What is content marketing?

The Content Marketing Institute defines it as “the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling.”

This usually leads to the question, “How can I increase my bottom line if I can’t use my marketing to sell my products or services?”

The definition goes on to explain, “The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”

Great, but how do you sell your stuff? 

While content marketing is gaining traction for all of the reasons above, you still need to encourage leads to take the next step in working with you. That’s why you can apply a 90/10 rule to your content marketing. 90% of your content should be educational, while 10% can focus on the call to action.

Here are some examples:

While it’s not appropriate to write a blog post about how great you are and why people should buy from you, you should encourage readers to subscribe to your blog. For example, place ads on the sidebar to get readers to visit other pages on your website. Use 90% of your blog page to provide valuable content and 10% for banner ads, opt-in boxes or subscription buttons.

And while no one wants to read a white paper that’s a 10-page sales pitch, best practices state that you should discuss your solutions at the end of the white paper. If the first 90% of your white paper was entertaining and informative, readers will want to learn about how you can help.

What about you? Do you feel that content marketing should be used to drive sales, or is it all about educating your audience or something else? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Retweets are Twitter’s version of shout outs. They allow you to show appreciation for others by broadcasting their tweets to your followers. In return, others in your industry may want to share your tweets with their followers – provided your tweets are relevant and interesting.

Retweet 101: A Typical Retweet

• The “RT.” This stands for “retweet” and tells your followers the content of the tweet came from someone else.
• Credit to the person who posted the original tweet. To credit someone, simply insert the @ symbol before their username.
• A compelling headline.
• The URL you want your followers to visit.

Retweet 201: How to Retweet for Maximum Impact

1. Move the headline to the front of the tweet. The headline should always be the first part of the tweet, because a strong headline compels people to read more.
2. Include the names of others mentioned in the tweet. If the content that you are sharing mentions a fellow tweeter, include their username in your retweet. For example, the article in this tweet cites research from Social Media Examiner, so the retweet calls attention to their research. When you do this, not only will the person that you are retweeting see your tweet, but so will anyone mentioned in the article. They will be more likely retweet it to their followers and greatly expand the reach of your tweet.
3. Keep the URL after the headline and interview credits. Remember to use a URL shortener that allows you to track your clicks.
4. Move the RT and original username after the link. This credits the original tweeter without taking focus off the headline.
5. Comment on the original tweet. People who use social media sites want to collaborate and share ideas. Don’t be afraid to add your opinion, show appreciation or share additional insights.
6. Add a hashtag to define your tweet. Hashtags are used to categorize tweets for discussion. People follow hashtags related to their interests and industries. Include a hashtag at the end of your tweet, and more people in your industry will read it.
7. Keep it concise. Twitter only gives you 140 characters for each tweet, so you must write concisely. If you want others to retweet your posts, leave enough room for someone to type RT and your username.

Content marketing and social media go hand-in-hand. They both focus on sharing ideas, building relationships and growing communities. Here are three ways you can integrate social media with your content marketing to increase your ROI:

Be present all of the time.

Some companies will launch a content marketing campaign, promote it like crazy across social media and then go silent when the campaign ends. You may think this is strictly a B2C problem, but plenty of B2B companies are also guilty – especially ones that

promote conferences or new products. If you disappear after your campaign, you’ll wonder where your audience went the next time you have a campaign.

Gain insights into your target audience.

Social media provides you with endless ways to get to know your customers. For example, you can conduct formal or informal surveys to learn about their greatest concerns and what they think about your company. You can also just chat with them and answer their questions. The information you gain through social media will allow you to create more relevant content.

Your social community will also let you know if you’re staying true to your brand. A few months ago, someone had suggested I write about a particular topic on my blog. However, I felt the topic was off-brand and wanted to get the opinion of my Twitter followers first.So, I took an article about the same topic from someone else’s blog and tweeted it. Within minutes, one of my followers responded by saying how “out of date” the advice was. I appreciated this comment, because it let me know the topic would have been bad for my blog. It saved me the time of writing and promoting a post my readers wouldn’t have liked.

Make all of your content social.

All marketing today is social marketing – whether you use social media or not. That’s because your customers are probably using social media to spread interesting content across the web.

If you want your message – whether it’s a white paper, blog post, video or other marketing piece – to reach a larger audience, you’ll need to make it social. Here are five ways to make all of your marketing more social:

• Add social sharing to your website. Make sure these buttons are included
  on all of your landing pages and resources pages.
• Create hashtags for your events and trending topics so people can discuss them on Twitter.
• Publish a blog and encourage visitors to leave comments.
• Include your latest Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube content on your website. This makes it easier for your website visitors to find you on social networks.
• Put “follow me” and “share this” buttons in your e-newsletters.

What about you? What are you doing to make your marketing more social? Feel free to share your comments below.

Here is a video of my presentation – The Biggest B2B Content Marketing Mistakes.

Some of the things I cover in this video include:

• The top excuses that are preventing B2B companies from getting the most from their content marketing.
• Why your content must “play to your crowd”.
• 4 ways to make your marketing more relevant.
• How and when it’s appropriate to “sell” in content marketing.
• 5 words you must stop using in your marketing.

Take a few moments to check out the video and then feel free to add your thoughts on B2B content marketing below. 

According to the Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends Report, 70 percent of B2B marketers find case studies to be an effective content marketing tool. That’s because they can increase customer confidence in your organization, educate prospects on how to solve their challenges, and provide social proof that your solutions are valuable.

However, many marketers often put case studies on the back burner while they pursue sexier marketing strategies. Putting off your case study development isn’t a good idea, because you may find yourself with new products or services and not enough proof that they provide ROI.

Here are three ways that you can get your marketing back on track and create compelling case studies that excite and influence your potential customers:

1. Use photos and videos

Multimedia can make your case studies more engaging and give you a way to connect with auditory and visual learners. Here are some ways that you can incorporate multimedia into your case studies:

• Add photos and charts to punch up your written case studies.
• Film video case studies and use them throughout your marketing.
• Create a video and text version of the same case study. Developing content in multiple formats will get your message across to a wider audience.

2. Don’t write case studies from your own perspective

One of the biggest challenges in developing case studies is getting detailed interviews from your customers. You may get frustrated trying to coordinate interviews, or your customers may tell you to “just write something” and they’ll approve it. However, if your case studies don’t contain quotes from your customers, they won’t be as effective or credible. Plus, your readers will be able to tell when you’ve written a case study from your own perspective.

When you take the time to get a detailed interview from your customer, you may be pleasantly surprised by the great things they say. If you have a hard time scheduling interviews, try using scheduling software that allows your customers to pick the best time. If you have trouble getting compelling quotes, be sure to ask your customers a range of questions that take them through their entire story — from the problems they faced before they started working with you to how they implemented your solution to the ROI that they achieved.

3. Create dual case studies/“how-to” articles

A great way to turn case studies into content marketing tools that will educate and inform your audience is to sprinkle in “how-to” tips. “How-to” tips can work nicely in the implementation part of a case study. Instead of just explaining how your customer implemented your solution, offer advice on how others can do the same. Here are some questions to ask during your interviews if you want your case studies to also function as “how to” articles:

• What steps should someone take to implement this solution?
• What should someone know before starting this process?
• What top five things should someone consider before purchasing a similar solution?
• What can someone learn from this process?

Also, remember to create case studies for all of your solutions and verticals. When a prospect reads a case study, they often like to envision themselves in the role of your happy customer. To make their visualization process easier, you should develop case studies for as many of your customers and solutions as possible. Go through all of your products, services and verticals and see where you are missing proof points. Then, make a list of customers in each area who may provide you with case studies.

What about you?

In your opinion, what makes a case study compelling? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Did you listen to it? If so, take a moment to pull yourself back together.

When I regained normal breathing, I started to think about other things that are cringe-worthy. A lot of technology marketing cliches came to mind. These expressions have become so widely used, that you may not question them. In fact, I’m also guilty of using some of these (except numbers four and five).

Here’s my list of the five most cringe-worthy technology marketing words and phrases:

1. Solution

Everything these days is a “solution”.  From software solutions to marketing solutions to business solutions. The first problem with using the word “solution” is that it’s too generic and can often be replaced with something that describes your product or service in more tangible terms. For example, I was flipping through a furniture catalogue and saw a dining table with “folding solutions”. The copy would have made more sense if it talked about the table’s “folding leaves”.

The other problem that I have with “solution” is that marketers often use the word “solution” without first describing the problem. I’d like to know what the problem is before I learn about the “solution”.

2. Innovative

Technology thrives on innovation, so it’s understandable that tech marketers want to describe their products or services as “innovative”. However, I heard about a study in which companies that think of themselves as innovative asked their employees what they’ve innovated, and the employees couldn’t think of anything. (I’ve been searching for a link to this source and will post it as soon as I find it).

“Innovative” is a hard term to quantify, which is why it often shows up on lists of the most overused marketing phrases. Similar unquantifiable words include “leading”, “best”, “dynamic” and “unique”.

3. User

When technology companies call their customers “users”, it makes me wonder if they’re selling software or if they’re selling heroin.

4. Suspect

I recently heard a technology marketer refer to her potential customers as “suspects”. This made me wonder if she was looking for customers in a police line-up.

5. In Bed With

Some marketing and sales people say things like, “he was in bed with our client,” or “he was in bed with that idea”. I guess this means that two people are in agreement about something. However, whatever way you use this expression, it just sounds creepy.

What did I miss? This post only touches on the most cringe-worthy technology marketing phrases. Feel free to add your picks below.

Asking tough questions and challenging your customers can also strengthen your content marketing. The B2B sales cycle is long – with customers deeply reviewing multiple service providers before they make a purchasing decision. If your content is too general or “safe,” you won’t stand apart from your competition or show potential customers that you really understand their issues.

By challenging your customers – or providing them with content that forces them to think deeply about their problems and how to solve them – you will make your messages stick. Your content will start to resonate more with your target audience, which can lead to increased sales and improved ROI.

Here are three ways that you can challenge and inspire your customers:

• Start a Blog (or Take a More Journalistic Approach to Your Current Blog)  

Some corporate blogs are little more than frequently updated sales pitches. Instead of viewing yourself as a marketing professional who has been tasked with driving sales, think of yourself as a hard-hitting journalist who wants to educate and inform your audience. Taking a journalistic approach to your blog allows you to explore issues in depth, which also encourages customers to see you as a valuable resource. You can even write blog posts that take the opposite stance of everyone else in your industry – just to get customers to think differently about their challenges.

• Hit the Hot Buttons 

You can’t challenge your customers unless you know their biggest concerns, aspirations, needs and pain points. If you are unsure of these, you may need to speak with your sales representatives, since they are the ones who deal with your customers on a daily basis. Once you gain a better understanding of your customers, you should focus all of your content marketing around their needs.

• Give Your Customers Tools

Interactive tools can be a great way to engage your audience and get them to think more deeply about their challenges. These tools can be assessments, quizzes or anything else that gets your customers to interact with you.

Before you develop a strong voice that resonates with customers, you first may need to challenge your organization’s basic beliefs about marketing. Your organization may be stuck in a rut where you’ve been doing things a certain way just because “that’s the way it is done.” However, times are changing. Your customers no longer want the same old marketing messages delivered through the same old channels. You need to reach customers on a deeper level, and you can do this through content marketing that challenges, awes and inspires them.

What about you?

Do you feel that it is important to challenge your customers? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is the headline on your home page “Welcome to My Site”?

If so, you are missing a vital opportunity to gain your readers’ attention.

According to David Ogilvy, one of the most successful copywriters of all time, “On average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money.”

The purpose of the headline is to motivate people to read the opening paragraph of your content and then continue reading the entire piece. If your headline is not compelling, you might be throwing away all the effort you put into the rest of your marketing piece.

Here are 5 simple tricks that professional copywriters use to write great headlines:

1. Begin with “How to”

One of the most famous “How to” headlines of all time is Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”

“How to” headlines are still extremely effective. To gain your readers’ attention, your “how to” headline should offer valuable advice for a problem they are facing.

You can modify the standard “How to” headline by using a “Top 10” list or incorporating a specific number. For example, “The Top 10 Ways to Increase Your Productivity” or “5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Headlines.”

2. Promise Quick Results

This type of headline is used all the time on magazine covers. Just think of all the articles that promise to teach you how to “Drop 10 Pounds This Month.” If you decide to use this type of headline, be sure that you don’t promise something that you can’t deliver.

3. Share a Secret

This popular headline formula offers your readers inside information.Women’s Health Magazine once ran an article called “Michelle Obama’s 7 Secrets of a Sexy Marriage.” Now that will grab your attention!

4. Extend an Invitation

Invitation headlines are common for special events or promotions. For example, “We Invite You to Join Our Insiders Club.”

5. Create a Sense of Urgency

One of the most effective ways to generate a response is by creating a sense of urgency. You can do this by stressing a deadline, such as, “Please Take a Moment Now to Renew …Your Subscription Expires This Month.”

You can also create a sense of urgency by mentioning that only a limited number of spaces are available, stating that your event is expected to sell out or offering a discounted price for a limited amount of time.

If you still can’t think of an interesting headline, simply use a testimonial. Testimonials are one of the most powerful ways to gain your readers’ trust.

What about you?

What headlines do you find the most effective? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

© Rasà Messina Francesca | Dreamstime.com

Outbrain recently published The State of Content Marketing 2012. The report revealed that 82% of brand and agency marketers plan to increase their content marketing efforts this year, with their main goals being to increase brand awareness and target early-stage leads.

The report also revealed that social media is the most popular way to drive traffic to content, with 96% of respondents currently utilizing social media.

Since a blog can be the center of your social media strategy, I’d like to suggest some ways that you can use a blog to increase your brand awareness and drive more people to your content:

Keep Your Audience Top-of-Mind

One of the challenges of blogging is ensuring that every post is relevant to your audience. Before you blog, you should create a profile of your ideal reader. The profile can include their role, organization and key concerns. Give all of your blog’s contributors a copy of this profile, so they can keep your ideal reader top-of-mind as they write.  

Develop Content Themes

Creating themes for your blog can make it easier for your writers to come up with topics. Themes also allow you to develop related content that you can repackage. For example, you can take a series of blog posts about the same topic and turn them into a webinar or white paper.

Advertise Your Premium Content

Although the purpose of content marketing is to provide your audience with free educational content, you still need to encourage leads to take the next step in your sales cycle. That’s why you can apply a 90/10 rule to your blog. Ninety percent of your blog’s content should be educational, while 10% can focus on the call to action. For example, you can place ads throughout your blog that encourage readers to visit other pages on your website or opt in for your premium content. This technique allows you to be seen as a trusted resource while you fulfill your marketing goals.

You’ll also want to share all of your blog posts with your social communities. The easiest way to do this is to use tools or plug-ins that automatically publish your latest posts to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. This will ensure that you never forget to share a post with one of your social networks. However, you can’t just “set it and forget it.” You’ll still need to be present on social media every day to respond to comments and engage in conversations.

What About You?

Do you find blogs to be a valuable content marketing tool? If so, what blog strategies have worked for you? Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

Photo by David Tom Photography

I’m hooked on Mad Men and can’t wait for the season five premiere. The photo is from a Mad Men dinner party that my husband and I hosted last year.

One of the things I love best about the show is watching Don Draper save many client relationships by coming up with brilliant concepts at the last minute … just before his clients are about to walk.

However, you don’t need to wait until you’re almost screwed to come up with a great concept. Simply read on to learn the top 5 ways that Don, Peggy and the crew overcome creative block.

1. Take a Break

In one episode of Mad Men, Don’s boss accuses him of looking like he’s never working. However, Don demonstrates that if you step away from your work, you’ll come back full of creative ideas that will impress even the most difficult client. Although Don’s favourite ways to clear his head involve drinking and womanizing, you may want to keep the debauchery to a minimum. Exercise or caffeine will work.

2. Do Your Most Important Work First Thing in the Morning

At SCDP, the brightest stars arrive at the office early to focus on their most important projects before the rest of the staff is around to interrupt them. Tackling your biggest project first thing in the morning can give you a sense of accomplishment and save you lots of stress later in the day.

3. Brainstorm

At the beginning of a new project, you should ignore your inner critic and let your ideas flow. The creatives at SCDP know that brainstorming can jumpstart the creative process, whether you prefer jotting down notes or dictating ideas to your assistant. Plus, it’s always fun to watch the characters try to one-up each other with the best ideas.

4. Take a Nap

There’s nothing like a good nap to refresh you, and more than one employee at SCDP has been caught sleeping the job. However, if you decide to take a nap remember to …

5. Keep a Notebook Nearby for Ideas

Don’t be like copywriter Paul Kinsey. He had a brilliant idea during an office all-nighter, fell asleep without writing it down and forgot it. Although Peggy covered for him, you might not be so lucky!

Try some of these tips the next time you struggle with creative block. You might even finish your project early enough to enjoy a long lunch with your co-workers (just don’t eat the oysters).