Kyle Fiehler says, “Engineers and other technical experts take to the web to educate themselves on their options now more than ever before. When sifting through online content, engineers and other experts in their fields want facts, not a hard sell. They’re conducting serious research. In fact, according to a study by CEB in partnership with Google, 57 percent of the B2B purchasing process has been completed by the time someone contacts a salesperson. So, as content marketers, we need to give them the information they need to make smart purchasing decisions. But engineers have already... [...]

Verónica Jarski says, “Take a journey through the world of content visualization, and find out which method may work best to captivate your audience. “Develop concepts into images to build a visual vocabulary that defines your brand and appeals to your buyers’ emotions,” states Marketo in the following infographic. “You can publish them on their own, like a meme, or with accompanying text.” Visual content will help your customers remember you and your message. For example, if you just hear a piece of information, you’ll only remember 10% of it three days... [...]

Benjamin Spiegel says, “The rise of content marketing, the push for real-time engagement and constantly growing competition in digital have led to more and more brands trying to become publishers and content creators. So what do you get when thousands of brands try to mass-produce content on a global scale? A million chicken noodle soup recipes and 600,000 identical ways to remove grass stains. Put differently, you get a content junkyard filled with meaningless and duplicate pieces of garbage. Marketers often forget to ask themselves key questions like, “Do our consumers actually care?”... [...]

Dan Stelter says, “Just 30% of B2B marketers rated themselves as “effective” at content marketing in 2015. That’s down from 38% the previous year, according to Content Marketing Institute’s and MarketingProfs’ joint Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. And the content output for brands increased 35% from its highest to lowest points in 2015, but engagement with that content fell, on average, 17%, TrackMaven found. So what gives? Why do you hear everyone trumpeting content as “king,” but just a few companies experience great results? It... [...]

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... [...]

Joe Pulizzi says, “If you follow Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs annual research, you learned three weeks ago that our most recent survey shows that content marketing has taken a turn for the better. Sixty-two percent of B2B marketers consider their organization’s overall approach to content marketing to be much more or somewhat more successful than one year ago. The same trend holds true for 63% of B2C marketers as we see with today’s release ofB2C Content Marketing—2017 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America sponsored by Hightail. As I detailed in my blog post... [...]

Monica Montesa says, “Whether you’ve been sending emails to subscribers for 10 years or 10 days, it’s important to consider how you might be able to improve your content every now and then. After all, things change over time; between your subscribers, your industry, and even your own business. As a result, it’s important for your emails to keep up with those changes, too. And if you’re just getting started with email, you may feel like you’ve just been going with the flow, and aren’t really sure if you’re “doing email right.” Wherever you are in your email marketing... [...]

Sujan Patel says, “Who’s responsible for creating your company’s most valuable content? Your marketing team? An agency? You? How about your customers? Customers are generating quality content for companies all over the world around the clock. In my experience, however, few companies have picked up on that fact – let alone realized how valuable this user-generated content can be. In fact, user-generated content can be more effective at driving sales than the content you create. That’s because prospects are more likely to take their peers’ word at face value. To them, user-generated... [...]

Amy Gesenhues says, “In a move to help YouTube creators connect with brands and create more branded content opportunities, Google announced yesterday it was acquiring Famebit. Billing itself as the leading self-service marketplace in the branded video space, Famebit serves both sides of the influencer marketing relationship between creators and brands. According toFamebit’s announcement on the acquisition, more than 25,000 branded videos have been created via the platform. Today, we’re excited to announce that Google has acquired FameBit — a technology platform company that helps creators... [...]

Andrew Raso says, “Content creation can be a slow and arduous process. Among marketers, the agile are primed for creating and delivering content at lightning speed. Here are some ways your organization can benefit from leveraging daily customs of those who excel in the field. 1. Align content with user stories. The user story template should be clear. One user story describes the needs and wants of one persona. This extremely narrow focus serves a purpose. It reduces meandering, mitigates excess and encourages simplicity in customer engagement. Creating content quickly means doing one... [...]