moniquelund.com
Happy Friday Fix, good people! It’s hard to believe we are halfway through May and presumably churning the wheels away on some snazzy Memorial Day content (I know, you’ve barely recovered from celebrating your Mother’s Day marketing success). But, here we are. This week, we look at the future of content marketing along with what is most relevant. We also share insight from a couple of pundits who point out the obvious; however, it’s an obvious that we all need to be in on (like, how many outsiders do you have on speed dial?), so, grab a cup of coffee and strap in. It’s Fixin’ time.
The 1% Rule of Content Marketing
In reading the title of Quinn Whissen’s article, you’re probably wondering what 1% Is being referred to. In this case, Quinn’s point is that if things aren’t going the way you want, tweak it a little here and there over the long term for major change. So often, advisors want drastic change for drastic results, but just like say, adding crunches to your morning routine, and then you add some pushups, and then maybe some jumping jacks…you’ll start to see results if you keep at it.
thenextweb.com
The picture Dennis Shiao paints of content marketing’s future status quo is both expected and utterly mind-blowing. He describes a world in which youngsters will be able to create quality content \without so much as a flick of the wrist from their smartphones. In this world, even though the same content rules apply, there are some variables. I say this is expected because technology and its integration into our youth culture are inevitable. I say mind-blowing because I remember when camcorders were the size of KitchenAid stand mixers, and that was pretty darn savvy; though, no one was using those behemoths to create content (to get Suzanne Somer’s biceps of steel, maybe). So, yeah, the future is full of (almost scary) possibility.
The Six Key Players on Your Content Marketing Team
Sandra Gudat’s article is simple but essential. She starts by pointing out the known factors, like that with great content comes great influential power. The thing is, to harness that power, you need a great team, so who should be on your team? Round up the usual suspects…the CCO, the ME, the Creators…really, see who Sandra says you need on your team and what role they need to play because when each piece of the puzzle fits, suddenly you have a picture and it’s usually called ‘awesome content’.
Why Outsiders are in for Content Marketing
Andrew Martin hits it out of the park with this topic because it’s something that people are doing that pundits aren’t really addressing yet, and that’s getting outsiders to be insiders. Outsiders are folks who are savvy about a community (or whatever the marketer needs, really); however, outsiders generally have no other content marketing training or skills. Despite that, these outsiders serve a pivotal role in helping marketers produce genuine content.
4 Great Content Marketing Examples in 2015
So, we are almost halfway through the year, which means that at this point, we should have some stellar examples of who’s doing content marketing right, and how they’re nailing it. Thank you, Armando Roggio for delivering our first notable list of the year with a truly fab four in content marketing. These four are handling their content marketing so well and seemingly effortlessly that it makes you feel like you should be able to mimic their success with similar, immediate results. Keep in mind that great content is multi-faceted and that there’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all fix, but these are definitely inspired stories.
nofilmschool.com
Kelly Meeneghan plays on this whole content evolution concept, pointing out the significance of going beyond writing. So, we all know –based on previous posts if nothing else—that video and images and other types of visual media are critical in content marketing. So, what’s new? What’s happening to writing? The short answer is that it’s not so much that anything’s new; it’s just the way to look at it. Given that, check out Kelly’s article and get the full scoop.
Inconvenient Marketing Truth: ROI is Up to You
Ruben Sanchez’s article title alone makes me want to pull the blankets back over my head and pull on my headphones and be like, “But, Mom!” Alas, I’m adult-like now, and I don’t own headphones; instead, I’ll read Ruben’s article ad face facts that what happens in terms of my content marketing, how it’s measured, and the accuracy of those activities is on me.
How to Turn Content Marketing into Conversations
Beth Rimmer makes such an obvious point in this article that it’s a shame it hasn’t been articulated before (though, Beth does it beautifully). We always talk about reaching our audience and communicating with them, but looking at it like it’s a conversation just sheds a new light onto it because in a conversation, there’s the listening component. Does your audience feel like you’re listening? How can you tell? Not sure? Read Beth’s article and listen up; it’s good stuff.
blondeseatclean.com
So often, our lessons come from people who are doing it right or wrong, and usually, they’re major companies, but Annie Zelm goes awesomely rogue this week with a look at the Food Babe, a person who is tantamount to a career blogger who is loved and reviled with equal fervor from multiple parties and types of parties. Despite her fans (or lack thereof), she’s intuitively gotten content marketing down, so what’s she doing right? Check out Annie’s article for the specifics, but I’ll give you the main thing: she’s honestly fighting for something she believes in, and wrong or right, genuine integrity is quality content money just can’t buy.
10 Tips in Link Building and Content Marketing
Loren Baker’s piece takes us away from some of content marketing’s more organic aspects (i.e., storytelling for the sake of storytelling) and reminds us that there’s a business to this at the end of the day, so in addition to being honest and genuine, you also have to be intelligent. Loren’s piece looks at the requisite activity of link building and provides tips on making it happen.
Amy Delcambre is a freelance content and travel writer from Mobile, Alabama with a Master's in Creative Writing. When she's not painting the page with nouns, verbs, and adverbs, she's slaying grammar beasts as a freelance editor and saving the world one sentence fragment at a time teaching university writing classes. In her free time, Amy enjoys cooking, traveling, and testing which plant species best survive prolonged neglect.
Connect with Amy: LinkedIn