While both content marketing and content strategy fall into a very similar category in the realm of social business, there are some subtle but important differences to be aware of.
One of the most trending concepts in the world of social business these days (both on and offline) is content marketing. We hear it mentioned by virtually every thought leader and industry member. But as with a lot of buzzwords, as they increase in popularity, they can often decrease in clarity.
People use content marketing and content strategy interchangeably. That’s a mistake. While both phenomena are closely related, they possess some notable differences that make them distinct features of a business strategy.
Why do we keep hearing about this stuff, anyway?
Content marketing and strategy are much more than simply sharing content to different media; content marketing is storytelling.
Lately, we have seen some outstanding examples of brands leveraging the power of the story. Lots of brands – from small to large – are jumping on the content marketing bandwagon to try and create an engaging story of their own, but it is a lot easier said than done.
Unlike conventional forms of marketing and advertising, the concept of content marketing relies heavily on your ability to connect with your audience. For consumers, the novelty of endless content being shared on multiple media channels has worn off. People only want to see (and, more importantly, share) content that they find interesting and resonates in some way.
For this reason, the brands that have found the most success when it comes to content marketing are those that have developed an intricate content strategy based on what they have deemed relevant to their audience.
What is content strategy?
Content strategy all starts with some good ol’ fashioned research. Sure, there are plenty of tools to help you out; after all, there is so much data to sift through that we would never be able to do it without at least a little help. But content strategy all starts with determining what your audience cares about.
This can be industry-relevant – for example, maybe you notice that your audience is most interested in learning about the difference between content marketing and content strategy – or it can be a social issue. And no, not a social media issue. A social as in societal issue. First identify what your audience cares about, then share information that they find relevant and interesting.
People do not like spending money if they don’t have to. (Or really want to.) So, when you share nothing but self-promotional content, they are more than likely to ignore you. After all, why would they listen to what you have to say if they know it is all going to lead back to a sales pitch?
Content strategy is all about avoiding the sales pitch. Determine how your brand can connect with your audience on a human level and share information that resonates from that perspective first.
How is content marketing different?
Content marketing is, by definition, a form of marketing to your audience. When people are listening to what you have to say and develop a rapport with your brand, then you can tell them about your products, services or special offers.
Considering the historical seller-consumer dynamic, there is, in many cases, an inherent distrust of the brand by the consumer. However, if, through your content strategy, you can build that trust by showcasing that you really do care and really are a brand that your consumers can relate to, there is a much greater likelihood that your audience will listen, and maybe even consider your product or service.
Your sales position needs to be in line with the issues that connected you to your audience in the first place. Maybe it is something as simple as a donation to a worthy cause from the sale of certain products.
Is there an example that showcases both these concepts?
Say, for example, there is an office products retailer than develops a content strategy around recycling. Much of the content that is shared with their audience relates to green practices and recycling.
After some time, their content begins to go viral, as their target audience – businesspeople with a penchant for environmentalism – can relate to what they share. At this point, they begin to promote one of their complimentary services: buyers can return used ink cartridges for reuse instead of throwing them away.
There is a much greater likelihood that people will listen to the sale pitch if this is the case.
The difference between content strategy and content marketing is all about the marketing side of things. While content strategy sounds a lot like it is done behind closed doors, it is actually a very active endeavor.
Brands have to devote to learning about their audience and be patient when it comes to successful content marketing. Success with the strategy is not going to come overnight. But with patience and a strong devotion to your audience, content strategy and content marketing are sure to pay off.
Have you ever considered a content strategy or engaging in content marketing? Tell us about yours in the comments below or on Twitter!
What is a ‘Soft Search’ and Why is it Important?
/by Corey PadveenWe constantly wonder about the most important factors when it comes to increased search rankings, and soft search is one of them.
A few months ago, we were introduced to Google’s latest update: the Hummingbird algorithm. With the evolution of how we conduct searches online, Google needed to adapt. The result was a new base algorithm that focuses much more on the conversational aspects of modern search. The not-so-technical term: the soft search.
So what exactly is the soft search and why is it so important when it comes to SEO?
What is the soft search?
Imagine you’re in a new city and absolutely need to know where the best Thai restaurant is located. There are a few ways of finding out.
The first option is to conduct a traditional search whereby you open up Google, type in something along the lines of, “Great Thai restaurant in [CITY],” and wait for search results to populate the page. Those are traditional search results and still one of the most popular ways of finding information.
The alternative – one that has increased in popularity among millennials and is slowly catching up with older generations – is to conduct this new type of search. While you might get a decent set of results on Google alone, you know that no one knows better than your friends. So, instead of conducting a traditional search, you log on to Facebook, or Twitter, or Google+ and update your status to something like, “Can anyone recommend a good Thai restaurant in [CITY]?”
The results that populate in the form of comments are referred to as soft search results, and they are now more important than ever.
Why do these results matter?
It has long been a point of debate between traditional SEOs and social marketers as to the value of social signals in search. Google provided an answer at SXSW in 2013 when they made it clear that Google’s social layer is of great importance. Hummingbird has reinforced that position.
The soft search is all about conversations about brands and business that are happening outside of owned media. No longer is it about your blog alone, but about the number of people that have given a post a +1, or a like or a retweet.
Take a look at the chart below and see exactly what now contributes to your increased search rankings:
Whereas there was once a time when keywords reigned supreme, we now see them falling far down on the list of important criteria. That is nothing new; we saw a major shift away from keyword density with the introductions of Panda and Penguin.
Now, however, conversation about and around your brand on social platforms is an integral part of being found. No matter in which industry your brand finds itself, there is no shortage of value that can be added from leveraging the power of the soft search by starting conversations on these social platforms.
So how do I get these conversations started?
This is all going to be a result of your content strategy. Why is it that people are going to want to engage with your brand? What kind of content are they sharing with one another, and how can you make your way into the conversation? These are questions that need answering in order to capitalize on the benefits of soft search.
Take some time to understand your audience and actively take part in the conversations that are taking place within your industry.
Have you started taking advantage of the soft search? Has it helped your search rankings on Google? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
8 Criteria for Determining Your Target Audience
/by Corey PadveenTo find success with social, you need to cater your content to a target audience.
Finding your target audience on social can sometimes be a challenge. We know whom we are targeting when it comes to selling our product, but what are our goals when it comes to social, and what audience do we need to target in order to achieve those goals? This is where the challenge comes into play.
The targeting capabilities that exist with social are so advanced that they allow you to create a target market right down to the specific interest. Therefore, we need to evaluate a few key criteria when choosing our target audience so as not to send out our message to an inattentive audience.
These 8 criteria are some of the more important ones to consider when it comes to selecting a target audience for your content on social platforms. Some might seem obvious, but remember that with the exactitude with which we can target our message on these media, they are important to answer with as much specificity as possible.
Age
Though it seems like an obvious criteria to consider, knowing the specific age range of the audience that you are looking to target will help you build your social presence on networks where you know your audience is most active.
Gender
Men and women are not necessarily engaging in the same activities in the same places on social media. Building a successful content strategy will be heavily influenced by the gender with which you are trying to engage.
Education
You will not be drafting the same content for PhDs as you will for college freshmen. They are simply interested in different things.
Industry
This can be broad or highly specified, but it should certainly be a consideration, particularly if you are creating a content strategy as a B2B.
Job Function
If you want to engage the C-suite, you’ll need to appeal to the issues they care about most. To craft a successful content strategy, figure out exactly who you are targeting in the organization and craft a strategy designed to target their needs.
Interests
Take a step back and look at the content you are trying to share. What category of interests does it fall into? Figure that out to properly position that content in front of the eyes of the right audience.
Influence
Are you looking to target industry and thought leaders or would you prefer to establish yourself as the industry leader? Both have their benefits.
Marital Status
Priorities change when family comes into the picture, and you should decide if your product or service is better marketed to single or married consumers.
Building a target profile is also a very helpful exercise. Determine your ideal customer based around these criteria and build a content strategy geared towards peaking his or her interests.
For Example
Jane Smith is a 41-year-old married woman with 2 children and 18 years of experience in the field of product marketing. She has held a job at the Manager level for over a decade following the successful completion of her MBA. She is interested in running and hiking and likes pages and accounts on social media with a focus on branding. She does not have a blog herself, but she often comments on influential blogs in the field of marketing and advertising.
Try it for yourself. What does your target audience member look like? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
Why You Aren’t Finding Success with Your Social Media Tools
/by Corey PadveenSocial media tools can be very helpful, but only if they are being used correctly.
This week, I have the privilege of presenting a few sessions at the Social Media Strategies Summit in Las Vegas, one of which discusses some of the best tools in the market when it comes to mining and understanding your analytics. I thought I would share some insight into what I have noticed when it comes to why so many people – from marketers to business owners – are having trouble when it comes to getting the most out of their social media tools.
The Tool Is Not Right For You
Sometimes a tool can look great and a company representative can do a fantastic job of pitching it’s benefits for your brand. This might make you sign up for a trial or even buy into it. You might find, after some time, that it isn’t doing all of the amazing things you thought it would. Maybe it’s just not that into you.
Tools – from freeware to enterprise levels – are designed to accomplish certain, specific goals. They are not right for every brand despite them looking like they have a universal applicability.
It’s important to take advantage of the trial versions of these tools in order to get an honest look at what they can do for you, and whether or not it is the right fit for your goals.
You’re Trying to Do Too Much with It
For many applications and technologies, there are a few things that they do exceptionally well. On the other hand, there are a few things that they might not do too well, or even not do at all. That’s ok – these tools are not technological miracles.
Many tools are designed to provide a solution to a specific problem. Sometimes additional functionality is added, but the core benefit of the program is to help users overcome a specific obstacle. It might take a combination of technologies in order to effectively do everything you want to do with social.
The thing we need to keep in mind is that there is no one-tool-to-rule-them-all solution out there. (At least not yet.) There are some great ones, but it might take a few of those working in tandem in order to properly execute a comprehensive strategy.
You Haven’t Taken the Time to Master the Application
This is the biggest issue that users face when it comes to not succeeding with these tools. All too often, people see one of these technologies, think that it is the perfect fit for their brand, sign up for it and wait for it to ‘work its magic’. That’s a recipe for disaster, plain and simple.
These tools take an investment of more than money, they take time. This is particularly true for enterprise level tools. If you are not willing to devote the time necessary to really understanding and properly using a tool, then it will never do all of the things you want it to.
Before making the investment in one or many of these social media tools, ask yourself if you are really going to take the time that is necessary to making it work for you. If you simply can’t afford to put that time into it, then save yourself a sunk cost and look for something else.
Social media tools can be huge complements to a social business strategy, but they need to be treated with respect and fully understood in order for users to get the most out of them.
What are some of your favorite social media tools? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
Highlights from Adobe Digital’s Q4 Social Intelligence Report
/by Corey PadveenEvery quarter, Adobe releases their Social Intelligence report, and the Q4 report from 2013 showcased some exciting findings!
The Social Intelligence Report from Adobe always results in some shock and awe for marketers. That is mostly due to the fact that there are always huge surges in the numbers of business-friendly stats quarter-over-quarter. Well, the fourth quarter of 2013 was no different, and there was some promising information made available when it comes to Facebook for businesses.
Where’s the value in advertising on Facebook?
Click-through rate on Facebook ads has once again increase 41% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and is up 365% year-over-year (YoY). That’s an impressive jump (a 1% increase in CTR every day!).
When it came to the holidays, brands really saw a spike, with a 29% increase in clicks during the holiday season. That said, as Facebook sees the potential that exists with ads, costs are starting to rise. In the last quarter alone, cost per thousand impressions (CPM) on Facebook increased 51%, and rose 437% in 2013. It would make sense that Facebook is driving up the cost of ads considering the fact that click volume is up 125% YoY.
Now is the time for brands to be capitalizing on the potential that exists within the Facebook advertising model. It won’t be long before advertisers on Facebook find themselves paying higher prices.
How have brands performed on Facebook this year?
Engagement with brand posts is up 180% YoY. Now, one could argue that this is due to the fact that there are still plenty of brands entering the Facebook market, and so, logically, it would make sense to see an increase in brand engagement. But impressions are also up 150% YoY, and further engagement (i.e. comments and shares) are up 40%.
Images are also charging ahead. In the last year, engagement rates with image-based on content on Facebook shared by brands is up a whopping 650%! That should give you an idea of what types of content resonate best on the network.
Is Pinterest still the juggernaut it was last year?
Yes, but for different reasons. Revenues from Pinterest-referred visits (i.e. revenues generated from a sale that occurred following a visit from Pinterest) are up 89% YoY and 11% QoQ. What’s more, in the United Kingdom, Pinterest beat out Facebook for referring revenue. That’s a major accomplishment from the network.
Is there a value in marketing my brand on Tumblr?
If you are selling a product, there certainly is. In the last year (since the Yahoo! acquisition) revenue per visit from Tumblr referrals is up 340%. It is clear that this is a network with huge potential (that Yahoo! will presumably take advantage of soon) when it comes to retail and the B2C world of social business.
What’s the biggest takeaway?
Costs for social advertising are still low and impressions, clicks and engagement with brand ads are increasing. Now is the time for brands to take advantage of the phenomenon of social advertising before they find that they missed the boat on inexpensive, highly effective ads.
Take a look at the full report by clicking here.
4 Reasons Why B2Bs Should Leverage Social Data
/by Corey PadveenThough it is no secret that social data is important, B2B brands are not taking enough advantage of it.
Data mining – whether on a large or small scale – is a critical component when it comes to a successful social business strategy; this is especially true when it comes to B2Bs. And yet, so few B2B brands are taking advantage of the values that social data can offer when building a comprehensive, goal-oriented strategy.
The reasons listed below should be enough to convince any decision maker as a B2B enterprise to start paying closer attention to their social data.
Optimize Your Content Strategy
Recently, we published an article discussing the difference between content strategy and content marketing. Essentially, your content strategy is the strategy with which you are going to generate interest from your target audience on social platforms.
As a B2B, it can sometimes seem difficult to find a message that resonates with your audience. After all, with so much content from which people can choose, the message from a B2B is not always going to make it to the top of the pile. By keeping a close eye on your data, however, you can see exactly what types of content and what motifs generate the most interest from your audience, and share information geared towards garnering their attention.
Monitor Your Competition
It’s one thing to look at superficial measurements, like the growth of a competitor’s network. It is another thing entirely to dive into the public data that exists about your competition’s social presence and see where they are succeeding, where opportunities exist for your brand and, most importantly, how you compare in terms of share of voice and sentiment when it comes to key criteria.
Because we might not necessarily be looking at increasing sales directly through social media as B2Bs, it is important to find a way to set benchmarks for measuring success. Often, identifying KPIs among your competition’s data and striving to surpass those benchmarks is a great way to work.
Reach Broader Audiences
Understanding when your target audience is most active and where they spend the majority of their time is going to be essential to reaching the broadest audience possible.
At the outset of any social business program, you are going to want to ask yourself who you want to reach. Do you want to reach your buyers, or would you rather reach the end users of products or services to whom you are selling? Knowing what kind of audience you want to reach with your content will help you better leverage this data in order to ensure that every piece of content you share is shared strategically so as to reach the broadest audience possible.
Understand Your Buyers
On the surface, social is all about sharing stories. But just beneath there is a world of opportunity in the form of data, and that data can be leveraged not only on these social media, but in your business operations.
Studying the data that concerns your buyers – either as individuals or businesses – on social media can help you optimize your offline and off-social marketing initiatives in order to ensure that they resonate with your buyers.
Traditional B2B marketing tactics need to incorporate, at least to a degree, social data. By understanding your buyers’ habits, preferences and knowing what it is they are looking for, you can better prepare yourself offline to make the sale.
The potential that exists within your social data is virtually limitless. With so much being published every day, and more insights being made available at every second, it is hard to understand why more B2B businesses are not taking the time to study social data.
Are you leveraging your social data? What are you using it for? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
And next week, don’t miss our Director of Global Social Business Strategy, Corey Padveen speaking live in Las Vegas! Find out more here.
How to Optimize Your YouTube Videos for Viewer Retention [VIDEO]
/by Corey PadveenVisual content is a powerful thing, and the longer you can keep your audience engaged with your content, the better.
So what can we do to better the odds that our audience will stick around and spend time with our brand on social media?
There are a few simple things that you can do in order to better the retention you receive from your audience, and these tips will help with that when it comes to YouTube.
There are hundreds of lifetimes worth of video on YouTube, and more content is being uploaded every day. It would be unwise to think that, when there is so much people can be doing online, let alone on YouTube, they will sit through your entire video every time. That is, of course, unless you have leveraged the data you have at hand on your YouTube videos for viewer retention optimization.
It is a much easier task than you might think, and this useful video will walk you through the steps to do it yourself.
What’s the Difference Between Content Strategy and Content Marketing?
/by Corey PadveenWhile both content marketing and content strategy fall into a very similar category in the realm of social business, there are some subtle but important differences to be aware of.
People use content marketing and content strategy interchangeably. That’s a mistake. While both phenomena are closely related, they possess some notable differences that make them distinct features of a business strategy.
Why do we keep hearing about this stuff, anyway?
Content marketing and strategy are much more than simply sharing content to different media; content marketing is storytelling.
Lately, we have seen some outstanding examples of brands leveraging the power of the story. Lots of brands – from small to large – are jumping on the content marketing bandwagon to try and create an engaging story of their own, but it is a lot easier said than done.
Unlike conventional forms of marketing and advertising, the concept of content marketing relies heavily on your ability to connect with your audience. For consumers, the novelty of endless content being shared on multiple media channels has worn off. People only want to see (and, more importantly, share) content that they find interesting and resonates in some way.
For this reason, the brands that have found the most success when it comes to content marketing are those that have developed an intricate content strategy based on what they have deemed relevant to their audience.
What is content strategy?
Content strategy all starts with some good ol’ fashioned research. Sure, there are plenty of tools to help you out; after all, there is so much data to sift through that we would never be able to do it without at least a little help. But content strategy all starts with determining what your audience cares about.
This can be industry-relevant – for example, maybe you notice that your audience is most interested in learning about the difference between content marketing and content strategy – or it can be a social issue. And no, not a social media issue. A social as in societal issue. First identify what your audience cares about, then share information that they find relevant and interesting.
People do not like spending money if they don’t have to. (Or really want to.) So, when you share nothing but self-promotional content, they are more than likely to ignore you. After all, why would they listen to what you have to say if they know it is all going to lead back to a sales pitch?
Content strategy is all about avoiding the sales pitch. Determine how your brand can connect with your audience on a human level and share information that resonates from that perspective first.
How is content marketing different?
Content marketing is, by definition, a form of marketing to your audience. When people are listening to what you have to say and develop a rapport with your brand, then you can tell them about your products, services or special offers.
Considering the historical seller-consumer dynamic, there is, in many cases, an inherent distrust of the brand by the consumer. However, if, through your content strategy, you can build that trust by showcasing that you really do care and really are a brand that your consumers can relate to, there is a much greater likelihood that your audience will listen, and maybe even consider your product or service.
Your sales position needs to be in line with the issues that connected you to your audience in the first place. Maybe it is something as simple as a donation to a worthy cause from the sale of certain products.
Is there an example that showcases both these concepts?
Say, for example, there is an office products retailer than develops a content strategy around recycling. Much of the content that is shared with their audience relates to green practices and recycling.
After some time, their content begins to go viral, as their target audience – businesspeople with a penchant for environmentalism – can relate to what they share. At this point, they begin to promote one of their complimentary services: buyers can return used ink cartridges for reuse instead of throwing them away.
There is a much greater likelihood that people will listen to the sale pitch if this is the case.
The difference between content strategy and content marketing is all about the marketing side of things. While content strategy sounds a lot like it is done behind closed doors, it is actually a very active endeavor.
Brands have to devote to learning about their audience and be patient when it comes to successful content marketing. Success with the strategy is not going to come overnight. But with patience and a strong devotion to your audience, content strategy and content marketing are sure to pay off.
Have you ever considered a content strategy or engaging in content marketing? Tell us about yours in the comments below or on Twitter!
How to Look at Post Details on Facebook [VIDEO]
/by Corey PadveenYour post details on Facebook can give you some tremendous insights into the success of your Facebook marketing.
When it comes to marketing on Facebook, the network has come a long way. That’s not surprising, considering it is now a public company and needs to provide value to the businesses that use it.
That said, Facebook is constantly going through changes – some more drastic than others – and it is not always easy to keep up.
One of the great features that Facebook provides for marketers is the ability to look at post details on Facebook to see exactly what your audience is doing when they come across and engage with your content.
Superficially, it’s a simple feature. But when you tie it into some of the great data that Facebook Insights provides, it can be extremely valuable.
Have a look at the video below and see for yourself why the ability to look at your post details on Facebook can be a great asset when marketing your brand on the world’s largest social network.
Marketers are Moving On from ROI; Data the New Challenge
/by Corey PadveenLeveraging data is now the biggest challenge facing marketers.
Marketers are now moving past this issue, particularly as they begin to understand how social media, in particular, Social Equity, can be measured. The new challenge facing marketers: leveraging data and making it actionable.
Recently, StrongView released their “2014 Marketing Trends Survey” and the results are very interesting.
What is so interesting about it?
Well, for starters, the findings seem to allude to a more evolved digital marketer. There is no longer a focus on the issues of measurability – which many social marketing evangelists would tell you was never a major issue – but rather a focus on how the vast amounts of data can be leveraged by brands.
What’s more, marketing is getting more attention. This means two things. First, on a macro scale, when it comes to business, marketing expenditures are generally a good indication of how the economy is performing. This survey found that 93% of those surveyed planned on increasing or, at least maintaining their marketing budgets in 2014, up 4% from 2013.
On a micro level, this means that the value of big data and new age digital marketing strategies is finally being recognized by businesses of all sizes. Now, the question is how to use it.
What exactly is big data?
Big data is exactly what it sounds like: it a whole lot of data. We wrote an article a little while ago detailing exactly what big data is and how it can be used by brands.
So why is it so valuable?
Well, big data provides business with insights into their audience, industry, brand and competitors that has never before been captured. There are billions of social accounts on dozens of networks out there, each capturing and publishing so much content that it is literally impossible to keep up.
It is no surprise that brands are having a tough time leveraging data.
What do you mean by leveraging data?
These endless fields of data are ripe for the harvest, but so few marketers know where to start with it. When billions of pieces of data exist out there about your industry, or even your audience alone, how can you turn it into something valuable?
Leveraging data can mean quite a few different things. First, data can be used for branding purposes. When you look at the data collected about your audience, you can position your brand – at least on social – to relate as closely as possible to them.
It can also mean more efficient marketing and advertising campaigns, both in and out of social.
Imagine knowing exactly what your audience tastes and preferences were, and having the ability to build campaigns targeted to those preferences. That is a benefit that leveraging data can have for your brand.
Again, this is much easier said than done. With so much to sift through, even the most experienced marketers are having a tough time getting a grasp on big data. That’s not their fault – this is a brand new concept, and a very exciting one at that.
What else have we learned about marketers?
The StrongView report also points out that, as per usual, there are a lack of resources to execute comprehensive initiatives. The irony here is that the biggest issue – leveraging data – can’t really be dealt with until the second major issue – lack of resources – has been addressed. But such is life.
Marketers are also looking to improve engagement, while 36% want to improve their targeting.
There are more great stats available in the summary and the report as a whole here.
So what can we expect in 2014?
It appears that data, in all its glory, will be the focal point of the marketer’s 2014. As the business world has slowly come aboard the move to social business and integrated digital marketing, it is finally time to see what great benefits these new media can have.
What are your biggest challenges when it comes to marketing right now? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
Top Content Marketing Trends to Watch for in 2014 [INFOGRAPHIC]
/by Corey PadveenWe can expect to see some of these content marketing trends pick up steam in 2014.
Content marketing is storytelling. It is, essentially, what attracts people to our brands online. Last year, we saw a major explosion is the concept of content marketing. Now that it is an established practice, we can expect to see some of these content marketing trends take shape in the coming year.
Research by Content Marketing Institute noted that most business plan on increasing their involvement in content marketing in some form or another in 2014, particularly through the use of social media.
If you have not yet involved yourself in content marketing, or taken the time to learn more about it, now is a good time to start.
How do you plan on engaging in content marketing in 2014? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
Embedded from Digital Marketing Philippines