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Why Shorter Is Better When it Comes to Your Blog Copy

shutterstock_115785298Let’s face it… you are swamped. From logging the 9 to 5 grind (uh… more like 9 to 7) to squeezing in parent-teacher meetings to trying to plan something special for the weekend with a loved one, there are simply not enough hours in the day. Well, guess what? Your consumers feel the same way.

In fact, your target market is so inundated with daily tasks that they are in search of pointed, succinct marketing pitches. Just to give you some perspective on the information overload you are currently experiencing, consider the following:

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Going the Extra Mile to Strengthen Customer Relationships

I was in need of a break.

001H8178It snowed here in Connecticut last week. I am by no means afraid of driving in the snow, but after a enduring a harrowing experience en route to college in Vermont one winter—a taxi merging onto the highway didn’t yield to me during a snowstorm so I slammed on my brakes and 360’d across two lanes of traffic, coming to rest in a soft, snowy ditch—I try to avoid it when possible. I’m still driving that endearing jalopy of a 2001 Nissan Altima, so that day I worked from home, sights set on proving Marissa Mayer wrong. (If you’ll remember, earlier this year, after taking the reins at Yahoo, Mayer famously forbade her employees from working from home.)

As a diehard Yankees fan, I was still stung by the news that franchise second baseman Robinson Cano had opted to take his talents to Seattle, thanks in part to his new agent Jay Z seeking to make a big name for himself in his latest professional endeavor. And he did, helping Cano land a 10-year, $240 million contract, the third largest in baseball history. Continue reading “Going the Extra Mile to Strengthen Customer Relationships”

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Ice Cream in December: Ben & Jerry’s Dominates Instagram—and Fans Love It

Right now, the majority of Americans are reaching for bowls of hot soup and putting on multiple layers of clothes in order to combat the cold winter air. But not me.

shutterstock_117202792Instead of trying to run away from winter, I like to embrace it by reaching for a bowl of ice cream—the colder the better. After all, winter only lasts for a few months and then everyone starts complaining about the heat again. So when I opened my Instagram news feed recently to see a picture of someone holding an ice cream cone up to a cloud, I was pleasantly surprised—and not at all annoyed about seeing an advertisement in my news feed.

Apparently a lot of other people felt the same way, too. After all, it’s hard to get upset about seeing a picture of an ice cream cone. As it turns out, Instagram’s decision to incorporate ads panned out quite nicely for the company. In fact, Ben & Jerry’s experienced a 20 percent spike in followers after the advertising initiative. Here are some other interesting statistics that emerged as well:

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Going the Extra Mile: What We Can Learn from WestJet’s Secret Santa Treat

There is no disputing the fact that companies across all industries and verticals step it up during the holidays—from holding food drives to volunteering to spearheading charitable campaigns.

One of my favorite campaigns took place two years ago when eBay, in partnership with Toys for Tots, set up two magical window displays in New York City’s Herald Square and San Francisco’s Post Street featuring storybook toys such as teddy bears, trains, and horses. By using the eBay mobile app and zapping the QR code, visitors were able to bring the toys to life and consumers could purchase a virtual toy, which translated to a donation between $2 and $10 for Toys for Tots.

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Three Ways to Mix Up Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2014

content-marketing-word-cloudLet’s face it; creating and disseminating custom, attention-grabbing content can be difficult, especially if don’t have a comprehensive content marketing strategy in place. Failing to implement a fool-proof plan can significantly hinder the success of your efforts, as evidenced in a recent report titled “ B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends North America” by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. In fact, 84 percent of marketers who say they are ineffective at content marketing said they have no documented strategy.

As 2013 quickly comes to a close, now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your current content strategy (or lack thereof) to get on the right track for 2014. Below are three tips and tricks to building a stronger content marketing strategy. Continue reading “Three Ways to Mix Up Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2014”

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Tell-Tale Signs You Need Content Marketing Support

shutterstock_157105064The process of getting sick tends to follow a pretty systematic path: you begin to feel unlike yourself; symptoms manifest themselves in the form of clogged noses, sore throats, and fevers; and you know at a certain point that the only cure is to get help.

Your content marketing strategy runs a similar course in that eventually the symptoms and tell-tale signs pop up confirming the fact that your campaign is “sick,” or not giving you the desired results for which it was intended. So how do you know when it’s time to give an extra boost to your content marketing strategy? By considering the following:

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Three Easy Ways to Instantly Engage More Customers Using Your Facebook Page

facebookSay what you will, but Facebook still reigns as one of the world’s top social networks. According to the latest study by GlobalWebIndex.com, Facebook boasts a nearly 50 percent utilization rate by active Internet users worldwide. Facebook usage is also highest in North America with a 59 percent utilization rate among active users. Meanwhile, Google+ only achieves 15 percent and Twitter 25 percent.

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Content Marketing No Longer Just a Single Slice of the Marketing Pie

shutterstock_84904912If you didn’t get a chance yet to check out our latest featured article (click here!), then I’ll leave you with this: “Content marketing has reached a perfect storm. All channels – including print, digital and social are growing.”

So contends Custom Content Council’s Executive Director Lori Rosen in the council’s latest content marketing report titled “Spending Study: A Look at How Corporate America Invests in Branded Content for 2013.” As a marketer, there are some incredibly exciting statistics shared in this latest report that are sure to get you amped to head to your boss’s office to exclaim “Told you so; I knew content marketing would work!” Here’s a teaser of some of the most exciting figures:

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Making Your Content Marketing Strategy Believable and Relatable

shutterstock_130173635Confession… I can’t really recall the last time I watched television live. In truth, I have become entirely too dependent on my DVR. I take comfort in the fact that I can truck away at the office without fear that the rush hour commute will preclude me from seeing the first few minutes of “Survivor.” I appreciate the fact that a dinner out with my husband Friday night doesn’t keep me from catching up on the latest episode of “Say Yes to the Dress” (Hey, I’m a newlywed; I can still watch this.).

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