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Why This Year’s Met Gala Got Me Thinking About Content Marketing

I’m not one to stay on top of events like the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala to benefit the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City, but I do enjoy perusing the images of celebrities and their luxurious, stylish and sometimes downright ridiculous outfits every year once the event is over (BuzzFeed has a complete lineup of this year’s outfits if you’re interested).

So, I scrolled through Web pages full of perfectly snapped shots of celebrities and their fashion collaborations that reflected this year’s theme of “China Through the Looking Glass.” Continue reading “Why This Year’s Met Gala Got Me Thinking About Content Marketing”

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Employee Spotlight: Five Minutes with Content Producer, Salvatore Trifilio

Whether you’re looking to debate the art of strategic thinking or just shoot the breeze about baseball, Salvatore Trifilio is your guy. Sal, who gives the chatterboxes at Content Boost a run for their money, is… how should we say it?… quite verbal.

10470811_10103133700031819_8023698436829476807_n“People say I talk a lot, and I guess that’s true,” Sal says, “but when you grow up in a large Italian family, like I did, you’ve got to do what you can to be heard at the dinner table.”

Fortunately, Sal’s love for words, creative thinking and storytelling is a perfect match for the job of a Content Boost Content Producer (have you caught his killer blogs?). Learn more about Sal in our latest five-minute catch up:

Continue reading “Employee Spotlight: Five Minutes with Content Producer, Salvatore Trifilio”

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Why Marketing Is Still an ‘In Person’ Game

Don’t get me wrong; I definitely believe in the power and prominence of digital marketing. After all, digital vehicles like eNewsletters, blogs and digital magazines are ranked as top tactics being used by marketers today, according to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI)’s “2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America” report. Furthermore, research from Gartner shows that digital marketing budgets will increase by 8 percent in 2015.

There’s no denying that digital marketing is here to stay, but, still, there is something exciting—inherently dynamic even—about having a face-to-face interaction.

face to face Continue reading “Why Marketing Is Still an ‘In Person’ Game”

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Playing Twitter Like a Game

If you’re interested in content marketing chances are you’re most likely also interested in learning how your business will play in the world of social media.

It’s well known that many small- to medium-sized business owners are hesitant about getting on social media, specifically Twitter (I’ve come across too many to count). Oftentimes, they are worried they’re getting into the game too late and therefore won’t be able to compete with more established brands. I wanted to take a moment to share with you a recent experience that I had with this 140-character megaphone.

Continue reading “Playing Twitter Like a Game”

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Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course, Part 2: Afternoon Sessions

Looking back on the second half of yesterday’s Content Boost Crash Course, the word that comes immediately to mind is “action.” While the first half of the day was focused on educating attendees about the basics of content marketing—the ins and outs of blogging and the need to engage with customers via social media, for example—the afternoon was all about how to put those strategies into motion and move forward with an integrated, revenue-driven content marketing strategy.

shutterstock_134665622What is the best way to get started with content marketing in your organization? As Content Boost Director Carrie Majewski intimated during a presentation titled “Getting the Boss to Say Yes to Content Marketing,” approaching the boss about investing in content marketing may be intimidating. She advised participants to lay such fears aside, however, as, in truth, most decision makers are ready to move forward with content marketing. Majewski backed up her claim with a study from DNN which shows that the top three priorities for marketing executives are to acquire new customers (87 percent), increase customer retention (86 percent) and increase brand awareness (80 percent).
Continue reading “Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course, Part 2: Afternoon Sessions”

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Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course Part One: Morning Sessions

The morning flew by here at Content Boost, as we’re now halfway through our second content marketing Crash Course; that is, our all-day integrated marketing seminar offering the latest tips and tricks for growing your brand online.

Before we head into this afternoon’s additional seminars and group discussions, it’s a great time to reflect on some of the top takeaways from the morning sessions, led by our in-house team of integrated marketing experts.

Here are three key tips that were discussed:

20150421_112544Be bold with your content: After opening remarks from our CEO, Rich Tehrani, our Director Carrie Majewksi kicked things off with a presentation on the basics of content marketing. One of the most important things she spoke about was the need to be bold and take chances with your content. As she explained, you are already disruptive with your product offerings so it’s critical to be innovative with your multimedia. According to Majewski, content marketing is your opportunity to drive emotion, tell stories and create a “WOW” experience that will resonate strongly with your customers. Continue reading “Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course Part One: Morning Sessions”

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I’m Ready for Content Marketing … Where Do I Start?

pic812It’s amazing the difference a year can make. I vividly remember attending a number of 2014 trade shows and having conversations with attendees about content marketing. They would go something like this:

Attendee: What do you do?

Me: I head up TMC’s content marketing division, Content Boost.

Attendee: What is content marketing?

Me: A marketing tactic that involves leveraging content—think blogs, white papers, email marketing messages—to organically sell your products and services.

Attendee: Oh … that’s just advertising, right?

#FAIL.

Continue reading “I’m Ready for Content Marketing … Where Do I Start?”

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What Can Content Marketing Do For Your Business?

There’s no question that content marketing is increasingly among business leaders. As evidenced in a recent infographic from Smart Insights, 29.6 percent of readers claimed that content marketing is the most commercially important marketing trend in 2015.

That’s more than twice as much as big data, which came in at 14.6 percent. Marketing automation, for that matter, came in even lower at 12.8 percent.

shutterstock_229790977You may be wondering: What exactly can content marketing do for your organization? Stop and think about whether the following needs apply to your business.

Do you need to: Continue reading “What Can Content Marketing Do For Your Business?”

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Preparing for the Next Crash Course: What I’ve Learned So Far

Content Boost’s next content marketing Crash Course is rapidly approaching, and the team here is putting the final touches on our presentations and preparing for an engaging, productive day of discussions with all of our attendees! I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak from 10:30-11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21 in a presentation entitled, “Blogging: How to Nurture Your Audience at Every Touch Point” (you can get a little preview of my talk and the rest of the agenda here!)

Thinker

Continue reading “Preparing for the Next Crash Course: What I’ve Learned So Far”

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Three Reasons Why Content Marketing Works

While other businesses have been pumping resources into their content marketing strategies, you’ve been waiting on the sidelines assessing the situation to see if it’s right for your business. You’re still looking for proof of how content marketing can help your business grow.

shutterstock_77165428Recent research from Ascend2 sheds some light on this important issue; according to the research, 89 percent of companies surveyed claim that content marketing has helped them achieve important objectives like improving customer engagement, increasing lead generation and increasing brand awareness, among others.

Here are three reasons why content marketing works, as evidenced by the findings from the report:

There are a variety of options to utilize: You may find that one particular content marketing vehicle does not work for your intended audience. For instance, you may start out producing video and find out that your audience is more interested in reading in-depth case studies and white papers. With content marketing, you can easily switch vehicles without disrupting your budget or even your overall strategy. Continue reading “Three Reasons Why Content Marketing Works”