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The Hunger Games: Can Your Content Survive in the Arena?

By Ann Meany | Published April 4, 2012

Has your content got what it takes to compete in a death match?

That’s what’s happening every day on Google, and only the fittest will survive. The content you post on your blog, website and social media networks must be smart and nimble to emerge victorious. And the competition gets stiffer every day.

The treacherous Panda takes no prisoners. If you want to be found and noticed online, make sure your content is designed for the task. Here’s how you can emerge a winner in the brutal online environment.

Keep moving.

If you stay camped in one area for too long you’re asking for trouble. Keep moving, avoid starting any fires, and you may survive longer. In other words, don’t let your online content stagnate. Continue to add to your blog regularly, update your website and find ways to frequently entice readers through social media. If you aren’t growing your site and keeping the content fresh, readers will lose interest, there will be less and less activity on your site, and search engines will begin to ignore you.

Be smart.

You need to rely on your wits if you’re going to beat the other competitors. You won’t be able to outrun them and sleeping in trees won’t protect you forever. At some point you have to get out there and compete. This means your content has to be smarter and more interesting than the rest. Well-written, valuable information will set you apart from the sea of generic, mediocre stuff floating around on the Web. What you put out there in the form of posts, updates and tweets is your brand, and you want it all to represent you in the best way possible. Make sure everything you produce is engaging and of the highest quality.

Know your weapons.

Is hand-to-hand combat your specialty or are you better with a bow and arrow? In order to be effective in a fight, you have to know what your strengths are. What is it that sets your company apart? What do you offer that no one else does? Your strengths are the powerful weapons you have at your disposal. Your content should highlight these attributes at every opportunity.

Ask for help from “sponsors.”

Some well-timed help from a “sponsor” can make all the difference in the world. In other words, know when to ask for assistance. If writing isn’t your core competency, find an experienced content marketing writer to help you out. Get SEO advice from an expert who can evaluate your website, recommend areas where you should add content and supply keyword advice. Make sure your site is professionally designed with the user in mind and will work with all devices. You can’t do it all. Identify the holes in your expertise and gather a team with the credentials that can help you win.

The competition is fierce, but with your finely tuned content, you’ll set the search engines on fire.

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Warning: You could be using the wrong content provider

By Ann Meany | Published April 3, 2012

You know your company needs content – most companies do these days. Whether it’s press releases, articles, regular blog posts or information for a website, quality content is vital for getting your name and message out there.

Unless you have an in-house creative staff, your organization has probably relied on agencies or freelance writers to help with various projects.

But are you always happy with the results?

Creating quality content requires professional skill and strategic thinking, SEO expertise and a gift for storytelling, among other things. If your content creator isn’t providing all this, you aren’t getting your money’s worth.

The next time you’re re-evaluating content creation services, keep this in mind:

  • Writer access. Have you ever brought your car in to be repaired and just left it in front of the shop, hoping the mechanic would know what you needed? This is exactly what happens when you hire a content creation service that doesn’t offer direct consulting time with a writer. The person doing the writing should be speaking to you directly, getting to know your brand’s personality, your goals and the particular tone and perspective you want in your content. These kinds of details are often lost in translation when you don’t have contact with the writer, and the quality and effectiveness of the content will suffer as a result.
  • SEO expertise. Every piece of communication that is produced for your business should be optimized for online search. A writer with SEO proficiency can suggest the best keyword phrases and links and integrate them seamlessly into the copy. Whoever is creating your content should be able to blend optimization with readability, always keeping in mind that the best content is written to engage human readers, as well as garner the attention of search engines.
  • Your message is a story. Among the most valuable skills that a content creator can have is the ability to engage an audience. Creating effective content requires someone who understands what an audience needs and knows how to tell an authentic story. They should have the skill to find the right tone and correctly capture your brand’s particular character. Most kinds of content are basically stories, and you should find a writer who’s good at telling them.

In the right hands, content can be a powerful tool for generating growth and ensuring the success of your business.  Make sure you’re working with the right writer.

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Boring blog? Don’t let it become a waste of website space

By Jeni Jonett | Published March 28, 2012

Tips to avoid a boring blogYou’ve got a blog all set up and ready to go on your company’s website: Now what?

Company blogs are designed to help your customers learn more about your business, the industry and how you interact – internally as a company and with your community. For small-business owners, they’re a great way to share what’s going on – without having to spend a fortune on newspaper ads or radio spots. But too many businesses don’t make the most of their blogs, failing to engage readers and wasting website space.

So what makes a blog ineffective?

1. Techno mumbo jumbo – When your great aunt asks you what you do every day at your job, do you spout off a bunch of acronyms and industry terms, or do you simplify your answer to help give her a simple and broad overview of your work? If you use the first job definition, you might notice her eyes glazing over, and she may quickly change the subject. But if you try the second option, she might follow up with a couple of questions, allowing you to delve deeper into your company, your work and your products.

Pretend your blog audience is your great aunt. Eliminate acronyms unless you absolutely must use them, and then be very careful to identify exactly what each acronym means. Assume your readers don’t know your industry when you are writing. Also, follow the traditional journalism rule and write for about an 8th grade reading level so that your posts are accessible for a broad audience.

2. You, you, you – Of course this is your blog, but it shouldn’t be focused only on your company. You’ll bore your readers, and may quickly find out that you’ve run out of material – especially if you’re limited in the number of products or services you have to sell.

Expand your topics to include industry news. You don’t need to mention competitors, but can concentrate on how the industry is affected by global conditions and events – like the environment, legislation, new technology, etc.

If your business is located in a smaller community, you can also write about events in the community. For example, if the high school girls basketball team is heading off to a big tournament, write a blog congratulating the team players and coaches on their success, and slide in a mention about how some members of your staff are parents of the players – or if that isn’t the case, how your company will be on the sidelines, rooting away.

3. Boring and never new – Readers are looking for new, useful and frequent communication. Your clients and customers probably have a routine they try to follow weekly. If you aren’t able to fit updating your blog into that weekly routine on a consistent basis, you’re going to have a lot of nonrepeating readers. Plan to add a new post to your blog at a minimum of once a week. If you have the staff and can dedicate more time, do so. Or hire a writing service to help provide additional content.

Another way to make your blog more exciting is to incorporate interaction between your company and blog readers. To do this well requires additional staff time for posting questions or thoughtful musings in frequent posts; respond to readers who submit questions or points of view.

Setting up a blog is just the first step. Now use these writing tips to engage readers, bring more visitors to your website and get customers reading about your company.

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The three problems content marketing can solve

By Jessica Gaumer | Published March 27, 2012

There’s so much buzz out there about content marketing. It’s recommended as a “must” if you’re a small or large business, and whether you communicate business to business or business to consumer. But, before committing to it simply because pressure says you have to, it’s important to understand the benefits of it all.

So, how does the whole content marketing thing work, and is it right for you and your business? Ask yourself, do you really have any idea how much your customers know about your business? Does your website cover the bases so no prospect slips through the cracks? Here are three solutions to issues you may or may not know exist, but could be affecting the overall promotion of your business.

  1. Customers have no idea you are out there. There are probably a lot of customers that need your product or service, but they just can’t find you. In fact, most web searchers don’t even click past the first few pages in Google, so they probably didn’t see your site show up in the search results.  Before a customer can see that your business can help solve their problem, they must be able to find you in the overwhelming sea called the World Wide Web. The solution: great quality content.  Content is what drives the Internet and is the key to building your exposure. If you want to get found on search engines by potential customers, you must provide content.
  2. Customers are uneducated. In some cases your audience may not even be aware that they need something until they come across it. This scenario can even exist within a business to business environment. Take this topic for instance; content marketing has been whirling around the Internet marketing arena for awhile now. But why would a package design company think they need a blog? Well, a blog can play a much bigger role than regularly engaging your web visitors; it can bring in new customers, build traffic and relationships, and hopefully ring in a sale. And, content works like a sales pitch, allowing you to inform potential clients about what you offer before they even speak to a salesperson. This will allow your sales processes to move along more smoothly.
  3. Customers are undecided. Finding potential customers that are already educated can bring about a different set of issues. These are customers that already know what they need and what they’re looking for. They need to find the right fit for the job. It’s your job to prove to them that you are the right fit. Your company and products can be the solution to their needs. Once again, creating content can be beneficial in this situation. Content puts your expertise on display; you can convince the potential customer that you have the know-how to get the job done and get it done right. Also, by creating content you can build a level of trust and establish rapport even before meeting in person or over the phone.

This type of marketing can be a great way to get a lot out there about who you are and what you can provide. Good-quality content is significant in many ways, but most importantly it can help your web visitors learn about you and what you can do for them. Before committing to a content marketing plan, build ideas by considering how you can answer your site visitors’ questions, solve their issues, and earn their trust.

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Content Marketing: getting back to the good old days

By Lisa Bergerson | Published March 23, 2012

Content Marketing Old SchoolIf I say, “I miss middle-of-the-night press checks,” am I dating myself?

There was something about the entire print process that connected marketers closely to the consumer, even down to choosing the paper and how it would feel in an audience’s hand. After carefully selecting the background design elements, you would take deliberate steps under a watchful eye as your message was laid across it. For certain, it was a slower process for getting your story out. But by the time you were at the printers, you had invested a vast amount of time and focus on the entire experience you were going to provide to your consumer through your printed piece.

Don’t get me wrong. Even with the majority of marketing efforts going digital, focusing on the consumer experience has always remained the priority for marketers. But to me, it had started to feel less connected. Campaigns stopped beginning with brainstorming sessions, storyboarding and consideration of different ways to tell a story. I even started to miss the tiring debates about what color and call to action would be the most effective when there was no luxury of A/B testing within a high-cost print run.

Instead, marketing planning shifted to defining who we were targeting and then determining what methods were touting the best metrics at a specific point in time. We started with the end of the story and then wrote the beginning to feed it into the specifications of the chosen platform. And though marketing efforts are nothing without metrics to prove value or help you steer your efforts – the change of emphasis took out some of the personal, common-sense strategy considerations that went into marketing planning. Though it is a luxury to be able to test and optimize on the fly as clicks are counted – especially when common sense is proved wrong, by following just the numbers we sometimes miss important components.  We stop trusting our gut and some of the humanness and personality behind our brand story gets stifled.

Enter content marketing. Yes, we have all been doing forms of it for quite awhile … always. But lately it is gaining the recognition it deserves and opening up the road for marketers to take journeys with their consumers. It is time again for marketers to look beyond the immediate analytics and earn their knowledge by listening to and conversing with consumers.

Call me an old-timer, but content marketing is bringing me back to the good old days; the “common sense” approach. We are back to trying different things, putting ourselves in the place of consumers, creating settings, developing stories, exploring what works and doesn’t, and continually refining. It is about a process — taking your time and using your creativity to get the story right.

As content marketing starts bringing together the best of old and new, it is our companies that will be the winners. The inbound leads that are won are not only less expensive to acquire but are from an audience that has developed an attachment to a brand that results in loyalty. This group is also much more apt to pass your story on to others.

Storytelling does work.  And in a digital age it saves a bundle in printing costs! Now you just need to find a good writer.

(Always leave them with a call-to-action!)

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The 7 types of content visitors want to see on your website

By Jessica Gaumer | Published March 15, 2012

If you’re a business owner, you want your website to not only have a lot of visitors, you want those visitors to actually buy what you are selling. The best way to keep your visitors interested and ensure they come back is to make your content interesting and diverse. Here are a few different types of content to consider that will keep your visitors informed and engaged.

  1. Posts with lists: Just like what you’re reading now, this type of post is scannable and it’s easy to pick up the main, bulleted points.  For those busy scanners out there, this kind of post gives them the opportunity to grab the main points and move on. Lists tip: It’s best to list the main points, and then elaborate on each of them so your reader fully understands the topic.
  2. Infographs: These are so much fun to read and share among social networks! This is a visual representation of information, data or knowledge combined to present information quickly and clearly. If you’re on Twitter or follow blogs, I’m sure you’ve come across a few infographs jam-packed with stats and quirky graphics. They are designed to synchronize visuals and data to make for a memorable piece a reader can take with them and share.
  3. Testimonials: This is powerful content to have on your webpage and can be displayed in a number of ways. One is to have the content rotate on the sidebar. Second, embed it within different pages, like each sales page or blog. And third, have a dedicated “Testimonials” page.
  4. How to’s:  Ask yourself, “What am I an expert at?” “What information can I share with others about the topic?” There are people out there searching the web for information about your particular area of expertise. Come up with a plan to generate some “how-to” posts that present information about what you know best that others can learn from.
  5. Industry news: Look at this as a way to build relationships with your customers by making available valuable resources that you trust and want to share. Occasionally reviewing the latest trends and news out there in a blog post will also help your site become more of a resource to your visitors.
  6. Photos  and videos: Photos and videos are everywhere, especially in social media marketing! These visuals are great ways to quickly and creatively communicate your message. Photos can communicate thousands of words in seconds. A single image can tell me what you look like, who you serve, where you are, and how you work. Videos are a great way to engage your audience and add a voice to your brand.
  7. Customer case studies: When researching a product or service, people like to see how it all works. Keep it short and to the point. Introduce the customer, the problem and how your product or service can provide a solution. These are good to include somewhere on your site, or even as a blog post a few times a year.

Keep in mind that all of this content is sharable on social networks which will bring traffic back to your site. When you update content, don’t forget to spread the word to your social followers.

This is just a short list, I’m sure I’ve left something out. What’s your favorite type of website content?

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Five reasons you shouldn’t create a company blog

By Troy Lightfield | Published March 14, 2012

5 Reasons NOT to blogI know you’ve read dozens of posts that scream at you to start a company blog. Your colleagues have probably insisted that you need to create a blog. Their reasoning:  “We need one because everyone else has one.”

We all know that there are many benefits to having a blog. However, starting one is a serious undertaking, and it pays to proceed with caution. Here are some reasons to think twice before jumping onto the blog-creation bandwagon.

  1. You plan on “forcing” your employees to write.
    The best blogs are those that reflect the passion and knowledge of the writer; one who is anxious to share insights and expertise with their readers. If you are assigning various employees the “chore” of writing posts, their lack of enthusiasm will be evident in their posts. Instead of being an inspiration for readers and pulling in a wider audience, your lackluster blog will bore your dwindling visitors to death.

    Here’s where trained writers can really help. Given the right resources, they can transform dry facts into interesting stories and supply ideas for consumer-friendly topics. A professional can also take the pressure off an already overworked employee who can’t find time in their schedule to add blog-writing duties.

  2. You aren’t committed.
    Most blogs aren’t an overnight success. You need to give them time to build a following, become known in your industry and respected as an authority on the topics you choose to focus on. Making a serious commitment means putting money and time toward the development and maintenance of your blog. What is the budget? Is a writer being hired? Creating good content and maintaining a blog over time takes resources.
  3. Your website was built in 1999.
    Design, usability and accessibility are all key to converting customers today. If your site is so dated that people question whether or not you are still in business, you should put your resources towards improving the money-making portion of your site first before starting a blog. Also, if you do a website redesign, you will have the opportunity to build a blog that reflects your brand and messaging.
  4. Your website is not optimized.
    SEO should be a major consideration when you create a blog. If you are linking to pages on your website that aren’t even optimized, you are not maximizing your opportunity. Optimizing your site first before creating a blog will help guide its direction and boost its impact.
  5. Your answer to why have a company blog is “because I was told I needed one.”
    You need a better reason (and there are many) to create a blog than just that you’ve been told to do it. If you do start the process, make sure it’s because you’ve done some research and planning, and have some specific goals in mind for how it will benefit your company.  You’ll be glad you did your homework.
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The mat release enters the digital age: Here comes 2.0

By Dave Colling | Published March 7, 2012

Mat ReleaseTo understand what a mat release 2.0 is, we must first understand what the original mat release was and how it evolved over the decades.  According to Deirdre Breakenridge of the popular PR blog DeirdreBreakenridge.com, a mat release is “a formatted, consumer-related article that newspaper editors can use when they want additional content in their publication. The term comes from the old days when newspapers were physically laid out and formatted.”

When mat releases were first introduced, television had 3 channels, computers took up whole warehouses and were nothing more than adding machines, phones had dials and you had to wear funny glasses to watch 3D movies (okay, that one is still around but at least the movies are better).  The world of media has come a long way since the first mat release but the mat release hasn’t kept up.

The mat release 2.0 was created in response to the new media age. While the 2.0 version shares its core with the original — they are both articles written in a consumer-friendly manner with a brand mention and ready for use by a publisher — the comparisons end there. Gone are the days of a physical piece of paper and the hope of a newspaper somewhere running the article as is.  The mat release 2.0 is a completely digital product, not only used in print publications, but widely released on major news media websites, with live links that create a real user experience. Links that go far beyond just a brand mention, but take a user to a product or service page or even to a social networking site to interact with a brand or service provider.

Another way the 2.0 mat release surpasses its predecessor is that it is no longer limited by the one-way flow of information: it can be targeted to specific types of outlets to further enhance user experience and brand awareness. No longer is the mat release just a tool for small newspapers; it’s now used in media across every user format.

So the next time you hear someone use the term “mat release,” ask them if they’re calling you from a rotary phone or typing up notes on their typewriter.

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Psychology Plays a BIG Role in Web Design and Interactive Marketing

By Jessica Gaumer | Published March 1, 2012

 

As a marketer, it’s always difficult to figure out the complex puzzle of why an audience does or doesn’t take the action you expect them to. Consumer behavior has always been a mystery, so it makes complete sense to bring it all back to the science of the human brain.  Just recently, I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Susan Weinschenk, psychologist and UX/design author, breakdown the some basic information that every interactive marketer needs to know about people: how they respond, what makes them click, what attracts them and how to keep them coming back. With all the components involved in web design and marketing campaigns, these points should always be considered when building a creative strategy.

Believe it or not, we have 40,000,000 sensory inputs to our brains every second, and yet we’re only aware of 40 of them. So, that means unconsciously, we aren’t completely aware of what grabs or causes us to take an action. For instance, beauty is one of those unconscious sensory inputs; we make a split-second decision on whether or not we find something catchy or attractive. Dr. Weinschenk shared research she recently discovered in which people were shown websites for just a fraction of a second and then told to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10. They then were shown the same websites with more time to give a 1 to 10 rating. The research showed that people rated the website about the same whether they saw it for a split-second or they were given more time to evaluate its beauty.

So, what are some ways to grab a web visitor’s attention during that split second? Here are some key takeaways:

  • Beauty – it’s in the eye of the unconscious. As mentioned above, a design should be orderly and have clear design in order to appeal to a viewer. Secondly, it should be expressive, creative and original with a little unpredictability. People can only remember or process about 3 to 4 things at time, so ask yourself, what do you want them to take away from their site visit?
  • Stories – People’s brains respond best to story formats. That’s great news for content marketers. When people read a story, they become emotionally attached and that effect causes them to remember the connection with the site they got the information from.
  • Humanize – web users need to feel like there’s a human behind the site, especially if they’re taking an action like filling out a form or placing an order. They unconsciously expect the process to follow human interaction rules and for everything to make sense. It’s easy for them to click out or give up if it’s complicated and unlike a typical human interaction.
  • Content – what you have on your site is your currency. Including engaging content helps build relationships with your customers and represent your brand. It’s important to always ask yourself, what kind of interactions am I having through this content? Again, people like stories and have a better emotional response to this type of format. 

My main takeaway from the presentation was how important it is to always keep in mind the human that will be using your website. And, that each brain works differently and may not think the same way as a web designer. It’s important to really research the target audience and invest in its content and design.

I’m a frequent online shopper, but sometimes I’m a little leery about the sites that don’t provide many details or specifics about the products. A photo alone doesn’t really sell me, especially if I’m paying for shipping. Thorough descriptions and reviews really help me understand more about the products, which influence my decision to buy. What are some websites you enjoy visiting and why?

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Social media: The key to growing your small business

By Laura Malm | Published February 29, 2012

Small Business Social MediaSmall business owners don’t have access to the million-dollar marketing budgets of Fortune 500s. For them, each month provides the opportunity to grow their bottom line, but efforts need to be made strategically. If you’re bypassing social media due to time or staff limitations, you may be missing a huge opportunity to take your business to the next level.

Social media is no longer an option for small businesses, it’s a must. Engaging your customers through social media avenues like Twitter and Facebook not only helps build brand presence, but is a free way to stay on top of trends and understand future customers needs.

Let’s take Facebook for example. Think it’s just for kids and won’t garner you a qualified audience? Sure, Facebook users come from various age brackets, but take a quick look at www.checkfacebook.com and you’ll see that American adults have a huge interest in Facebook, with 42.7 percent of users being over the age of 35.

Maintaining a good Facebook presence means logging on regularly – at least a couple times a week if not every day. Keep your fans updated and engaged, offering meaningful news and exclusive special offers. Remember, social media is most valuable when viewed as interactive and not a one-way street, so step off your soapbox and listen to what users are saying too. That information can be invaluable.

And how about Twitter? Think it’s a waste of time? Well companies that use Twitter average two times more leads than those that don’t. And your efforts to grow your Twitter followers are important as well, because companies that have more than 1,000 followers get six times more traffic, according to HubSpot, meaning more opportunities for revenue.

Be sure to send out tweets regularly. This should be an activity that happens at least several times a week. And don’t be afraid to say “please retweet;” your audience will be more likely to share your message, giving you increased visibility and potential followers. Interact and be respectful. If someone comments, respond in a timely manner. If someone retweets, tweet back saying thanks.

Remember the focus of social media is the word “social.” It can be the face of your business and the perfect place to put your best foot forward. Educated customers, qualified traffic and continued growth will surely follow.

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