The present and future of the content marketing industry, by the editors of The Content Strategist. Trends, data, and best practices in brand publishing.
The Publisher’s Guide to eCommerce: Case StudiesDamian Radcliffe
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected most industries, including the publishing and media sectors. Arguably, the advertising downturn associated with the pandemic makes it clearer than ever that companies need to diversify their revenue streams.
Facing an "extinction event," as the current crisis has been called, may encourage publishers
to look again at eCommerce and its potential.
In doing this, it makes strategic sense for publishers to identify propositions which build on their existing relationship with audiences; and which play to their strengths. Audience data and insights, coupled with trust and name recognition, are valuable commodities which can be harnessed to support eCommerce activities.
Historically, as BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti noted at the start of 2020, media companies have not done a good job of this. “….A longstanding problem in the media industry where content creators provide the inspiration to buy a new product, go on a vacation, or watch a new show–but don’t capture much of the economic value created," he argued. "This is sometimes referred to as the “attribution problem,” where Google and other middlemen end up capturing value they didn’t create. We see a real opportunity for us to reclaim some of that profit.”
Peretti, as this new report shows, is not alone in this optimism. If publishers can further understand, and anticipate, the user journey - including the role of content as a driver for purchase decisions - then this remains a firm foundation on which eCommerce products and properties can be built.
Welcome to the next edition of our Near Future Report prepared in close cooperation with the LHBS Inspiration-Hub.
In this report, we will be tackling the 3 following themes:
- Shared Value Creation - where we will explore how to create new and valuable relationships between brands and consumers above and beyond UGC
- Unconventional Touch Points - where we focus on reaching audiences through unconventional channels while building loyalty through offering useful experiences & services
- Virtual Reality - a well-known trend that deserves a closer look since it will increasingly determine how we consume media in the nearest future.
Take a look at our three stories where we identify what is happening, why is it important for brands and also a few recommendations from our side.
Tackling the Great Consumer Attention Deficit: SxSW Panel PreviewUnmetric
This is a preview of the SxSW Panel proposed by Unmetric, Elizabeth Arden, and Lippe Taylor. To vote for this panel now, visit: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/17844.
These days, communication is free: the problem is attention. As new technologies and platforms continue to emerge, marketers are consistently required to change the way they communicate. And, as audience attention spans become shorter and shorter, brands must harness new and creative forms of micro-content to evoke the same deep connections as the large campaigns of the past.
1) Gravity Thinking attended the Changing Media Summit hosted by the Guardian which featured leaders from major media, technology, and marketing companies discussing the changing media landscape.
2) Key themes that emerged were the rise of content and social media, changing consumer media habits, and how brands can leverage opportunities while avoiding risks in this new environment.
3) Brands will need to become more responsive, participative, and meaningful by embracing open collaboration and providing quality content while carefully managing their online presence and communities.
Leo Burnett London’s in-house experts and partners present “Predictions: 2017,” a collection of the hottest trends to look forward to this year. Read on to learn more about consumer behavior, brand sponsorships and retail technology.
This is the sixteenth in a series of presentations using statistics and stories to show how the media world is evolving from day to day.
By Dan Calladine - Aegis Media
@dancall
#OgilvyCannes 2014 Social Impact Report at #CannesLionsOgilvy
MediaWeek:
"Ogilvy also had the most prominent unofficial hashtag at the event, #ogilvycannes, which accounted for 82 per cent of mentions of unofficial hashtags with 27,132 mentions."
"Ogilvy demonstrated the value of a well-oiled social machine, with its own strategy playing a significant role in driving the agency to the top of the brand charts."
Salesforce quote: “Ogilvy was the dominant brand at Cannes Lions 2014, clocking 22,652 mentions online [during the week]. It jumped in early with a well-executed social strategy that even propelled Abraham Lincoln into one of the leading celebrity spots over the opening weekend – quoting his famous stance that ‘the best way to predict your future is to create it.’”
Links:
MediaWeek: http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/article/1300680/ogilvy-crushes-google-twitter
Salesforce: http://www.slideshare.net/ExactTarget/saturday-36254344?ref=http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/article/1300680/ogilvy-crushes-google-twitter
BuzzRadar: http://www.buzzradar.com/the-power-of-storytelling-cannes-lions-2014/
The LHBS Snapshot is a monthly series of cases including some of the most interesting insights and inspiration from the three following areas: business development, brand building & customer experience.
All signs come straight out of LHBS Inspiration-Hub, a digital platform that tracks changes in people, markets and technology to bring customized & curated insights and inspiration to organizations.
This document discusses options for YouTube marketing, including video marketing tips, tools, and sites. It provides tips for using video marketing such as including branding, URLs, catchy titles, excellent content, and links in descriptions and beyond YouTube. The document also discusses how digital disruption is impacting the television industry as viewership declines and moves online, and how this will change digital advertising and video creation/curation.
Driving Traffic to Your Mobile Apps & SitesDMIMarketing
Many Brands, Businesses and Mobile Developers make the mistake of developing and launching their apps without planning how to reach their target audience.
5 Strategies for Capitalising on the Micro-Moment EconomyIris
The article outlines five strategies for communicating with consumers in micro-moments on mobile devices:
1) Use messaging platforms which account for 28 minutes of daily usage to distribute branded content.
2) Turn short micro-moments into longer sessions by directing users from social media to platforms like YouTube and Medium for extended content.
3) Present the value of content upfront in the first few seconds to engage users with short attention spans on platforms like Facebook.
4) Create content that is disruptive enough to stand out from competitors in crowded newsfeeds.
5) Reduce friction in the customer journey by serving commercially-focused content that answers consumer needs and drives purchases across channels.
Welcome to the latest edition of our Snapshot. In this edition, we will demonstrate how collaborations help businesses to stay on top of the game and generate more sales and stay relevant for their customers.
The report is divided into three parts:
Expanding Customer Segments- Collaborations are launched to expand existing customer segments and open up promising industry segments.
Enhancing Product & Service Experience - Enhancing the product and service experience in order to engage existing customers even more and tie them stronger to the brand.
Cultivating Existing Relationships- Enhancing customer satisfaction beyond core offerings to strengthen customer loyalty.
The document outlines 5 key trends for brands in social media: 1) Everyone is a content creator, 2) Relevance and responsiveness are important, 3) Storytelling will continue to be important, 4) Visual content is becoming more prominent, and 5) Innovation will be key. It provides tips for marketers on each trend, such as collaborating with influencers, understanding audiences, and creating shareable experiences. The conclusion emphasizes that quality content and innovative new ways of consuming content will be most important for brands going forward in the changing social media landscape.
1) Consumers now have more power and influence than ever before due to technology, and they expect flexible, easy-to-use experiences that are personalized and relevant to their interests.
2) Many brands are experimenting with new marketing approaches that engage consumers by allowing them to tell stories, generate content, and collaborate with the brand in new ways.
3) Successful brands are shifting from a channel-focused approach to identifying specific consumer segments and creating authentic experiences across multiple channels to build partnerships with consumers.
Here at Punch, innovating around the latest trends is a huge part of what we do - looking out for new opportunities and helping our clients differentiate themselves with bold, original campaigns.
2018 was an exciting year creatively, with trends like AR and shoppable 360 video taking brand experiences to a whole new level. As new techniques and platforms like TikTok bubble to the surface, what does 2019 have in store?
Let’s take a closer look...
From Mobile to Content First EngagementJustin Kirby
My presentation at FIPP London yesterday as part of their mobile strand that was billed as follows:
From Mobile to Content First Engagement: strategies for and examples of the best content-first, mobile-focused marketing campaigns in the world today
With a decline in advertising revenues and fears about the 'adblocalypse’ abound, branded content is being increasingly seen as a possible survival strategy by publishers. But is editorial-style content and its delivery through native advertising formats for brands enough to compete for consumers’ attention? We now live an increasingly skippable on demand world where mobile is becoming the first screen, particularly for the millennial audience who are consuming more video content than ever before. That’s why brands are looking at more innovative ways to engage audiences. Justin will explain how all marketing is now based around content and the different directions driving this - presenting inspiring examples and insights from global experts about how strategies are becoming content first and the role publishers can play in helping deliver this.
Facebook launched a digital assistant called M that uses both AI and human assistants to answer queries. This could change how people interact with brands through platforms. Twitter launched Moments, a curated collection of tweets on topics that will be accessible to all and could include sponsored moments. Ad blocking is a growing threat as it is incorporated into mobile operating systems, which could reduce digital advertising revenue and change how brands must engage audiences.
This document provides an overview of leveraged buyouts (LBOs). It discusses that an LBO involves acquiring a company using a substantial amount of borrowed funds. It then summarizes the history and growth of LBOs from the 1980s through today. Finally, it outlines the typical structure of an LBO transaction including the types of debt and equity used, as well as exit strategies and criteria for evaluating potential LBO targets.
The document provides an introduction to the SHRM Glossary of HR Terms which defines commonly used terms in human resource management. It notes that the glossary is continuously updated and provides alternative reference materials. Legal terminology from another SHRM resource is also discussed. The document invites submissions to add new terms to the glossary.
Kona Adventures is a leading provider of travel and entertainment services that maintains its market position through organic and inorganic growth. Valuation analyses place Kona's enterprise value between $560-600 million based on 2016E revenue of $206.2 million and EBITDA of $52.6 million. Comparable analyses and precedent M&A transactions support a valuation range of $552.1-604.7 million. It is recommended that Kona pursue a near-term sale to a strategic buyer given compelling financials and historically strong market conditions.
“The Evolution of Media: How Technology & Content Can Impact a Brand & the Bottom Line”
In a world where “every brand is a publisher,” Shane Snow, founder of Contently, says to win at business, brands need to make content, and make it about their audience. But, as companies start building digital newsrooms, what do they need to succeed? Dynamic and informative, Snow challenges businesses to embrace the evolution of media by suggesting that giving away audience-focused content is cheaper, more inspiring and better for the world than interruptive marketing. Attendees came away with an understanding of how to use digital media to win customers and advocates at a fraction of the cost per acquisition of traditional advertising.
This document provides an overview of private equity as an asset class. It describes the history and development of private equity, which originated in the 1940s in the US. It discusses the industry structure, including institutional investors, funds of funds, private equity funds, and operating companies. It also covers the various forms of private equity like leveraged buyouts, growth/expansion capital, and venture capital. The document outlines the roles of associates within the investment cycle and profiles some major private equity firms and investment banks. It provides additional resources for further reading on private equity careers and funds.
Startup Study: Entrepreneurial Activity by Harvard Business School StudentsNextView Ventures
Do Harvard MBAs make great startup founders? The school has recently come under fire for a lack of apparent entrepreneurial activity. NextView looked at capital raised, companies launched, and more.
The basics of Python are rather straightforward. In a few minutes you can learn most of the syntax. There are some gotchas along the way that might appear tricky. This talk is meant to bring programmers up to speed with Python. They should be able to read and write Python.
This document provides an introduction and overview of the Python programming language. It covers Python's history and key features such as being object-oriented, dynamically typed, batteries included, and focusing on readability. It also discusses Python's syntax, types, operators, control flow, functions, classes, imports, error handling, documentation tools, and popular frameworks/IDEs. The document is intended to give readers a high-level understanding of Python.
Dentsu Aegis Network - Quarterly on content marketingiProspect Norge
This document discusses content marketing from Dentsu Aegis Network, a marketing agency. It provides definitions and perspectives on content marketing, including that it is marketing using content rather than advertising. Content can take many forms, such as videos, text, pictures, apps, and physical objects. It can be distributed through bought, owned, and earned media channels. The document discusses how content marketing can be used at different stages of the consumer purchase process and decision journey. It also provides perspectives on using content marketing from both a marketing and communications planning viewpoint, including how it can be used to increase a brand's mental availability and build new associations with consumers.
Content Marketing: new introduction to an old marketing ideaPeter Sigrist
Content marketing - the latest new idea to hit to world of marketing, or just an old idea rebadged? I argue that although content marketing has been around for years, it nevertheless deserves attention because it encourages companies and brands to think more clearly about content, audiences and measuring performance.
Visual content like videos on platforms like Vine, Snapchat, and Instagram will continue growing in popularity in 2015. Short videos under a minute are effective at targeting the right audience and sharing key information quickly. Social commerce also took steps forward in 2014 and will continue evolving, making the purchase process simpler through features like "Buy" buttons on social networks. However, brands must focus on customer engagement and building genuine relationships before engaging in social media sales. Contextual targeting of social ads will also continue improving in 2015 based on user data and behaviors.
SearchLove San Diego 2017 | Tom Critchlow | The State of ContentDistilled
It’s time for a look at the landscape of content in 2017. Tom has worked with content businesses large and small, and will walk through the trends and technologies that shape content distribution today. Looking at different platforms, business models and influencers, there will be insights for anyone who publishes content to the web.
HOW FORD MOTOR COMPANY MOVED FROM CONTENT PROVIDER TO CONTENT CR.docxwellesleyterresa
HOW FORD MOTOR COMPANY MOVED FROM CONTENT PROVIDER TO CONTENT CREATOR.docxHOW FORD MOTOR COMPANY MOVED FROM CONTENT PROVIDER TO CONTENT CREATOR
Source: http://www.socialmedia-forum.com/smwf-2015-in-pictures/
Why Ford of Europe’s Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs Mark Truby, a former newspaper business editor, worries about whether his company’s content is worthy of reading aloud over the breakfast table and how the launch of a new car in Germany with just 300 media present became the number one trending subject on Twitter and was watched in full by more than 360,000 people around the world. Ahead of #SMWF this June we wanted to find out more from the man himself:
1)Mark your focus is very much about creating content and storytelling but how do you manage that? What do you need to consider?
“Over the past four years we have moved from a Ford of Europe communications team focused primarily on media relations and servicing the automotive press to a team focused first and foremost on constant storytelling to a broad spectrum of media and audiences. This was a major strategic shift and required new skills and resources.
We created a content team with writers, photographers, videographers, graphic artists – people with strong backgrounds in print, broadcast and digital journalism. We augmented our Ford team with new talent on the agency side to help us tell more compelling stories and reach new audiences – such as tech, design and lifestyle press, as well as bloggers and digital influencers.”
2)What are the key elements to consider when creating any content or story for Ford and what can other businesses learn from your approach?
“We try to keep it simple and ask ourselves a few questions. Is the story interesting enough that a news editor would just have to have it for their newspaper, TV broadcast or website? Would the average person find it interesting enough to read or view, and share online? Would a husband read it aloud across the breakfast table to his wife, for example?
You have to be really honest with yourself on these questions or you will waste time and effort on the low-value stories. If a story passes those first hurdles, then we ask whether the story – once read or watched – could truly improve our corporate reputation or raise someone’s opinion of our vehicles and technologies. We have all read a story or seen a feature on TV that forever changed our perception of a person, company or organization. We quote it to friends or share it on Twitter.
This is the power of great storytelling whether you are creating it yourself or working with journalists. So, simple rules but a difficult task. It takes a lot of creativity and hard work to create content that is entertaining, interesting and meaningful.”
3)How can you reach new audiences most effectively through social media and how is this different to the traditional days of PR?
“Certainly online video, infographics and other forms of digital storytelling are amaz ...
Clever content marketing campaigns to inspire youGoodman Lantern
Content marketing is an effective lead generation tool, but coming up with ideas for content marketing campaigns can sometimes be a pain in the rear. If you’re finding that your idea bucket is running dry, you’re not alone. According to Zazzle Media, 65% of companies find it challenging to produce engaging content, while 60% struggle to produce content consistently. Unfortunately, content marketing is all about consistently producing engaging content to keep your visitors coming back, and hopefully turn them into customers. Producing lacklustre content on an irregular schedule means you’re losing out.
To help you keep your momentum going, we’ve compiled a list of some brilliant content marketing campaigns. We hope they inspire you!
What is Content Marketing? (For The Effective Content Marketer) Shana Pilewski
Content marketing has become the preferred strategy to attract consumers and build long-term customer relationships. This crucial and informative white paper demystifies content marketing so that more marketers, like you, can more easily benefit from the content marketing opportunity.
Join our Content Marketing Newsletter for weekly insights, industry news, best practices and tips: http://eepurl.com/VDUEn
2015 Social Media Planning - Which sites to use and the benefits of the 4 main sites. Or if you wish to outsource your Social Media or discuss further please contact info@askpro-activemarketing.co.uk
How content marketing ruined content marketing (And what you can do to fix it)Omobono
Content marketing is over.
Or at least content marketing as we know it. Worn out. Used up. Over.
Don’t blame the audience for this, blame yourself; blame marketers. Blame marketing.
We did this to ourselves when we learned about content marketing – like a favourite old toy, a trusty pair of shoes; we latched on, we overdid it and this is why we can’t have nice things.
Birnbach Communications Predictions for 2014NormanB
This is Birnbach Communications' annual media, social media, marketing and technology predictions. It covers trends and implications regarding traditional media and social media as well as business and consumer technology.
The 2017 Fjord Trend Report offers an in-depth look at the eight most important developments we believe will influence and impact design and innovation for business, government and society in the coming year.
The document discusses trends in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies, noting that while 2016 saw increased adoption and awareness of these technologies, most organizations' approaches to developing experiences with them remained siloed and lacked integration. In 2017, the document suggests, organizations will move beyond treating AR, VR and MR as separate and will instead focus on creating singular, integrated experiential platforms that combine different types of reality into "blurred reality" experiences.
2017 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions from 70 Marketing Leaders Bryan Kramer
We’ve pulled together a select group of 70 top marketing minds who rock the digital trenches every day, to find out their vision for “What’s Next in 2017” in social media and content marketing.
They live it, breathe it, and know what’s working today, so no doubt we’ll get a glimpse into the crystal ball and reveal key trends based on their insight and experience before they happen.
So what will they say for 2017? Read through and see if you agree with their predictions, and compare word clouds to last year’s answers versus what they had to say for the coming year.
Let me know if you agree, disagree or have a different take on what’s in store for marketers and brands by tweeting me @bryankramer.
Now dive in, enjoy, and brace yourself for 2017!
Cheers ~
Bryan Kramer
#70Predictions
2016 Predictions: http://bit.ly/2016ContentSocialPredictions
#69Predictions Marketing Experts Share for 2016Bryan Kramer
It’s that time of year again. A time to take what we’ve learned and figure out how to plan for big marketing wins in 2016. Since each year is different with a new set of challenges, we tapped into the world’s top industry leaders to tell you their own predictions for next year in helping you to think through your own marketing initiatives.
Want to ensure your PR is effective? Check out The Most Important PR Checklist for Success in 2019. This includes 10 must-do tactics from brand journalism to influencer and word of mouth marketing to storytelling. And what you need to do and keep in mind.
Check out our most recent eBook which gives a comprehensive breakdown of the differences between Paid, Owned, and Earned media and how digital marketers can use this to amplify their content using LinkedIn and beyond.
This document provides guidance for social media marketing planning in 2017. It begins with an introduction and overview of the guide's contents. It then looks back at trends from 2016, such as advertising dollars moving to Google and Facebook, growing ad blocker usage, social media emerging as the new television, and the impact of Instagram stories. The document advises marketers to leverage trends like the decline of traditional television by using social media for creative, experimental content to engage audiences. It also suggests that while user-generated content on Instagram showed only slightly higher engagement, soliciting such content can help create more compelling branded content.
How To Build the Perfect Content Team: a Look at Content Companies by Tom Cri...We Are Marketing
This document profiles a digital marketing expert with 10 years of experience in SEO, content marketing, and digital strategy. They have helped both large media clients like The New York Times as well as startups. Currently, they run their own boutique digital strategy consulting practice and are interested in chatting with others about content-related work.
Similar to The 2015 State of Content Marketing (20)
This document summarizes a meeting to discuss Operation PBSUCCESS, a CIA plan to overthrow the Guatemalan government of Jacobo Arbenz. Attendees debated escalating risks, including eliminating Guatemalan leaders, imposing sanctions, and whether the operation could succeed by June given concerns about exposure. They also discussed defecting military leaders, using a single agent, and provoking an OAS intervention. The need for high-level briefings on the situation in Guatemala was noted.
This document is a telegram from the Central Intelligence Agency to the CIA station in Guatemala requesting clarification and additional documents related to the recent overthrow of the Guatemalan government. Specifically, it asks for confirmation of documents discovered, terms for US use of the materials, and an acceptable public source for the documents. It stresses the importance of any evidence linking the former Guatemalan regime or communist party to international communist groups like those in Moscow and Prague.
The document discusses recruitment efforts for Operation PBSUCCESS and strategies for destabilizing the Guatemalan government, noting that direct US intervention may be needed to motivate defections in the army and spark the overthrow of the Arbenz regime. While not advocating changes to PBSUCCESS, the author argues that the threat of US action could convince anti-Calligeris factions in the army to oust Arbenz and preempt an intervention.
CIA telegrams coordinating the creation of fake photo negative to trick a Chicago Tribune reporter into writing fake news. See snowmedia.com/liberation/documents for details.
Freedom of Information Request to CIA for Liberation Radio FilesShane Snow
The CIA responded to a FOIA request for audio recordings from a 1954 clandestine radio program called "Voice of Liberation" that was broadcast during Operation PBSuccess in Guatemala. The CIA stated that it did not have any responsive documents to the request.
The officer outlines the policy and purpose behind the Department's circular telegram to Ambassador Peurifoy regarding Central America. The policy aims to 1) secure advance approval of a resolution from OAS members to make the meeting brief, 2) limit the resolution to a minimum authorization that is likely to gain consensus to ensure success, and 3) halt trade effectively between countries through the resolution's examination of commerce in both directions. This approach is believed to achieve the desired ends through an easier and quicker route than specific economic sanctions. Confidence is high that this policy will resolve the issue satisfactorily.
The document summarizes a meeting between Mr. Dulles, an unnamed person referred to as "T", and the author about facilitating a "change of management" in an unnamed country. They assured T that they looked favorably on the change, but that those involved should finance it themselves. However, they could help by identifying suppliers and resources needed. They would not directly finance it but may be able to get suppliers to provide inventory upfront in exchange for later repayment. T mentioned legal issues preventing direct financing and asked if the US could loan money, which they declined and suggested finding other partners. T said another group had funds and the next steps were to connect that group with his clients in New York.
This document contains a memorandum analyzing the personality and leadership abilities of Lt. Col. Carlos Castillo Armas, the military leader of anti-communist Guatemalan forces in exile. It finds that Armas is stubborn, prone to modifying orders to suit his own desires, and loyal to subordinates even when they prove disloyal. It recommends installing a senior representative at Armas' headquarters to enforce political constraints and reduce his power, in order to prevent him from trying to become Guatemala's new strongman after a coup against the communist government.
This document summarizes a meeting between US State Department and embassy officials regarding economic aid to Guatemala. They discuss political instability in Guatemala and the need to strengthen President Castillo Armas. The US embassy recommends $14 million in grant aid for infrastructure projects to boost the economy and public confidence without increasing Guatemala's debt burden. Granting the full amount would strengthen US influence and Castillo's position, while requiring Guatemala to borrow more could undermine his government. State Department officials agree to consider making $4 million in aid a grant rather than loan.
This document provides an overview of the CIA operation to overthrow Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 and discusses how the CIA continued efforts to destroy Arbenz's reputation and public image after he was removed from power. It notes that the CIA closely monitored and surveilled Arbenz's movements after exile, targeting him with propaganda campaigns and misinformation in Guatemalan and Uruguayan media. The document examines newly declassified CIA documents that reveal the extent and methods of the CIA's media strategy against Arbenz from 1954 to 1960, aiming to influence public opinion and construct a negative narrative around him.
TRAINING OUTLINES
Build Dashboard and Admin Panel for the Client
Adding Auto Pagination Script to control content on the PHP result page
Upload and Publish Files, Images and Video Dynamically
Configure a payment gateways API for accepting online payment
Embedding Google and Social Media APIs like Google Direction Maps, Charts
Adding Ajax to generate elastic search and auto suggestion list
Enabled Refine Search like Colors, Size, Price for a e-commerce website
Write Mails and Alert Notification Scripts for Users
SMS Integrations for Payment, OTP and account confirmation
Various verifications, captcha and approval ways to automate account
User Controls like Login, Signup, Manage Profile, Logout, Get Password etc
Collecting and displaying data from SQL using Joins and procedures
Enabling dynamic data ready for the JSON So we could parse it for other APIs
Manage a Hosting account, Uploading Backup and SQL, Cpanel Management
In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, yesterday's strategies simply won't suffice. Join us for a groundbreaking session on revenue based marketing where we'll explore cutting-edge approaches and the latest strategies that can supercharge your digital marketing plans. Discover how to leverage performance-based PR, influencer marketing, and affiliate marketing to drive revenue, optimize your campaigns, and achieve measurable results. We'll dive into effective methods for building brand awareness, cultivating deep engagement, driving conversions, and fostering lasting customer loyalty. Prepare to gain fresh ideas, valuable insights, and innovative methodologies designed to elevate your digital marketing efforts to new heights. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your strategy and stay ahead of the curve!
Key Takeaways:
1. Advanced Revenue-Driven Strategies: Learn how performance-based PR, influencer marketing, and affiliate marketing can drive revenue and optimize your marketing efforts.
2. Building and Engaging Your Audience: Discover effective methods for increasing brand awareness and cultivating deep engagement with your target audience.
3. Driving Conversions and Loyalty: Gain insights into strategies for driving conversions and fostering lasting customer loyalty to sustain your brand's growth.
Let’s be honest. Improvements in search rankings and organic traffic don’t always translate into sales. Yet, you spend the majority of your SEO resources on driving rankings and traffic. What if you built your SEO content with conversion in mind from the beginning? You’d generate more organic traffic that actually converts into revenue! Join 20-year search marketing veteran as he unveils his framework for developing SEO content with conversion in mind every step of the way ‒ from keyword strategy to content development and publication.
Takeaways:
Tactics and benchmarks for SEO content that converts in 2024
Page layouts and content formats that convert organic traffic
Crafting keyword strategy and calls-to-action for conversion
Join us for an inspiring session where we delve into the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) in digital marketing. In today's rapidly evolving landscape, staying ahead requires more than just awareness—it demands proactive engagement and strategic implementation. Leslie Marshall, CMO, Mesmerise Group, will share insights into how emerging technologies like AI and spatial computing are fueling the next generation of marketing. Leslie's journey exemplifies how embracing new technologies can empower marketers to better understand and attract the right customers, ultimately supporting exceptional experiences. In this session, Leslie will highlight how marketers can adopt an explorer's mindset, encouraging them to ask probing questions and navigate through the intricacies of new tech fearlessly. Leslie believes that curiosity is not only a tool for understanding emerging technologies but also a driver for long-term success and innovation in any marketing career. Attendees will leave the session with a 5-step plan for marketers to leverage new technologies to revolutionize their marketing strategies. Looking ahead, let's ask the right questions, define precise metrics, and embrace a forward-thinking approach that aligns with the evolving needs of both the market and the customer. The future of digital marketing awaits—are you ready to seize it?
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will leave the session with a 5-step plan for marketers to leverage new technologies to revolutionize their marketing strategies. Looking ahead, let's ask the right questions, define precise metrics, and embrace a forward-thinking approach that aligns with the evolving needs of both the market and the customer.
Importance of SEO to support holistic marketing strategies and the rise of n...JessicaRedman5
A presentation for the Digital Marketing World Forum by Jessica Redman and Andrew Fox.
Discussing how SEO supports across numerous marketing channels and how user search behaviour is changing.
Discover how to optimise social media posts for discoverability and learn about Topical Domination.
TRAINING OUTLINES
Build Dashboard and Admin Panel for the Client
Adding Auto Pagination Script to control content on the PHP result page
Upload and Publish Files, Images and Video Dynamically
Configure a payment gateways API for accepting online payment
Embedding Google and Social Media APIs like Google Direction Maps, Charts
Adding Ajax to generate elastic search and auto suggestion list
Enabled Refine Search like Colors, Size, Price for a e-commerce website
Write Mails and Alert Notification Scripts for Users
SMS Integrations for Payment, OTP and account confirmation
Various verifications, captcha and approval ways to automate account
User Controls like Login, Signup, Manage Profile, Logout, Get Password etc
Collecting and displaying data from SQL using Joins and procedures
Enabling dynamic data ready for the JSON So we could parse it for other APIs
Manage a Hosting account, Uploading Backup and SQL, panel Management.
How to Rethink the Way you use Instagram to Drive Sales and Customer Engagement
If you’re using Instagram to build or grow your business this presentation is for you. Navigating Instagram campaigns doesn't have to be overwhelming. By understanding the right strategies, you can turn engagement from a time-consuming task into a powerful tool for driving sales and a deeper understanding of your customers and fans.
Key Takeaways:
Running campaigns on Instagram can be and should be easy and effortless
Every post is an opportunity to collect valuable information to empower you to make more strategic choices
The power of giveaways on Instagram to drive engagement and first party data
Top 10 Cases of Amnesia A Journey through Memory Loss.pptxelizabethella096
Amnesia, the loss of memory, is a fascinating and complex condition that has captured the imagination of scientists, storytellers, and the general public alike. It can be triggered by various factors such as brain injury, psychological trauma, or even certain medical conditions. This article delves into ten intriguing cases of amnesia each offering unique insights into the human mind and the fragile nature of memory.
Much like Odysseus's fabled journey, the venture of an organization into creating compelling websites, easy-to-use digital solutions, and flawless user experience is laden with trials and triumphs. This session explores a BizStream customer case study that demonstrates how crafting composable digital solutions with headless CMS and headless commerce is possible. The result now serves as a modern-day Athena, navigating the customer through the stormy seas of digital transformation. Attendees can expect to learn how to embrace modern composable solutions, understand the benefits they bring, and identify which of Odysseus's conflicts to avoid.
Key Takeaways:
What makes up a composable digital solution.
Why content is still king in a composable world.
How Headless CMS and Headless Commerce are different.
Nick will present his "best of" findings from reviewing and testing more than 200 generative AI platforms over the last three years. While some programs will save you more than half the time, you can bet to save at least 50% of your time creating content if you begin using these tools.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will walk away with a comprehensive list of generative AI programs that will make their lives easier. From blogging to video production and even AI marketing assistants, you will learn about nearly 20 AI platforms that are guaranteed to make your life easier in some way.
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Content marketing is the only marketing left.
-SETH GODIN
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I. Introduction 4
II. What Will Work in 2015 9
III. What Won’t Work in 2015 13
IV. Where We’re Headed 19
Table of Contents
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This morning I woke up, stretched, and said to myself, “You know what I could really use today? A
relationship with a brand.”
That’s not true. (Not even the stretching.) But someone in nearly every company in America woke
up today wanting to build a relationship with me.
More precisely, today’s savvier brands are trying to win me over by creating stories and games and
movies and educational materials they think I’ll like instead of interrupting me with ads I don’t care
about or trying to butt into my social life. In other words, trying to be “friends” with me the way real
friendships are formed.
That give-first mentality is the essence of a good relationship. It’s also increasingly true of content
marketing, which as of 2015 is officially the fastest-growing marketing channel for most businesses.
(For a primer on content marketing and all its definitions, see our Content Marketing Dictionary.)
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If the 21st century is the era of
democratized publishing, the
2010s are the decade of brand
publishing.
And 2015 is a year of convergence, where the content business
further shifts from a media-corporation model (make content,
sell ads) to a corporate-media model (make content, get custom-
ers). This is happening to both traditional and new publishers.
(Read more on the future of business models of journalism here.)
Before the Internet, content marketing was the domain of a small
number of companies that had publishing in their DNA—really,
media companies that had something to sell. Cookbook mak-
ers who sold kitchen supplies. Business newswires that sold
computer terminals. Today, between 80 and 90 percent of U.S.
businesses use content for marketing in a strategic fashion. Half
of those businesses spend 25 percent of their marketing budgets
on content.
MEDIA
COMPANIES
COMMERCIAL
BRANDS
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In 2014, brands did more content marketing than ever. (We high-
lighted the best branded content of 2014 here.) Everyone and their
pet ferret started a content marketing agency. Agencies (creative,
media, and PR) skated onto the content marketing rink en masse.
And in the process, three main content marketing strategies
emerged:
Owned content: publishing to one's own publication. E.g., GE
Reports and Amex OPEN Forum. This is an "always-on" content
marketing strategy, often promoted by PR and creative agencies,
or run internally by brands willing to make long-term invest-
ments in content marketing.
Rented content: paying a publisher to publish an advertiser's
content (whether written by the advertiser or by the publisher).
E.g., This beautiful piece for Cole Haan created by The New
York Times' T Brand Studio, or these bonkers sponsored listicles
on BuzzFeed. Typically, these are labeled "sponsored content,"
and are promoted by media buying agencies (who aim to make
profit by selling content like they do advertising inventory) and
traditional media (who aim to further monetize their publications
through brand content).
Social content: using "micro content" to spark conversations and
build communication channels on social networks. Essentially,
this is social media marketing, but people call it content mar-
keting or social content. E.g., the many, many pancake GIFs that
Denny's posts to Tumblr. (Read more about "microcontent" and
other content marketing buzzwords here.) PR and social media
agencies typically push this strategy.
These strategies are being powered by a new world of technology
platforms, sponsored content studios, and content distribution
services, as you’ll see in the map on the next page.
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At Contently, we’ve experienced all sides of this world. Our tech-
nology platform helps power brands like American Express and
Coca-Cola that have built publications that millions of people
visit each month, and we grew as a brand publisher ourselves
in 2014—dramatically so. The Content Strategist quadrupled in
audience, garnering a million minutes of attention time in Q4.
(Read more on Contently Insights and the importance of atten-
tion time here.)
As a result, we’re fortunate to see a lot of industry trends before
they unfold. Here’s what we see happening in the next 12
months:
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What will work in 2015
Before the Internet, publishers needed three things: talent to find and produce stories, a press to print
stories, and trucks to deliver stories to newsstands and doorsteps. Back then, publishers learned about
their stories’ effect on their audience via newsstand sales figures and letters to the editor (and some-
times changes in politics and society). Humans and analog technology did each of these jobs for
centuries.
That was the common model that worked for analog publishers: Produce stories, deliver them to the
audience, and use audience clues to divine what worked and didn’t.
In the Internet age, smart digital publishers—folks like BuzzFeed and Mashable—have essentially used
the same process with new tools: Use tech-savvy talent to find and produce stories and print them to
the web using a content management system (digital “printing press”), send the stories out to audiences
via social media and native advertising (digital “trucks”), and measure the results using analytics (digital
“newsstand figures”). Really smart publishers use those analytics to inform their next round of publish-
ing.
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At Contently, we boil down that process of being an effective
publisher to “C.E.O.”: create, engage, optimize. We call it the
flywheel:
CREATE
EN
GAGE
OPTIM
I
Z
E
At many brands, what used to
be an audience-reaching effort
is increasingly shifting to an
audience-building effort.
Instead of treating content as ads with a shelf life, they’re seeing
content as a way to build an asset. This has increased in priority
as social networks tweak their algorithms, making it clearer that
brands don’t truly own their audiences.
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That’s where the flywheel becomes the proper paradigm for
content marketers as well. When you organize a content mar-
keting strategy around these three audience-building initiatives,
the optimal place for using owned versus rented versus social
content becomes clear:
In 2015, we’re going to see
more companies converge
their disparate content
strategies into one strategy
that points toward owned
content first.
brands building their own publications and using rented and
social content as mechanisms for drawing audiences to their
own turf. There, the brands have an opportunity to build direct
relationships with their readers and viewers. As such, we’ll see
a lot more emphasis on racking up email subscribers (where
a brand has direct access to its audience, Facebook algorithm
changes be damned!) and less emphasis on building social media
followings. Instead, social will be properly viewed as a channel
for distributing your content and attracting readers who will
become direct email subscribers.
CREATE
EN
GAGE
OPTIM
I
Z
E
OWNED CONTENT
RENTED CONTENT
SOCIAL CONTENTOWNED CONTENT
OWNED CONTENT
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This owned-first, rent- and social-second strategy is going to be
the most effective plan for brand publishers moving forward. In
fact, the brands that have gotten the most bang for their content
buck—and who get the most sustained industry cred—are the
companies that have jumped all in on owned content: Red Bull
(with its separate business unit for media, Red Bull Media House),
American Express (disclosure: a Contently client), and Marriott,
which just went all-in by building a 65-person content studio.
(For more on the optimization piece of the flywheel and the ROI
of content marketing for B2B and B2C brands, see our guide
here.)
To make the flywheel work, content marketers can no longer
ignore software. And as I mentioned before, technology compa-
nies are racing to provide solutions across each piece of it. Here,
for example, is how we use some of the primary players on that
tech field (including our own products) to make Contently’s own
flywheel work:
CREATE
EN
GAGE
OPTIM
I
Z
E
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What won’t work in 2015
In the last few years, our neighbors have learned a few brand content lessons for us the hard way. Here’s
what won’t work for brands in 2015 and beyond:
NON-INDEPENDENT NEWS
In 2014, we witnessed the boisterous rise and messy explosion of Verizon’s brand publication, Sugar-
String. The cause of the crash? Verizon tried to do “the news” as a brand with a stake in shaping said
news, banning coverage of sensitive topics like the NSA. As I wrote in my recent essay about business
models of journalism, brands can thrive as publishers of education and infotainment, but will have a
hard time acting like news organizations. To be honest, they shouldn’t even try.
Read more on the SugarString snafu and the lessons learned here. The main message: Brands can be
great magazines, but ought not to try being digital newspapers.
Inauthentic content—like the “health” stories by Chik-fil-a documented in this story—won’t work for
brands in the long run either. The common element to both of these is the refrain we repeat every day
here and cite in our Content Marketing Code of Ethics: Don’t betray the reader.
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I talked about this in last year’s State of Content Marketing, but
I’m mentioning it again because we have another year of data to
confirm:
For brands, licensed content simply doesn’t work.
Zero brands got organic traction, attention, or built an audience
using licensed content in 2014. Many tried, and 100 percent
flopped.
If you’re trying to build a relationship with someone in real life,
re-gifting them something they could easily get on their own is
a bad strategy. Telling them a story they already heard is a bad
strategy.
“Syndicated content is like
giving popcorn to children,”
Moz’s Cyrus Shepard
recently told me. “It will keep
them busy for a while but thats
it.
I think all the value is having something original.” Furthermore,
he says, the SEO implication of a content strategy based on pub-
lishing other people’s content is “dangerous.”
Google rankings aside, if you’re trying to build audience as a
brand, a blog that’s populated with stories that were already
CONTENT LICENSING
published elsewhere is not going to get them very interested in
visiting your website.
Because of social media, the era of the aggregator portal is over.
Today’s big remnant portals—Yahoo, MSN, etc.—increasingly cre-
ate original content in additional to the content they syndicate.
The biggest portals today for aggregated/curated content are
simply Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and the like. A brand
like Nike or Ford is not going to compete with those websites
on that battlefront. But the reverse strategyis effective: Nike or
Ford can leverage portals and aggregators to spread their original
content.
As a wise ad man once said, “It is better to be syndicated than to
syndicate.”
Licensed content has been an attractive proposition because it’s
cheap and easy. It’s a terrific proposition for ad-supported media
companies that already have audience and need more page
refreshes to sell more ads against. But it doesn’t build audience.
And for brands, it simply doesn’t work.
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“The thing at the end of this story is gonna be crazy!!” <— Headline you’re going to be seeing much
less of this year.
Facebook is getting sick of deceptive headlines that pull you in with a tease and then let you down.
Algorithms are changing, and readers are getting more savvy. So click-throughs on stories that
begin, “You won’t believe what...” are going to plummet. But more importantly, good headlines with
bad content behind them don’t result in people spending much time with you, and therefore don’t
help brands build audiences. If you want to build a relationship with someone in real life, you need
to spend time with them. That’s why brands looking to build relationships with customers ought
to think of “engaged time”—or how much time people are actually paying attention to content—as
their most important metric.
Data shows that engaging with content longer makes people more likely to come back to a brand
later. See that 3-minute engaged time mark? That’s a magical point to hit because it corresponds
with a 50 percent-plus probability that the reader will return to your site within the next week.
ENGAGEMENT AND PROPENSITY TO RETURN
0:00
20% 60%
1:00 2:00 3:00
HEADLINE TRICKERY
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But tricking people into showing up? That does little good. We will see brands get better at writing
engaging headlines, yes, but we’ll also see content that matches the expectations that those head-
lines set.
At the end of the day, great stories are still the
thing that will drive success.
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We probably will continue to see more “Oreo tweet” behavior as brands perpetuate the fad that is
Twitterjacking (latching onto a cultural event by posting a clever photo on Twitter and trying to
incorporating your brand into said event). We’ll see more of it because agencies can charge an arm
and a leg to build “war rooms” that sit around and make these. But most brands haven’t caught on to
how useless it is for audience-building (in most cases).
Leaner social content efforts will be a part of a good content strategy, under the “Engage” section of
the flywheel, but employing a dozen agency folk to produce a photo of a pizza with a bow tie that
gets 1,000 retweets is a monumental waste of money.
(For a breakdown on the costs and benefits—or lack thereof—in real-time social campaigns that
brands are in the habit of today, see this recent analysis.)
TWITTERJACKING
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This one almost goes without saying because it’s obvious. But apparently it’s not obvious enough
for it to stop happening. Sponsored stories that read like an infomercial are a worse Internet experi-
ence than being flashed by a furry on Chatroulette. Blatant ads masquerading as content do nothing
for a brand, and they hurt publishers’ relationships with existing readers.
This stuff won’t work. No matter how many times you try it.
BLATANTLY PROMOTIONAL SPONSORED CONTENT
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The marketing industry has been saying for years that “brands are publishers.” And brands are defi-
nitely publishing. But so far, most of them make pretty crappy media companies. With the shift to
an owned-first content strategy, brands are going to have to address that fact.
What’s needed? Deep understanding of audiences that you’re speaking to. The ability to capture
audience. The ability to run a publishing operation like a real magazine, with software and process
and an appropriate amount of oversight (that means empowered editors and managers, but not
fleets of corporate approvers). Essentially, the infrastructure and process to run a real publishing
flywheel.
Since the launch of Blogger and WordPress, and subsequently Facebook and Tumblr and Twitter,
Content has been a Marketing Thing, but it’s sat on Marketing’s back burner. At the rate that content
marketing (and digital content consumption itself) is accelerating, however, I believe that
2015 is the year that Content starts to subsume
Marketing.
Where we’re heading
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In other words, in order to create a real publishing flywheel,
marketing organizations that used to look like this:
Other things to watch for in 2015: an increase in emphasis
on divisible content, using traditional banner ads to advertise
content instead of landing pages, using chat apps to engage audi-
ences in riskier ways, and a lot more email content.
And I think I’m going to pick up stretching. It’s going to be a fun
year.
will increasingly look like this:
MARKETING
PAID SOCIAL SEO CONTENT CONTENT
SOCIAL SEO EMAIL
PAID
DISTRIB.
CONTENT
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Content marketing may still be the shiny new toy of the advertising industry, but brands that want
to create content are beginning to learn how to best spend their sacred budgets.
Clearly, there’s plenty of room for growth. According to a recent study by the Content Marketing
Institute, only 23 percent of B2C marketers are successful at tracking ROI. Everyone points to Red
Bull, GE, and American Express as the all-stars of content marketing, but aspiring content marketers
likely need some of the resources afforded to those best-in-class brands—a stable supply of time,
money, and analytics that take the guesswork out of their jobs.
Ultimately, the fate of content marketing isn’t in the hands of the marketers pushing for creativity
on a daily basis; the future depends on a dedicated investment from the executive level. American
Express President Ed Gilligan, for example, fully supported OPEN Forum’s initiative to publish small
business content. Marriott International’s chairman, Bill Marriott, who doesn’t use computers, still
saw the value of telling his company’s story directly to consumers and has invested heavily in con-
tent.
Thanks to an early commitment from the executive level, Red Bull now employs approximately 135
people just for their media house. Marriott’s content studio has grown to 65 employees, and Nestlé’s
digital editorial team consists of almost 20 community managers and designers producing content
every day. And according to the Columbia Journalism Review, Coca-Cola “now reportedly spends
more money creating its own content than it does on television advertising.”
(Full disclosure: Coca-Cola, GE, and American Express are Contently clients.)
In 2014, many brands tested the waters, and a few dove in headfirst. In 2015, we’ll see how many
follow.
Conclusion
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Want more insights into the
state of content marketing?
For daily insights, subscribe to our online magazine,
The Content Strategist.
And if you’d like to talk to someone about Contently’s services,
please reach out to us at sales@contently.com
or visit contently.com.
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