5 Ways to Have Killer Content in 2014

5 Ways to Have Killer Content in 2014

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If there’s one thing we heard ad nauseam in 2013 (and 2012, 2011, 2010…), it was that “content is king.” Frankly, this phrase has been said so many times that it has lost its meaning. What exactly does that mean?

Content will continue to be a key part in SEO moving into 2014. I don’t think that will ever change. But your strategy has to adapt if you’re going to keep up.

Here are five ways to make sure your content will sustain in the New Year and move you past your competitors.

1. Marketing Automation to Measure It

2. Smarter, and Personal, Content in Emails

3. Make It Available On the Move

4. Separate Content From Link Building

5. Small Tastings Mixed With Larger Portions

[…]

Managing a Company Blog? The 10 Biggest Mistakes – And the Smartest Ways to Correct Them

Managing a Company Blog? The 10 Biggest Mistakes – And the Smartest Ways to Correct Them

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Since exploding onto the scene a few years back, the term ‘blogging’ has grown to encompass much more than just keeping an online ‘journal’ for your friends to read. These days most websites have a blog of some sort – and often that will be what makes up the main bulk of the site.

That’s why every self-respecting website needs a blog, and it’s why anyone with an online presence will keep one: from journalists to hobbyists and especially businesses. Having a company blog is one of the very best ways to attract customers to a company’s website, it’s great for marketing and SEO, and it’s even better for building customer loyalty.

But blogging is also a nuanced and delicate process with a steep learning curve- it takes some work to get right. If you don’t know how to make the most out of a company blog, then at best you’ll be wasting your time and far from helping you with all those things it can actually risk damaging your organisation.

This is a common problem for a lot of CEOs and entrepreneurs that have little experience in running a website or writing content, but nevertheless dive in at the deep end and start posting.

To make sure that this doesn’t happen to you and that you aren’t wasting your blog, read on and we’ll go over some of the most common mistakes that businesses make when running their company blogs.  […]

An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014

An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014

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For many brands, SEO, social media, email marketing, conversion, content marketing, mobile, and website design and development have been approached as independent practices for many years.

While some have always approached the digital space with a marketing perspective – applying marketing fundamentals to drive strategy, implementation, and measurement – many have handed off the strategic implementation of each channel to its perspective implementer.

As the lines blur between website user experience, publishing content, sharing on social media, and optimization for search and visibility across devices, marketers are being forced to go back to their roots. They must create, manage and own the complex multi-channel, integrated strategy.

SEO (search engine optimization) is of no value if what is being optimized doesn’t serve the customer in their quest for answers, solutions, and deals.

Because search engines care more about delivering the best result to those searching, brands shift their focus toward providing quality and relevant answers. Marketers must shift their thinking from keywords to context when developing pages, posts, updates, and conversations that put the brand in the path of customers.[…]

10 Ways to Make Your Content Marketing Strategy Work Harder For You In The New Year [PDF]

10 Ways to Make Your Content Marketing Strategy Work For You In 2014

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SEO isn’t dead and content marketing isn’t a fad. In fact, today 9 in 10 organizations market with content, and 78% of marketers believe custom branded content will become more important in 2014.

How’s Your Strategy Look? A 10 Step Guide to Help You Put the Strategy Back in Content Marketing Strategy

1) Set Goals

2) Identify Your Audience and Perform Persona Research

3) Perform a Content Audit

4) Make Blog Content That Is Thoughtful and Well-Rounded

5) Create High-Quality Video Content That Tells Your Story

6) Don’t Forget an Image Speaks 1,000 Words (When It’s The Right Image)

7) Help Your Tribe Create the Content For You

8) Lead, Attend, and Sponsor Live Events

9) Use Social Media to Talk With People Not At Them

10) Use Paid Media to Amplify Earned and Owned Media

Is your content marketing strategy […]

How to Use Content Marketing For a “Boring” Industry

How to Use Content Marketing For a “Boring” Industry

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It’s not hard to leverage content marketing for topics like health, dating or politics. But it is much harder to do for topics like finance, dental or insurance. For this reason, you don’t see too many people in those spaces using content marketing as a core part of their strategy.

Yes, those spaces are competitive, but with content marketing, you’ll be able to compete. Best of all, it will be really affordable to compete due to the fact that creating content doesn’t have to be expensive.

Who is your ideal customer? You already know who it is. I bet you even know the problems your ideal customer is facing. And I am sure your knowledge of your customers’ problems goes beyond those that are simply related to your product or service and extends to any common problem they face in their personal or business lives.

You already know content marketing is effective, and you’ve seen thousands of businesses use it. It allows them to get thousands of visitors to their site and outrank you in the search engine listings. So, why aren’t you leveraging it? It’s because you’re in a boring industry, right? […]

5 Content Marketing Myths That Need to Die

5 Content Marketing Myths That Need to Die

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Content marketing relies on the Know-Like-Trust factor, and as anyone who’s ever been in any kind of relationship will attest, building trust is never easy. It takes a lifetime to build and a moment’s carelessness to destroy.

Myth 1: Content Marketing is Easy (Compared to Other Forms of Promotion)

Myth 2: Content Marketing Doesn’t Take Much Time

Myth 3: Content Marketing can be Automated – Set it and Forget it

Myth 4: Content Marketing is Inexpensive

Myth 5: Content Marketing can be Handled by the Intern

In 2013 content marketing has finally progressed from a buzzword to a legitimate mainstream marketing strategy , and we can expect more such validation in 2014. If you’re a brand thinking about investing in content marketing, don’t fall for any of these content marketing misconceptions. […]