The ‘Business 2 Community’ team says, “There’s no denying that content marketing is hot and here to stay. But despite the buzz, many businesses still don’t have the framework they need to build a successful content marketing engine. Join Hana Abaza, VP of Marketing at Uberflip, as she discusses how you can develop the right “content infrastructure” to succeed in order to drive growth for your business. Key Takeaways A three-step process to optimize your content plan for growth Best content creation and distribution tactics to try in 2015 Tools that will make creation, distribution... [...]

Isla McKetta says, “”Picture it.” If you’re of a certain generation, those two words can only conjure images of tiny, white-haired Sophia from the Golden Girls about to tell one of her engaging (if somewhat long and irrelevant) stories as she holds her elderly roommates hostage in the kitchen or living room of their pastel-hued Miami home. Even if you have no idea what I’m talking about, those words should become your writing mantra, because what readers do with your words is take all those letters and turn them into mind pictures. And as the writer, you have control... [...]

Tom Martin says, “You can’t sell if you can’t persuade. We all know that. But what many sales people haven’t figured out yet is that digital content is often the most persuasive tool in the salesperson’s toolbox. In my 2014 Content Marketing World talk – Using Content as Your New Sales Force – I talked about this new sales and marketing dynamic. Since that time, I’ve had so many readers, keynote attendees and friends ask me to do a deeper dive into the part of social selling that they least understand“. Why Content Is More Persuasive Than Salespeople Business2Community.com  [...]

Rand Fishkin says, “Content marketing is an iterative process: We learn and improve by analyzing the success of the things we produce. That doesn’t mean, though, that we shouldn’t set ourselves up for that success in the first place, and the best way to do that is by knowing what our audiences want before we actually go through the effort to create it. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand (along with his stick-figure friends Rainy Bill and Hailstorm Hal) explains how we can stack our own decks in our favor with that knowledge“. Know What Your Audience Wants Before... [...]

Erin Hogg says, “Filling a blog and website with resources for prospects to educate themselves is a great start to content marketing. However, if your team is creating solution-based, one-off content, your ROI can fall flat, leaving countless hours of development to waste. Five9, a contact center software solution, was creating content but lacked internal alignment in Marketing to turn leads into sales. Discover how Five9 created customer personas, drafted content based on customer research and repurposed highly effective content through 63 assets to generate four times as many leads than previous... [...]

Chad Pollitt says, “Many of the traditional channels for online content discovery are thoroughly understood and their adoption rates are high. The readily accepted channels—from SEO and PPC, to email and social media broadcasting—can deliver the best content to the right people at the right time. Today, however, the Internet is experiencing a deluge of content, and many channels for content discovery are bloated. Estimates say that  more than 2.73 million blog posts are written and published daily. Many industries are experiencing a content surplus, making it even more challenging... [...]

Fergal Glynn  says, “Sales reps are juggling dozens — sometimes hundreds — of leads and opportunities at any given time. But what often happens in fast-growing sales teams is that reps end up spending too much time on low-quality opportunities, and not enough time working leads that stand the best chance of converting to paying customers. Qualifying leads diligently and early on in the sales process enables your sales reps to spend their time on the leads that matter, but even then, much time is wasted sorting through dozens of content assets in an effort to identify the most... [...]

Brian Clark says, “In 2014, we produced a different kind of online marketing conference. This year, we’re doing it again … except bigger, better, and smarter. Here’s the bare minimum you need to know to dig deeper. No hype, just the facts. What: Authority Rainmaker: Copyblogger’s live training event that provides an integrated online marketing strategy combined with the best ways to implement it. Plus great parties and networking. When: May 13-15, 2015″. Just the Facts: Why You Should Attend Authority Rainmaker ‘Copyblogger’ Blog  [...]

The ‘Business 2 Community’ team says, “There’s no denying that content marketing is hot and here to stay. But despite the buzz, many businesses still don’t have the framework they need to build a successful content marketing engine. Join Hana Abaza, VP of Marketing at Uberflip, as she discusses how you can develop the right “content infrastructure” to succeed in order to drive growth for your business. Key Takeaways A three-step process to optimize your content plan for growth Best content creation and distribution tactics to try in 2015 Tools that will make creation, distribution... [...]

Brian Clark says, “Last fall, Robert and I did an episode of the podcast where we laid out how content curation could be used to build an audience and even a business. It was one of the most popular episodes of 2014. We did that episode based on a personal project I was already planning to do. I quietly launched that project last month, and it’s called Further. It’s a curated email newsletter dedicated to living your best life, with features and news items related to health, wealth, and wisdom. Here are a few sample issues: Three Real Ways to Protect and Enhance Your Brain Power The... [...]