Why Content Marketing is So Hot Right Now & How You Can Capitalize

When was the last time you said, “Man, I can’t wait to see some advertisements today!”

When was the last time you said, “That’s a great article – I’m going to post that on twitter / facebook / LinkedIn.”   

This is the power of content marketing. If you offer someone information that is truly valuable to them, they will often want to share it with others. The internet – and particularly social media – make this so easy that it’s almost the natural thing to immediately share information with your network because hey, if it helped you, then it could help them too. 

According to Entrepreneur.com, content marketing has now surpassed search engine marketing (SEM), PR, and traditional advertising as the medium of choice for B2B marketing professionals. 


What is Content Marketing? 

Put simply, Content Marketing is the sharing of relevant information (articles, resources, links, and the like) to your target audience, usually via social media. This information could have been produced by either yourself, your company, or a third party. As a marketer, the interaction that follows can be incredibly insightful. If done correctly, you will often see a flow-on effect which includes Likes, comments, @mentions, re-tweets, and even old-school sharing via e-mail. 

The benefits for a brand can be significant. They include: 

• Increased interaction with followers, fans, and prospects
• Positions your business as a valuable information resource for your industry
• Enhances your reputation and credibility (especially if you’ve produced the content)
• Positions you as a Thought Leader with well-considered views and insights
• Better results for SEO – rank higher on Google (or Ask Jeeves, whatever you prefer)
• Receive feedback and generate discussion with customers

If you’re wondering how this leads to sales, the link from content to action could go as follows:

> You post a brilliant article to your blog/website and share it on Facebook

> Consumer’s interest is piqued by your headline 

> Clicks link to your article and reads content on your website

> Is impressed by what they read, then explores your site to check out your offering

> Has a need / want for your product or service and makes an enquiry

In an ideal world, isn’t that a better way to engage with a potential customer than pushing an ad at them which interrupts or even annoys them and competes for their attention?

Become a ‘Curator of Content’ 


If you’re an entrepreneur of marketing professional looking to build your company’s online audience, and ultimately generate sales from your digital marketing efforts, I would suggest to include content marketing as a key part of your social media marketing plan.

There are essentially two types of content:


1. Content produced by you or your business.
2. Content produced by others.


The beauty of content marketing is that you can utilize both types of content to great effect, and therefore you don’t have to spend endless time or effort with producing content. Instead, your goal should be a ‘Curator of Content’, or someone who deftly balances the production and sharing of your own content with the sharing of content as created by other people. By carefully producing and seeking out quality content, you will have a constant stream of useful information ready to share with your audience.


Best Platforms for Content Marketing

Twitter: A platform tailor-made for content marketing. One of twitter’s greatest strengths is the ability to find and share amazing content with like-minded people in your industry.


Facebook: Facebook’s Pages application allows you to create a page specifically to attract your fans, customers, and potential customers, and if used correctly, to share information that is useful or entertaining to them. 


LinkedIn: A common strategy would be to share links and articles in your status updates. You can also post your articles to Groups on LinkedIn which are related to your market, or even create a Group and invite others to join so that you can share information with them regularly. 


Your Blog: A blog can be thought of as a home for the content which you personally produce. I would recommend blogging on at least a fortnightly basis if possible. Blogging is an ideal way to enhance your reputation as an expert in your field. It is also a way to increase your website’s search engine ranking, as Google’s algorithm loves fresh content on websites.


Frequency


A question that’s often asked is, “How much time is this going to take?” Or, “How often should I post something?” Ideally you will be able to maintain a high quality of content, as well as an adequate quantity. How often you post to each platform depends on your goals and what would be appropriate in your industry, however here are some very generic guidelines to start with:


Twitter: Post 2-5 times per day.


Facebook: Post 1-2 times per day, plus interact with any comments from users.


LinkedIn: Post 1-3 times per week. Be sure to post any content which you’ve personally created – such as a blog post – to any relevant Groups, as people are typically quite receptive to having people contribute valuable insights to their group.


Blogging: I would recommend blogging at least fortnightly. Origianal content as produced by you or your company will carry more weight and enhance your reputation more so than content produced by others and re-posted / linked to by you. With this in mind, the more content you can produce (whilst maintaining quality), the better.


Bonus!


Here are some examples of headlines to get you thinking about what you can write about / how to structure an attention-grabbing headline:


– 7 Non-Traditional Ways to Get Free PR for Your Business
– What the World’s Most Successful Online Marketers Don’t Want to Tell You
– How to Make Exercise More Fun than Sex*


Until next time, express yourself, start creating and sharing content and most of all, enjoy the sensation. 


*Thanks, Jonathan Fields.

The Art & Science of Social Media (for bloggers, marketers and vagabonds)

Someone once hacked into my facebook and posted the following status: “We’re having a baby!!” Within 45 minutes I had  14 likes, 9 comments, 2 voicemails and 3 text messages. Needless to say, my girlfriend’s mother was not impressed by the false alarm.


Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate not only with our friends but also the way in which companies and brands interact with consumers. Its value to people like myself as a blogger, marketer, or solo-preneur is unquantifiable. The ability for one to utilize social media to self-publish, instantly share with your audience, and to receive immediate feedback and enquiries is almost without comparison to any other communications medium.


I thought I’d share with you a couple of things on this topic:


1. The evolution in my usage of social media and how it has benefited me in my personal and professional life.


2. My thoughts on various social media platforms and how you can use each platform for maximum benefit and enjoyment.


Blogging


If you have not yet started a blog, my best advice is to get onto Blogger or WordPress and start one today. Initially, blogging will help you to:

• Crystallize your thoughts, opinions, and interests 
• Vastly improve your writing skills
• Encourage you to educate yourself in your area(s) of expertise

Once you develop some content and get rolling, you can set your goals higher:

• Position yourself as an authority and Thought Leader in your industry
• Get noticed by prospective employers and business partners
• Give you a means to communicate with potential clients
• Have a satisfying creative outlet
• Present your valuable knowledge to a global audience and make new connections

At the start, it doesn’t matter too much what you write about – I’d suggest to pick something you’re truly passionate about – something that you could speak knowledgeably about for days on end with a smile on your face. I can tell you that blogging is immensely satisfying and I recommend it to you.

Facebook


I was an early adopter of facebook in Australia. I remember when I joined (around 2005) – MOST (i.e. 80% or more) of my friends laughed at me, said they’d never use it, and asked why I would use facebook and not MySpace like they did. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up.


For all its detractors, facebook has become not just a way of staying in touch with people, but an essential part of society where one-and-all come to see what’s happening in their contacts’ lives at any time.


The use of Facebook Places (and the facebook Check-In) has become a right-of-passage on a daily or nightly basis when you’re out and about – a whole social etiquette is developing around “Who’s going to check us in?” and “What’s the status going to be?”


Some tips on facebook use:

• It’s a social and more relaxed network, so relax, share, and have fun with it
• Your facebook is an expression of your personality – the real you – be yourself and talk like you would with your friends (within reason)
• Realize that anything you say on facebook can and will be used against you in a court of law (or will be seen by your Manager) – so be selective of the friend requests you accept
• If you’re going to start a facebook fan page, do it right and load the page up with valuable content, images, and calls-to-action prior to launching (and send out a private message to your close friends first to ‘Like’ the page so you’ve got a running start)
• Not Going Home is an awesome example of how to build a fan page.

Want to see what I do when I’m not writing blog posts? Connect with me on facebook.




Twitter


As we speak, twitter is far & away my favourite social media platform. Twitter enables users to find their ‘voice’ extremely quickly. Twitter has long been misunderstood by people who think there is no value in seeing that your friend posted, “I ate Weet Bix for breakfast today”. No one writes that. Well, except maybe Metta World Peace.


Twitter is about connecting with people you would otherwise not be able to connect to, or might not normally be able to contact. You can do this because you can follow their twitter feed without them following you. You can also @mention them on twitter and sometimes get a response. Use #hashtags to follow conversations about just about anything and see what people are saying. This can be a great source of consumer behaviour and sentiment. For example, if you’re a clothing designer, you can follow the hashtag #fashion and see what’s trending. As my friend Apu would say, “Thank you, come again.”


The only way to understand twitter is to start using twitter. Start by searching for and following people who are:

• In your industry & whose opinions you respect
• Share common interests 
• People you admire; or are
• Sources of valuable information (e.g. @mashable for social media news)

Give it a chance and you will come to find that it is an incredibly effective and almost essential source of information and social interaction. Why not follow me on twitter and see what all the fuss is about?




LinkedIn


LinkedIn is a more professional network. Think of it as a professional facebook, only this time it’s your CV online, as opposed to those pictures of you dancing on tables in Ibiza with a lampshade on your head. It’s an extremely valuable tool for building a network of professional contacts. 


Some of the many benefits include:

• Connecting with like-minded, relevant contacts
• Receive recommendations from your previous clients or co-workers and display them on your profile
• Get scouted for job opportunities and genuine business proposals*
• Join industry-groups which share up-to-date market information 
• See where your contacts are now working with real-time updates

*LinkedIn operates as a closed network, so for the most part you’ll only be contactable by people you know or connected with you through a few degrees of separation. 

LinkedIn has well over 100 million users and is one place you want to have a presence online.




A thought on Google+ 


For the moment, Google+ reminds me of a verse from a favourite quote of mine:

“…the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again…”

Google+ is the gladiator in the arena and the doer of deeds – however it is alone in the middle of the arena – and I fear that it will remain as such for some time. Google is dedicating a lot of resources to the success of Google+, therefore I have no doubt it will make a strong push, however it’s tough going trying to out-facebook facebook.

And another thing…

Over the next 4 weeks I’ll be publishing a more detailed break-down of each of the the four mediums/networks I’ve discussed here; for example:

• Blog Like You Mean It: How to Win Friends and Influence People Online
• How to Build a LinkedIn Profile that Generates Business

… and other yet-to-be-released headlines for posts about twitter and facebook.

Stay tuned and thanks for your support.

Entrepreneurs! 7 Awesome Blogs You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

I read more entrepreneurship blogs than most people I know. Reading Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin and the usual crew is great and all, but we all like fresh meat, right? I’ve recently came across a whole bunch of inspirational guys who personify what it is to be a Free Agent. Enjoy and spread the good word!

1. Colin Wright – Exile Lifestyle

This guy moves to a new country every 4 months, as voted by his readers. He finances his lifestyle via his successful, independent branding studio. A cool dude who is living the dream: making good money, meeting tons of people (i.e. girls), and stretching the limits of his thinking via travel and continuous learning.

2. Ryan Allis

A 26-year-old tech entrepreneur and founder of iContact – which currently has 300 employees, 700,000 users, and $50M in annual revenues. Oh, he also is a leading advocate for social entrepreneurship and gives1% of its payroll, equity, employee time, and product back to thecommunity. His 12 Life Lessons is one of the best articles I’ve ever read.I was fortunate enough to meet Ryan when I attended (and presented an award at) the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Conference in Chicago in 2008.

3. Steve Pavlina – Personal Development for Smart People

I love this because when you read it you think, “I’m a smart person – let me check this guy out and see if his stuff is any good.” It is. One of my personal favourite entries is “10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job“.

4. Jonathan Fields

This guy’s stuff is high quality H20. Covers Blogging, Conscious Living, Life Purpose and more.

The 7 Keynote MBA is brilliant – a brief collection of the best TED-style talks you will see for entrepreneurs.

5. Corbett Barr

Simply an awesome lifestyle design blog with dozens of entries with enough useful content to actually get you closer to your dream life – if you choose to implement.

Ever thought, “Should I quit my job?” Here’s Corbett’s answer:

Hell yes you should quit your job.

This isn’t a dress rehearsal and you aren’t getting any younger. If there’s something you feel deep down that you need to explore and chase, then in my book you need to do that thing.

Read the full entry here.

6. Derek Sivers

The founder of CD baby. If you haven’t heard of this guy, look him up. He’s probably more famous for the way he sold his business as the way he built it.

A voracious learner, he has a mind-bogglingly (yes I made that word up) impressive list of recommended reading, complete with his notes from each book. Think of it as a must-bookmark: a way to get a synopsis on some of the best books out there without having to spend a cent.

7. Ramit Sethi – I Will Teach You to be Rich

Ramit has over 250,000 readers per month and for good reason: It’s the best Gen-Y Personal Finance blog out there. He covers how to earn more money, how to negotiate, and gives dozens of pricing and marketing tips on how to start and grow your own business. This one’s great for both intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs alike.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this summary and that you would continue to follow these guys for a long time. If you liked this, please spread the love and share with your friends on twitter, facebook, and even Google+.