Shhh. Do you hear that noise? That’s the mournful cry of a program that lacks content. If I’m being honest, I’ll admit I’ve heard that sound occasionally myself. When you work on a communications program for many years, it can sometimes feel exhausting to identify new ideas or topics that move your audience....

When building an editorial schedule, you naturally look to your roster of subject matter experts for ideas. Even so, you may find that the well soon runs dry. Before it does, dig a little deeper into sources that you may not (yet) have mined, and you might uncover not only a mother lode of great content,...

Video content can bring your brand to life. Reach and attract a new audience. Explain and visually communicate a new or complex process or product. Even better, these days you probably have several video cameras in the office — just check your co-workers’ phones. But before you hit “record,” it’s helpful...

Last week I was talking with a couple of corporate B2B marketers, and the question of blogging came up: do they plan to have a blog? Unlike many marketers who jump into having a blog because it seems like the right thing to do, these gentlemen were very thoughtful in their response and explained that...

For the past three years, social media has taken center stage for corporate marketers. In talking with many senior marketers, there was a drop everything mentality, meaning that many strategies within the integrated marketing realm were left on the sidelines while companies scrambled to figure out social...

What is it up to now? Ten times more expensive to generate a new customer than to keep an existing one?  50 times? 100 times? Regardless of the number, we are all well aware that the most important asset to any business is its existing customer base.  Of course, just retaining those customers is only...

The answer is…Yes. According to a soon-to-be-released research report from MarketingProfs/Junta42, 55% of b-to-b marketers outsource some portion of their content marketing. Larger companies (1,000 employees or more) are 60% more likely to outsource than micro-companies (less than 10 employees). Makes...

When someone decides to become a customer, it’s your handshake moment to welcome them aboard. They’re filling out your online forms. Getting your emails. Reading your welcome packet. Who are you? What’s your tone? How do you talk to them in this moment? Does your brand voice sound like a real person...

Melanie is your market research with an attitude, your analytics in a skirt. Bill is the voice that rings through the headsets of your customer support people, unwavering in his desire to get what he wants. Amy is that segment of your house list who got distracted before she finished ordering online. None...

No one knows your audience better than you. You also know how time-consuming it is to build an editorial calendar, brainstorm a story idea list, attach the right sources to that list and write assignment letters. If you haven’t outsourced that job yet, it’s probably because you think it can only be done...

The Miami Heat has Wade, Bosh and James. What super-star line-up can your clients expect on their content marketing project team? Bringing together talent that meets the objectives of the project is key to long-term success. Having the wrong players in the wrong positions can put your organization on...

As a B2B marketer or content creator, your job is to create pieces of original content that address the needs/concerns/challenges of your audience. As you know, however, the B2B sales cycle, which can be quite complex, often includes more than one “audience” type as buying decisions are made by teams...