Hands down, the biggest challenge for me throughout college was learning how to write shorter. Prior to mastering this art, I would sit down, get comfortable and then go to town on my assignment. Whether it was an end of the year research paper for my American history course, a short essay for that Intro to Philosophy class or a story for my fiction writing seminar, it always turned out the same: pages proliferated with beautifully unnecessary jargon that made the final product spill over into an insanely long document. While it was well-crafted and still read fluently, it was invaded by words that could have been omitted, sentences that could have been consolidated and phrases that sometimes didn’t even belong. Ouch.
Statistics Show that SMS is an Underrated Marketing Tool
When one thinks of newer marketing strategies in the 21st century, Facebook and Twitter instantly come to mind, alongside podcasts, webinars, blogs and infographics. Yet among an ever-widening landscape full of marketing tools and techniques, there currently remains a content marketing strategy filled to the brim with untapped potential. What is this secret marketing tool that has been so subtly stashed away? Short Message Service (SMS), or text messaging.
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Top Three Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
It usually comes without warning, carrying the same air of desperation that comes when you suddenly experience an onset of insatiable hunger at 4 pm, right before that two-hour long work meeting. It has the same feeling of frustration that arrives when you can’t—no matter what—seem to run your 10K in under an hour. And it has that same feeling of regret like when you can’t close the sales deal, despite your most brilliant pitch.
Ah… good ‘ole writer’s block. It’s undoubtedly one of the most crippling incidents that can happen to writers, marketers, journalists and creative people.
Bringing High Fashion into Reality with Content Marketing
There’s something to be said about a great storyteller—someone who draws you in from the very first word and keeps you on your toes until the last moment, leaving you begging for more. Believe it or not, marketing and storytelling go hand in hand. Similar to how a storyteller connects with his or her audience through interesting characters and unpredictable twists and turns, brands today are creating creative, engaging content that speaks to their customers. The art of telling a great story is no easy task, but no one does it better than the fashion industry. Continue reading “Bringing High Fashion into Reality with Content Marketing”
SMS Marketing Isn’t Dead, and I’ve Got the Proof That Says So
I never in a million years thought that text message marketing was still a “thing.” Oh, but it is. It is a very real thing. I didn’t come to realize this fact until I became part of an SMS marketing campaign that was executed perfectly. Allow me to tell you the story of how I was awakened to the world of text message marketing potential.
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From the Website to the Check: Why Your Restaurant Needs Content Marketing
Every hamburger lover has heard of California’s In-N-Out burger. Its greasy, delicious legend has managed to traverse land, sea and air—has traveled thousands of miles—to reach the salivating mouths of consumers from San Francisco to New York City.
And while I’ll admit they make a pretty decent burger, and have withstood the test of time—In-N-Out has been in business since 1948—it’s not the restaurant’s meat that interests me so much as it is In-N-Out’s marketing strategy. And it’s one that restaurants everywhere should be paying attention to.
What makes In-N-Out so great is that it has a secret menu, which only exists online. And while the secret has gotten out at this point, and is in fact now referred to as the Not-So-Secret menu, the concept is simple: it is a brilliant marketing gimmick that drives users to the website, and from the website to the food company’s store.
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ContentGems’ New Hootsuite Integration Will Skyrocket Your Content Marketing Capabilities
I love Twitter. It wasn’t love at first sight, but after getting to know the social platform better and, more importantly, understanding how it can optimize my content marketing agenda, it quickly stole my heart. However today, it’s not enough anymore to just follow people on Twitter. It’s not enough to follow Gartner if you’re in the tech space; you’re missing the mark if you’re only following Bobby Flay as an aspiring chef; and it just doesn’t cut it anymore to follow that top social media influencer or communications strategist as a content marketer.
Content marketers are being pushed now more than ever to proactively find exciting content and deliver this content to its target audience as quickly as possible. In other words, there’s always a way to further surpass standard practices to find those “diamonds in the rough” type of material. While Twitter is great to get you started, it’s certainly not an end-all solution. This is where platforms like Hootsuite come in.
I might just be addicted to Hootsuite. In my ever-filled tab bar throughout the day, Hootsuite’s infamous owl icon serves as my content marketing compass. It’s a directional guide of which I can always return to manage, organize and discover new content from those I’m following and keeping a close eye on.
Always ‘Thinking Outside the Box?’ Maybe Something is Wrong with Your Box
I had the wonderful opportunity to spend last week in Verona, N.Y., at the NY Tech Summit—a two-day business-to-business exhibition and educational technology conference hosted by CXtec and Teracai. In addition to great networking events, top-notch exhibits by companies like Dell, Plantronics and Schneider Electric, and bleeding-edge classroom sessions, there was also a riveting keynote presentation by Travelocity Founder Terry Jones.
As the Founder of Travelocity and Founding Chairman of Kayak.com, Terry knows a thing or two about innovation. That’s because Terry has a wealth of experience to pull from—from his time at American Airlines as a Director of Product Development to his 24 years at Sabre heading up the computer services, applications and product development sections to leading Travelocity since its inception in May of 2012.
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The Rise of Native Advertising for Content Marketing
Have you ever been on the Web and seen an article that really appeals to your interests, only to find that it’s an advertisement? All of a sudden that really funny, interesting, insightful article you couldn’t wait to explore is stripped bare, exposing its true identity: A fallacious marketing ploy to gain your attention. This type of scheme – called an “advertorial” – can feed a customer’s distrust in a company rather than destroy it. And that’s exactly where native advertising comes into the picture.
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Did You Miss us On Yesterday’s Webinar?
Yesterday, TMC CEO Rich Tehrani and I had the pleasure of spending our afternoon with marketing directors, CMOs, social media managers and a group of dedicated content producers for a Content Boost webinar titled “9 out of 10 Companies Leverage Content Marketing. Be in the 10% who do it Right.” If you were able to take the time out of your busy work day to listen in, we sincerely hope it was worth the pause from your normal work flow! And if you missed us yesterday we wanted to give you a quick recap of what we covered.
Thursday’s webinar pulled back the curtain on the new marketing landscape that is content marketing. We started with the basics, enlightening everyone about what exactly content marketing is—a comprehensive marketing strategy that involves creating and sharing relevant, customized, insightful copy, with the end goal of helping a company bolster brand awareness and drive profitability.