Sonia Simone says, “Hey there — welcome back to the Copyblogger Weekly! So, I’ve been known to lean a bit toward the “kumbaya” side of content marketing. (“Kumbaya” meaning, “Let’s all join hands and sing songs about our feelings!”) But I have bills to pay, just like you do. Selling is an integral and important part of business. And content marketing is as much about marketing as it is about connection. This week, we’ve got some content to help you unapologetically, effectively — maybe even joyfully — sell some stuff. On Tuesday, I was tickled to see Beth Hayden riffing... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “This afternoon Google parent Alphabet delivered a strong quarter, beating Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations. Revenues grew at 20 percent year over year. Net income was $6.3 billion. Total quarterly revenues were $22.25 billion (ad revenues were $19.8 billion), while so-called “other bets” generated $197 million (mostly Nest and Fiber). That was an increase vs. last year. There was also a smaller loss of $865 million on other bets compared to a year ago. Paid clicks were up an impressive 33 percent (Google website clicks were up 42 percent) however... [...]

Leslie Ye says, “It’s no mystery that social media is a crucial part of any marketing strategy — regardless of industry, company size, product, or service. We’ve all been there. Back in the day, I had to make the case for some businesses to even have a social media presence in the first place. But finally — finally! — it seems like folks are catching on. After all, 69% of marketers are using social media to build a following. Now that most marketers really do understand that social media is a strategic must-have, how can we make it more manageable? Like... [...]

Shris Smith says, “One of the first things I was taught when I started out in SEO a few years ago was that “your site speed is part of Google’s algorithm and can affect ranking performance.” My reply was something like “Google has algorithms?” Being new to SEO, I had many questions, but as this was one of the first things I was told, I thought it would be best to take a keen interest in it, and try to understand exactly how your site speed effects performance. Cue my head exploding. Yes, site speed can be a difficult thing for a newbie to get to grips with, especially when you... [...]

Antony Maina says, “What brands do you trust the most to provide you with key services and products to grow your business? Helping you in this quest, Alignable, an online networking site for small and local business owners, regularly offers a list of the best websites for small business growth. Small Businesses’ Most Trusted Brands of 2016 In its latest SMB Trust Index released Oct. 27, 2016, Alignable ranked Instagram, FedEx, Twitter, Amazon and Google among the most trusted brands of 2016. Comcast and Web.com were, however, ranked among the least trusted brands. Overall, Instagram is... [...]

Amy Gesenhues says, “Amazon released its Q3 2016 earnings report today, announcing $32.7 billion in sales for the quarter – a 29 percent year-over-year increase compared to the $25.4 billion it generated in Q3 2015. Among the highlights listed for the last three months, the e-commerce company referenced the expansion of Amazon Fresh – it’s online grocery delivery service; the launch of Handmade at Amazon in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain; and the new version of its Echo Dot home assistant device, along with the launch of its Alexa, Echo, and Echo Dot devices in Germany and... [...]

Megan Conley says, “We’ve all been there … the wild goose chase of finding the perfect statistic. You’re writing a blog post on the importance of using video in your social media strategy, for instance. As you crank through your outline, suddenly you pause. If only I had a stat to insert here. First you come across a research report, but it requires a hefty membership fee. For your next data point, you follow the trail of links from one article to the next, only to find that theoriginal source is 404-ed. When you finally think you’ve found the perfect social video... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “If you’re one of those people that claims they don’t really use Facebook – you might be doing it more than you realise. New research by SimilarTech has explored to what extent people are exposed to Facebook outside of the main domain itself. Essentially, this means the various bits of software – things like apps, sharing widgets, comment boxes and retargeting pixels – that the brand has developed in order to extend its reach. Here are some interesting findings taken from the report. Facebook is used by nearly half of all top websites Out of... [...]

Jonathan Long says, “Social media is such a critical part of business these days, making it extremely important that you keep your accounts safe. Imagine if someone gained access to your accounts? It would be devastating and it could potentially have a severe negative impact on your business. Things like: Stealing your account and changing the handle in order to take your hard earned followers. Sending out compromised links to your followers. Attempting to phish personal information from your customers. Avoid putting your social media accounts at risk by implementing these five simple... [...]

Barry Levine says, “Oracle, which has been busily adding enhancements to its Data Management Platform (DMP), is out with a new one. Marketers employing Audience Builder in the Marketing Cloud’s DMP can now self-select the device ID for targeting. In the past year, the company has also added built-in DMP tools for data ingestion, customer audience creation, self-integration for outside partners and integration with its A/B tester, Maxymiser. If a customer or would-be customer owns a smartphone, a tablet and a desktop computer, Oracle’s ID Graph manages their single identity across those... [...]