It used to drive me bonkers. I’d interview someone for a project. 10% of the interview ended up in the project. 90% never even saw the light of day.   And you know what made matters even worse? That 90% was valuable and useful content. Continue reading

Before jumping onto the bandwagon that content marketing is just another cost, understand that Americans spend over 10 hours a day consuming content across media platforms. To reach your target audience, it’s critical to be where they are. Creating content across a variety of media formats that are integrated...

Are you looking for a really good way to engage your prospects and customers? I’m a big fan of branded content tools, also called interactive marketing tools and value selling tools. What is a branded content tool? Essentially it’s an electronically-enabled service that gathers information from prospects...

The concept of content marketing is nothing new, but the forms of delivery have changed. While marketers tout the use of digital distribution because it is cost-effective, marketers can also benefit from personalized, in-person delivery. Let’s step back and forget about content marketing for just a moment....

Here’s an interesting infographic from Fathom on the power of storytelling that I wanted to share. A great reminder that the creation of valuable, compelling stories on a consistent basis can maintain or change the behavior of your target audience. Content marketing. Great stuff!

One of the biggest challenges for content marketers is tying their activities to return on investment (ROI). Numerous case studies show that content developed using insights from customers, also known as data-driven customer insights, produce increased customer engagement and generate significantly higher...

I spoke at an AMA webinar today sponsored by Curata talking about content marketing and content curation. There were a number of questions about the “fair use” of online content when it comes to content curation. Since this is a topic we get questions about all the time, I thought the following...

The process of identifying what information each of your personas needs throughout the buying process can be time-consuming; but it's not difficult if you follow these steps and use the templates provided to get you started.

An abbreviated article based on this topic first appeared in BtoB Magazine. Arnie Kuenn, President of the Phoenix-based search and content agency Vertical Measures, calls the latest Google algorithm update (dubbed the Panda or Farmer Update) “one of the biggest, most significant updates from Google in...

You’ve probably used demographics or psychographics to identify and understand your customers and your market. But have you ever thought of using these data to create content? This post shows you how to: Limit the data you collect to extract the best ideas for content for your industry, product or service Identify...

I used to think of LinkedIn as a tool for recruiting, job hunting and professional networking. Now with the launch of Company Pages, LinkedIn may also become a powerful tool a content strategist can use for content marketing.Continue reading

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all of your analytics? Last Friday I explained how to figure out the business goals for your website, assign dollar values and set up customized reports so you can view your key performance indicators (KPIs). Taking these steps is a great start, but what do you do with...