Baer says, “If you’re blogging, sharing your content on social media just makes sense. But how can you really find the optimal blog and social media schedule that’s perfect for growing your audience? That was the question a friend of mine asked me to answer at a recent Meetup—and a super-interesting one, too. Since CoSchedule is an editorial calendar that helps you plan your blog and social media, this seemed like a terrific opportunity to explore the perfect answer. So I researched the heck out of the topic to really understand the best seven-step, data-driven formula to create... [...]

Baer says, “The Twitterverse made many big announcements this week, and we have been watching everything unfold. On Monday, the social networking giant announced its appointment of co-founder, Jack Dorsey, as CEO. Twitter’s board of directors began the search back in June, after former chief executive, Dick Costello, stepped down. With Dorsey now running Twitter on a permanent basis, there has been some discussion about leaving his other company, payments behemoth Square, behind. However, the most media attention seems to be on the former CEO, as Costello has taken on a new gig as a consultant... [...]

Baer says, “Much like the old saying that compares new friends to silver and old friends to gold, current customers are often your best customers. Unless you’re a monopoly or a bloated government agency, logic dictates that you must strive to keep your current clients happy. After all, the only thing that spreads faster than good news is a bad reputation. Treating existing customers right is key to getting new business in the first place. Naturally, upselling existing customers should be a key part of any business plan. (highlight to tweet) Before we continue, it’s important to distinguish... [...]

Baer says, “History repeats itself once again. In the past, companies didn’t have websites. Then, this thing called the internet hit the scene, and the world saw a relatively quick mass-movement toward marketing businesses online. Why the change? Because existing on the internet became a standard. Everyone was there. And if you weren’t, you were losing to competitors who were. The same plot has rung true with mobility and multi-device support for websites and cloud-based applications. We are at an “essentialness” point, as Google has made it crystal clear that websites should be responsive... [...]

Baer says, “As a storyteller and an improviser, I get asked about humor a lot. I was invited to speak to a company a few weeks back on this exact topic. “Kathy, how can we inject more humor into our social media and marketing videos? We’re fun. We want people to see that! We try to do video, and it’s like our un-fun clones show up. Help!” That happens to all of us sometimes. The short answer? If you have great writers and improvisers at your disposal, go for jokes,  parodies, even satire. Beware that satire, unlike parody, is aimed at social commentary, and that’s a bit heavier than... [...]

Baer says, “If knowledge is power, then knowing what’s happening with your customers is the most powerful marketing tool out there. Using social insights and data points are the best ways to gain understanding about any and all parts of a campaign. Are sales dropping? Find out why. Is engagement down? Discover what your audience didn’t respond to. Are you missing your targets? Identify the right audience. Social data can be used to discover a brand’s voice, perform market and audience research, and determine how effective a future campaign will be. Forget Focus Groups During his session... [...]

Baer says, “Every good story needs a good villain. If that’s the case, the Internet is the world’s best story—and one that never ends. Last week, the collective ire of the web was heaped upon Martin Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, not only for his decision to raise the price of a 62 year-old pill from $13.50 to nearly $750, but for his tone-deaf tweets defending his position. And, as Internet outrage usually does, this issue faded away in due time. But this week we had another opportunity to heap scorn on two other individuals—this time the founders of the forthcoming app... [...]

Baer says, “Simply too many brands use social media as a free advertising platform where they can sell, sell, sell. While the drive to push sales on whatever platform available is admirable, social media (as most of us have realized by now) plays bydifferent rules. It’s not like broadcast television, where you buy spots on primetime, talk about your brand, and see sales walking in the door. Social media instead demands a symbiotic relationship between brands and their fans. (highlight to tweet) You will only drive results from social media when your fans truly like you, identify with the... [...]

Baer says, “Traffic is nice and all, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to measuring your content marketing success. Metrics are what businesses and digital marketers around the world use to determine how effective their marketing strategy is. Breaking down that data and developing a better marketing strategy is one of the keys to consistent growth. While most analytics services offer plenty of data, they don’t exactly offer much guidance when it comes to figuring out what matters. Measuring metrics can actually become intimidatingly complex, especially for the inexperienced... [...]

Baer says, “Prospects are interested in your products. They’ve already interacted with your company by signing up for your email newsletter, accessing a free ebook, or tweeting at you on social media. You’ve been building trust, and you think your prospects are finally ready to make a purchase. To ensure that prospects make that leap and become customers, you need to create content specifically for the bottom of the sales funnel. (highlight to tweet) This content aims to reassure prospects that they’re making the right purchasing decision and decreases the amount of risk involved in spending... [...]