No Business is Too Small for Content Boost

miniature-1700629_960_720.jpgLast weekend I had the pleasure of attending a birthday party for an old college roommate I hadn’t seen in years. He was a graduate of our university’s business school and launched a small, but successful business of his own last year. Because of his background, it didn’t surprise me to find that a number of guests in attendance had also ventured into entrepreneurship as well.

As a content marketer with limited social skills, I seized upon the opportunity to ask a number of these small business owners about their experience with content—and I must admit that I was shocked by my findings.
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Did Content Marketing Start the American Revolution?

paul-revere-1536168__180By the early 1760’s the relationship between the 13 original American colonies and Great Britain had been severely strained. The monarchy had for years been incrementally increasing taxes and tariffs on the colonies, without providing citizens a voice in Parliament. Citizens were being forced to house and quarter British soldiers and several violent episodes had brought the tension to a tipping point. By 1775, many of the leading colonialists—our founding fathers—were calling for a revolution to claim independence from Britain.

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The Five Types of Writers You Don’t Want Producing Your Content

FAIL_stampYour marketing department is likely full of knowledgeable, eager and creative individuals. Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be good writers too. If you’ve been relying on your in-house marketers to drive production for your content marketing strategy, there is a possibility that their efforts may be counterproductive. While the implementation of a content marketing strategy can be highly effective in driving business growth, the wrong writer can send your audience the wrong message and ultimately do more harm than good.

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Nobody Wants To See Your Commercials In Their News Feeds

Recently I was browsing through my Facebook News Feed, when I saw a lame commercial advertisement for a leading insurance company.

facebook-748885_1280I’ll be honest with you: I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in this commercial. In fact, it was a nuisance. After all, I don’t log into Facebook to watch commercials. This is something I tell my clients all the time. But more about this in a bit.

What I was interested in was the comments section underneath the video. Continue reading “Nobody Wants To See Your Commercials In Their News Feeds”

Which Content Marketing Strategy Are You Taking Into Battle?

In order for your organization to take its rightful spot on the throne and be a leader in your industry, you’ve got to draw up a superior battle plan to vanquish your enemies—or, at least give your business a competitive edge. When it comes to content marketing, there are many weapons at your disposal—each with its own unique advantages.

castle-1176423_1920In the spirit of celebrating the much-anticipated Season 6 premiere of HBO’s award-winning series “Game of Thrones,” now just one week away, find out which character best represents your content marketing strategy. Continue reading “Which Content Marketing Strategy Are You Taking Into Battle?”

Retooling Your Brand? Make Sure You Have Supporting Content

Back in April, PepsiCo made headlines when the company announced plans to stop shipping bottles of Diet Pepsi containing aspartame—a widely used but controversial artificial sweetener. And this week, the first shipments of its new aspartame-free beverages, containing the sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium (or “Ace-K”), will slowly make their way onto grocery store shelves.

shutterstock_178657133It’s a big change for the Diet Pepsi brand, and one that comes at an important time as we’re exactly one month away from the big September 10 kickoff to the NFL season. So executives at PepsiCo are waiting with bated breath to see how customers will react to the change.

The big question is, will the change encourage consumers to continue reaching for Diet Pepsi? Or will more people start reaching for Diet Coke? Only time will tell how consumers react to the new product.

As you can see, making a change to a product can be a stressful experience. This is especially true in the food and beverage industry, where making even a small adjustment—like replacing an ingredient—can have a massive impact on taste, and thus consumer perception. Continue reading “Retooling Your Brand? Make Sure You Have Supporting Content”

Are You Suffocating Your Brand’s Content Without Even Realizing It?

It’s time we had an important talk: Your editorial process is killing your beautiful content. Here’s why.

shutterstock_282923051First, one of your staff writers creates a witty, thought-provoking article for your website. Next, the piece must go to an editor—or two—for quality inspection before landing back on your writer’s desk. It may go back and forth multiple times. After that, the post may go to a high-ranking executive for messaging approval before being passed along to a board of directors. Finally, it must pass through your legal team. Several weeks—or sometimes months—later, the post winds up on your website—a tired, bland, and likely outdated version of its former self.

And you wonder why nobody is sharing your content on social media! Continue reading “Are You Suffocating Your Brand’s Content Without Even Realizing It?”

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.

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Four Critical Pieces of a Flawless Product Launch

Taking a new product to market is both an exhilarating and nerve-wracking experience. If the launch generates a buzz, the future is limitless. If it falls flat, months or even years of hard work go down the drain.

To be sure, the stakes for a launch are high, which is why businesses need a detailed strategy to execute during a product’s infancy. Here are five essential components of a flawless product launch that can help you take the market by storm:

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Need Help With Your Next Product Launch? Introducing Product Boost, Our Newest Program

shutterstock_130537106Launching a new product or service is certainly the type of behemoth task likely to keep you up at night. Chances are you toss and turn, agonizing over the answers to questions such as: Do I know what it takes to launch a product effectively? Am I using the right vehicles? What if our latest offering fails? Unfortunately, your fears are warranted.

Did you know that 66 percent of new products fail within two years and that 96 percent of all innovations fail to return their cost of capital? Regrettably, if you dig deeper, you will most likely uncover more harrowing figures.

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