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Why My Road Trip Got Me Thinking About Content Marketing Strategy

shutterstock_269296442In my opinion, there’s almost nothing quite like getting out on the open road, when everything feels new and the possibilities for adventure are endless.

I just recently enjoyed the incredible experience of driving coast to coast. What I valued most about the trip was the experience of driving, rather than flying, and being able to take in all of the scenery and changing landscapes as I made it from state to state. Taking in all of the sights, from mountains to flatland to deserts, made me think about my country and traveling in brand new ways that I’d never have realized had I foregone the car and hopped on a plane.

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Is Your Marketing Department About To Take Flight?

Now that we’re about to turn the corner into July, many of your employees could be taking time off from work for various reasons—like for vacations, conferences, weddings, you name it. July and August are prime months for being out of the office and sometimes, paid time off requests can pop up out of nowhere and when you least expect them. It’s important, therefore, that you look ahead and figure out whether you have the manpower to see your editorial department through this time of limited resources.

Gone FishinAfter all, while your employees can always take time off from work, your blog and social content need to keep rolling. Otherwise, if you pause your calendar and focus on other tasks while your main writers are out of town, you could risk losing readers who may forget to come back. Continue reading “Is Your Marketing Department About To Take Flight?”

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Gen X Marketing: Don’t You Forget About Us

Generation XLately, it appears that most marketing content is geared towards millenials or even baby boomers. Although I’m sure they’re all perfectly nice people, it seems like Generation X—born between 1961 and 1981—has been relegated to second-class citizen status when it comes to product promotion.

I don’t only say that because I am approaching middle age (whatever that means) and feeling left out, but because I believe that much of what defines our popular culture today—such as rap music and ground-breaking TV series like “Breaking Bad,” “The Sopranos” and “Sex in the City”—is a product of my generation. Therefore, our absence from marketing content seems like an anomaly.

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Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course, Part 2: Afternoon Sessions

Looking back on the second half of yesterday’s Content Boost Crash Course, the word that comes immediately to mind is “action.” While the first half of the day was focused on educating attendees about the basics of content marketing—the ins and outs of blogging and the need to engage with customers via social media, for example—the afternoon was all about how to put those strategies into motion and move forward with an integrated, revenue-driven content marketing strategy.

shutterstock_134665622What is the best way to get started with content marketing in your organization? As Content Boost Director Carrie Majewski intimated during a presentation titled “Getting the Boss to Say Yes to Content Marketing,” approaching the boss about investing in content marketing may be intimidating. She advised participants to lay such fears aside, however, as, in truth, most decision makers are ready to move forward with content marketing. Majewski backed up her claim with a study from DNN which shows that the top three priorities for marketing executives are to acquire new customers (87 percent), increase customer retention (86 percent) and increase brand awareness (80 percent).
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Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course Part One: Morning Sessions

The morning flew by here at Content Boost, as we’re now halfway through our second content marketing Crash Course; that is, our all-day integrated marketing seminar offering the latest tips and tricks for growing your brand online.

Before we head into this afternoon’s additional seminars and group discussions, it’s a great time to reflect on some of the top takeaways from the morning sessions, led by our in-house team of integrated marketing experts.

Here are three key tips that were discussed:

20150421_112544Be bold with your content: After opening remarks from our CEO, Rich Tehrani, our Director Carrie Majewksi kicked things off with a presentation on the basics of content marketing. One of the most important things she spoke about was the need to be bold and take chances with your content. As she explained, you are already disruptive with your product offerings so it’s critical to be innovative with your multimedia. According to Majewski, content marketing is your opportunity to drive emotion, tell stories and create a “WOW” experience that will resonate strongly with your customers. Continue reading “Top Takeaways From the Content Boost Crash Course Part One: Morning Sessions”

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Why Google’s Knowledge Vault Should Be On Your Radar

There’s a one buzzword that is gaining an increasing amount of attention in content marketing: accuracy.

Right now, it’s relatively easy for a website loaded with misinformation to rise to the top of Google’s search engine rankings; all it takes is enough people linking to the website in order to inflate it past credible sources. This is a problem for Google, as the company’s goal is to be the most accurate source of knowledge on the Web.

shutterstock_172659857In order to solve this problem, Google is developing a project called Knowledge Vault. For quite some time now, researchers at Google have been collecting vast amounts of information from across the Web and sorting through the data to determine specific truths. For instance, an example one such truth would be “grass is green.” Continue reading “Why Google’s Knowledge Vault Should Be On Your Radar”

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Food For Thought: Why Every Restaurant Should Put Content On The Menu This Weekend

Listen up, restaurant owners: It’s Friday afternoon, which means right now, many of your potential customers are working up an appetite, trying to decide where to head tonight to unwind and grab a bite to eat. Friday is one of the busiest nights of the week for your business, so you’ll want to capitalize on the opportunity and make sure there is a line running out the door in your establishment and not a row of empty seats.

shutterstock_239356252If you want to accomplish this goal of a packed house, don’t wait for customers to come knocking on your door tonight. Restaurant-goers are already browsing their mobile devices, trying to decide whether they want to indulge in Korean, Italian, Mexican, Japanese or American cuisine. If your business does not have a robust digital presence, you could risk losing customers to competitors this evening. Continue reading “Food For Thought: Why Every Restaurant Should Put Content On The Menu This Weekend”

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Key Takeaways From Content Boost’s First Crash Course

We are in the middle of a quiet content marketing war, as organizations are fiercely competing for brand awareness and relevancy online.

This was the critical message delivered by TMC CEO and Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani during his opening remarks at Content Boost’s first Content Marketing Crash Course, Dec. 4 in Norwalk, Connecticut.

“Online marketing battles are being won and lost constantly,” explained Tehrani, adding that many companies think they are winning the battle for attention when they are actually losing without even realizing it.

IMG_20141204_113151137Tehrani’s remarks set the tone for the riveting Crash Course, in which local business leaders and marketers were invited to participate in full day of hands-on content marketing seminars and group discussions, as well as strategizing and networking activities with key members of the Content Boost team. Attendees were also treated to 30-minute one-on-one brand reviews and consultations, as well as brand video interviews. Continue reading “Key Takeaways From Content Boost’s First Crash Course”