Marketing Resources: Content

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  Before You Name Your Company, Consider How Google Will Rank It

  Content

  Naming a company or a product used to involve a number of factors—none of which related to SEO considerations. But no longer. "It doesn't matter whether your brand is online or not, "[I]t will be googled, " says Ann Smarty in an article at MarketingProfs. "So, before you choose your brand ... more
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  How We Should Think About Marketing. A New Model [Prezi]

  by Charles Gold

  Content

  To say that marketing execution has changed dramatically over the last 10 years is about the grossest kind of understatement. Then why do all the models of the marketing function look about the same as they always have? more
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  CEO Communications: Five Phrases That Signal 'BS'

  Content

  Leading business bloggers say the perceived authenticity of a CEO plays a critical role in how they assess a leader's abilities and performance overall, according to interviews conducted by the 10 company and Gotham Research Group. more
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  How to Create Your Own Podcast

  Content

  Many marketers resist using podcasts as a marketing tool, even though they can be an effective way to engage an audience. That's likely because creating a podcast seems much too complicated and difficult. But it needn't be, says Mack Collier in his MarketingProfs article "Ten Steps to Creating Your Own ... more
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  Why Unpopular Brands Rule: Erika Napoletano Talks to Marketing Smarts [Podcast]

  by Matthew Grant

  Content

  "Popular is the last thing smart business people should want to be." At least that's the firmly held belief of Erika Napoletano, author of the forthcoming book The Power of Unpopular, and this week's guest on Marketing Smarts. But whatever could she mean? And why would any smart businessperson set ... more
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  Key Steps in the Quest for Quality Links

  Content

  "What search engines are forcing us to do—especially post-Google Panda—is to win quality links," writes Ken McGaffin in an article at MarketingProfs. "And quality links are hard to get." Hard—but not impossible. McGaffin suggests you begin your quest for stellar links by assembling a list of potential link partners and setting a ... more
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  How Two Brands Found Their Social Voice

  Content

  You've heard it said that who you are in social media is an extension of "who" your brand is. But how do you establish a voice on platforms where your brand has never been heard? Mashable interviewed the five social media voices behind some of the most successful brands in media ... more
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  How to Defeat Six Fierce Opponents of Compelling Content

  Content

  Clear content comes from focus and clear thinking. Unfortunately, focusing on the task at hand is not always easy—nor is clear thinking when you're confronting a nasty set of opponents intent on undermining the creation of compelling content. Here's a quick look at six common saboteurs of your content—and ways to ... more
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  Are Popover Forms Right for You?

  Content

  Although improved browser technology has rendered the popup window nearly obsolete, most of us remember its intrusive horrors. "As a result," writes Mark Brownlow at Email Marketing Reports, "email marketers have been reluctant to use 'in your face' website sign-up forms that in any way resemble those popups of the ... more
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  Five Tips for Building Brand Fidelity With Tumblr

  Content

  Tumblr has become a go-to spot for building social presence. Fashion brands and others are realizing it's a great medium for quickly and easily spreading content—particularly images. Might Tumblr be the engine to boost your social growth in 2012? Depends on how you answer the burning question: Is Tumblr right for ... more
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  A Seven-Step Road Map for Your Content Marketing

  Content

  Getting started on your content marketing is like planning a journey—deciding where to go and how to get there. "Have a roadmap of what you want to accomplish, but plan to take small steps," suggests Michele Linn in "A 7-Step Plan for Getting Started With Content Marketing," featured in the ... more
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  Four Ways to Optimize Your Email's Call to Action

  Content

  Even when elements of your email campaigns deliver strong results, there's always a chance you can do better. Consider the case of a tried-and-true call-to-action (CTA) button used by HubSpot. During a slight redesign, the inbound marketing firm decided to test a few alternatives. "We were pretty shocked to discover that ... more
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  Three Ways to Optimize Your Online Content Program

  Content

  "In a world of short attention spans, massive filtering, and the sheer volume of blog articles shooting out every available channel, it's a good idea to have a support system in place to make sure your content has a fighting chance," writes Jason Miller at MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog. And ... more
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  Gen-Y Won't Buy Without User-Generated Input

  Content

  Raised on a diet of interactive and social media, Millennials are a consumer powerhouse who, when considering purchases, tend to value user-generated content (UGC) more than other sources of information, such as the opinions of friends and family, according to a survey from Bazaarvoice. more
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  Three Ways to Make Your Content Search-Friendly

  Content

  In a post at the Renegade Search blog, Lindsay Atkinson ponders the clichéd adage that content is king. "I can't say that I'm a fan of using this relatively grating term, but I can definitely defend its power," she writes. "Having fresh and unique content is an increasingly important factor ... more
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  Blogs Top List of Social Media Investments for 2012

  Content

  Fully seven in ten brands (70%) say they plan to increase their presence across social media platforms in 2012, while 59% plan to boost the frequency of social content publishing, according to survey from Awareness. Many brands plan to focus efforts beyond the big three platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) ... more
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  Six Ways to Make Your Content Shareable

  Content

  Content isn't meant to stay grounded, it's meant to soar across the social Web, says Ann Handley in an Entrepreneur article titled "How to Increase Social Sharing to Generate More Leads." She offers these tips for getting folks to share your content online. Display Twitter buttons. Among the 10,000 largest websites, ... more
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  Four Ways Small Businesses Can Make a Big Email Splash

  Content

  "Countless small businesses send out countless emails every day," writes Gary Levitt in an article at MarketingProfs. "If you were to sift through campaigns and results (as I do), the mountains of data would suggest two breeds of email campaign: the outstanding … and the invisible. Your emails need to ... more
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  Four Ways to Own the First SERP

  Content

  "When consumers hear of a local business that is not well known, it's only natural that they conduct some research before making a purchase," writes Nathan Hanks in an article at MarketingProfs. And when they do, they're most likely to choose results that appear first. "Thus," Hanks continues, "'owning' the first page ... more
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  Create Content for Each Stage of the B2B Buying Journey

  Content

  Not every potential buyer approaches your business with the same enthusiasm or interest. In a MarketingProfs article, Paul McKeon identifies the four stages of the B2B buying cycle—and how to produce content specific to each one. The unaware buyer. "Content for the unaware buyer must be interruptive. It has to cause ... more
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  The Importance of Relevance: A Cautionary Tale

  Content

  "Today I was sad," writes Tara Jacobsen at the Marketing Artfully blog. "I got a message from someone who I like a lot and have been 'friends' with on the Internet for a while." The problem? Unlike the steady stream of relevant content the business friend used to distribute, this ... more
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  Some Do's and Don'ts of Social Updating

  Content

  It's hard to decide what's appropriate for posting on social networks without an etiquette road map—and harder still when you're doing it as a company, not just as yourself. Amalia Agathou of The Next Web understands. To help marketers get the art of social updating right, she has written an article on ... more
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  Why Content Marketing Rules (and What's in It for You)

  Content

  "Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other online platforms are giving organization like yours an enormous opportunity to engage directly with your customers or would-be customers," write Ann Handley and CC Chapman in their book Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) that Engage Customers ... more
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  Four Timeless Email Copywriting Commandments

  Content

  Any successful email campaign begins with a good offer. But you won't close the sale or earn the click-through if your copy doesn't do its job. For instance: Are you discussing features without explaining benefits? Or placing your call to action "below the fold" where subscribers won't see it unless ... more
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  How to Avoid Four Deadly Email Program Sins

  Content

  "There are a lot of things that can go wrong with email marketing—broken links, typos, unoptimized images—the list goes on," writes Magdalena Georgieva at the HubSpot blog. But on the other hand, she notes, marketers shouldn't focus so intently on small technical details that they lose sight of the big ... more

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Content articles by the best and brightest in the field

• How Not to Think About Thought Leadership (and How to Do It Right)by Haydn Shaughnessy
  Thought leadership—if done correctly—can prompt sales leads to come to you. But some companies still get it wrong. Learn why that happens, how to avoid major mistakes, and how to excel in thought leadership. more
• Five Trends B2B Marketers Need to Understand to Succeed in 2012by Chris Chariton
  What will the remainder of 2012 have in store for B2B marketing? Thanks to data, what lies ahead isn't so hard to predict. Learn five significant trends that will affect B2B marketers in the months to come. more
• Content Marketing Trends for 2012: What's in and What's Out by Pawan Deshpande
  No doubt about it: 2011 was a big year for content marketing. Twice the number of marketers implement content marketing vs. the number of those who use print, television, and radio advertising. But what's in store for 2012? more
• Personal Branding Trends for 2012 (Part 2) by William Arruda
  Personal-branding expert William Arruda offers six more trends to keep in mind and on top of in 2012 as you continue to build, improve, and polish your own personal brand as a marketer in tune with the times. more
• Writers for Hire: How to Get What You Pay for on Elanceby Anita Williams Weinberg
  When working with freelancers, "let the buyer beware" is a good rule of thumb. If you aren't careful in the due-diligence process, you may be in for more than you bargained for (literally). How can you make sure you don't get burned? more
• How to Streamline Site Navigation to Attract and Retain Customersby Shaun Ryan
  A website with poorly designed navigation can frustrate your visitors, cost you sales, and hurt your reputation. Learn how to enhance your site's navigation to showcase your content—and keep your customers coming back. more
• What to Do When E-Books and Round-Up Posts Just Won't Cut It by Danny Iny
  How effective can a strategy be if all of your competitors are using it, too? To stand out, step outside the realm of e-books and round-up posts, and apply these six tips for producing unique, compelling content. more
• 10 Ways to Make Your Blog Less Suckyby Danielle Rodabaugh
  Blogging can be powerful and effective only when it's done well. Learn 10 essential tips for writing killer posts that will attract readers—and keep them coming back for more. more
• 10 Tips for Producing Tantalizing Business Video Toursby Cara Barineau
  If the term "video tour" makes you think of something you'd find only on a real estate website, think again! Video tours are a great way to market a wide array of products and services—if you do it the right way.. more
• Three Things Marketers Can Learn From a Law Firm (Yes, a Law Firm) About Creating Awesome Contentby Ann Handley
  What can you learn about content marketing from video vignettes of lawyers speaking candidly about their professional philosophies and personal viewpoints? For one, you can humanize your business and show off your personality in a creative, interesting, and wholly unexpected way. more
• Four Ways to Keep Your Online Audience Interestedby Tim Eyre
  Much like an attractive store, a well-designed website will attract customers who will be happy to be there—and happy to stay. Avoid these four common mistakes that can turn visitors away and hurt your business. more
• How to Increase Web Traffic via Organic Searchby Ashley Cotter-Cairns
  Want to increase Web traffic via organic search without breaking the bank? Learn three key ways to build and promote content on your website—and attract and maintain more visitors. more
• Top Tips for Multicultural Marketingby Darren Megarry
  Are your campaigns reaching the intended audiences? Learn how to create an effective multicultural marketing campaign—and avoid the common pitfalls many endure when marketing to growing ethnic groups. more
• Five Ways to Quickly Build Backlinks (and Get Relevant Traffic)by C. Wise
  If you're a small business, building backlinks to your website can be an effective way to gain traffic and increase revenue—no matter what your industry. Here are five ways to kick off your link-building with ease. more
• Screen and Street Appeal: Building a Business to Thrive Online and Offlineby Bill Post
  Many businesses take great pains to build and nurture their offline brand, yet they drop the ball when they take their messages online. Avoid that problem with these five tips to connecting your online and offline identities. more
• Content vs. Messaging: How the Digital Customer Narrative Is Changing Marketing by Jen Evans
  Content is more than just words. Content experiences that are strategic, planned, structured, and measured can develop a new customer narrative that'll bring companies and customers closer than ever. more
• Snackable Content: The Key to Engagementby Glenn Engler
  Whether it's listening to an iTunes 30-second free snippet or grabbing a snack pack of chips, people like to sample. Apply that idea to marketing, and learn why it pays to create consumable, snackable content. more
• Potential Customers Are Telling You How to Market to Them!by Arnie Kuenn
  The key to achieving high rankings in search and creating buzz in social media is solid content. Fortunately, the Web provides free marketing data that can help you create relevant subject matter and learn about your customers. more
• Seven Tips for More-Profitable Direct Mail in Today's Economyby Dean Rieck
  If you create or manage direct mail programs, the current economy probably has you pulling your hair out. Now is the perfect time to get back to basics and remind yourself of the following seven core principles of direct marketing. more
• Human vs. Machine: Clash of the Translation Titansby Ora Solomon
  Humans or machines—which are superior these days? Both human and machine translation can be used when taking marketing content global. Learn three translation techniques—and when to use them. more
• Get It Right When You Write (or Speak): Three Commonly Misused Wordsby Ernest Nicastro
  In all your business communications, you want to put your best foot forward—and that calls for careful writing. Careful writing enhances your credibility, so avoid making these common errors and keep your copy clean. more
• Before You SEO: Three Steps to Help Your Website Earn Its Keepby Olga Taylor
  Search engine optimization works best when it's the last, rather than the first, item on your website checklist. Don't miss these commonly overlooked steps that can vastly improve your site's performance—before you SEO. more
• Three Email Message Types You Can't Afford to Ignoreby Karen Talavera
  It's easy to bore your customers to death with email when you're sending them the same type of message repeatedly. Keep them interested by weaving these message types into your email marketing stream throughout the year. more
• Five Reasons Why Quora Matters to Marketersby Niel Robertson
  Love it or hate it, Quora is a phenomenon that can't be ignored. It embodies a set of principles and trends that will be critical to the future of community management and social media marketing. more
• How to Hire a Chief Content Officer: 11 Key Traitsby Ann Handley
  What should a business look for in a chief content officer—the key person responsible for sharing and creating its content? To succeed in this important role, your ideal candidate should have these critical (but not so obvious) skills. more

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Content case studies, deconstructing real life examples and illustrating lessons learned.

• How One Company's Thought-Leadership Content Is Driving New Business, ExposureRoberts & Durkee, P.A.
  CASE STUDY: Emulate these best-practices for launching a well-trafficked corporate blog, and you'll be well on your way to establishing yourself as a trusted authority in your marketplace. more
• How One Company's Content Marketing Improved Qualified Lead Generation, Boosted Revenue 38%Intellitactics, Inc.
  CASE STUDY: Good content can position your company as an expert in its field, delivering more and better-qualified traffic to your door. Here's how one company leveraged its vendor-neutral whitepapers, podcasts, and more to increase leads, conversion, and (ultimately) revenue. more
• How Weekly Reader Boosted Renewals by Altering Its Direct Marketing Package and CollateralWeekly Reader
  CASE STUDY: Weekly Reader, a publisher of materials for elementary and secondary schools, needed to improve direct mail renewal rates, which had been trending downward. A simple redesign and copy change worked to increase the response rate and orders for the fall school year. more
• How One Whitepaper Generated 500 Leads and Significant PR for a B2B ManufacturerJER Envirotech
  JER Envirotech, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly thermoplastic biocomposite materials, needed to stand out in the green manufacturing industry. Its solution: create a white paper to both explain and build credibility for its offerings. Here's how that led to 500 new leads over 60 days. more
• How Garden Fresh Realized a Huge Gain in Web Traffic and Longer-Term Loyalty via EmailGarden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
  Garden Fresh Restaurants sought to increase customer engagement with its "Club Veg" loyalty club, totaling more than half a million opt-in members. Its two interactive email campaigns worked like a charm -- leading to huge increases in site traffic and boosting customer loyalty. more
• How a Pet Food Company Is Building a Loyal Customer Base via Highly Targeted EmailsRoyal Canin Canada
  Royal Canin Canada puts an enormous budget behind creating customized, breed-specific pet food. But many pet owners don't realize how much their dog or cat could benefit from a specially formulated food. By creating a loyalty email program targeted with information on specific breeds, Royal Canin was able to earn the role of trusted adviser. The email program now reaches 8% of current customers, maintains a remarkable 80% click-through rate, and has an unsubscribe rate of less than 2%. more
• How a Nonprofit Developed Marketing Materials That Spoke to Its Culturally Diverse Audience, Bringing in New MembersSan Francisco Health Plan
  A nonprofit health-plan provider serving lower-income San Francisco residents was designed for and by the residents it served. The health plan said it took "pride in speaking the language" of its local residents—but the community has large Hispanic, Vietnamese and Chinese populations, as well as other ethnic groups. more
• Smart Marcomm Strategy Enables Precision Manufacturer to Nearly Double Sales in One YearMinco
  In the world of engineers, where numbers and measurable impacts reign supreme, marketing communications may seem like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, a pointless exercise in corporate frivolity. But not to electronics components manufacturer Minco. more

Content: See all 8 case studies

Content online seminar broadcasts from the best minds in marketing

• Four Ways to Supercharge Your Content Marketing Efforts with Digital Audio ContentBroadcast on Feb 21, 2012
• B2B Social Media Power HourBroadcast on Feb 2, 2012
• MarketingProfs University: Presentations that Resonate With Me! How to Persuade Any AudienceBroadcast on Nov 18, 2011
• The Next Generation of Landing Pages: What's New, What's Hot, What's PerformingBroadcast on Nov 10, 2011
• MarketingProfs University: How to Build and Maintain a Thriving Content EcosystemBroadcast on Nov 3, 2011
• MarketingProfs University: Getting Your Website Strategy RightBroadcast on Jul 14, 2011
• MarketingProfs University: How to Become a Content JuggernautBroadcast on Jun 16, 2011
• Creating Fresh B2B Video Content All Year LongBroadcast on May 26, 2011
• Seven Keys to a Successful BlogBroadcast on Apr 28, 2011
• Charting New Frontiers: Marketing Discoveries from the B2B ForumBroadcast on Apr 21, 2011
• MarketingProfs University: Content Rules! How to Create the Right Kind of ContentBroadcast on Dec 3, 2010
• Content Development for the Real WorldBroadcast on Jul 22, 2010
• Word Perfect: Rewrite Your Website to Engage Customers and Inspire Their TrustBroadcast on Oct 29, 2009
• Create Once, Deliver Twice: Spreading Content Across Social NetworksBroadcast on Sep 3, 2009
• Content Marketing: How to Position Your Company as a Trusted Expert ResourceBroadcast on Dec 4, 2008
• Email Customization: Getting Personal to Deepen Relationships, Generate Additional Sales, and MoreBroadcast on May 22, 2008
• Generating Leads With Compelling White PapersBroadcast on Feb 8, 2008
• How to Develop Quality e-Newsletter Content Without Breaking the BankBroadcast on Apr 19, 2007
• Best Practices in Web Content: Beauty Doesn't Matter (much)Broadcast on Dec 7, 2006
• Killer Web Content: Make the sale. Deliver the service. Build the brand.Broadcast on Dec 6, 2006

Content: See all 23 seminars

Content Take 10 Webcasts—tactical marketing know-how in just 10 minutes from subject matter experts

• Take 10: Three Tools for Website SuccessReleased on Feb 10, 2012
• Take 10: How to Write Vivid, Engaging CopyReleased on Jan 6, 2012
• Take 10: How to Create Home Page Content That Engages VisitorsReleased on Oct 28, 2011
• Take 10 Author Series: How to Inject Your Company's Voice Into ContentReleased on Oct 21, 2011
• Take 10: Six Quick Tips for Writing SEO-Friendly ContentReleased on Oct 14, 2011
• Take 10 Author Series: How to Win Big with Content MarketingReleased on Sep 23, 2011
• Take 10 Author Series: How to Present Ideas That Inspire ChangeReleased on Sep 16, 2011
• Take 10: How to Hook More Customers with Tasty LinkbaitReleased on Sep 2, 2011
• Take 10: How to Create a Company Blog That RocksReleased on May 27, 2011
• Take 10: How to Create Your Own Online Press RoomReleased on May 6, 2011
• Take 10: How to Socialize Your Email CampaignsReleased on Mar 18, 2011
• Take 10: How to Add Your SEO Keywords to Your Website ContentReleased on Jun 25, 2010

Content: See all 12 Take 10 Webcasts

Content marketing downloads for the busy professional

• Content Machine: The Street Guide to Building a Successful Content Marketing Program in 7 Weeks
  MarketingProfs' 30-page How-To Guide, CONTENT MACHINE: The Street Guide to Building a Successful Content Marketing Program in 7 Weeks, provides a week-by-week agenda for launching your content marketing program using a strategic, systematic process.
• Blog Marketing Guide
  From establishing your company as an expert to providing a forum for testing new products, and much more, blogs can be useful, cheap and effective. Want to give it a go? This 65-page Bible of Blogging will get you started.
• Benchmark Survey: Communication Skills
  Link directly to the raw (aggregate) data in this 2005 survey about the skill level survey respondents have in various ways of communicating. With access to the raw data, you can view the results, and even filter them to see how a subset of companies in your country or industry answered. In this way, you can interpret the data in the most meaningful way for you.

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