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Why Shorter Is Better When it Comes to Your Blog Copy

shutterstock_115785298Let’s face it… you are swamped. From logging the 9 to 5 grind (uh… more like 9 to 7) to squeezing in parent-teacher meetings to trying to plan something special for the weekend with a loved one, there are simply not enough hours in the day. Well, guess what? Your consumers feel the same way.

In fact, your target market is so inundated with daily tasks that they are in search of pointed, succinct marketing pitches. Just to give you some perspective on the information overload you are currently experiencing, consider the following:

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Ice Cream in December: Ben & Jerry’s Dominates Instagram—and Fans Love It

Right now, the majority of Americans are reaching for bowls of hot soup and putting on multiple layers of clothes in order to combat the cold winter air. But not me.

shutterstock_117202792Instead of trying to run away from winter, I like to embrace it by reaching for a bowl of ice cream—the colder the better. After all, winter only lasts for a few months and then everyone starts complaining about the heat again. So when I opened my Instagram news feed recently to see a picture of someone holding an ice cream cone up to a cloud, I was pleasantly surprised—and not at all annoyed about seeing an advertisement in my news feed.

Apparently a lot of other people felt the same way, too. After all, it’s hard to get upset about seeing a picture of an ice cream cone. As it turns out, Instagram’s decision to incorporate ads panned out quite nicely for the company. In fact, Ben & Jerry’s experienced a 20 percent spike in followers after the advertising initiative. Here are some other interesting statistics that emerged as well:

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Three Ways to Mix Up Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2014

content-marketing-word-cloudLet’s face it; creating and disseminating custom, attention-grabbing content can be difficult, especially if don’t have a comprehensive content marketing strategy in place. Failing to implement a fool-proof plan can significantly hinder the success of your efforts, as evidenced in a recent report titled “ B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends North America” by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. In fact, 84 percent of marketers who say they are ineffective at content marketing said they have no documented strategy.

As 2013 quickly comes to a close, now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your current content strategy (or lack thereof) to get on the right track for 2014. Below are three tips and tricks to building a stronger content marketing strategy. Continue reading “Three Ways to Mix Up Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2014”

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Three Easy Ways to Instantly Engage More Customers Using Your Facebook Page

facebookSay what you will, but Facebook still reigns as one of the world’s top social networks. According to the latest study by GlobalWebIndex.com, Facebook boasts a nearly 50 percent utilization rate by active Internet users worldwide. Facebook usage is also highest in North America with a 59 percent utilization rate among active users. Meanwhile, Google+ only achieves 15 percent and Twitter 25 percent.

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How to Use Social Media Contests to Generate Leads

social-trophies1Let’s face it; there’s nothing exciting about lead generation. In fact, it can be extremely frustrating. You spend days crafting a compelling eNewsletter and months creating a killer company blog, but the number of leads coming in aren’t what you expected. If this sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time to think outside box and liven up your lead generation strategy.  Continue reading “How to Use Social Media Contests to Generate Leads”

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From the Prehistoric Age to the Social Media Craze: Marketing Comparisons and Similarities

Imagine for a moment being a caveman in the prehistoric times. You’re creating cave paintings and sending out drum and smoke signals to effectively communicate or relay messages to your community or those around you. It could take days or weeks for your message to be properly relayed – if it gets relayed at all.

It’s almost unfathomable to think that at the time, these were the most sophisticated methods of communication available. Believe it or not, but today’s modern marketing methods still cling close to these prehistoric roots in some pretty notable ways. Of course, they can differ just the same, as depicted by an infographic from Optimal Targeting released today.

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A Picture Says a Thousand Words

photography-beginnerI myself am a visual learner, who would rather look at pretty pictures than read a 1,000-plus word article—and I’m not alone. In fact, 65 percent of the population is comprised of visual learners and 40 percent of people respond better to visual information than plain text. For content marketers, this means marrying compelling content with eye-catching visuals.

Visual content garners big results as it not only helps catch the reader’s attention, but it also increases engagement and drives website traffic. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and consider the following: would you rather read a press release full of text or a post with one or two eye-popping images?

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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”

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Companies Creating Holidays to Boost Content Marketing Strategy

Back To School SaturdayI’m one of those people who treat magazines like a lengthy novel. When I check my mailbox for my monthly subscription, I spend hours glazing the pages looking for the latest fashion tips and life advice.  Whether it’s Vanity Fair, Glamour or stealing a quick peek at the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, I love a good magazine.

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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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