The Friday Fix - October 3, 2014
You can’t see it, but I’m totally doing my Friday Fix dance right now. This week’s Friday Fix is a little longer than usual, so fill up your big boy coffee cup before sitting down to check it all out. There’s a lot of good stuff out there that we had to bring to you from making the most of the hottest types of content (images and videos) to going global to how to avoid mouth-breathing on your audience.
10 Types of Content that Work for Every Business
Lists, videos, infographics, guides…all of these (and more!) have different content marketing super powers that everyone can tap into (being bitten by radioactive arachnids no longer required). Brad Kuenn details how to access your inner Spidey sense for knowing when, how, and why to use each of the 10 content types highlighted.
Your Guide to Using Images in Your Content Marketing Strategy
Did you know that blogs that have images attract 94% more views than blogs that lack images? Did you shout, “Holy outreach, Batman!” like I did? Before you start loading your site with shots, see what Jayson DeMers has to say about the different types of images, when they’re best used, and how to label them. Also, just in case you were this close to uploading your Instagrammed bathroom selfie to start generating that traffic, he also shares economical resources for quality stock images (because quality is key).
Mobile Growth Means New Challenges for Video Content Marketing
Coming this 2015 to a mobile device near you: branded videos. In this grippingly relevant post, Krystal Overmyer reveals how mobile video hype is outstripping prime-time television. The masses are running –not walking—to defer to online video. In a world where you want to stay relevant, feed the frenzy with branded video.
Should You Outsource Content Creation or Hire a Content Marketing Team?
So, you’ve decided to get on board with this whole “content marketing” thing that everyone’s talking about, but now you’re at a crossroads: do you DIY, or do you outsource the work? Derek Miller lays out the pros and cons and even breaks down the costs of forming an internal content creation team.
Up Close @ SMX East: The 4th Wave of Content Marketing
Content marketing can often feel like a rat race; as soon as you’ve set your pace, it’s time to speed things up because if you don’t, you’re going to get lapped. Susan Esparza breaks down Scott Brinker’s insight on content marketing’s next wave for staying ahead: interaction (but you don’t have to touch anyone…that’s creepy).
Content Marketing and Panda 4.0 – Choosing Quality over Quantity
Content! Content! Content! It’s all you hear, right? But, that’s because content is so important. You’re crying into your coffee because you’re busy and creating killer content takes real effort. Jon-Mikel Bailey points out that many defer to what’s quick and easy (packing in keywords) and forgetting about the rest, but if you Keep Calm and Focus on Quality Content, then you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the curve.
The Line Between Creepy and Effective Marketing
You’re at the store and a staff member compliments your hair then suggests a product that enhances your glorious natural beauty. Helpful, right? Now imagine they run their hands through your hair and breathe on their cheek while doing so. You’re calling security, aren’t you? Anytime your efforts to personalize your marketing encroach on a client’s personal space, you may as well be sitting outside of their house in a windowless van with a pair of binoculars(So creepy…and not in a fun Halloween kind of way). Check out what John Timmerman says on avoiding accidentally going from being “helpful pal” to being “blocked from newsfeed”.
http://www.nbc.com/the-voice
What Does ‘The Voice’ Have to Do with Content Marketing?
On NBC’s “The Voice”, singing contestants are chosen to be on a judge’s team through a blind audition process. We agree with Nicole Jenet that the way you approach your content marketing strategy should be the same way “Voice” hopeful approaches their performance. Your personality has to shine through in your talent, and you simply must pick the right content for your brand. After all…if Gwen Stefani’s you’re target audience, you wouldn’t be trying to lure her with your best “Hillbilly Bone”, am I right?
Orchestrating Content on a Global Scale
If you think about how many varieties of Coke and McDonald’s burgers there are around the world, then you get an idea of the scope of what a global content marketing initiative is up against. According to Rebecca Lieb, by dividing your brand’s globalization diversification into teams, tools, and channels, you can effectively go global.
Marriott Creates Global Creative and Content Marketing Studio
Speaking of globalization, Gina Hall outlines how the Marriott is following in internationally-recognized brands footsteps, Virgin and Red Bull, to create globally branded content using webisodes. Not only is Marriott providing a great example of launching a global content strategy, they’re doing it with videos (see, we told you that mobile videos are more “now” than fried bacon was yesterday…wait, what?).
How Lego Builds Imaginative Content Marketing
If you have children, then you don’t need me to tell you just how much Lego is winning right now. Between the film appealing to adults and children, the timelessness of the product, its simplicity, the underlying message of creativity and innovation, and the branding –the endless, endless branding, is there anything Lego isn’t doing right? Hats off to Kylie Wakefield for not only explaining Lego’s content marketing leaps but also what you can learn from their mega-success.
Content Marketing for Small Businesses: Tips from #INBOUND14
Just because you’re a little guy doesn’t mean your content marketing strategy can’t have a big impact. Jessica Kornfield gives tips for writing (even if it’s not your forte) and for creating sharable content by exposing why people share. Actually, this is really sound advice for everyone regardless of what size fish you are in what size pond.
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
