Joined at the hip – keywords and content marketing

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Jeanette Mifsud

We’ve written a few Blog posts lately about both the subjects of keyword research and content marketing—two important topics for today’s marketing professional.   What I wanted to emphasize today was how your keywords and your content should be closely connected.

content marketing and keywords

Make sure your content and keywords are joined at the hip

It all starts with that magic keyword list—those keywords that are highly relevant, have good volume and are not highly competitive (check out this keyword research Blog post).

Next you develop your content marketing plan.  As you begin to create your content, have your keyword list by your side.  I usually do a first draft of a content piece, and then go back and see how my keywords can fit naturally with the flow.  First and foremost your piece should follow the content marketing rules of being useful, relevant and well written.  So don’t be tempted to create a piece with the sole goal of stuffing it full of keywords to maximize your chances of getting good SEO ranking.  Rather look to use your keywords in places that make sense.  Think of creative ways to place your keywords like captions for images, or in quotes.

Once you’ve completed your piece, and you’re ready to post it to third party sharing sites, remember to include your keywords in the metadata for that document—items like tags, document descriptions, and abstracts.

When you make sure your keywords and content marketing initiatives are joined at the hip, you’ll have the best chance of your content getting found and doing the job it was intended for–whether that job is education, lead generation or moving prospects through the sales cycle.

Contact us for your copy of “The five steps to content marketing success – a practical guide for B2B marketers.”

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in B2B, Content Marketing, Marketing, Product Marketing, SEO | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Is ‘transmedia’ cross-dressing for your content?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Jeanette Mifsud

I had a little chuckle when Annie forwarded me this article from SlideShare that used the term ‘transmedia.’

I had just finished writing the solutions paper “the five steps to content marketing success – a practical guide for B2B marketers.” In the piece, I discussed how you should ‘give legs’ to the content you create by repurposing the core content into different media. I guess that’s what transmedia is all about. For example you may develop a thought leadership piece that was originally a downloadable PDF. Well transmedia means taking that piece and using the content to create presentations, Webinar content, podcasts, Infographics etc.

Why do this? Well there are two main reasons. Firstly you want to produce the content in the way your target audience prefers to consume it, and secondly you can promote it on the various different sharing platforms – think SlideShare, Prezi, YouTube, Flickr etc.

So next time you produce a piece of content, consider ‘giving it legs’ or if you prefer go ‘transmedia’ with it.

Contact us to get your copy of “the five steps to content marketing success – a practical guide for B2B marketers”.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Content Marketing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Get Creative: Google+ Hangouts that Improve Your Brand

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Kaitlin Powell
Daria Musk Google+ Hangout Concert

Daria Musk using the power of social media.

Customer service, concerts, lectures, creative collaborations. Google’s new free video sharing service Google+ Hangouts have so much more potential for companies than their promotional videos would have to you think. Hangouts allow up to ten people to participate in a round table video conversation while logged into their Google+ accounts. Some of the most interesting uses of Hangout are being explored by creative, tech-friendly brands. All of which have been much more interesting than what you see in the videos.

Using a tool in an unexpected way is one of the best ways to capture your customer’s attention, especially if you can enhance the experience of your brand. For instance, the Social Skillet has been using Hangouts to host cooking demonstrations called the Google+ Cooking School. Viewers can ask questions as they go and are encouraged to follow along in their own kitchens. This is one step up for video bloggers because they can stop to address problems or questions that viewers have in real time.

But it’s not just for the classroom, musician Daria Musk has been using Hangouts in a style similar to Ben Folds’ Chatroulette concert. Musk has been performing mini concerts for her fans, and taking time to chat with them. This is a smart way for her to use the technology. She’s targeting a group of people who are interested in her music and adding a social component to their interaction. She went from a small following to over 9,000 viewers for one of her livestreamed Google+ Hangout Concerts.

Another way is to use Hangouts for pure collaboration. Madeleine Flores is a comic artist that posts “Google+ Jams” on her tumblr. A group of comic artists get together on Google+ Hangouts where they chat, have a good time, doodle, and post the work afterwards. The work is quick, fun, and provides new content on a blog platform that puts strong emphasis on updates. This also gives the artists added exposure if they reblog each other’s work.

Google+ Hangouts can be an invaluable asset to people who may have a smaller fan base, and wish to strengthen relationships with their customers. Hangouts are easy to set up and require only a Google+ account, a microphone and a webcam to participate in.

What unexpected ways do you see Hangouts being used? What are some other ways Hangouts could be used in your business?

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in B2C, Content Marketing, Google +, Marketing, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

What the heck is “Compendium Hybrid”?

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Jeanette Mifsud

I loved this article from MarketingProfs critiquing one of Stauer’s print ads. I had just happened to see the print ad while flicking through a magazine (National Geographic, I think), while waiting for my kids to finish their dental appointment.

Stauer is attempting to sell a watch in this case, but for some unknown reason the headline of the ad reads “Amazing hybrid runs without gas.” It’s closely followed up by a subhead that describes the watch as a “compendium hybrid.”

I distinctly remember reading those lead in copy lines a few times and trying to figure out why the hybrid analogy. Maybe that was the point? I totally didn’t get it, so I got sucked into reading the body copy to find out more–an interesting advertising strategy it that’s the case. I’m not sure it’s one that I’d recommend though, unless they know of course that their target audience likes to work that hard to get the message!

Read the MarketingProfs article if you want to get the full critique, and let us know if you’ve come across any “compendium hybrid” equivalents out there.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Advertising, B2C, Campaigns | Tagged | Leave a comment

5 Resources to Kick Start Your Team’s Social Selling Efforts

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Annie Eissler

There is more and more buzz these days about social selling (i.e., leveraging social media conversations to identify and engage with potential prospects).

Here are 5 resources I’ve run across to help you understand what social selling is all about…and how to get your sales team started:

7 Reasons Social Media is for Sales Too – Tips for using social media to improve your sales process from Better Closer.  Read Reasons

Social Selling Best Practices Guide – A primer on simple strategies, tactics and tools for social selling from our good friends at Heinz Marketing. Get Guide

Social Selling as the New Sales Skill - An amusing anecdote from The Bridge Group’s Trish Bertuzzi plus an overview of 4 competencies sales people must develop for effective social selling. Read Post

Social Selling Skills for Today’s Inside Sales Professional – Webinar hosted by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals (ignore the background noise!). Watch Webinar

Social Selling Overview – Video primer on social selling from InsideView’s Koka Sexton. Watch Video

And here’s a little bonus for you:

Tool Sneak Peak: Rumor has it that the folks at Nearstream are working on a tool for helping you capture the demand that is already online and engaged in the social web. Stay Posted on Nearstream

What resources and tools have you used to kick start your team’s social selling efforts?

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in B2B, Business Development, Marketing, Social Media, Social Selling | Tagged , , | Leave a comment