Key Takeaways from Latest B2B Content Marketing Survey Results

B2BBusiness-to-business (B2B) buyer behavior has fundamentally changed and, as a result, the concept of content marketing has gone mainstream. This has led B2B marketers to do either one of two things: fist pump like a champ or pull their hair out while battling intense anxiety. Regardless of which side you’re on, the fact remains that content marketing is a force to be reckoned with – and more specifically, capitalized on.

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A Lesson on Composing the Perfect Tweet

twitter89By now you probably know the dos and don’ts of Twitter when it comes to your business account. Don’t tweet about politics, do make it fun, don’t abandon your followers and tweet often. But now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to take your tweets to the next level and really engage with your audience. After all, 36 percent of all marketers have found a customer via Twitter in 2013.

Today, the job of a social media marketer is no cake walk. There’s hashtags, penguins, hangouts, handles… you name it. Not only do you have to compile a compelling, out of this world campaign, but you have to do so in 140 characters or less.

All too often, marketers fall into the habit of firing random, uninspiring “me, me, me” tweets just for the sake of tweeting, which will undoubtedly get you labeled as a spammer, which let’s face it no one wants. Stop thinking like a salesman and think like a marketer.

To get you back on track—and thinking like the stellar marketer you are—here’s a lesson (or reminder) on how to compose the perfect tweet.

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Why Financial Advisors Need Content Marketing

financesIn a time of economic strife where financial security is being increasingly sought after, the financial advising market is a very alluring one. In fact, the broker ranks are positioned to increase by 30 percent through 2018 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – a figure that blows previous estimations out of the water. This, of course, has seen the rise of many new players in a gradually competitive space.

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Why Every Brand Needs Instagram: As Told by a Newly Addicted Instagrammer

instagram picAs you read this, your competitors are Instagramming. They’re carefully filtering photos, sharing videos that are unique to their brand and garnering “likes” for the custom-tailored content they’re delivering to an audience of over 100 million users. For those of you who have aptly adapted to this online photo- and video-sharing/social networking service, you deserve a hearty pat on the back. However, for those of you who still linger outside of the Instagram universe, you’re unfortunately charging toward a very rude awakening. Continue reading “Why Every Brand Needs Instagram: As Told by a Newly Addicted Instagrammer”

What Content Marketers Can Learn from Pope Francis’ Twitter Account

Move over Barack Obama – there’s a new sheriff in the Twittersphere.

twitter debate

The leader of the free world has been overthrown by the Vatican’s newly elected Pope Francis, who now stands as the world’s most influential leader on Twitter. The President of the United States still ranks among the top of influential world leaders, though, currently boasting over 34 million Twitter followers (and who can forget when he obliterated Twitter statistics with his iconic “Four more years” tweet during the 2012 U.S. election?)

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Three Effective Content Marketing Lessons from Your Favorite Scary Movie

I love scary movies.

Of all the summer blockbusters in theaters this summer, the one I most early anticipated was The Conjuring. When I finally got to the movie theatre – five minutes late and forced to sit in the neck-craning third row – I spent half the movie curled in a ball; heart racing, palms sweating and uncomfortably squirming as I peeked through my fingers ready to cover my eyes at a moment’s notice. Yet as soon as the credits rolled, I was grinning ear-to-ear, laughing at my own ridiculousness and confidently claiming I knew what would happen the whole time. It was only later that night in the solitude of my own room that visions of the movie had me clutching my comforter over my head for protection… And still, I love scary movies.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

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Three Reasons You Should Jumpstart Your Holiday Content Marketing Campaign in July

julyI know, I know…the last thing you want to hear during the peak of summer is the word “Christmas.” For those of us who experience a traditional summer season (between the months of June to September), we have been spending our days in a hot haze of sand, sun and tanning. However, for content marketers, this could be prime time for getting customers to begin thinking about the most wonderful – and expensive – time of the year.

While your target audience is currently bikini clad and relaxing poolside, there are several ways your brand can begin boosting its holiday spirit with content marketing. Let’s take a look at three reasons why you should get into the content marketing holiday spirit right now.

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How Healthy is Your Marketing Strategy?

PediatricianIt’s something we all dreaded as a child, the back-to-school physical. Not only did the annual checkup mean summer was coming to an end, but it also marked the beginning of a new school year. This year, thousands of children across the country will visit their pediatrician in hopes of getting an A in health.

For parents, finding the right pediatrician with an all-star reputation, extensive experience and deep knowledge base is like striking gold. In fact, 94 percent of prospective patients said reputation is important in hospital selection. While in the past, parents found their pediatrician through referrals from friends and family, today’s tech-savvy parents are turning to the Internet to find the best doctor in town. This begs the question; does your practice have a healthy online presence?

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5 Content Marketing Statistics That Your Boss Can’t Ignore

Mr. Burns

Last week we gave you three reasons your boss would say ‘yes’ to content marketing to help you work up the nerve to march down to the corner office and propose a content marketing initiative.

Hopefully your boss saw the light and you’re busy developing a killer content marketing plan with his or her full support.

But if not, and your boss still needs convincing, read on for five content marketing statistics that simply can’t be ignored: Continue reading “5 Content Marketing Statistics That Your Boss Can’t Ignore”

Lowes Lends a Helping Hand with Awesome Content Marketing Campaign

Lowes Vine VideosLet me start by saying that I don’t consider myself handy by any means (when I need a quick fix, my father always taught me that there’s nothing like some strong duct tape to do the trick). That’s exactly why Lowe’s “Fix In Six” campaign caught my attention. Before I knew it, the initiative – which leverages the power of Vine to share quick how-to and fix it videos – had me itching to snap on some protective goggles and get my hands on a few power tools.

I quickly realized that Fix In Six – a Tumblr blog displaying the Vine videos – could come quite in handy for those working around the house.  Ever use a Post-It to catch the dust from drilling a hole in your wall? A potato to remove a broken light bulb? Cinnamon to keep bugs out of your sandbox?

Absolutely brilliant.

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