Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #33

Stories This Week: Measuring content marketing, lowered expectations for social media, a surprise about Instagram’s CEO, new LinkedIn features coming, new design for Google+.

1. How To Measure Content Marketing

[MarketingSherpa] A must read article. Yummy details inside.

1. Set a goal for every project
2. Track goals in three tiers: Creator, Manager, Director
3. Measure large programs with an index
4. Fill gaps and grab opportunities
5. Invest in tracking and analysis

My Take: I love this. You always see information about the importance of content marketing, but rarely do you seen such concrete, practical advice on metrics and measurement associated with content marketing. I also love the idea of measuring ROI as “Return on Interesting.”

2. To Succeed In Social Media, Lower Your Expectations

[Forrester] The point Forrester analyst Nate Elliott is making is social media has to evolve beyond a shiny thing that you know you need to do, but you’re not sure why. Social media is most effective when used in conjunction with other digital marketing efforts along with traditional marketing tactics including Advertising, print and PR.

My Take: I’m lucky enough to be attending the Forrester Marketing Conference where I’ll get to hear Nate speak on the topic. If you’re attending, please say “hi”.  Follow Nate Elliott on twitter.

3. Instagram’s founder had no programming training. He’s a marketer who learned to code by night.

[TheNextWeb] Read the story of how Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom achieved such great success without ever receiving formal engineering training.

My Take: If you’re a marketer, follow Kevin’s lead. You don’t need a web developer to build the app or site of your dreams. Check out my coverage of the SxSWi panel for more tips on getting started: Learn To Code and Make the Software You Want.

4. LinkedIn Rolls Out New Targeted Follower Tools For Marketers

[BusinessInsider] LinkedIn will launch two new functions for companies who have followers on LinkedIn, both of which will be of interest to marketers and advertisers: “Targeted Updates” and “Follower Statistics.”

My Take: LinkedIn’s social capabilities have been so limited, it’s good to see investments in the social media marketing targeting and analytics.

5. Google+ Redesign: Here’s What’s New

[Mashable] Google’s social network got a redesign on Wednesday that makes it prettier and easier to navigate.

My Take: The new look is cleaner and more sophisticated. However, it’s for nothing. Until Google releases an API that developers can use that will allow users to share updates (Instagram photos, Foursquare checkins, etc.), Google+ isn’t going to take off. Once people can post from their favorite social management platform (Hootsuite, Tweetdeck), Google+ will be a true competitor to Twitter

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