If you search “content marketing” on Google, you get about 560 million results.
There are events dedicated to content marketing, and folks like Brian Clark, Joe Pulizzi, Marcus Sheridan and others are huge proponents of the term.
So, big business then. And yet…
Is there really such a thing as content marketing? Or is it just marketing, plain and simple, and a facet of a bigger picture?
According to Wikipedia:
…content is...
You start blogging because you want to do something. Be someone. Be a part of something.
It doesn’t matter what your goals are – thought leader, business leads, brand awareness, monetization, or even just a place to post thought – you blog because of a particular reason.
The problem is, no matter how good the reason may seem to you, the traction isn’t coming fast enough for you. Which is okay, actually – successful blogging is a marathon, not a sprint (damn these cheesy quotes!).
But for anyone that’s looking to try and speed up the success process, stop looking too deep into why you might be lagging, and instead think about adopting these four approaches that every blogger should aim toward, if they want to be...
Depending who you listen to or read in the social media space, the best reason to use social media for your brand varies. It can be for listening; resolving issues; lead generation; focus groups; recruitment; and much, much more.
All good reasons. All good value. And yet….
While these are all solid enough reasons to be on social media from a brand’s point-of-view, they mean nothing unless you have an audience. Not just an audience, but also one that actually trusts and supports you, and will listen when you speak. Without that, you’ll just be another tree in the forest that no-one hears fall.
So how do you build that most valued of commodities in social media (and business in general) – identity and trust? Especially in such a...
It can be. For example:
As bloggers, we all have different goals.
Some may be to monetize your blog; some may be to get a book deal; some may be to become recognized as an expert in your field; others may be to share company news and updates.
Some may even just be to have a personal outlet where you can let your creativity go and see what works, and what doesn’t.
But no matter the goals you have for your blog, to succeed in them takes more than just setting up a blog and watching the success come rolling in.
While there may be early successes, to be a truly successful blogger you need to have the following three key tenets.
So many bloggers give up in the first few months because they’re not...
Social media listening. Social media monitoring. Social media tracking. Social media intelligence.
There are many descriptions of how we can use social media as a listening tool, to complement (or replace) our more interactive approach where we converse too.
While the idea behind social media listening is cool – after all, who doesn’t want to know what’s being said about them, by who and when? – the current tools don’t easily offer the kind of listening that would be really useful.
Whether it’s free tools (Twitter Search or Google Alerts) or premium offerings, the main issue with social media listening is that it’s still (primarily) driven by keywords.
So...
Over on Facebook, author and marketer Geoff Livingston posed the following question/statement:
Apart from the misplaced punctuation mark in CEO’s (*cough*, sorry Geoff, couldn’t resist!), it’s a great question, and one that solicited some great responses (mostly along the lines of CEOs don’t need to tweet).
Because, simply put, a CEO has one job and one job only – to meet the goals set for the company by the Board of Directors. In that role, he or she becomes responsible for four key tenets:
For many bloggers, there are a variety of blogging goals – growing your blog, monetizing your blog, attracting more readers and more.
While the intent of setting goals is always a good one, often it can be easier said than done. Things get in the way, like life, work and more, and even the most intent blogger can soon let their goal slide.
Yet it doesn’t need to be this way. Just like any commitment, it just takes willpower and stamina. The good news for bloggers is that stamina can be replaced by a blog schedule or maintenance calendar....
We like to be entertained. We enjoy storytellers that can transplant us into fantastical realms and take our imaginations on rides that we’d never usually imagine.
We like touchpoints. We feel more in tune with those that directly reach out to us and hold our hands; guide us; share their experience and involvement with something, and make us feel that we’re the only people that they’re talking to at that given time.
Simply put, we enjoy being part of the experience.
The best storytellers are that because their audience is enveloped by the words from the pen or the lips of the person telling the story. The best touchpoints are the ones that leave us with a lasting impression long after the initial...
Here in Canada, today is officially Canada Day.
Celebrating the Constitution Act of 1867 (originally called the British North America Act), it’s the date that Canada became a country in its own right.
I’ve been here since Christmas 2006, and I’ve never met kinder people, enjoyed more beautiful open land, and simply appreciated the culture of this amazing country.
To celebrate in the style of this blog, I thought I’d share some quick and interesting stats on Canadians online.
When 52% of a population is on Facebook, or just over 17 million users, you know it’s one of their favourites – and so it is with Canadians and the Big F. More than just 52% of the population, though, of Canadians online, more than 67% of them use Facebook. The largest...
