Whether you work for a large firm with an international customer base, an enterprise with multiple clients or a smaller company operating with a stricter budget, one thing remains true: the business of managing social media can easily get hairy. So, for every content marketer in the world, there should be a handy tool by his or her side. Continue reading “Top Three Social Tools Every Content Marketer Should Consider”
Can You Handle the 21st Century Customer?
Spend just a few minutes with your existing and prospective customers—or just two minutes scanning your Twitter news stream—and one sentiment resounds loud and clear: we are in the Age of the Consumer, one characterized by a customer who is more informed, demanding and expectant than perhaps we have ever seen. Just consider the following statistics aggregated in a great LinkedIn post:
- For every customer complaint there are 26 other unhappy customers who have remained silent.
- 96 percent of unhappy customers don’t complain, however 91 percent of those will simply leave and never come back.
- 70 percent of buying experiences are based on how customers feel they are being treated.
Continue reading “Can You Handle the 21st Century Customer?”
Why This Bride Thinks Your Venue Needs a Content Marketing Strategy
I’m going to be really candid; after all, isn’t that what blogging is all about? If you are in the hospitality industry—I’m talking hotels, resorts, restaurants or event planning—you need to have a blog. And, more importantly, you need to make sure it works.
Though you already know this, it is important to always remember that you are in perhaps one of the most competitive industries out there. From hosting conference parties to networking events to catered dinners, there is no end to the service you provide an ever-growing base. And I haven’t even touched upon the wedding facet of your business yet.
Let me paint you a picture… I am getting married four weeks from Saturday (yes, I am both beaming and bopping in my seat a bit as I write this). These past few months of engagement bliss have unquestionably been the best time of my life, as mom, grandma, coworkers, wedding photographer, hair dresser, accountant, stranger on the street, [insert anyone really] has told me. And they are right. Continue reading “Why This Bride Thinks Your Venue Needs a Content Marketing Strategy”
Why the Hospitality Industry Needs Content Marketing
You’d think the hospitality industry is far from suffering a dip in revenue (there’s always someone out there who needs a place to stay, right?), But apparently, the global hospitality industry is amidst a flux. According to Ernst and Young’s new “Global Hospitality Insights: Top Thoughts for 2013” report, the demand growth outpaced the industry’s supply growth for 2010, 2011 and 2012, and it’s expected to do just the same for 2013. There are clearly some very wide holes in this industry that need to be filled – especially if those invested want to see steadier growth and a healthier revenue stream.
The answer is just as clear: content marketing.
Continue reading “Why the Hospitality Industry Needs Content Marketing”
Why Every Industry Needs Content Marketing
I was recently walking through a pet store, when I happened to stop to look at a tank of rare Japanese Snapping Shrimp. Noticing my perplexed expression, an attendant walked over and asked if I had any questions about the rare bottom-dwelling specimen.
It was while the attendant was explaining how the Japanese Snapping Shrimp could easily be confused with a Mantis Shrimp due to the sound it makes when its pincher opens and closes that it hit me: I had a ton of questions. In fact, I could not tell you anything about shrimp. And in the process, I realized a critical thing: content marketing can be used in absolutely every industry.
Continue reading “Why Every Industry Needs Content Marketing”
Are the Right People in the Room for Your Content Marketing Pitch?
It might have just been minutes before Content Marketing World keynoter William Shatner took the stage to round out the three-day event, but one overarching message that Cisco’s Senior Marketing Manager Tim Washer shared with a packed room during his breakout really stuck. He advised marketers to make sure you have the right people in the room during creative meetings—and to keep naysayers out of initial brainstorming sessions. Continue reading “Are the Right People in the Room for Your Content Marketing Pitch?”
Content Marketing Lessons Learned from the World’s Smartest People
It’s what we’ve always wanted to hear: we may have more in common with the world’s smartest people than we think.
I was surfing the Web this morning when I stumbled upon an infographic from NowSourcing showing the good and bad habits of the world’s smartest people and it got me thinking, “This has a lot to do with content marketing.”
Sure, these guys may be well above your IQ level (the average IQ is 100, while this group is above “Genius” and “Extraordinary Genius”), but the positive habits and behavioral traits they display could show us a lot about how we should be mapping out our content marketing strategies. Some of these are a bit more evident than others, yet they are nonetheless important to remember.
Continue reading “Content Marketing Lessons Learned from the World’s Smartest People”
When Content Marketing Needs to Take a Back Seat
It still baffles me that today, companies are capitalizing on the tragic 9/11 attacks that took thousands of lives, injured thousands of victims and subjected innocent people to an endless grieving process for content branding. Today – the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States – victims are being remembered, and those who fought for their lives are being commemorated. I speak for many when I say that it truly does feel like it happened just yesterday.
Continue reading “When Content Marketing Needs to Take a Back Seat”
Are You the Best in Your Field at Content Marketing?
It might have been one of the last breakout sessions of the day at Content Marketing World, but Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for Edison Research Tom Webster certainly knew how to get a crowd going—even with a cocktail-laden happy hour just minutes away.
That’s because Webster started his session, titled “What’s Wrong with My Content Creation Strategy” by asking a really simple question to audience members.
“Is your content audience focused?”
Continue reading “Are You the Best in Your Field at Content Marketing?”
See You at Content Marketing World!
I’ve definitely caught the Content Marketing World bug. 10,000 miles above ground on the way to Cleveland for the content marketing event of the year, I can’t help but smile and think about all the awe-inspiring speeches I will hear later today—from actor and author William Shatner to Coca-Cola’s Global Creative Vision Manager Jonathan Mildenhall (you all know how I feel about Coke!) to the Hershey Company’s Senior Manager Martin Baker.