blogging platform

10/22/201503/26/2018

Let’s Talk About That Blog of Yours

At this point, you’re already sold on the idea of starting a blog for your business, and using it to move forward with content marketing like 81 percent of B2B organizations are currently doing.

So what’s holding you back from getting started?

You have questions. Lots of them. And so you’re dragging your feet about moving forward with the project, as you don’t want to rush into the process and risk painting your organization in the wrong light. Meanwhile, your competitors are pumping out multiple blog posts per week.

If this describes your situation, I understand what you’re going through. After all, there are a lot of things to consider when starting a blog, such as:

Tone and style: Should your blog be loose and creative, or strictly business? A blog is a direct reflection of your corporate brand, and so it’s vital that your messaging aligns with the image you are trying to create for your company. Continue reading “Let’s Talk About That Blog of Yours”

03/23/2015

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.

Recent 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”

09/18/2014

Treat Your Blog as You Would Treat Your Spouse: Be Patient, Loving and Adventurous

I guess I am still in the newlywed phase, as the romance Gods would call it: I am a bit shy of my one-year wedding anniversary with my hubby; we still gleefully cook dinner every night instead of reverting to takeout; we enjoy touching base all day long, even if it’s just to say “thinking of you”; and we genuinely enjoy being in each other’s company. We put our relationship first. We understand that a healthy, sustainable relationship takes work, patience, love and communication and that it’s something you have to actively work on each and every day.

So what does my newlywed bliss have to do with your marketing strategy, you may be asking? Well lots, if you think about it. Whether you just launched your blog platform yesterday, two years ago, or five years ago, my wish for you is that you are still in your newlywed period. I hope that you are not busy cursing your blogging platform and all that comes with it—editorial calendars, tagging, posting, categorizing, etc.—to the high heavens.

Continue reading “Treat Your Blog as You Would Treat Your Spouse: Be Patient, Loving and Adventurous”

06/17/2014

Need Content Marketing Inspiration? Look Around You

As a marketer, we search for inspiration any place we can find it—at our daughter’s dance recital, on the train commuting to work, in line at CVS waiting to check out… the world is full of marketing inspiration. And it often comes when we least expect it.

We are officially at the halfway point of the year, meaning exhaustion and creative blockages are at an all-time high. You may be out of ideas for your blogging platform; you may be struggling with the motivation to finish that white paper; and you may be fearful that your innovation engine is starting to run on empty. So what’s a marketer to do? It’s time to learn from your surroundings. And here’s how to do it:

Continue reading “Need Content Marketing Inspiration? Look Around You”

03/07/2014

Blogging Lessons from Fantasy Baseball: Use Your Assets Wisely

Earlier this week I participated in the annual player draft for my fantasy baseball league, a time-honored tradition that takes place all over the country and helps drive the $3.6 billion fantasy sports industry. In years past, our league had used a traditional “snake” format for drafting, which simply means that teams draft in a linear order in each round, the order reverses the following round and this continues until all team rosters are full.

This year, however, we decided to try a new auction format, where each team is given a budget of 260 virtual dollars to bid on players any way they desire. The auction draft is more complicated than a traditional system but can also be more stimulating, as the level of strategy necessary increases immensely.

Continue reading “Blogging Lessons from Fantasy Baseball: Use Your Assets Wisely”