A Brand Above the Rest?

Here at Content Boost we are constantly lending our best tips and tricks to our clients, giving them the fuel they need for their engines to drive their content marketing strategies down unprecedented paths.  One tidbit we share often? Not only do you need to leverage social media, but you need to do so  wisely.

This can mean a few things. First, it can mean choosing the right platform to share your story. No, Twitter is not for everyone. Nor is Pinterest. The key is to determine your audience, figure out what social platforms they utilize and then adopt a social presence in these areas.

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#Facebook Rolls Out Hashtags – How Can Your Business Take Advantage?

facebookhashtagFacebook has taken a page out of the Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest book and has introduced searchable hashtags to its platform. If you aren’t familiar with hashatags, they allow users to put the “#” symbol in front of a word or phrase in order to categorize it and make it easier for users of similar interests to find. The goal: to drive more engagement and conversation within the platform… and, of course, there is probably a revenue model in there for the social network.

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What Are You Doing June 20? Join us for a Content Boost Webinar

No matter where you are—CVS, a concert, work, a restaurant, or even a family function—there is one universal sentiment being expressed by everyone these days: There are simply not enough hours in the day to complete everything on our to-do lists.

This sentiment is perhaps no more true than in the workplace, an environment which has undoubtedly become more pressurized, stressful and demanding since the onset of the economic recession a few years ago. And that’s largely because we are all being forced to do more with less; forced to wear multiple hats; and forced to figure out how to cut corners while still delivering competitive, unprecedented offerings.

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Are You Encouraging a Two-Way Dialogue with Your Stakeholders?

Have you visited SocialMedia Examiner yet? If you are in the digital marketing space and have not yet done so, do yourself a favor and pay the site a visit. The “guide to the social media jungle” covers a variety of pertinent topics for marketers, from Facebook to Twitter to Pinterest to LinkedIn to the more broad-speaking “How on Earth do I weave social media into my content marketing strategy?”

Today’s top post, titled “26 Ways to Create Engaging Content” by Debbie Hemley could not be more dead on. Hemley explores the chief strategies for getting readers to engage with your copy—from injecting timely data to identifying keywords for optimization purposes to honing content objectives. My personal favorite? Encouraging a two-way conversation.

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A “Pin” Says A Thousand Words

When Pinterest exploded onto the scene a few short years ago, users instantly became hooked – I know I did. I submitted my request to join and eagerly waited for the confirmation to hit my inbox. I was, and still am, easily sucked into the site for longer periods of time than I’d like to admit.

The premise of the site is quite simple: you “pin” images you like from other sites —from tablets to wedding dresses to sporting equipment—to have a central location of items you want to revisit for later use. You can also re-pin images that other users have posted and follow other users. So why has the site seen so much popularity and growth over the last few years?

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The Seven Deadly Social Media Sins of Content Marketing

If you’ve just joined the content marketing club, you’ll soon be flying high in the social media stratosphere. Social media is world full of unlimited content marketing possibilities. In fact, the networking strategy produces almost double the marketing leads compared to trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail or pay-per-click (PPC), according to research this year from HubSpot.

But before you get ready to take off, you must first beware of the seven deadly sins of using social media when it comes to marketing your content.  

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Why Animal Memes are Marketing Gold

The concept of an animal meme is simple: take a photo of a cute or silly looking animal, add a witty caption, and then share it on the Internet. It’s been around for years, it’s over played, but yet you still read every one you come across. Let’s break down why memes work. Highly consumable and easily sharable content (an image in this case)… check. Short, easy to read text… check. A dash of humor… check. We have ourselves a winner.

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Online users are gravitating more and more towards rich content. We see this through the explosion of networks such as Pinterest and Instagram, which are made up almost entirely of images and very light on text. Blogs that contain images typically resonate better with readers than those without. Social media posts which contain an image or video see high engagement rates.

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What Happens When Marketers Rebuff Social Media…

I love when I am in the presence of a business executive who scoffs at the notion of incorporating social media into his/her corporate strategy.

“Social media is for teenagers,” they often say, convinced that the social networking world is full of narcissistic Generation Y-ers and Z-ers tweeting, Facebooking, pinning and Instagramming every inane sentiment, picture and fad.

You can imagine how their jaws drop when we at Content Boost inform these social media naysayers that in 2012, the average Facebook user was 41 years old, up from 38 years old in 2010. Moreover, in 2012, more than 65 percent of Facebook users were 35 plus years old.

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Debunking Content Marketing Falsehoods – Part One

Some of my favorite articles are those that expose commonly circulated fallacies and pull back the curtain to reveal the truth. For example…

The lie: Artificial sweeteners are safe sugar replacements. The truth: Studies have actually found that those who use artificial sweeteners are more likely to gain weight then those who consumer caloric sweeteners.

The lie: You should stretch before you exercise to avoid injury. The truth: Conversely, researchers have found that stretching before exercising can actually slow your body down, resulting in a five percent reduction of efficiency.

When ubiquitous “truths” are circulated and then subsequently debunked,  you are oftentimes left flabbergasted and befuddled—but then you realize that a world of possibilities opens up. After all, maybe you can start traipsing around in the cold with a wet head and not get sick. Perhaps your dog is not really as old as you think he is, as dogs do not age at seven years per one human year. And, maybe, just maybe,you can in fact have that ice cream sundae minutes before jumping into the pool.

content marketing strategyPerhaps no space has more misconceptions flying, however, than the content marketing one.  Marketers claim to know all the statistics and best practices for crafting a competitive content marketing strategy—numbers that often belie the potential of this new-age marketing technique and preconceived notions that often hamper success. Below, we unveil some of the biggest content marketing falsehoods. Continue reading “Debunking Content Marketing Falsehoods – Part One”

How Do I Know Which Social Media Platforms are Right for Me?

So you’ve decided to get started on building your company’s social media presence – congrats! With new social media networks popping up all the time, it can be hard to determine which you want to be part of. By knowing what the major platforms are best utilized for, you can help make the most of your resources and take a giant step forward towards reaching your customers.

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Twitter tends to resonate best with a B2C audience, but it also works quite well with the B2B world. Because posts are limited to 140 characters, it lends itself well to quick bursts of thought, starting conversations, and sharing links. If you are willing to put the time into posting on Twitter daily you will likely find an audience here.

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