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Hungry Yet? What Chef Jamie Oliver Can Teach You About Content Marketing

Jamie_Oliver_cookingBusinesses across all industries have gradually accepted the fact that in order to be successful, they really don’t have much of a choice other than to begin forging their content marketing strategies. But there’s a catch: A vast majority of them admit they’re not really good at it.

Marketers exist to promote their products and ultimately generate new revenue streams. To do this, they’ll place ads in newspapers and on websites, pay for radio and television commercials and write pertinent blog posts, among many other things.

The mistake, it appears, is that many marketers approach digital mediums the same way they approach traditional ones. As a result, their blogs—the cornerstones of their content marketing efforts—often end up more like really long ads than engaging, beneficial content. Continue reading “Hungry Yet? What Chef Jamie Oliver Can Teach You About Content Marketing”

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Mercedes-Benz Shakes Up Its Marketing Strategy to Target Youth

mercWhen you think of Mercedes-Benz what comes to mind? Luxury, success, sophistication, wealth… youthfulness? If you’re wondering if that’s a typo, it’s not. The renowned car brand recently revamped its marketing strategy to target a younger audience.

According to Mercedes-Benz’s Nathan Tan, a supervisor of advertising, bringing in younger consumers has been a company goal for some time. However, stereotypes of the cars have made it difficult to break into a younger demographic. Young customers tend to view the vehicles as “stuffy” and “more for their fathers than for themselves,” Tan said.

So what did Mercedes do? It took to social media using several platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, to get their new, more “youthful” messaging out. Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz Shakes Up Its Marketing Strategy to Target Youth”

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California Dreamin’: State Tourism Board Takes Over YouTube

If you’re like me, then you are probably looking out the window wishing it were 70 degrees. Like the majority of the U.S. population struggling to get through February, I’ve had enough. I’m ready for spring.

Big_Sur_Coast_CaliforniaAnd if you’re like me, you probably can’t just get up and go to California on whim, where it actually is 70 degrees and sunny. But you can check out the state tourism board’s new Dream 365 project, where you can salivate over documentaries depicting people bicycling across the Golden Gate bridge, surfing through tidal waves, playing music on mountainsides and skateboarding on a half pipe in the middle of the ocean. And while you’re at it, if you aren’t already packing your bags, you can learn about a great new content marketing strategy that your business can use to spread brand awareness and get people excited about what you are doing: a YouTube takeover. Continue reading “California Dreamin’: State Tourism Board Takes Over YouTube”

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A Superhero in the Real World

In addition to the wonderful food and immense cheer, this year’s office holiday party included a welcome surprise gift. Everyone here at Content Boost, and our parent company TMC, received a Chromecast, the new Google platform that allows users to enjoy online content on a television screen.

Batman

As soon as I opened the gift I realized I was quite familiar with the product through its television and YouTube commercials. Most commercials barely register with me, as I am typically either fast-forwarding through them on my DVR or half-listening from the kitchen as I microwave something to eat. The Chromecast commercial, however, stuck with me to the point that I recognized the device and remembered its function as soon as I saw the box.  Why you ask? Batman, of course.

Continue reading “A Superhero in the Real World”

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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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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?

Continue reading “A Picture Says a Thousand Words”

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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.

Continue reading “Key Takeaways from Latest B2B Content Marketing Survey Results”

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The (Unofficial) Ten Social Media Commandments for Content Marketers

social mediaWe all have some set of rules that we abide by. For example, I would consider mine to be treating others kindly, being slow to speak and being quick to listen, among others. But before I get too philosophical, let’s take a look at ten lessons every content marketer should be zeroing in on, inspired by this recent post from Buffer (props!). I now present to you the (unofficial) ten social media commandments that every content marketer should be heeding:

Continue reading “The (Unofficial) Ten Social Media Commandments for Content Marketers”

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Do you Know the Length of Your Audience’s Attention Span?

The length of one’s attention has a lot to do with age. Think about it… if you give a 10 month old a red plastic block to play with, he will taste it, feel it, and even throw it. The block grabs his attention for a few minutes at least. If you give the same block to a 10 year old, however, he will just throw it at you within seconds!  Chances are the pre-teen already knows the texture, understand not to eat it and won’t give it a second thought.

Does the same hold true for adults?

Continue reading “Do you Know the Length of Your Audience’s Attention Span?”

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Skittles Gets Interactive With Figurines

skittlesSkittles has a new ad out and it lets you smash grandma’s precious figurines. Let me rewind. The ad starts with grandma bringing a glass of water to what is presumably her grandson, Tommy. On the same table is a pink horse figurine who speaks in a British accent and tells Tommy to smash him for Skittles to come out. Of course, the grandson smashes the horse and enjoys a pile of the delicious treats. I have to admit, in every Skittles commercial the sound of the candy pouring onto the ground makes my mouth water. Does anyone else have a sudden craving for Skittles? Continue reading “Skittles Gets Interactive With Figurines”