'Net Features : content advertising

Content Marketing Without a Blog

Administrator — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:00:00 GMT

It’s no secret that content marketing has a phenomenal ROI (the statistics only seem to get better with each passing year). In fact, Kapost and Eloqua recently produced an eBook on the ROI of content marketing in which they stated that per dollar content marketing produces three times the number of leads as compared to traditional marketing.

Unfortunately, many businesses have shied away from content marketing, mistaking the term for a synonym of “blogging,” which is not the end-all-be-all of content marketing. In fact, I can think of seven ways you can do content marketing without a blog…

Vlog

Not much for writing, but love talking? Share your experience and knowledge through a vlog series on YouTube, and promote it through your Twitter and Facebook page. Trust me, this works. If you need any evidence, allow me to point you to the wildly successful "Will It Blend?" campaign by Blendetc.

Podcast

You aren’t much for appearing on camera either. That’s fine – go the route of the podcast. Interview experts in your industry, or just take 10 minutes to address your customers’ frequently asked questions. The podcast is still a viable form of content marketing. Plus, it’s the only non-visual form on this list.

Facebook & Twitter

It almost goes without saying that Facebook and Twitter are great ways to drive a content marketing strategy, but don’t take my word for it. 76 percent of businesses are using social networking for business objectives.

Infographics

Are you in an industry that loves statistics and facts? (Hint – the answer is a resolute ‘yes’.) Put the right amount of creativity and effort into it, and you can have an infographic that goes viral. Seriously, any business can leverage an infographic to their advantage. As an example, take Brilliance, a jeweler whose “Kardashian Wedding vs. Average Wedding” infographic went viral in 2011. The infographic brought in thousands of visitors to the company’s website because it was well done and interesting.

Whitepapers

So, I said I have seven strategies that avoid blogging, but not writing. If you’re a B2B company, then a white paper could be just the thing you need to widen your reach and generate hundreds of new leads. If there’s no one in your company capable of writing a rock-solid white paper, then it’s worth budgeting some cash to pay a professional to do the job. A half-baked white paper receives the same critical acclaim that a half-baked research paper earned you in high school. Back then, it was a C+. Today, it’s money down the drain.

Knowledge Bank

You can approach the Knowledge Bank strategy in one of these two ways (or both): your bank could be an organized index to all of the resources on your website, and/or it could serve as a roundup of the web’s “Best of the Best.” Either way, the point is to make valuable information organized and easy to find.

Pinterest & Instagram

At the end of Aug. 2012, the Los Angeles Times described Pinterest and Instagram’s growth as “meteoric,” citing a 2,183 percent growth over the course of one year for Pinterest. Instagram has performed remarkably well, too. From July 2011 to July 2012, monthly traffic increased from 56,360 to 12 million. On Thanksgiving Day 2012, Instagram users shared a jaw-dropping 10 million photos. If your product or service has a visual draw, then sign up with these sites today.

The Bonus

There are many benefits of doing content marketing with a blog. According to the 2012 Digital Content Marketing Survey, blogging is the second-most utilized form of Web content (75 percent), right behind social media (90 percent). Also, the best results come from social media content, e-newsletters and blogs.

Though we’re still waiting on the 2013 Survey, I’d be surprised if the blog isn’t holding steady.

About the Author

Amie Marse, is the founder and managing partner of Content Equals Money, a content writing service for agencies and Web-based clients.

The Basics of Writing Web Copy

Amberly Dressler — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:45:00 GMT

Whether it’s copy for a landing page or a banner ad, writing goal-oriented copy can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced copywriters. Like website design, opinions about copy are not only subjective, but also plentiful. Likewise, both departments can benefit from a plan of attack and some best practices.

Establish Goals
Schedule a time to chat with stakeholders to clearly define the objectives of the writing assignment. Is the website copy’s intent to build trust, with nothing to immediately sell? Or is it to convert visitors into subscribers? If you don’t know the answer, find out before one word is typed. In the same conversation, find out who your audience is. Gather demographics and any other available site data.

Be the Egg
If the chicken came first, you as the writer, want to be the egg. By having the designer ‘go first,’ you can use their mock-up to outline what text is needed from you. While it might be difficult for a designer to work off a blank page, it’s even more difficult for a writer to anticipate space restrictions, headers, etc. without seeing what the layout will be. Often times, it’s counterproductive for the writer to generate content and lay out the content - with headers and such - when the designer has a completely different vision in mind. Many times the writer has to tweak their content based on the design, anyway, so save everyone time and headaches by just ‘going’ second.

Now that you have a beautiful landing page design, an attention-grabbing advertisement mock-up, or whatever it may be, it’s time for you to get to work (after all, we’ve put it off long enough).

Best Practices

Just Do It
The most time consuming aspect of writing Web copy is overanalyzing it. Write like nobody is reading it and just go for it. You can tweak the content as you go to meet objectives, reach your targeted audience and tighten up copy. Speaking of...

Tighten Up
With every writing project there’s always a temptation to consult a Thesaurus, but use it with caution. Use one to simplify your message, not pollute it. Stumbling over an awkward word or an unfamiliar one is extremely disrupting for a reader. With Web copy, the simpler the better. There are different schools of thought on this, but aim for a fourth to seventh grade reading level as your benchmark.

For Web copy, a better resource than a Thesaurus is a quality list of active verbs (think words like accelerate, localize, serve). These are strong, powerful words that will help you elicit action. Another good resource is a keywords list. If you don’t know what the company’s keywords are, ask. Don’t force them in, though; chances are you are using them without even knowing, which is the best way to use them, anyway.

Keep It Short
In the Web game, short is always better. Banner ads should tell your story in 5-10 words, which includes the call to action. For landing pages, blogs and other Web content, try to use list format or lots of subtitles to break up copy.

Be Consistent
If there isn’t a company style guide to consult, start one. It’s likely stakeholders don’t care about choices like website or Web site, but do care that it's consistent from sentence to sentence and from page to page.

Take a Break
Walk away from your work before submitting it. Once you are refreshed, you’ll find ways to tighten up the copy.

Request Changes
Even with countless rewrites, you’ll likely want to make changes to your copy once you see it embedded in the design. No offense against word processing documents, but there’s something to say for seeing copy within its intended design; it will spark a bit more creativity. Don’t be afraid to ask for changes.

Embrace Feedback
It’s human nature, especially for the creative types, to be defensive when someone provides criticism. Just know that critique is coming, even if you’re a site owner, and embrace it. If it’s collaborative feedback, the end result is usually better.

Content Advertising Storms Back

Mike Phillips — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:20:00 GMT

A survey by research firm Advertiser Perceptions (via Ad Age) shows that online advertisers are shifting away from ad networks and moving back to advertising on content sites directly. More than half (52 percent) of agencies and marketers surveyed plan to spend more on content sites this year. Just 35 percent said they would increase spending on ad networks.

"In the last two years ad networks have taken advantage of the recession, but what's missing from that is why advertisers advertise in the first place -- it's all about brand," said Randy Cohen, president of Advertiser Perceptions. "Content sites may not have efficiencies, but they have more context and more relevance to brands. There's a changing ecosystem for online display advertising."

A shift like this could be great news for publishers. They get the advantage of direct relationships with advertisers for more long-term business partnerhsips, and can essentially cut out another middle man. That's good for revenue.

One thing is for certain: If you plan on appealing to advertisers directly, you will need a robust media kit - including detailed analytics, demographics of your users, ad rates and any other information that will make your site more appealing than the competition. For a company to place ads directly with your website they will want to know as much as possible about your audience and feel secure that your audience feels a direct connection with your website. Also, expect to field questions about your reach outside your website, such as social media influence and statistics.