Can I just say fall is my most absolute favorite season? For all you beach-going, BBQ-obsessed people out there, this may come as a shock, but honestly, if I lived in a land that was 68 degrees and sunny every day, I would be as happy as a clam. From the beautiful foliage to the bumpy hay rides to the autumn sweaters, fall is my nirvana.
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.
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Anthropologie: A Master in Fashion and Content Marketing
I have to give it up to fashion retailer Anthropologie. Not only does the fabulously quirky retailer offer today’s best fashion designs, but the company has mastered the art of content marketing. Blogs, videos, photo galleries, social media – you name it, Anthropologie has it. The fashion maven offers its customers custom creative content across a multitude of platforms, which has undoubtedly placed the brand ahead of the curve.
Let’s take a look at three ways Anthropologie has built its success using content marketing, as well as some helpful tips you can implement into your very own marketing strategy.
All about the Customer
Knowing their customers’ wide-range of interests, Anthropolgie’s blog “Anthro” is the go-to spot for the latest trends in everything fashion and culture. From “The Perfect Sunday Dinner Outfit” to the “Ultimate Road Trip Playlist” to “Designer Spotlights” to “The Summer Sendoff Margarita,” Anthro has a diverse mix of content for every type of customer.
Let’s face it; your customers don’t want to read a blog filled with promotional content. They want a place to go to read about the topics they like without being bombarded by ads. Content marketing is all about finding a happy medium between promotional and informative content. Continue reading “Anthropologie: A Master in Fashion and 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.
Content Marketing Quickly Emerging as the Heavy Weight Champion
In the right corner, coming in at 500 pounds and easily bench pressing Social Media, Blogging and eNewsletters, is Content Marketing. In the left corner, coming in at a measly 100 pounds with only Traditional Marketing and Print Publications in his corner, is Traditional Advertising.
Too harsh? Feeling bad for Traditional Advertising? You should. He doesn’t have a chance against Content Marketing, at least according to a recent infographic released by Marketo.
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Still Think Content Marketing is Just a Phase? Read This
If you do a quick Web scan or ask a random handful of people, you’ll receive multiple conflicting answers as to whether content marketing – an integrated marketing strategy involving creating and sharing relevant, customized and insightful copy – is all that it’s cracked up to be. As if existing statistics (such as the fact that 91 percent of B2B marketers currently leverage content marketing strategies and 66 percent of brands say that branded content marketing has become “very important”) weren’t enough, a brand new infographic brings us a slew of statistics that are hot out of the oven. All of them point to the fact that content marketing is a must-have for any business’ customer engagement strategy.
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Can You Even Find Your Company’s Blog?
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it even make a sound?
The same could be said about your blogging platform. If you are creating the most compelling, awe-inspiring blog content—unquestionably putting your competitors to shame—but that copy is essentially hidden on your homepage, then does your blog even make a ripple in cyberspace? In short, the answer is no. Continue reading “Can You Even Find Your Company’s Blog?”
Why Your Online Savings Company Needs Content Marketing
Everyone can afford to save more money.
Whether you’re a fresh college grad looking to save some change before those student loans kick in, a full-time working adult trying to establish a financial safety net or a more seasoned individual looking to secure a financial future after retirement, storing away your savings is top of mind during every stage of living. This has sent nearly everyone on the hunt for the perfect organization to bank on (pun intended) to keep their money safe while they stack it.
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Why Your Vacation Resort Needs Content Marketing
Full disclosure: I am a bit of a vacation snob.
I wish I could be like my free-spirited, “I-go-where-the-wind-takes-me” friends; those who are able to practically spend petty cash for their beach vacation by looking up the cheapest motel (sans bed bugs, hopefully) within walking distance to the main beach. I wish I could be like them and overlook busted air conditioners and hostile-like conditions when it comes to lodging.
But I can’t. That’s because when I go on vacation, my enjoyment comes from the combination of my hotel, the activities, the ambiance and the culture. And I ALWAYS do what I can to ensure that the hefty price tag on my credit card matches the experience.
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Survey Says Fortune 500, Inc. 500 Companies Increasingly Turning to Blogging
In case you needed more proof that your competitors are blogging—though the fact that 60 percent of companies already have a blog is often pretty riveting—here’s one more for you. Not only are most of your competitors blogging, but more and more of them are joining the cyber space conversation every day.
The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently released its 2012 study on the usage of social media in the fastest-growing corporations and found that blogging amongst the Inc. 500 companies in particular has jumped significantly. Specifically, in 2007, 19 percent of the most promising private companies were blogging. Fast forward to 2012 and that number has jumped to 44 percent (in 2011 the number was at 37 percent).
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