Content Marketing: What Happens In Iceland Doesn't Stay In Iceland |
- Content Marketing: What Happens In Iceland Doesn't Stay In Iceland
- 8 Marketing and Advertising Jobs with a Bright Future
- Nations gather for final U.N. arms trade treaty negotiations
- Japan PM Abe's Pacific trade pact gambit pays off, for now
- Nations gather for final U.N. arms trade treaty negotiations
- Japan PM Abe's Pacific trade pact gambit pays off, for now
- Fukushima -- Fear Is Still the Killer
- New Media Is Squeezing Advertising In Traditional Newspapers In China, Too
- Pew Study: Americans Abandoning News Outlets, Citing Lower Quality
- Health Care Prices Remain A Mystery In Most States
- Forbes China 30 Under 30: Chen Ou's Beauty Business
- New York's 'stop-and-frisk' policy under fire
- China becomes world's fifth largest arms exporter
- 8 Amazingly-Tiny Micro-Apartments
- Amazing Micro-Apartments
- Could Sri Lanka Become Asia's Next Casino Hotspot?
- Investment Crowdfunding is A Ghetto Stock Market
- Does The IRS Have Your Tax Refund?
- PowerSecure Reports Record-High Revenues for 2012
- Australia eases some military sanctions on reforming Myanmar
| Content Marketing: What Happens In Iceland Doesn't Stay In Iceland Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:18 PM PDT We are awash in content. It is actually a problem now. As audiences have become more vocal about what they need, brands and businesses have become more active in providing them that "great" content. "Alas" - and you will excuse the vernacular - "most of it aint great." On March 21-22, I will join several hundred social media leaders from the North America and Europe for a two-day summit on social media and content marketing. The Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference (RIMC) will provide business leaders an opportunity to discuss ways to help solve the disconnect between the content demand and supply. My session will cover the three steps of content marketing: need, creation, and connection. Audience Need: If a "journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," content creation should start on the foot of "audience need." Unfortunately, most brands really don"t know what the audience needs or wants in terms of content. The first step, then, is to listen. There are some fantastic social listening tools out there to help you with this. We use Social Media Analytics by NetBase. The idea here is to find the keywords that audiences are using to search for content like yours. For instance, we were engaged in a rather large product launch a few months back. When we analyzed the marketplace after our launch, our analysis showed that the audience we wanted to reach was searching for the term "data warehouse." We did not use that term in any of our content - not once. Had we created some content on that theme, and used that term, we would have more efficiently connected with our audiences. Our pain is now your gain - lesson learned. Content Creation: This one is tricky. Writing is as much "art" as "science." But, just like I could take guitar lessons for a lifetime, I will never be a great guitar player (I have tried). I can learn the cords, but my ability to make music is in question. If someone has a "writer"s DNA," they can learn the tactics and become a great writer. Where most brands struggle is when they assume all marketing people can write. Oh, were this true!! The best thing a would-be writer can do to create content for their audience is to empathize with their reader. Put yourself in their shoes - if you were them, would you read what you want to write? Is that interesting to them? Even if you are not a great writer, writing for what your audience wants will get your further than a well-written piece they dont care to read. Connecting The Two: You know what your audience wants, and you have written a great piece with them in mind. You are close to half-way mark of the process. Publishing and promoting your piece will be as important as the first two steps, combined. The idea of "if you publish it, they will come" went out the window with Kevin Costner"s career. Remember, we are awash in content and most of it is bad. It makes your job that much harder. Your promotion strategy is crucial here. Think "context." You have to connect with your audience when they are in a place to be receptive to your content. Think of it with the following two examples in mind: Story 1: SAPs 10 new product features to help you tackle Big Data. Story 2: SAP helps Legos thinks of Big Data like . . . well, Legos. How you fit the pieces together will craft your story. My guess is that Story 1 will resonate with audiences who are ready to buy and evaluate SAP. This story would do well on the SAP website, but probably not do well in the WSJ. Story 2 is a fresh view on a topic like Big Data and will be more interesting to a general audience- probably doing well on a platform like Forbes or Mashable. This has a lot to do with what is the frame of mind of your reader when they read. Try some A/B testing to see if your audience is more receptive in the evening or on the weekends. For instance, I have learned what pieces will do better over the weekend than during the week, and in what 3-hour window I should promote my content. This insight comes over time and each "writer - audience relationship" is unique. This is why analysis of page views, shares, and comments is so crucial. Watch how your audience reacts to your content - paying close attention to days and time of day to know when they are going to be receptive. |
| 8 Marketing and Advertising Jobs with a Bright Future Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:18 PM PDT |
| Nations gather for final U.N. arms trade treaty negotiations Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:03 PM PDT
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| Japan PM Abe's Pacific trade pact gambit pays off, for now Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:07 PM PDT
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| Nations gather for final U.N. arms trade treaty negotiations Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:03 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Negotiators from around 150 countries gather in New York on Monday for a final push to hammer out a binding international treaty to end unregulated conventional arms sales, a pact that a powerful U.S. pro-gun lobby is urging Washington to reject. |
| Japan PM Abe's Pacific trade pact gambit pays off, for now Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:07 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first politically risky step of declaring the country's intent to join talks on a U.S.-led Pacific Rim free trade pact appears to be paying off as his record high ratings edge even higher. |
| Fukushima -- Fear Is Still the Killer Posted: 17 Mar 2013 09:20 PM PDT Sadness and Anger. That's what came to mind on the two-year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster last week. But it was for two different reasons, for two different groups. I realize everyone who attended the anti-nuke rallies felt righteous and good about their anger at nuclear power and their sadness at the disaster (Bay Area IndyMedia). |
| New Media Is Squeezing Advertising In Traditional Newspapers In China, Too Posted: 17 Mar 2013 09:14 PM PDT A switch to online content among newspaper readers in the U.S. has put pressure on the profits of publishers of traditional newspapers such as the New York Times. |
| Pew Study: Americans Abandoning News Outlets, Citing Lower Quality Posted: 17 Mar 2013 09:01 PM PDT Like all vicious cycles, the relationship between the declining fortunes of news outlets and the shrinking of their audiences is a difficult one to untangle, a chicken-and-egg problem. Newspaper circulations have been sliding for decades, starting well before digital media started siphoning off ad dollars and forcing widespread newsroom cutbacks that, inevitably, resulted in a poorer editorial product. |
| Health Care Prices Remain A Mystery In Most States Posted: 17 Mar 2013 09:01 PM PDT As public scrutiny intensifies over price transparency in health care, a new report shows 72 percent of the nation, or 36 states, failing to improve information to consumers on what medical treatments and procedures actually cost. |
| Forbes China 30 Under 30: Chen Ou's Beauty Business Posted: 17 Mar 2013 08:39 PM PDT Age: 29 |
| New York's 'stop-and-frisk' policy under fire Posted: 17 Mar 2013 08:46 PM PDT Civil rights group says practice of stopping, questioning and searching people target minorities. |
| China becomes world's fifth largest arms exporter Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:44 PM PDT STOCKHOLM (AP) — China has bypassed Britain as the world's fifth largest arms exporter, a Swedish think tank said Monday. |
| 8 Amazingly-Tiny Micro-Apartments Posted: 17 Mar 2013 08:14 PM PDT Microscopic living space is nothing new for big-city residents. In New York, a studio apartment can often run 300 square feet and smaller, and in San Francisco, you can legally nest in something as small as a cozy 220 square feet. But these days, tiny doesn't have to mean crummy and cramped. In fact, some micro-apartments can be downright cool while being cost effective. |
| Posted: 17 Mar 2013 08:14 PM PDT |
| Could Sri Lanka Become Asia's Next Casino Hotspot? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 08:09 PM PDT Sri Lanka has become one of Asia's most promising economies in recent times, yet the potential of it's gambling sector is only starting to gain recognition amongst international operators looking to expand their presence in Asia. |
| Investment Crowdfunding is A Ghetto Stock Market Posted: 17 Mar 2013 08:01 PM PDT It's insane that the world is buying into the joke known as "Crowdfunding." Everyone and their mother is predicting that it's the next miracle in the making. But, let's be honest with ourselves. Crowdfunding is neither new, nor innovative. Most importantly, it doesn't make sense. |
| Does The IRS Have Your Tax Refund? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 07:55 PM PDT It's 2012. Do you know where your refund is? No, not your 2012 refund (arguably, no one knows where many of those are) but your 2009 refund. Nearly $1 billion in outstanding refunds remain unclaimed by an estimated 984,400 taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2009. |
| PowerSecure Reports Record-High Revenues for 2012 Posted: 17 Mar 2013 07:37 PM PDT PowerSecure International, a leading provider of distributed energy and energy efficiency solutions based in Wake Forest, NC, reported record high revenues of $162 million for 2012, up 25% compared to 2011. |
| Australia eases some military sanctions on reforming Myanmar Posted: 17 Mar 2013 07:38 PM PDT
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