketing can I do on a very limited budget?” One of the many positives of employing content marketing in your marketing plan is that it can be done on a budget and still produce worthwhile results. Consider the following scenario: you have $1,000 per mo [...]

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There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing; so, why should brainstorming be any different? An effective content marketing strategy requires creativity. You have to be able to “cut through the clutter” and stand apart from everything else on the Internet demanding attention. Ideas for how to best capture your audience’s attention aren’t always going to come to you freely -- that’s where brainstorming comes in. Just like a successful content calendar, one of the keys to successful brainstorming is flexibility. Different campaigns are going to call for different soluti [...]

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[caption id="attachment_29206" align="alignright" width="218"] Image via Shutterstock[/caption] Does your organization have a content marketing department? If not, you’re hardly alone. While commitment to and investment in content marketing is skyrocketing year over year, there are far from hard and fast rules, and only barely emerging best practices, regarding how content fits into existing marketing functions. Content generally doesn’t exist as a department or even a job function; nonetheless, it’s everywhere. Content touches virtually every marketing function from corporate [...]

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Storytelling has been around long before recorded history, but the way stories are told has changed dramatically throughout the course of time. We've evolved from painting the walls of caves to the written word, to plays and movies, to the present ability to tell stories online in the form of videos, blog posts and on social media sites. However, despite the many changes in storytelling, some of the fundamentals have remained the same. Extraordinary stories are relatable to people of all ages and walks of life and either call on our attention or respond to something in our lives. Memorab [...]

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Bill hates writing. Ask Bill to write a blog post and get ready for a hundred excuses (or a lot of unanswered emails). The thing is, Bill is a really smart guy. An industry leader even. We all have a Bill at our company. So how do you get the wealth of information Bill possesses from his brain onto your blog? You have to get creative and help Bill create content in the ways that he feels comfortable doing it. Here’s how... If Bill knows a lot about a particular topic, it’s probably because he’s passionate about it. If he’s passionate about it, he’s likely to talk about it. A l [...]

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