Content Marketing: What Emoji Best Describes Your Presidential Campaign?

Found this interesting article talking about the impact of Emoji or more broadly social media in this year's election. Social media is no longer the advantage for Obama, and now it's a prerequisite.
In August, for example, Hilary Clinton asked people on Twitter to explain how student debt makes them feel in three or fewer emojis. This response just about sums it up. 

Moreover, Marco Rubio joined Clinton and Bush as major presidential candidates who have used Snapchat as a platform to make campaign announcements.

https://contently.com/strategist/2015/12/04/contently-comic-what-emoji-best-describes-your-presidential-campaign/

The Future Of SEO

For many years unpaid search results have been a great driver for websites and online shops, a massive service industry around it has evolved. Updated algorithms and decreasing space for organic search results have led to a discussion about the relevance of SEO today.

A recent interview on the German tech news platform "Gründerszene" dealt with that topic as well. "Customer Relationship Marketing is the new SEO", Florian Heinemann, a successful entrepreneur from Berlin says there without going into the details of this statement. Furthermore, he points at the fact that Google's rank algorithms and link analysis are not completely transparent and fully in the control of the company. Therefore he argues, the risk-return relation of SEO investments are getting worse for companies in the long run.

Another aspect that might have an impact on the future relevance of SEO is the rise of content marketing. The interview touches the idea that content marketing is being seen as the cure-all in online marketing as valuable content can be leveraged in social media, SEO and other channels.

I think, SEO will remain highly relevant. What changes is the way brand are telling their stories and building their identity. More and more, valuable brand content has to enrich the life of the audience in order to build loyalty. Marketeers have to understand how to leverage the content they create for their content marketing and make it work in the context of SEO. From a business perspective Heinemann certainly wanted to emphasize that SEO just is not enough anymore to stay competitive. In todays online marketing landscape (especially in e-commerce), cost cutting measures become increasingly relevant and new marketing channels have risen. While SEO has to be a sustainable and efficiently managed tool, CRM can help to cut marketing expenditures and outperform the competition. Therefore, only the relative relevance of SEO' in the marketing mix decreases.

Content Marketing—content is present and future of marketing

Explanation for content marketing on Wikipedia shows: Content marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain customers.  And content marketing can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, or even case studies, etc.

In class, we have discussed how to get the most out of digital display creatively and how to effectively display advertising. However, the most important thing should always be the content. How to display is based on what to display and who to display. Deliver the right information to right targets is the key to successful marketing.  Both of these two articles pointed out that quality is much more significant than quantity. We should always remember to pay attention to the content to attract consumers and maintain long-term relationship.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2015/10/02/this-just-in-the-whole-world-is-into-content-marketing/2/

http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/the-ten-commandments-of-content-marketing-01340166

Content is Key - 3 Key Content Marketing Trends of 2015

At the end of the day, any good SEO strategy revolves around providing high quality and engaging content to your users. As such, it is no surprise that Content Marketing is bigger than ever; content creation and publication is at an all-time high, and traditional marketing budgets are being reallocated to content marketing efforts.

Below are a few key themes that have arisen throughout 2015:

1. Publication is only the first small step; real value comes from distribution - Strategic distribution of content is what will set businesses apart. Optimizing for search, and specifically mobile, building relationships with branded publications, and reaching out to influencers in your field are just a few ways to make sure your content actually reaches your target market.

2. Content marketing is becoming inextricably inked with social media marketing - Businesses have realized that social media is an amplifier for content. While the majority of firms already know the importance of social media in their marketing, in 2015, we have seen businesses more fully realize its role as the capstone of any distribution model.

3. Companies who embrace content marketing achieve higher search engine rankings - SEO and content marketing now go hand-in-hand; better, more frequent content attracts likes, shares, and stimulates other brand building signals that boost search rankings. SEO will continue to be an important part of the marketing mix, but it will increasingly become about technical aspects like keyword research, indexing issues, meta tags and penalty recovery. Content marketing, on the other hand, may soon become the key marginal driver of search rankings.

If you'd like to know more, check out the below link for a more thorough list of Content Marketing trends expected in 2015.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/12/01/the-top-7-content-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2015/

Google – Content based Search?

Google is undoubtedly the dominant player in the search engine industry. In fact most of the companies that have adopted digital marketing have ensured to adapt to the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. Recently, Google released a white paper that indicated changing the criteria it uses to rank websites to include Google’s assessment of the accuracy of the content. This has shaken few search-engine-optimization experts speculating the changes for future.

Google's paper titled “Knowledge-Based Trust: Estimating the Trustworthiness of Web Sources,” discusses ranking websites based on the trustworthiness and factual accuracy of web sources. This new system would rely on Google’s own Knowledge Vault and a number of other metrics to gauge the accuracy of the information on a page. This would mean that if one's website contains known inaccuracies, or if it simply doesn’t contain much of the relevant content, the ranking on Google would be adversely affected for that website.

I think this in accordance with the focus on content based digital marketing. In the last two years, content marketing has gained tremendous focus and it is one of the most important areas in the digital marketing this year. Some of the following stats corroborate this finding:
- 57% of marketers report content marketing is their top marketing priority for 2013.

- 60% of marketers use content marketing on a weekly basis.

- 82% of prospects say content targeted to their industry is more valuable.

- 9 in 10 organizations market with content.

As a company owner involved in digital marketing, the better the company's website ranks, the more traffic it is likely to get and the greater is the lead generation and conversions.
A Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT) signal would be a significant departure from current practice, which uses traditional linking strategies to boost a website’s “authority.” Instead of rewarding or punishing a website based on the number and quality of links it has to other websites and portals, the search engine actually would assess the content of each Web page using the complex methodology discussed in the paper. This methodology is quite complex and Google has commented that these theories are still in research and development stage and not expected to roll out any time soon. Thus, I would strongly suggest companies to not stop any of the current SEO strategies.

Google is well known for aggregating all the content published on the Internet and respond with an output on demand. The fresher the content, the more helpful it is for Google likes it as websites, blogs, and paid media strategies all require fresh content to be effective. Even social media citations are starting to populate the search results- the most recent example being Twitter releasing its API allowing its tweets to be easily displayed through Google search.

The key to a successful content marketing strategy is to provide free, no-obligation information or advice that accurately answers questions and solves problems. It is also important that the content is aggregated from all sources and is also promoted on as many platforms as possible. To summarize, even if Google is yet to release its content based search model, marketers are already spending significant resources on content based digital marketing. In essence, content based marketing is a necessity today.

 Source / Reference:

http://kapost.com/content-marketing-facts/
http://thegazette.com/subject/news/digital-marketing-google-x2014-search-engine-for-truth-20150321
http://www.brightedge.com/blog/knowledge-based-trust-a-new-google-ranking-factor/

Content is key for marketers: Infographic

Captora recently released a slick infographic describing the benefits and breakdown of content marketing. Some of the interesting facts below include:

• 61% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies that create custom content. 
• Blog posts require very low time investment and have a high ROI. 
• 60 characters is the optimal character length for content titles.
• The majority of content shares occur on Saturday (18%).

The graphic is an interesting reference and reinforces what we already know.... content is key in marketing. Check it out below!

Content Marketing: Shorten the Sales Cycle

Over the past 5 years, the average sales cycle has increased by 22%; buyers are more knowledgeable, information is more readily available online, and economic growth is slow.   A recent Harvard Business Review study found that 60% of a purchasing decision occurs before even speaking with a supplier (for B2B).  To shorten the sales cycle, businesses should "meet the customers where they are" and embrace content marketing such as emails and white papers.

Some interesting stats from this article: 

• 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company information through several articles rather than through an advertisement
  
• 60% of those business managers believed a company’s content helped them make better product decisions
• 70% of consumers say that content marketing makes them feel closer to the sponsoring company

According to Business 2 Community, there's content addressing specific topics to be created for each of the 5 stages of selling:

1. Awareness - problem identification, industry education, brand storytelling
2. Consideration - compare and contrast, specific problem solutions
3. Preference/Intent - detailed product/service descriptions,
4. Purchase - discounts, coupons, specials
5. Repurchase/Abandon - email marketing campaigns, social media retargeting

Personally, I've witnessed the increased length of the sales cycle over the past 2-3 years and my firm can definitely benefit from a shorted cycle.  We've (inconsistently) used some content marketing (weekly emails) which were well received by clients and prospects, so I know we need to seriously address all of the content marketing listed above (which is why our group project is working with my company, EnergyWatch).  

Content Marketing in Financial Services

I recently read an article that stressed the importance of content marketing, even as it relates to financial services. The article (https://econsultancy.com/blog/66066-how-barclays-generates-interest-with-content-marketing/) cited the recent Barclay's programs focused on creating relevant content for important niches in the marketplace. One of the programs is aimed at teaching kids how to code, aimed at young kids and parents that are interested in preparing their children for the future. Another section is focused on starting your own business.

Each of these areas is targeted at an attractive segment of customers, provides relevant content and illustrates the ways the bank is helping them fill their needs. Neither campaign is directly related to banking needs (though starting your own business gets close), however, they are really focused on providing good information to attractive target segments. I think content marketing is an area that banks can really begin to explore much more, particularly for fulfilling particular niches in the marketplace.

Data-Driven Writing Tools for Content Marketers

As a B2B company, my firm, EnergyWatch, realizes the importance of content based marketing (and our need to commit to consistently generating content).  For organic SEO and paid search advertising, Google AdWords and its tools are invaluable.  But for our market update blog and other generated blog content, we just rely on our intuition and some metrics that are built into mailchimp.

BrightEdge, and SEO and content marketing platform, uses its "Content Optimizer" as a writing coach to provide recommendations on things such as blog post structure or when a post is too long.  Additionally, content creators can systematically review competitors content (rather than search and click through individually).  It's a really interesting concept (as evidenced by their $62MM in funding), and is an attempt to bridge the gap between SEO and content.  I'm surprised that Google hasn't launched something similar, as it complements their existing tools, and competitors such as AOL and another start-up, Conductor, are also focused on the content marketing space.  With the importance of content marketing and quality content, any tools that help optimize the process would be beneficial.

Beauty blogger secrets: what marketers should take in mind before their digital campaign

I recently came through a post regarding 'Top Digital Marketing Mistakes in the Beauty Industry' by Sukesh Jakharia. It pointed out several fatal mistakes marketer should avoid, which I heartly agree, such as lacking a complete brand strategy, forgetting about men, as well as not connecting your digital platforms.

However, the solutions were nowhere to be found - marketers are accused of there mistakes but not provided with actionables.

In the meantime, many individuals who started their beauty blogger as amateurs, had made remarkable success. Not to mention the famous Temptalia, whose website contains thousands of swatches, reviews, comparisons and attract millions of visitors, even a graduate student at University College London who call herself 'SEPTEMBER the life recorder' has attracted 40K enthusiastic followers in two months on the Chinese microblog Weibo. And the number is much greater than many beauty brands including Elizabeth Arden.

A few secrets that those beauty bloggers utilized that digital marketers might find useful:

1. 'Retweet Lottery'

The prize could be as tiny as a lipstick or an eyeshadow platte - regardless of however costless it might seem, it is one efficient way to conduct market test and increase followers. The number of retweets for lottery of a specific item could be insights on how popular the item is in the market, and as consumers have to become followers first to enter the lottery, the beauty blogger/ the brand account could attract users that actually consider making future purchase. As far as I'm concerned, a recent retweet lottery with a Chanel limited edition blush (value ~80USD) has attracted 20,000 eager users to retweet.

2. Engage the Men

Some smart moves are surveys conducted by bloggers such as - "ask your BF/BFF what's the most flattering eyeshadow color on you". Surprisingly while the question is targeted at female users to answer, many males had been bold and brave to contribute opinions. Traditionally straight men had been portrayed as '' silly dude unable to tell between no-makeup and expertly-done-heavy-makeup", but the opinion of men could matter as much. In fact, a SUQQU eyeshadow palette named SAKURAHABA had been constantly sold out for six months because it was depicted as 'THE first date eyeshadow' in a blogger survey.

THE first date eyeshadow that made women crazy

3. Talk Beauty and BEYOND Beauty.

A close friend of mine, and also a beauty enthusiast and Sephora VIBR, followed almost every popular beauty bloggers. However, whose posts does she read?

Only those bloggers she likes and feels like a real person, who live, eat, talk, date, and occasionally feel upset.

It is no time that beauty products are hidden in counters and available for VIP only - it is time that they bring along their personality with them when communication with digital audience. It does not imply that a bottle of YSL nail laquer should has a boyfriend named Ken, but rather bringing genuine experience instead of superficial descriptions of movie stars and supermodels.


4. Let Followers Interact with Each Other.

I always find users' comment more interesting than beauty posts themselves - there are green hands to be educated, experienced beauty assistant volunteer to share, eager full time moms seeking friends to hang out, and high school teens anxious to find the perfect eyeliner for a night out. That's the magic of beauty bloggers that marketers should catch. That great contents could be generated by followers, and the content team would never have to stay awake for the new idea.

Despite Popularity, Content Marketing Is a Fraction of 2015 Budgets

Despite Popularity, Content Marketing Is a Fraction of 2015 Budgets

Content marketing refers to articles, blogs, videos, pictures and other items generated by brands in order to engage audiences in the same way that a media company does. Content marketing purpose is to increase consumers' interaction and bonding with brands, while providing relevant information that is organic to the digital channels. Content marketing is among the hottest topics in the marketing a media. Nevertheless, a recent report from eMarketers encountered that 52% of marketers said one-quarter or less of their 2015 marketing budget is dedicated to content. Therefore, budget destinated to content marketing don't seem to have caught up with the hype yet.


Read the complete article: Despite Surging Popularity, Content Marketing Is a Fraction of 2015 Budgets
Source: Sebastian, S. (December 3, 2014) Ad Age. Despite Surging Popularity, Content Marketing Is a Fraction of 2015 Budgets

Ramp-up Mid-Funnel Content Creation

Mid-funnel content is designed to move users who've already opted in to your messaging through some action, (typically Subscribe, Like, or Follow) to conversion. This is important because most companies/businesses serve (or would like to serve) more than one kind of customer in order to maximize conversions and sales.

Here are a few ways to ramp up mid-funnel content offerings for maximum impact:

1. Leverage E-Books

Create a unique e-book (or brochure, pamphlet) for each of your audience segments. This e-book doesn't have to be 100-pages long, but it should provide sufficient value for what the downloader paid for it (typically the right for you to contact him/her again).

2. Reprocess Your Wide-Funnel Content

A blog post created a year ago to get buzz, search visibility, and generate awareness might not be attracting any hits right now – but that doesn't mean it’s worthless. Such an article – when combined with other old articles written on the same topic – might provide enough heft for a credible mid-funnel content item such as an e-book or whitepaper.

3. Use Slideshare

Slideshare is an ideal platform for showcasing your mid-funnel content. But it might be a mistake to upload your complete mid-funnel content library, because it’s harder to determine who viewed it. Consider creating an edited/abridged version of your slides that shares values without giving everything away.

4. Consider Video

Video is an excellent medium for in-depth explanations of complex subjects. Because it’s a sequential medium, it’s uniquely suited for step-by-step instruction. To evaluate whether video content would be effective (both in its mid-funnel role and in terms of gaining wide-funnel awareness), check YouTube for content in your specific vertical. 

Source: ClickZ

Marriott Launches Global Creative and Content Marketing Studio

Aims to be the go-to brand publisher for travel entertainment

Following the trend of marketers becoming publishers, Marriott International is launching a global creative and content marketing studio to handle internal work for its portfolio of 18 travel-related brands. They view it as the opportunity to be the world's largest producer of travel-related content.

As the largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott aims to leverage its expertise on travel. Similar to the approach that Red Bull and GoPro take with action sports, Marriott wants to own the travel entertainment space—and, in turn, gain the recognition as a trusted source for all travel needs.

"You're most likely to remember something if a friend recommends it," David Beebe, Marriott's vp of creative, content marketing and global marketing said. "We want to take that same approach as a brand through building engaging content communities through social platforms."

The in-house division will have three parts: content development, which will be the personal creative agency; production, or the entertainment division responsible for video content ranging from Web clips to TV shows; and distribution, a real-time marketing group that will monitor social media to ensure immediate interaction with trending topics. Marriott will continue to work with external agencies and other production companies as needed.

Marriott has signed a stable of exclusive talent from the online space, including Sonia Travel's Sonia Gil, stunt team Substance Over Hype, social media news purveyors What's Trending and comedian Taryn Southern. Shows in development include Renaissance Hotels' indie music performance series The Navigator Live; action-comedy stunt show Two Bellmen; and Web series Marriott Rewards' Year of Surprises, which will honor people in the community for their contributions to society. Online series will be broadcast on Marriot.com and Marriot Mobile and through Marriott Rewards and other media channels like YouTube.

Gartner's Andrew Frank said Marriott's in-house approach reflects a general trend in the industry that meets the increasing demand for content marketing, particularly ongoing interactions for long-term campaigns. It can be a risky move, however, because brands can be less experienced in creative and media strategy compared to agencies, but widening media access has made it easier. "Since most agencies are not organized to support content marketing engagements, at a certain scale it can be more cost-effective to bring it in house," he said.

Larry Woodard of digital advertising Graham Stanley Advertising added that brands like Pepsi and Nike have had internal resources for years, and it can be a smart way to create a following and get in touch with your consumer base. "Things are growing so fast and are so divergent from traditional marketing that you need to cast a wide net just to stay relevant,” he said.

Still, Frank noted that it isn't easy to become a global entertainment entity. Marriott, in particular, has an uphill battle considering how many travel programs are already established online and offline. "For every brand do-it-yourself content publishing success story, there's a much larger number of failed attempts. Brands that lack creative core competencies may be surprised at the costs and cultural challenges involved in building a world-class in-house capability," Frank said.

Woodard was skeptical as well. "Neither Marriott nor any other travel giant will be able to own travel entertainment online. For the foreseeable future consumers will be the leading edge of content creation," he said. 

Source: www.adweek.com by Michelle Castillo

7 Content Marketing Buzzwords you should know

1) Content Marketing

Who uses it: Everyone. SEO marketers trying to steer their careers out of a tailspin. Opportunistic MBAs attempting to build branded content farms. Agency folks touting a new content service that they just made up six days ago.

What they think it means: Doing a bunch of random crap and praying that it works. Blog posts! Vines! In the cloud, dude. It’s all about the content marketing cloud.

What it really means: The overarching practice of creating content to promote a brand or product. At this point, it pretty much encapsulates everything that isn’t a static ad (print, display, billboard, etc.) or a radio spot. (Those still exist, right?) Content marketing has even swallowed social media marketing, which is so 2012.

2) Brand publishing

Who uses it: All the cool kids cherishing the few months before it’s co-opted by every marketer this side of Madison Avenue.

What they think it means: Creating branded content that doesn’t feel like a slimy advertorial or a display ad in sheep’s clothing.

What it really means: The practice of a brand telling stories about the things they care about, their brand, and their brand’s products in a way that’s genuinely engaging and not promotional.

3) Contentvertising

Who uses it: People who should be fired.

What they think it means: That they created a clever new word for content marketing.

What it really means: That the buzzwords are mating and multiplying. Run for your life.

4) Native ad/Sponsored Content

Who uses it: Publishers desperate for a new revenue stream. Agencies freaking out over a dwindling media spend. Ad-tech dudes who know that talking about banner ads at a party is never going to get them laid. Ever.

What they think it means: A sponsored listicle on BuzzFeed.

What it really means: An ad that mimics the experience around it. Google search ads are the granddaddy of native ads online. Sponsored Facebook Newsfeed posts, Promoted Tweets, and, yes, BuzzFeed Sponsored Posts are all examples of native ads.

5) Brand Newsroom

Who uses it: Hip CMOs. Agencies that just dropped a half mil designing a command center with more screens than Minority Report. Old-school media types while rolling their eyes.

What they think it means: Gathering a bunch of people in a room and totally crushing the Super Bowl and Oscars. What time is it? IT’S REAL-TIME.

What it really means: The fundamental restructuring of brand communications to mirror those of a media organization able to publish great stories swiftly; the group of people who publish content on behalf of your brand consistently, improving and growing an audience over time.

6) Brand Journalism

Who uses it: All those people talking about brand newsrooms like it’s the latest Beyoncé album.

What they think it means: All the content a brand publishes.

What it really means: The specific practice of a trained journalist reporting on the inner happenings of a brand on behalf of the brand.

7) Content Marketing Cloud

Who uses it: People who apparently think that you just can’t wait to get rid of your content marketing mainframe.

What they think it means: That you will give them lots of money.

What it really means: Cloud-based software that lets you manage your content marketing operation and analyze your success. Not to get too SaaSy (see what we did there?), but is there any other kind?

Source: http://contently.com/strategist/2014/04/18/the-best-branded-content-of-2014-so-far/

Branded Content: Is it better to own or sponsor?

As branded content surges as an alternative to digital ads, many advertisers are facing essentially the same question - do they make their own content, or buy it from somebody else? Creativity, control, speed, quality and cost -- all are at stake. Which do they choose?

GE makes its own media for brand properties like Ecomagination.com, its informational site about technology and environment. Cadillac, on the other hand, elects to sponsor a travel site, Gallivant, for a month at a time. Virgin Mobile's model is to create innumerable lists that it posts on BuzzFeed.

It's all branded content, but each is a vastly different investment. Sponsoring content on a media property can cost much more than generating content on your own property, such as a microsite or blog. But there are plus and minuses to both approaches. What you gain in ease, you could lose in control and vice versa.

Katrina Craigwell, digital marketing manager at GE, which is still experimenting, says her publishing medium of choice is Tumblr, which offers a massive built-in network of a certain demographic -- mostly teens and tech-savvy bored-at-workers. (GE's newest content property, txchnologist.com, runs exclusively on Tumblr.)

Owning the media in this fashion gives the sponsor full control of the message, allowing it to develop a unique and memorable voice, and to engage with readers and viewers on the brand's home field, with the brand's own design. But, as anyone in media will tell you, building a devoted audience as a publisher requires patience, coordination and leadership, not to mention talent to create appealing stories. Brands face the additional challenge of pacifying the variety of corporate cooks who typically want to weigh in on any outbound communication. 

The internal complications lead many advertisers to chicken-out and buy interruptive, shot-in-the-arm banners and TV spots. The average click-through rates and user-engagement time on owned media can be 10 times that of banners. But persuading one's boss to wait six months for results to grow, when superficial results can be bought now, can be a magician's feat.

That's where sponsored content comes in.

Last year, GE sponsored a short series on BuzzFeed called "The GE Show." One of its stories, "The 60 Most Beautiful Cinemagraph GIFs" which showed examples of a new type of visual media (essentially, high-definition still images with overlaid video), garnered nearly 120 responses and 1,000 shares. The post became instantly popular, garnering tens of thousands of views from being on the BuzzFeed homepage, plus extra traffic from friends of the 1,000 readers who shared. It was a powerful alternative to annoying readers with a takeover ad, and just as easy to buy.

As was the case with BuzzFeed and "The GE Show," content sponsors typically get story ideation and approval rights, and the publisher creates the stories in its own voice and style. The publisher can then maneuver posts in order to obtain the number of impressions the advertiser paid for. With ease come downsides: lack of control, both creatively and process-wise; the audience is loyal to the publication first, advertiser second (BuzzFeed users are there because they love BuzzFeed); and it's difficult to capture traffic for content retargeting from a sponsored slot where the content is blanketed in the media company's design (placing a sponsor's code for a newsletter subscription form or a cookie for content retargeting requires custom programming, which requires code reviews, contracts, etc.).

However, when brands team up with established publishers like Forbes, The Atlantic and Gawker, which are among several media companies to have created BuzzFeed-like sponsored content programs, they can inherit audience trust. Said Mashable COO Sharon Feder to me on one occasion, "Our readers love our advertisers, because of the content they sponsor." When BMW underwrites Mashable's "Innovation Series" and refrains from speaking about cars (per Mashable's editorial policy), readers appreciate and respect BMW more than if it had smooshed ads in their faces.

It's probable that the most successful content programs will always contain a mix of owned and sponsored. And while both media and advertiser make out well in this model, the real winners are consumers, who benefit from great content.

Read the full article here.