Gearing up for New Public Relations & Better Marketing

While many of us rattle chains and boast the birth of new media and new public relations methods, there are still many ways in which the most traditional public relations and marketing principles can be applied to new technology and current social media marketing trends.   No part of content marketing and PR should ever be intimidating and to help ensure success here are 4 useful tips that can make even the most inexperience business owner feel comfortable about jumping into the world of content marketing and public Read the rest of this entry »

Writing Kick Butt Copy for your Content Marketing

If you want your content marketing to gain traction you have to start with your website.  Everything you do in terms of marketing points back to those landing pages;  articles, blogs, paid search marketing, organic traffic from discussions, etc.  If you use content marketing to funnel people back to your website – and that website isn’t prepared for the traffic – you might as well be burning your ad budget.

There are two things to think about when it comes to your site content; optimization and conversions.  Your site copy needs to have both of these in line before you start any kind of offsite SEO or content marketing campaigns.  If you want your website in order so you can start rocking the sales with all of your content marketing then follow these tips to write compelling and optimized website content: Read the rest of this entry »

Google and Facebook Square Off Again for Social Media Dominance

Google is making an aggressive jump into social with the new plus-one voting system they’re embedding in search results and while this isn’t the first time that Google has tried hard to get their share of the social web, this is the first time that they have added a social signal directly into the search results.

We know that Google has been moving in this direction with recent updates as they tried to find ways to include social sharing and buzz into the ranking algorithm but this is a step in a new direction.  Where we were once inundated by nothing but text and blue links within search results, Google has continued to prove to its audience that they’re changing the landscape for search to ensure that people get the most relevant content. Read the rest of this entry »

Why Friday Rocks for B2C Social Media Engagement

There are a few things that come to mind when we start thinking about Friday – Probably Rebecca Black if you’re viral-savvy and like to watch the trending stuff on the web.  You’re also probably gigging on words and phrases like “Woot” and “#FF” when the day rolls around.

Friday is definitely a popular day of the week, but it’s also the day where people seem to be spending the most time on social media engagement.  From a personal stance I know that Monday seems to be the most popular but that’s mainly because at the beginning of the week I’m looking for any excuse to prolong the start of work day…  social media and sites like Mashable offer the perfect distraction.

Social Media Engagement – Checking out Mentally and Digitally

It’s not distraction they’re after on Friday though.  Buddy Media found through a study that social media engagement was up 18% on Thursdays and Fridays – data compiled by analyzing more than 200 of their clients’ Facebook pages over a 2 week period.  Twitter users are also more engaged on Fridays and this likely has a lot to do with the FollowFriday convo’s, responses and thanks. Read the rest of this entry »

Cooking up Ideas for Guest Posting Opportunities

When you’re trying to support your business or your marketing efforts through content marketing and content syndication it’s easy to get burnt out pretty fast.  Many marketers and business owners feel like they need to create content on a daily basis or at least several times a week.  The idea is great and kudos for your efforts to deliver quality content to your audience… but what do you do when you’re faced with serious burn out writing for yourself? Read the rest of this entry »

For the Love(dislike) of Corporate Social Media Strategy

The social web has grown into a deeply engaging place.  It’s like a revamped, remodeling and shiny downtown district full of social clubs (Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc.) fit for every type of person.  Around this downtown district however there is a world full of  content and websites that are turning into ghost-towns – like deserted neighborhoods.

And this isn’t about content mills – it’s your website. Read the rest of this entry »

Reputation Management Requires Engagement and Personality

You could swim in a sea of buzz words that get passed around the marketing world these days.  These buzz words have become so prevalent that we’re now creating anti-buzz word lists just to please with people to put them down.  Businesses often rely on these buzz words for the purposes of reputation management in hopes that they will impress the prospect or customer and glean just a little more loyalty.

• Authentic
• Genuine
• Transparent
• Engaging

Sound familiar?  More than likely because everyone is talking about making sure you hit those points to resonate with your target audience (buzz word central today).  Take away the marketing angle on any of it and what does it come down to? Read the rest of this entry »

Content sharing is what drives the social web right now, so we make it a point to help all of our clients make the most of social media through systems like SYNND that provide streamlined content syndication because… well to put it bluntly your competition hates it when you syndicate content because you’re almost instantly gaining more market share.

So with making your content sharable through syndication, you’re setting yourself up for success.  But.. is your content accessible? Read the rest of this entry »

Public relations are a big part of staying in the light and remaining visible and relevant within your market and among your customers and prospects.  Many business owners feel that good PR either takes a great deal of money (through hiring a corporate public relations company) or a great deal of time (spending hours of each day on outreach).  Neither is true… though both are also true. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a continuation of Part 1 on “What to Say… When There’s Nothing to Say” - read the content marketing post here.

Let Passion Inspire You

There’s likely something about what you do that you absolutely love.  When someone gets you started on this particular topic you can’t stop talking because you want to share everything you know.  Let your passion be the guiding light to get you rolling on the content marketing.  Once you start brainstorming topics around your passion you’ll be able to build a nice deep seed list of article or blog possibilities.

Find What People Are Searching For

A keyword utility such as the Google Keyword Tool stores user search data so you can start plugging in keywords and phrases related to your industry, products or services.  This gives you insight into what people are looking for and most interested in – a great way to develop targeted topics that are sure to attract readers within your market. Read the rest of this entry »