Content Marketing 2016: Influencer, Topics and The Most Important

CONTENT
MARKETING2016:
INFLUENCER,
TOPICSANDTHE
MOSTIMPORTANT
TRENDS
CommunicateAndSell
CONTENTMARKETING2016:INFLUENCER,
TOPICSANDTHEMOSTIMPORTANT
TRENDS
ContentMarketinghasbecomealarge
industry.AlmostallFortune500corporations
andmyriadsofSMBsinvestbillionsofUS-$in
theirContentMarketingstrategies.The
marketreflectsthiscomplexecosystem:a
plethoraoffreelancers,agencies,specialists,
consultantsandgurusofallkindshavebegun
tofocusonContentMarketing.Itisjustlike
withanyhyper-growthindustry:theprimary
marketdrivesthesecondarymarketandnew
valuechainsemergeonametalevel.Consultantsareatypicalexample,
oragencies,congressplatformsaswellassoftwaredeveloperswith
theirContentMarketingservices.
Thefloodofcontenthasincreased.Thatisespeciallytrueformarketing
topicslikeContentMarketingthathasseeminglyexplodedfromasmall
nichehypetoalargeindustry.Contentisbeingproducedeverysingle
second,beittext,photos,videos,infographicsorpresentations.The
quantityofcontentbytheso-calledexpertsandadvisorsishardly
digestible.Everyday,weekandmonthonmanyablog,website,hubor
portalsContentMarketingpostsarepublishedbythousandsof
aficionados.Theythenshare,like,comment,tweet,favoriteandamplify
thestories.Andthatispreciselythelogic:theneverendingstreamof
producing,publishingandsharingisoneofthekeyprinciplesofContent
Marketing.
Ironically,theContentMarketingindustryreinforcesthepowerofthe
contentstream.Thosewhopublishsmartstoriesthatseektocreate
orderandstructureonlyaddcontentchaostotheexistingoceanof
posts.Morecontent,morechaos.Ifyoutriedtofollowtheblogscene,
socialaccountsandothercontentsourcesyouknowwhatwe’retalking
about:it’sextremelydifficulttofollowanygiventopicforayearor
longer.
Thatisoneofthereasonswhythisebookismeanttobeabookof
basics.Itisaplatformtoreflectonthekeyinfluencers,topicsandtrends
thatdriveContentMarketing.Itisfornewcomers,amateursand
professionals.Wewanttohelpyougetorientedinthecontentstream;
becauseContentMarketingisamegatrendthatnocompanywillbe
abletoescape.
RelevanceIsTheDifferentiator
It’sahumbletasktocurateandamplifythemostrelevantContent
Marketingposts.Yetthecontentstreamcreatesthedatathatweneed
toanalyse,understand,predictandmeasuretherelevanceofthe
shared,likedorcommentedcontent.Thepoststhatgetthemajorityof
socialmediasignalsmusthavesomekindofinherentrelevanceforthe
ContentMarketingcommunity.Let’sassumeeveryContentMarketing
userunderstandsthebasicprinciplesofthemarketandthussharesor
distributescontentrandomly:thenthesumofallengagementmetrics
takenfromFacebook,Twitter,Linkedinandothernetworksareagreat
basistodifferentiatemeaningfulorrelevantcontentfromotherstories.
What’snotlikedwon’tbesharedandwon’tberead.Relevanceemerges
throughamplification.
Poststhathavebeensharedthousandsoftimesprobablyhavean
inherentrelevancy.Itwilleitherpresentinterestingopinionsoruseful
information.Theanalysisofanycontent’ssocialsignalsthusshouldgive
anindicationofhowrelevantthatcontentis;andsuchandanalysisis
surelymoreusefulthananykindofrandomselection.
Tocreateorderinthecontentstreamthefollowingpageswillshowyou
thetop15mostsharedContentMarketingpostsinthepastsixmonths
(byNovember30,2015).Thepostshavebeenread,likedandsharedby
manyContentMarketingaficionados,bythosewhohaveenough
knowledgeaboutthemarketthattheyusesocialmediaasaplatformfor
ContentMarketingandthesharingofrelevantcontent.Everyanalysis
willpresentthesharesforeachnetworkandthesumofallshares.
Furthermore,wehavecollectedadditionalinformationabouttheauthors
andtheircontentsources.Youmayusethelistasapathwaytothe
socialaccountsofeachauthorinordertoparticipateintheongoing
ContentMarketingconversations.
RANK1-MARKGADALA-MARIA
MarkGadala-Maria(@LucidSiteDesign):TheMoretheMerrier:Using
CrowdsourcingforYourContentMarketingEfforts
With23,000totalshares(mostlyTwitter)MarkGadala-Mariaranksno.
1forthetop15mostsharedContentMarketingstoriesin2015.Mark
discussesthequintessentialproblemofcontentmarketersand
companiesthatengageinContentMarketing:wheredoesthebestand
mostinterestingcontentcomefromthatgeneratesthemostsharesand
leads?Theimmediateanswer:youshouldproduceit.Butit’snotthat
simple.Themajorityofcompaniesandteamswon’thavethenecessary
resourcesreadytocreateandpublishamazingcontenteveryday.And
contentproducedbyyoumightbegoodnotthebesttogeneratethe
engagementandsocialbuzzyouwant.
Mark’salternativesolutioniscrowdsourcedcontent.Inhisposthe
showcasesgreatexamplesofcontentproducedbytheaudiencethatit
seekstoreach.Yes,that’sonlypracticalwithfollowers,fansandusers
whoreallyarecommittedtothetopicandwithcompaniesthatare
excitedtocollaborate.Butthereisawaytostarttheconversationwith
themwhenyouknowwhattosay.Thesuccessofcrowdsourcedcontent
isdrivenbyhowyouapproachyourfuturecollaborators.ReadMark’s
posttolearnhow,why,whereandwhentoworkwithcrowdsourced
content.
BIO&FACTS
Name:MarkGadala-Maria
Twitter:@LucidSiteDesign
Followers:50
Following:97
Activesince:10-2011
Top5topics:webdesign,marketing,seo,bootstrap,graphicdesign
Top3linkeddomains:lucidsitedesigns.com
RANK2-ALESSANDROMALZANINI
AlessandroMalzanini(@malzanini):HowPeopleLearnfromInternet,
TheDefinitiveTruthaboutContentMarketing
ThesecondplaceisAlessandroMalzanini’spostwith20,400sharesso
far,againmostlyonTwitter.Evenifthispostisnotwrittenbyanative
speakeritstillishighlyusefulandawelcomestoryabouttheimpactof
severalcontenttypes.It’snoeasy‘WhatisContentMarketing’piece,it
isadata-drivenanalysisbasedonstudieswithinterestedContent
Marketingreadersandnon-interested,aidedbyheatmapsandscientific
reviewsofbrainsignals.
Alessandro’sconclusionhasonebigsurprise:presentationsintheir
currentformarenotanidealwaytocreateexcitementaboutContent
Marketingandtotriggeractionsinthetargetaudience.Theimpactof
textsandvideosisdrivenbywhattheenvironmentandcharacterofthe
audience.There’snoblueprintsolutionforallaudiencesandnocontent
formcangenerallybefavoredoverothers.InadditionAlessandro’s
greatpostwillprovideyouwithmanyusefuldetailsandfactsforyour
ContentMarketingstrategy.
BIO&FACTS
Name:AlessandroMalzanini
Twitter:@malzanini
Followers:6539
Following:2048
Activesince:12-2010
Top5topics:art,science,marketing,mindhacks,fashion
Top3linkeddomains:artnet.com,venturebeat.com,wallpaper.com
RANK3-KELSEYLIBERT
KelseyLibert(@KelseyLibert):ComparingtheROIofContent
MarketingandNativeAdvertising
KelseyLibertfocusesonthecomparisonContentMarketingversus
nativeadvertisingandsheaddstheethicalperspectivetotheequation–
it’snotaphilosophicalyes/noanalysisregardingnativeads,it’sa
businessquestion.ContentMarketingandnativeadsbothdealwith
contentbutareverydifferentintheirrespectiveapproach.WhileContent
Marketing,inKelsey’sview,requiresendurance,smartskills,andcanbe
implementedbylargeandsmallcompaniesalike;thatpointsheproves
byshowcasingseveralagencyapproaches.
Yetnativeadsdeliverquickresults,workalmostinreal-timeandare
softerincategoriessuchasbrandawarenessorcontent-based
reputation.Theysimplydon’tleveragecontenttotheextentContent
Marketingdoestoempowerbrandsandpersons.Nativeisexpensive,
needsscaleandcan’tcompetewithContentMarketingonmanylevels.
BIO&FACTS
Name:KelseyLibert
Twitter:@KelseyLibert
Followers:2728
Following:208
Activesince:08-2010
Top5topics:marketing,contentmarketing,socialmedia,seo,business
Top3linkeddomains:markertingland.com,moz.com,inc.com
RANK4–JEFFBULLAS
JeffBullas(@jeffbullas):5DigitalMarketingTrendsThatWillDisrupt
YourBusiness
JeffBullasisoneofAustralia’stopinfluencerswhenitcomestoContent
Marketing.We’vefollowedhimformanyyearsandhe’saswidelyknown
asthefounderofContentMarketingWorld,JoePulizzi.Jeff’spostabout
trendsanddisruptiongarnered11,000+shares(manyofhispostsreach
highsharecounts).Jeffvividlydescribesthehappyfatfrogwho
unknowinglyswimsinapotwithwaterthatslowlygetshotter.Thefrog
doesnotunderstandthatsoonthewaterwillcookandhewilldie.For
Jeffthisisthesituationthatmanycorporationsandmarketersarein
today.Marketingautomationwillcausemanyaheadacheinmedia
companieswhilebigdataisabuzzwordthatinitscoreisdrivenbythe
ever-growingamountofdataandmetrics.Takesocialmedia:through
myriadsofconnectionsmoreandmoredataisgeneratedandstoredto
allowentirelynewbusinessmodelssoonthereafter.Allofthisisgoing
mobileandkillsestablishedbusinessesthatdonotcompeteaggressively
enoughinthisenvironment.Automation,bigdataandmobilearemassive
trendsthatwillchangethewaywecommunicatefromaContent
Marketingperspectiveforyearstocome.
BIO&FACTS
Name:JeffBullas
Twitter:@jeffbullas
Followers:394000
Following:245000
Activesince:12-2008
Top5topics:marketing,blogging,socialmedia,socialmediapicks,
contentmarketing
Top3linkeddomains:convinceandconvert.com,sethgodin.typepad.com,
ducttapemarketing.com
RANK5-ALEXANDRASAMUEL
AlexandraSamuel(@awsamuel):DataIstheNextBigThinginContent
Marketing
ThebigdatathemecontinuesinAlexandraSamuel’spiece.Dataarethe
nextbigContentMarketingthingbecausetheyarenotjustdata.They
areaprimesourceofcontent.Thosewhocontrolbigdatahaveunlimited
possibilitiestoextractinformationandtocreatecontentbasedonthe
information–contentthatfulfillseveryparameternecessarytobe
successful.
Thiscontentisnotbasedonvagueideasorpureopinions,ratherithasa
rock-solidbaseandcontainstransparentthesisaswellasdetailsthat
canbereconfirmedatanytime.Thiscontentiseasytotransforminto
lists,charts,infographicsandwillthusbeperfectlyshareableinformation
forallsocialnetworks.ThatiswhyAlexandrabelievescontentmarketers
mustemploydatajournalistsorwritemorecontentbasedondata
togetherwithdatascientistsandotherdataexperts.
BIO&FACTS
Name:AlexandraSamuel
Twitter:@awsamuel
Followers:12300
Following:1955
Activesince:03-2007
Top5topics:socialmedia,business,productivity,tech,data
Top3linkeddomains:hbr.org,huffingtonpost.com,visioncritical.com
RANK6-JEFFBULLAS
JeffBullas(@jeffbullas):5WaystoStandoutonSocialMediawitha
BootstrapBudget
Here’sJeffBullasagain,forthesecondtimeonthislist.Thisclassic
how-topostshedslightonakeyprobleminContentMarketing:how
doescontentgetthemostvisibilityandreachwithoutspendinglarge
marketingbudgets?Theanswerisseeminglyeasy:cleversocialmedia
amplificationtriggernetworkeffectstohelpspreadone’scontentthrough
theconnectionsofinfluencers.Massivescaleistheresult.
Yet:it’snotthateasywhenyouwanttodoitright.Socialnetworksare
drivenbygrowth,newmembersjoinanygivenanyandnewcontentis
publishedbyoldornewmembersarealike.Itbecomesincreasingly
difficulttotakeadvantageofsocialscalemodels,competitionisfierce
andrealopportunitiesarerare.Jeffshowcasesrecipesthathelpyou
distributeyourcontentintherightformattotherightinfluencersand
helpsyouscheduleasocialcontentmodelthatisbothcomprehensive
andinmanycasessuccessful.
BIO&FACTS
Name:JeffBullas
Twitter:@jeffbullas
Followers:394000
Following:245000
Activesince:12-2008
Top5topics:marketing,blogging,socialmedia,socialmediapicks,
contentmarketing
Top3linkeddomains:convinceandconvert.com,sethgodin.typepad.com,
ducttapemarketing.com
RANK7-MRIDUKHULLARRELPH
MriduKhullarRelph(@mridukhullar):These6TypesofContentWill
BoostYourTrafficandEngagement.Here’sHowtoDoThemRight
Herewe’lllearnmoreaboutthecreationofcontentfromastrategic
perspective.Whatcontentisbestsuitedforwhatpurposeoraudience.
It’sanevergreentopicintheContentMarketingcommunity.Mridu
KhullarRelphcloselyfollowsherownadvice:listentoyouraudienceand
createcontentbasedonwhatyou’veseenorheard.Suchcontentwhen
beingstructuredclearlyhasacomfortablestylewithahighdegreeof
usability.Herpostanswersthequestionhowtocomposeandstructure
relevantcontentsothatuserswillshareitandengagewithyouin
meaningfuldiscussions.
BIO&FACTS
Name:MriduKhullarRelph
Twitter:@mridukhullar
Followers:3353
Following:702
Activesince:07-2008
Top5topics:marketing,writing,dedillc,socialmedia,business
Top3linkeddomains:sethgodin.typepad.com,
theinternationalfreelancer.com,theguardian.com
RANK8-LINDSAYKOLOWICH
LindsayKolowich(@lkolo25):FromHBRtoMashable:HowtoBea
GuestWriteron11PopularSites
OnlyfewcontentmarketershaveapersonalreachcomparabletoJeff
Bullas’s.Mostofthemarketersneedhubs,portalsandmediawebsites
withreachorscaletomakesurethattheiropinionsgetheard.Great
hubsareexcellentwebsitessuchasHarvardBusinessReview,
MashableorMedium–ifyourcontentisvisiblethereyou’llgetattention,
reachandgainreputation.Therearemanymorereasonstopublish
postsonsuchplatforms.
So,howdoyoudoit?LindsayKolowich’slistpostisacuratedsetof
whatyoushouldknowabouttheapplicationoflargewebsites.Shetells
youhowtopresentyourcontentandwhatyouneedtokeepinmindon
thewaytocontentsuccess.HerdescriptiveposthasnoratingsorindepthanalysisbutwhatLindsayhaswrittenisusefulandpractical.
BIO&FACTS
Name:LindsayKolowich
Twitter:@lkolo25
Followers:3,060
Following:581
Activesince:06-2010
Top5topics:marketing,mashable,socialmedia,business,sales
Top3linkeddomains:blog.hubspot.com,qz.com,mashable.com
RANK9-KRISTIHINES
KristiHines(@kristihines):HowtoUseGoogle+Collectionsfor
Business
Thislisticleisan11-stepguidetoGoogle+Collections.KristiHineshelps
youtounderstandthebenefitsofthisinterestingfeaturethatmakesthe
nearly-deadnetworkGoogle+infactveryusefulforbusinessesand
marketers.Withgreatcontentthat’ssmartlyutilizedtogenerateresults
thepossibilitiesaremanifoldonGoogle+.Kristi’sexamplesaretaken
fromblogposts,podcasts,videosandwhitepapersandinfographics–
almosteveryformofcontentcanbeaddedtoCollections.Learnhowto
implementthemandhowtoleveragethemasanimportantpartofyour
ContentMarketingstrategy.
BIO&FACTS
Name:KristiHines
Twitter:@kristihines
Followers:3,826
Following:455
Activesince:06-2009
Top5topics:socialmedia,seo,lifehacker,marketing,facebook
Top3linkeddomains:socialmediaexaminer.com,lifehacker.com,
postplanner.com
RANK10-JOHNCOLEMAN
JohnColeman(@johnwcoleman):UseStorytellingtoExplainYour
Company’sPurpose
JohnColeman’sstorytellingpostisafreshperspectiveonContent
Marketingbeyondlistsandhow-tos.Beforecompaniesbegintotalk
aboutthemselvestheyshouldanalysewhatmessageneedstobe
communicatedtotheaudiencestheyseektoattract.ForJohn
storytellingisthemethodofchoicebecausewithbusinessmetrics,
statistics,dataandfactsaloneyouwillexcitenooneoutthere.The
‘Self,Us,Now’principlebyMarshallGanzisthestrategyJohnemploys
tohelpyoubuildstructurednarrativeswithvisions,goalsandbackground
factsaboutyourcompany–communicatedinawaythatreallyhelps
youraudience.
BIO&FACTS
Name:JohnColeman
Twitter:@johnwcoleman
Followers:5772
Following:822
Activesince:12-2008
Top5topics:business,startup,hbr,news,career
Top3linkeddomains:hbr.org,mashable.com,gizmodo.com
RANK11-BRIANSUTTER
BrianSutter(@SmallBizBrian):Traffic-BoostingSEOFundamentalsFor
ContentMarketing
BrianSutterlooksatatypicalContentMarketingpainpointwiththis
SEObasicspost.It’salistwith15itemsthatwillhelptoincreasethe
visibilityandtrafficofyourwebsiteinordertogetmoreeyeballstoyour
ContentMarketingefforts.Item15onthelistisafactthatevery
marketershouldmemorize:‘don’teventhinkaboutgamingthesystem!’
ByworkingagainstGoogleorothersearchenginesyouwillultimately
workagainstyourownfate.Thisfightcan’tbewonsoitshouldn’tbe
fought.Focusyourattention,timeandresourcesonthequalityofyour
content,putthebestandmostexcitingcontentoutthere.Thatwillhelp
alltheothers,thesearchenginesandyou.
BIO&FACTS
Name:BrianSutter
Twitter:@SmallBizBrian
Followers:58900
Following:37400
Activesince:02-2013
Top5topics:business,marketing,seo,socialmedia,entrepreneur
Top3linkeddomains:wasbarcode.com,business2community.com,
entrepreneur.com
RANK12-JEFFBULLAS
JeffBullas(@jeffbullas):ContentMarketingTips:11TypesofContent
ThatPeopleLoveToShare
JeffBullasagain.We’vealreadymentionedthathismassivereach
resultsinhighsharecounts.So,herewego.ThistimeJeffpresentalist
ofitemsthatfocusonthequestionwhatcontentyouneedtogetshared
oneverynetwork.InmanywaysthisisaContentMarketingevergreen
topic.Freeaudiencegrowthisanecessityforeverycontentmarketer
yetit’sextremelydifficulttopredictwhattypeofcontentwillattractthe
mostreaders.Jeffthinksit’slists,how-tosandhelpfulcontentalongside
otherstandardtypesofContentMarketingstorytellingelements.
Isn’titfunnyhowJeff’spostsabouthighlyshareablepostsgetsharedso
often?ThatsurelymakesJefftheidealexperttoaddressthistopicfrom
aContentMarketingperspective.Histhreepostsrepresentedonourtop
15listsreachacombinedsharecountof27,500.
BIO&FACTS
Name:JeffBullas
Twitter:@jeffbullas
Followers:394000
Following:245000
Activesince:12-2008
Top5topics:marketing,blogging,socialmedia,socialmediapicks,
contentmarketing
Top3linkeddomains:convinceandconvert.com,sethgodin.typepad.com,
ducttapemarketing.com
RANK13-NEILPATEL
NeilPatel(@neilpatel):22GmailPluginsThatAllContentMarketers
NeedtoKnowAbout
AmongcontentmarketersNeilPatelisahighlyrespectedexpert.Ifthis
wereatop100listwe’dseemanyofNeil’sposts.Inhislistabout22
Gmailpluginsthatweallneedtoknowhetakesusontoaneasily
replicablesetupofGmailtoolsthathelpspread,manageandanalyze
content.Neilhascreatedvideos,infographicsandshorttextsforeach
pluginsothatyouknowhowtouseitandwhyyou’llhavemoresuccess
whendoingso.
BIO&FACTS
Name:NeilPatel
Twitter:@neilpatel
Followers:178000
Following:98500
Activesince:03-2007
Top5topics:marketing,contentmarketing,cro,seo,entrepreneur
Top3linkeddomains:neilpatel.com,quicksprout.com,
blog.crazyegg.com
RANK14-ANNSMARTY
AnnSmarty(@seosmarty):8CollaborationToolstoImproveYour
Content
AnnSmartyisnotonlyasmartcontentmarketer.Shealsowritessmart
posts.Thisoneisakeyassetforteamswhocollaborateonthecontent
creationsideofthebusiness.It’saboutorganization,coordinationand
communication,otherwiseyou’lllosesightofyourgoalsandwillendup
incontentchaos.Annpresentseightusefultoolsthatwillleadtoahigher
efficiencyintheproductionprogressandbettercoordinationamongyour
peers.
BIO&FACTS
Name:AnnSmarty
Twitter:@seosmarty
Followers:53600
Following:4167
Activesince:12-2007
Top5topics:seo,vcbuzz,mbustorm,contentmarketing,socialmedia
Top3linkeddomains:myblogu.com,internetmarketingninjas.com,
viralcontentbuzz.com
RANK15–SARAHSNOW
SarahSnow(@socialmedia2day):HowtoWriteBetterContentfor
SocialMedia
SarahSnowisacontributortothepopularwebsiteSocialMediaToday.
ShehasnopersonalTwitteraccountthatweknowofsowechoseto
includetheSocialMediaTodayaccount.Sarahtriestoanalyzewhatyou
needtodotowritebettercontent.It’snotonlyaboutgettingread,it’s
aboutgettingsharedandamplified.Shethinksjokescanhelpandlight
contentthatbringskeymessagestolightwithoutmucheffort.Thispost
isno.15of15butwhowouldn’tbehappyaboutsucharesultamongthe
toughcompetitionontheranks?
BIO&FACTS
Name:SarahSnow
Twitter:@socialmedia2day
Followers:509000
Following:418
Activesince:07-2008
Top5topics:socialmedia,smm,bigdata,business,video
Top3linkeddomains:socialmedia2day.com,
smartdatacollective.com,youtube.com
CONCLUSION
Wehavechosenthetop15deliberatelyforQ3andQ42015.Itisour
impressionthatsixmonthsrepresentagreattimespantoanalyseand
understandsocialmediatrends.Sixmonthsarefreshenough,soto
speak,totakeadvantageofthetrendsimmediatelyandtoimplement
theminyourcontentmarketingstrategy.So,whathavewelearntwhile
analyzingthemostsharedcontents?
listsalwaysperformwell
data-drivencontenthasbecomeahugetrend
infographicsandvisualelementsareveryattractivecontentassets
mobil-optimizedcontentareanecessityforanykindofmarketing
contentmarketingisanecosystemwithinfluencersandunique
networks
amplifyyourowncontentsbywritingguestpostsforlargeplatforms
quotesandimpactfulshortstatementsaregreatforTwitter
Twitteristheprimarytoolforallcontentmarketers
contentswithquestionswilltriggerusercomments
Thatwouldbeourconclusionfornow.PleasebookmarktheTwitter
accountsofalltop15influencersandfollowtheminthenearfuture.That
wayyou’lllearnimmediatelywhattrendsemergeandwhatkindof
contentislikelytobesharedbytheirfans.Tolearnfromtheinfluencers
istolearnhowtosucceed.
Shallwesay:let’srock!
Yourauthors
SimonGeisler,@simon_geisler
DominikGrau,@dominikgrau
ChristineGerber,@cgerber21
123CONTENTMARKETINGTOOLSFROM
INDUSTRYPROFESSIONALS
IanClearly(@IanCleary),updated:November17,2015
Whattoolsdoyouusetomarketyourcontentonline?
Theycouldbetoolstohelppromoteyourcontent,analyzeresults,share
contentonsocialmediaandmore.
WereachedouttosomeofthetopcontentmarketersintheWorldand
askedthemabouttheirfavoritetools.
WhatisContentMarketingandwhattoolsarerelevant?
Contentmarketingisatermthatisoftenconfused.Here’sanexplanation
fromWikipedia:
Contentmarketingisanymarketingthatinvolvesthecreationandsharing
ofmediaandpublishingcontentinordertoacquireandretaincustomers.
Thisinformationcanbepresentedinavarietyofformats,includingnews,
video,whitepapers,e-books,infographics,casestudies,how-toguides,
questionandanswerarticles,photos,etc.
So…asyoucanseeit’squiteabroadterm.
Iwouldconsidersocialmediatoolsundertherealmofcontentmarketing
becauseyouarepublishingcontenttoacquireandretaincustomers!
Iwouldconsideranalyticspartofthetoolsetyouneedtotrackyour
contentmarketingeffortssothisispartofcontentmarketingtools!
So…herewego!!
HOLDUP…beforewegetdowntothenittygrittyifyoujustwantto
quicklyflickthroughallthefavoritetoolsfromouresteemedcolleagues,
thencheckoutthisslideshare.
123ContentMarketingToolsfrom40IndustryProfessionalsfrom
razorsocial
SUMMARYOFTHETOPTOOLS
Whenwedopostslikethisit’salwaysinterestingtodiscoverthetop
toolsthatmostoftheprosareusing,becauseifthey’reusingthemthey
mustbegood…right!
It’sclearthatBuzzsumoisafirmfavorite,withBufferandSEMRusha
close2ndand3rd.
Butwhat’syourfavoritetool?Haveyoursayinourpollattheendofthis
post.
Likeourgraph?–checkoutVisage.coforaneasywaytocreate
stunningcharts,graphs,quotesandmore
Wanttotellusyourtop3contentmarketingtools?Makesureto
scrolltotheverybottomofthisarticletotakeourquickpollsowecan
findoutwhatyourfavoritetoolsare.Iamsureyouhavesomegreat
onestosharewithus!
MIKESTELZNER–SOCIALMEDIA
EXAMINER
1.GoogleTrends
Whatifyoucouldhaveon-demandinsightintowhatpeoplearesearching
forandwhetherit’sincreasingordecreasingasatrend?EnterGoogle
Trends,whichallowsyoutotypeinacoupleofkeywordsandcompare
theirinterestactivity.Forexample,Icompared“socialmediamarketing”
to“contentmarketing.”
2.Screenflow5forMac
Haveyoueverseenthosecoolvideosthatsomehowcapturewhat’son
youriPhone?Everwonderhowtodothat?CheckoutScreenFlow5for
Mac.WithScreenFlow5,youcanplugyouriPhoneintoyourMac.Then
withinScreenFlow,recordthevideooffofyouriPhoneoriPadasyou
demonstratehowtodosomething.
3.Trello
IuseTrellotohelpmanagemyactivities.
ANDYCRESTODINA–ORBITMEDIA
4.GoogleAnalytics
Thisistheultimatetoolforcontentmarketersbecauseitshowsyou
what’sworkingandwhatisn’t.Carsneedheadlights.Contentneeds
Analytics.Butofcourse,justhavingitdoesn’thelp.Usingitforreporting
doesn’thelpmucheither!GreatcontentmarketersuseAnalyticstodo
realanalysisandsupportdecisions.Likeanytool,it’sallabouthowyou
useit…
5.MeetEdgar
I’msavingalotoftimelatelybyusingasocialmediaschedulingtool
calledMeetEdgar.I’veloadedintwothings:a30+posts(withimages
linkingtoevergreencontent)and30+timesoftheweek(whenmy
audiencetendstobeactive).Nowthesepostsarerandomlyselectedto
gooutatthosetimes,allowingmetofocusonothertypesofpostsand
socialinteractions.
It’snotfreeandittakesawhiletosetupproperly,butit’sabigtime
savinginthelongrun.
6.SEMrush
Ittracksandanalyzesrankings,competitors,links,keywordsandPPC
adspendingforyoursiteoranyother.It’soneofthosecomprehensive
toolsthatgetsmoreusefulallthetime.Ifindmyselfusingitseveral
timesperdaytoseethegeneralsearchperformanceofclientsandtheir
competitors.It’sthebyfarthefastestwaytoseehoweffectiveabrand
isatsearchmarketing.
JEFFBULLAS–JEFFBULLAS.COM
7.Snagit
Creatingvisuals,includingimageryandvideoforyourblog,using
screenshotshasbecomethenorm.Forcontentmarketing,itis
essential.WhenIstartedbloggingitwasn’tthatimportantbuttodayit’s
almostmandatoryonthevisualweb.
8.Buzzsumo
Thishelpsidentifyhotcontenttosharewithyourfollowersandalso
helpsidentifyinfluencersrelatedtospecificterms.Iuseittofindgreat
contentideasandinfluencers.
9.Tweepi
ThisissoftwarethatIhaveusedtogrowmyTwitterfollowerstoover
320,000.Buildingonlinedistributionisgreatfordistributingyourcontent,
creatingbrandawareness,engagementanddrivingtraffic.TouseitlikeI
doyouneedtosubscribetothePlatinumversion.
MICHAELBRENNER–NEWSCRED
10.Buzzsumo
BuzzsumoisatoolIusealmosteverysingleday.Ifyouwantto“winthe
internet”foryourkeywords,youneedtoseewhoyourrealcompetition
is.Manybrandsaresomewhatsurprisedtoseethatpublishersoften
rankthehighestforcertainkeywords.ButIalsothinkthistoolhelpsyou
toseejusthowmuchsocialsharingoccursonthetoppostsandwhich
channelsaredrivingtheengagement.
11.Topsy
TopsyisatoolverysimilartoBuzzsumoalthoughitdoesnotshowthe
numberofshares,itproducessomewhatdifferentresults,andIfindthe
featuresetisnotquiteasrichorintuitive.Butstillworthalookifyouare
tryingtofigureoutwhatarticles,videosandphotospeoplearesharing.
12.Bottlenose
Bottlenoseisaninterestinglittlewebsitethatpurportstotellyou“what
theworldisthinkingrightnow”aboutanytopic.Youcandisplaytopics,
hashtagsandmentionedpeople.Andthenpreparetogetmesmerizedby
theconstantlyupdatingchart.
ANDREWDAVIS–AKADREWDAVIS.COM
13.Grammarly
WhyIloveit?Grammarlyactivelyhelpsmebeabetterwriter.I’ve
writteneverything(includingmylatestbook)usingGrammarlyandit’s
worththesmallfeeeachmonth!!!Iloveit.
14.OptimizePress
WordPressisgreat,forsure,butIreallyliketheflexibilitythat
OptimizePressdelivers.Sure,it’susedbymanyasalandingpage
creator,butIlikeusingitforeverything.Greattool.
15.GetDrip
IusedtospendafortuneontoolslikeInfusionsofttohelpmewithmy
marketingautomation.ButI’verecentlyfalleninlovewithGetDrip.It’s
easyandfuntouseandit’safractionofthecost.
SYEDBALKHI–WPBEGINNER
16.SEMRush
Agreattoolforcompetitorresearch.
17.EditFlow
WeuseEditFlowtomanageoureditorialcalendarforWPBeinnerand
otherproperties.Itallowsforcustomizations,editornotesandmuch
more.
18.OptinMonster
Ifyouwanttobuildemailsubscribersrapidly,youneedtouse
OptinMonster!
BRIANFANZO–BROADSUITE
19.Flipboard
Whenitcomestocontentmarketingit’simportanttobeabletoconsume
greatcontentonyourdesktoponyourphoneandonthetablet.It’salso
importanttobeabletosharethatcontenttosocialandFlipboardallows
allofthatandmore.
20.Buzzsumo
Greatcontentinmyopinionstartandgreatindustrylistening.Ileverage
Buzzsumofornotonlypersonalbrandsociallisteningbutcontent
researchinfluencermonitoringandtostudyindustriestrends.
21.Meerkat&Periscope
Contenttodayiscreatedandconsumedinmanydifferentformats.I
needtobeauthenticandcreatecontentinreal-timehasneverbeen
moreimportantandthankstoappslikemeerkatperiscopeyoucan
createthatcontentbysimplyclickinggoliveonmobiledevicewhilealso
savingthecontentstobeleveragedforotherchannels.
STEWARTROGERS–VENTUREBEAT
22.Grammarly
IknowalotofpeoplewillciteCanvaasanamazingcontentcreation
tool.That’sbecauseitis!Butawesomegraphicsaren’tgoingtocutthe
mustardbythemselves.Youneedtoensurethatyourwordsresonate,
useactivelanguage,andhavecorrectspelling,punctuation,and
grammar.
That’swhyGrammarlyshouldbeoneverycontentmarketingcreator’s
listofmust-havetools.Itgoeswaybeyondthetypicalspellingand
grammarcheckersbuiltintoyourwordprocessorofchoice.Grammarly
makesyourwrittencontentpunchy,relevant,andeffective.
23.Feedly
Contentmarketingisnotallabout“broadcastmode.”Itisalsoabout
settingthetone,andcomingacrossastheperson(orpeople)thatknow
thissubjectbetterthananyone.That’swhyyoumustalwayscurateother
people’scontentandsharethatwithyouraudiencetoo.Ican’tthinkofa
bettertooltohelpwiththisthanFeedly.
IfillFeedlywithnewsandcontentsources,indifferentcategories,via
theFeedlyicon(courtesyofaChromeextension),orviaanRSSfeed.I
canthenskim-readallthelatestnews,andseehowpopularitisonline.
Itissuper-easyformetofind,read,andsharethebestcontentformy
followersinacoupleofclicksofthemouse.
24.Triberr
Thereisnopointspendingageswritinggreatcontent,addingbeautiful
images,andputtingitalltogetheronyourwebsiteifnobodyreadsit,so
contentpromotioniskey.Forme,alongwithsharingthecontenttoall
theusualsocialnetworks,there’snothingaseffectiveasTriberrfor
extendingthereachofyourarticles,infographics,andwebtools.
TriberrworksbybroadcastingyourRSSfeedtoyour“tribemates,”who
thendecidewhethertheylikethatcontentornot.Iftheydo,theyshareit
withtheirfollowers.Theonusisstillonyourtoproducegreatcontent
withawesomeheadlines–nobodyisgoingtosharemediocreoutput–
butTriberrhelpstoexpandyourreadershipfarbeyondwhatyoucan
achieveonyourown.
BRIANDEAN–BACKLINKO
25.SEMRush
Perfectforfindingkeywordsthatreaders(andsearchers)usetofind
contentonline.
26.Buzzsumo
Thebesttoolforfindingprovencontenttopics.IdealforTheSkyscraper
Technique.
27.Gmail
(yesreally)Inmyopinioncontentpromotion=emailoutreach.AndI
couldn’tdoitwithoutGmail.
NEALSCHAFFER–MAXIMIZEYOUR
SOCIAL
28.Buzzsumo
LoveusingBuzzsumoforresearchingcontentideas,findinginfluencers
basedonthecontenttheyshare,doingcompetitiveanalysisonthe
performanceofmyowncontent,andcuratingcontent.Hands-downmy
go-totoolforcontentmarketingresearch.
29.Socedo
SocedoisastrategicsocialsellingtoolIusewhenIwanttopromotemy
content-specificleadmagnets.Notonlyisitagreatwayofpromoting
mycontent,buttheengagementitcreateshelpsmestayinbettertouch
withmyfollowers!
30.LeadPages
IhavebeenusingLeadPagesonandoffforthelastfewyears,but
there’ssimplynoeasierwaytoquicklydeployagreat-lookinglanding
pagewhichalsointegrateswithallofthemajoremailmarketingtoolsas
wellasGo2Webinar.
PHYLLISKHARE–PHYLLISKARE.COM
31.BufferappPowerScheduler
Adreamtouse,thePowerSchedulerallowsyoutopostthesame
contentmanydifferenttimesinmanydifferentsocialplatformswithan
endlessamountofeditsonthefly.Thisismyfavoritewaytopostatthe
moment.Youseethisparticularinterfacewhenonapostthatyouare
sharingusingtheblog’ssocialsharingiconsortheChromeextension
icon.Inlessthan5minutesyoucansetupauto-postingtoallyoursites
andeditthemsotheydon’tallreadthesame,andaddimagesandhave
youweek’sworth(andmore)ofpostsscheduled.
32.RiteTag
AnotherawesometoolthathasaChromeextensionthatembedsitself
intoallmysocialpostinginterfaces.RiteTagisastraightupscheduling
andhashtagadditiontool.Ihaveaspecialloveofhashtagsandthislittle
toolgivesmethedatascooponeachhashtagIchooserightthereon
theinterface.Thefirstnumbergivesmehowmuchcompetitionthereis
forthishashtag,thesecondistopotentialreachandthethirdisthe
potentialforRetweetswiththishashtag.Thecolorcodingshowsme
great(green),good(blue),bad(red)andUnused(white)hashtags.Love
it.Youcanclickthelittledataiconandgetmoreanalyticsaboutthis
hashtagthanyou’lleverneedtoknow.
33.YoastSEO
BesidesbeingtheallaroundbestSEOpluginforWordPress,thistool
alsohasthecapabilityofhookingyouupwithFacebook’sAuthorshipand
Twitter’sSummaryCardsystems.There’stoomuchtosayforbothof
thosethings,butifyouwanttosharefromyourblogandgetcreditfor
thesharewithahyperlinkedauthortagonFacebook(youwantthis)and
anautomaticallygeneratedTwitterCardinthesummaryofthetweet
(youwantthistoo)—thenmakesureyouhavethisWordPressPlugin
installed.IbetIanhassomesupertutorialsonhowtohookitallup.
JAMIETURNER–60SECOND
COMMUNICATIONS
Rightnow,we’refocusingalotofourattentionontoolsthathelp
distributecontenttoalargeraudience.Somanybusinesses(ours
included)focustoomuchattentiononcontentcreationandnotenoughon
contentdistribution.We’reexploringseveraltoolsthataredesignedto
superchargethedistributionofcontentratherthanthecreationof
content.
Theseincludethefollowing:
34.SocialToaster
Thistoolmakesyourcontentcontinuouslysharedby“Superfans”who
areconnectedtoallmassesandplatforms.
35.DynamicSignal
Anemployee-focusedtoolthatmakesiteasyforbrandstosourceand
distributecontentthatisreceivedbyusersandpostedontotheirsocial
mediachannels.
36.SimpleReach
SimpleReachisagreatdistributiontoolthatcansendyourcontentout
viaalmostanychannel.
JOHNLEEDUMAS–ENTREPRENEURON
FIRE
37.MeetEdgar
WecreateaLOTofcontentatEntrepreneurOnFire,andtherearealot
ofgreattoolswecanusetoscheduleouthowweshareourcontentvia
SocialMedia.MeetEdgaristheonlyonethatallowsustoquicklyand
easilybuildalibraryofourcontenttoautomaticallyre-shareina
powerfulway.Weloveit!
38.PodcastWebsites.com
SometimesPodcastersjustwanttoPODCAST.WithPodcastWebsites,
youhaveEVERYTHINGyouneedasaPodcasterinoneplace.Web
hosting,mediahosting,24/7support…allforalowmonthlycost!It’sour
toprecommendationforPodcasters’Paradisememberswhoarelooking
foranall-in-onepieceofmind!
39.SmartPodcastPlayer
TopPodcasterPatFlynnknewwhathewasdoingwhenhecreatedthe
SmartPodcastPlayer.ItintegratesseamlesslyonWordPressand
simplylooksstunning.Thesocialmediaoptionmakeiteasyandfunto
shareaswell!It’sdynamite!
BERNIEBORGES–FINDANDCONVERT
MyteamandIusemanytoolsinourcontentmarketingefforts.These
threetoolsstandout.
40.Meddle.it
Meddle.itallowsforcontentcurationfromtheircommunity.However,we
useitmoretosharecontentbyusingtheirChromeplug-inthatmakes
contentsharingeasy.YoucanshareanarticletoMeddle.itandto
LinkedIn,TwitterandFacebookstraightfromthearticleonlinevia
Chrome.
41.Canva
WeuseCanvatocreateimagestosupportourcontent.Wealsouse
CanvatocreateSlidesharecontent.
42.Hashtagify
ThethirdtoolthatweusedailyisHashtagify.Westudypopularand
trendinghashtagsandfindinfluencersusingthem.
ZACJOHNSON–ZACJOHNSON.COM
43.MeetEdgar
Atoolforautomatingandschedulingoutyoursocialmediamarketing
andbloggingoutreach.Thistoolsavesmecountlesshourspermonth.
YoucanalsolistentomyinterviewwiththeirfounderLauraRoeder.
44.CrowdFireApp.com
Agreatserviceandappforbettersocialmediamanagementand
growingyourfollowingonline.Easytouseandlowcostaswell.The
servicewaspreviouslytitledJustUnfollow,butchangedafterexpanding
theirsocialnetworkfocusfromjustTwitter,tonowalsoinclude
Instagram.
45.ThriveThemes.com
SimplythebestWordPressthemeonthemarketrightnow,whichalso
hasabuiltindraganddropeditor,whilebuiltpurelyaroundthefocusof
increasingengagementandleadgenerationonyoursite.ThriveThemes
wascreatedbyShaneMelaugh.
JAYACUNZO–NEXTVIEW
46.Annotate,anappfromDriftt
(Fulldisclosure:NextViewisaninvestorinDriftt.)Thecompanyisledby
oneofthebestproductmindsaround,DavidCancel,aserial
entrepreneurandpreviouslyHubSpot’sChiefProductOfficer,soit’sa
beautifullybuiltapp.Annotateletsyouuploadorcaptureimagesand
screenshots,markthemup,andeasilysharewithothersorpublish
online.
47.Canva
SinceI’mnotadesignerbuthavetoconstantlydesignthingsat
NextView,it’sinvaluableformetostartwithhigh-qualityinspiration
and/ortemplatestouse.(Itsavesmefrommyself!)SowithCanva,I’ve
doneeverythingfromregularbloggraphicstomorecriticalassets,like
ourpodcast’scoverart.
48.Auphonic
Itcleansuptheaudiofilesaheadofpublishingmypodcast,Traction.
Becausetheshowisverystory-drivenandaimstobehighproduction
value,Ihavetosplicetogetherdifferentaudiotracks,soundeffects,
music,andsoforth,whichcansoundsomewhatdisjointed.Auphonic
eliminatesbackgroundnoiseandalsolevelsanydifferencesinvolumeso
eachepisodesoundslikeonecoherentexperience.
PAMELAMULDOON–VOICEOVERTALENT
49.ProcessStreet
OneofmynewfavoritetoolsthatIrecentlystartedusingisProcess
Street.Thisanonlinetoolthathelpswithprocessandworkflow.Ican
createchecklistsoneachshowIworkandshareitwithanyoneelsewho
needstohaveaccesstotheprocess.Youcanalsoembedchecklistson
yourblogorwebsitetosharewithyouraudience.Ibelievethatsolid
systemsensureconsistencyandthistoolprovidesmeaneasy-to-use
applicationtogetthingsdone!
50.AdobeCreativeCloud
IdoalotofeditingandloveworkingwithAdobeAuditionformyaudio
recordingandeditingprocess.IactuallyusetheAdobeCreativeCloud
versionwhichensuresIhavethemostuptodatesoftwareatalltimes.If
youareworkingwithmulti-tracks,Adobeiseasyandquiteuserfriendly
forasophisticatedaudiosoftware.
51.SproutSocial
IalsorecentlywentbacktousingSproutSocialformysocialmedia
distribution.IespeciallylovetheirintegrationofFeedlysoIcanmore
easilysharearticles,blogpostsandothercontentfromfolksIalready
respectandfollow.Theyhaveeasy-to-readreportsthattellmewhatI
needtoknowquicklyandwithnicegraphics.It’sarobusttoolthatfulfills
myneedswellforsocialmediadistributionandengagement.
52.Libsyn
ForpodcastaudiohostingIhighlyrecommendLibsyn.Thefolksat
Libsyncreatedtheirtoolsspecificallyforthepodcastingcommunityand
itshows.Theyoffercosteffectivemediahostingsubscriptionlevelsand
areoneofthefewthatprovideaNetworklevelhostingoption.Great
customerserviceandexcellentstats.TheyarealsolaunchingaWP
podcastplayerplugininAugustwhichwilljustaddtotheirabilitytoserve
podcastersevenbetter.
KIMGARST–KIMGARST.COM
53.SproutSocial
Thisisaplatformmanagementtoolthatallowsyoutopostandschedule
contentaswellasengagewithyourFacebook,TwitterandInstagram
followers.Ihavetriedmanydifferentmanagementtoolsandrecently
switchedovertoSproutSocialforonekeyreason.Oneofmyfavorite
featuresofSproutSocial(andtheonethatsavesmethemosttime)is
theabilitytoseepasttweetsconversationsforthosethatengagewith
meonTwitter.Itmakesitmucheasiertoseewhatconversationswe
havehad,andinwhatcontext,sothatIcanengageappropriately.
54.Canva
Icouldn’tcreatealistofmyfavoritetoolswithoutmentioningCanva.I
haveadesignbackgroundandusedPhotoshopreligiouslyuntilIfound
Canva.Canvasavesmeatonoftimeandisagreatcollaborationtool
formyteam!VisualcontentisthebackboneofmyplatformbecauseI
havefoundthatmyaudienceengagesmostwiththevisuals.Imean,
whenourbrainsprocessvisuals60,000timesfasterthantextthathasto
meansomething,right?Tryit,youwillloveit!
55.PeriscopeLive-StreamingApp
LetmestartoffbysayingIhaven’tbeenthisexcitedaboutsomething
newinsocialmediainYEARS!Itdidn’ttakemelongtoseethe
marketingpotentialofPeriscopeandsincethen,Ihavegoneallinon
usingtheapptobuildaconnectedcommunity.Sowhatisit?Periscope
isalive-streamingappthatwaspurchasedbyTwitterandallows
broadcasterstogoliveinfrontoftheirfollowersandanyoneontheapp.
Viewershavetheabilitytocommenton,giveheartsto,andsharethe
broadcastviatheirTwitteraccount.TheconnectiontoTwitterisabig
reasonwhyIchosetofocusonPeriscopeasopposedtootherlivestreamingapps.Thevalueofthisapp,inmyopinion,istheabilitytobuild
theknow,like,trustfactoratasuperacceleratedratebecausepeople
gettoknowyoumuchquickerwhenyouare“live”andinfrontofthem
chattingratherthanapostortweetatatime.
IANCLEARY–RAZORSOCIAL
56.Buzzsumo
Thisisagreattoolforcontentresearch.Forexample,ifI’mgoingto
writeablogpostonatopicI’llresearchtofindoutthemostpopular
postsrelatedtothistopic.Buzzsumowillshowmethemostshared
contentrelatedtothetopic.
57.SEMRush
Agreattoolforcompetitorresearch.Findoutallthekeywordsthatare
drivingtraffictoyourcompetitors!
58.InboundWriter
Howmanyblogpostsdoyouwritethatgetnoongoingorganictraffic?If
youuseInboundWriteritwilltellyouifyouhaveagoodchanceofgetting
organictrafficbasedonthekeywordsyouarefocussingon!
GLENGILMORE–GILMOREBUSINESS
NETWORK
59.Buffer
IusetheBufferapptopaceandtargetmycontenttospecific
communities.Ilikeitseaseofuse.Twitterlistsarealsoapowerfultool
forcontentaggregationandsharing.Ikeepmylistsprivate,becauseI’m
prettyruthlessaboutwhostaysonandwhogoesoffandI’drathernot
hurtfeelings.
60.Tweetdeck
ThisisaniceplatformtouseduringTwitterchatstotrackvarioustopics
simultaneouslyandtooptimizetheuseofTwitterlists.
DONNAMORITZ–SOCIALLYSORTED
61.Agorapulse
I’vetriedaLOTofschedulingtoolsandAgorapulsewinsoutformein
termsofengagementonFacebook,InstagramandTwitter.Why?
Becausethistoolensuresthatyounevermissatweetorcomment–and
Ilovethatyoucaneasilyfindyourmostvaluedadvocates(iethosethat
tweetyourcontentthemost)makingiteasytohavetheright
conversations.
62.Studio
IloveStudio,notonlybecausethisappallowsyoutocreateawesome
designsforsharingyourimagesandphotos,butitalsohasacoolremix
functionwhereuserscanremixthedesignsofothersintotheirown
images.It’sacommunityofpeoplesharingcooldesigns,withtheability
tofollowotherstoo,soyoucangetloadsofinspirationforyourvisuals.
It’savailableoniOSandAndroidtoo!
63.Tailwind
Whenitcomestocan’t-do-withouttools,Ican’tdowithoutTailwindfor
Pinterest.TailwindallowsmetoschedulepinsandrepinstoPinterest.It
alsotellsmethebesttimestopostforengagement,andgivesme
informationonwhatcontentisbeingsharedfrommywebsite–insight
thathelpsmetocreatemorevisualcontentthatresonates.Ilovethat
Tailwindisaffordabletoo!
FARNOOSHBROCK–PROLIFICLIVING
64.MeetEdgar
BestautomationandschedulingtoolforFacebook,LinkedIn,Twitter,and
othermajorsocialmediaplatforms.WewerehesitanttouseMeetEdgar
becauseofthemonthlyservicefee,butithassavedussomuchtime
andenergy.WeloveitbecauseunlikeHootsuiteandBuffer,itallowsyou
tostopyourpastsocialmediaupdatesfrom“goingtowaste”inthatyou
canrecycleandreusethem,andstudiesshowthatthisdoesnottake
awayfromfanengagementandinfact,itreinforcedit.
65.GoogleAnalytics
Itcontinuestobethemostreliablewaytomeasurethehealthofour
websites,andthetrafficpatternsthatthenhelpusmakebetterbusiness
decisions.Thisisatoolthattakesabitofalearningcurveatfirstbutit
willbeagreatinvestmentofyourtimeasyoulearntoapplythefeatures
youneedintoyourbusiness.
66.Streak
ThisisnotsomuchasocialmediatoolbutaCustomerRelationship
Managementtoolsothisisaftersocialmediahasbroughtyousome
strongleadsandyouwanttotakeyourrelationshiptoahigherlevel.I
LoveStreak,asI’dbeenlookingforaCRMtoolforyears.Itsitsontop
ofGmailandithelpsyoucreateyourpipelinewithallstagesofthesales
processaswellasfancyfeaturesthatallowyoutomanageyouremail
asaprofessional.
BRYANKRAMER–PUREMATTER
67.PostPlanner
FindALLthecontentyouneedforsocialmediainONEplace!Images,
articles,statusideas(anythingyouneed!)fromFacebook,Twitter,
Instagramandyourfavoriteblogs.
68.LittleBird
Asinfluencebecomesmoreimportantincontentcreation,LittleBirdhas
becomemygotofordiscoveringexpertsandtheirvalidatedcontent
that’smostmeaningfultoprospectsorcommunities.Italsohelpsus
createsubjectmatterexpertswithinorganizationsmorequickly!
69.Flipboard
isasocial-networkaggregationmagazine-formatmobileapp.The
softwarecollectscontentfromsocialmediafasterthananythingelseI
cancurateandpresentsitinamagazineformat,andallowsmeto
“flip”veryquicklythroughfeedsspecifictomyinterests.Ithelpsmeplan
whatishotforcontentandmakesureI’mcreatingtimelypiecesof
information.Aswell,submittingyourarticlesintoFlipboardmakesyour
owncontentmoreshareable.
JEFFKORHAN–TRUENATURE
Myfavoritecontentmarketingtoolsaredesignedarounddiscovery,
subjectmatterexpertsandindustryinfluencers,andcontentdistribution
andsharing.
70.Buzzsumo
Buzzsumoismygo-totoolforlearningaboutcontentdesiredbyatarget
audience,andforspecifictopics.Italsoprovidesinsightsintowhat
worksfortherespectivesocialmediachannels,andevenforparticular
periodsoftime.
71.Nimble
Nimbleisausefultoolfordiscoveringinfluencersanddeveloping
relationshipswiththem.Itquicklybuildsaprofileoftheirinterestsand
thecontenttheyaremostlikelytoshare.
72.Feedly
Feedlyremainsmypreferredcurationtool.Contentisthenorganizedfor
variouspurposesusingEvernote,Trelloandoneofmylongtimefavorite
organizationtools,Checkvist.
KERRYGORGONE–MARKETINGPROFS
73.Buffer
IuseBuffereverydaytoscheduletweetsandLinkedInposts.It’s
indispensableondayswhenIhaveapodcastorablogpostcomingout
andneedtopromotethecontent.AsmuchasIenjoysocialmedia,I
can’tstayonalldayjusttopost:IschedulesometweetsorLinkedIn
post,thencheckinthroughouttodaytoseewhatothersaresharing,
replytocomments,andsoon.Buffershortenslinksusingtheserviceof
yourchoice,andoffersanalyticssoyoucanseewhichpostsperform
best.
74.Canva
Canvamakesiteasyfornon-designers(likeme)tocreateinfographics
andothervisualsforourcontent.Thiskindoftoolcanhelpcontent
marketersradicallyincreasereach,especiallyonsocialnetworks.
Twitterpoststhatincludeanimageget5xtheengagementofthose
withoutanimage!Severalinfographicsonmysitewerecreatedwith
Canva,includingthisflowchartonwhethersponsoredcontentshouldbe
disclosed.Aneasytouseinterfaceandhugearrayoflayoutsand
graphicoptionsmakeCanvaoneofmyfavoritecontenttools.
75.TweetDeck
Effectivecontentmarketingstartswithrelationships:youhavetobuilda
networkifyouwantyourpoststoreachpeople.IuseTweetDeckto
participateinmyfavoriteTwitterchats,including#BlogChatonSundays
at9:00p.m.Easternand#BizHeroesonTuesdaysat2:00p.m.Eastern.
I’mabletocreateacolumnforeachchatIwanttofollow,andviewthe
host’sTwitterstreamandmyownnotificationsatthesametime.That
way,Icankeepupwiththeconversation.TweetDeckalsoallowsmeto
instantlyfollowinterestingpeopleImeetduringthechat.Lovethistool!
REBEKAHRADICE–
REBEKAHRADICE.COM
76.Buzzsumo
Buzzsumoisananalysisandresearchtoolthatnocontentmarketer
shouldbewithout.WithBuzzsumoyoucanresearchyourcompetition,
identifypopularcontentanddeterminewhat’sresonatedwithyour
audience.
Whetheryou’relookingforreferencematerialtoaddtoyournextblog
post,determiningthestrengthofaspecifictopicortrackingyour
competition,Buzzsumoletsyouquicklyfindwhoandwhatismost
influentialaroundthatindustryorniche.
77.PostPlanner
Doyoustruggletofindrelevantcontentforyoursocialmediaaudience?
Wouldyoulovetoimproveengagement,butdon’thavethetimetotrack
downcontentthatinspiresyourcommunity?
LooknofurtherthanPostPlanner!WithPostPlanner,youcanfind
contentthat’salreadyprovenpopularwithyourtargetaudience.Whether
you’relookingtosharecontentonTwitterorFacebook,PostPlannerwill
helpyoucurate,schedule(andevencreatewithCanvaintegration)likea
pro!
78.SEMRush
SEMRushismygo-totoolwhenresearchingpotentialclients,myown
website,andmycompetition.Wanttoknowwhatkeywordsyour
competitorsarerankingfor?Orthekeywordpositionforyourwebsite
withinsearch?UseSEMRushtofindopportunitiesandidentifythetop
keywordsdrivingtraffictoanydomain.
VIVEKAVANROSSEN–LINKEDINTO
BUSINESS
79.Periscope
IpurchasedKimGarst’scourseonPeriscopeandIdidmyfirst
SkypescopewithSuelaterthatweek.(ASkypescopeiswhenyouarea
guestonanother’speriscope–andtheaudiencecanseeandhearyou
throughSkype).Inone‘ScopeIgotalmost200newfollowers,eightnew
connectionsonLinkedIn,fivedownloadsofmye-book,andone
consultingcall.Notbadforjusthavingfuntalkingtothecamera!
I’mgoingtobeusingPeriscopetoshareLinkedIntipsastheypopinto
myhead,capturethemonvideo,andaddthemtomyYouTubechannel.
BecauseofthecasualnatureofPeriscope,Idon’thavetoworryabout
thewholeproductionthatIusuallydousingScreenflowandCamtasia.
SoIcangetcontentouttheresuperfast–increasingbothmytopof
mindawarenessandexpertisepositioning!
Asaninjatrick–I’llgetthemtranscribedandaddthevideoandthe
transcriptionasLinkedInPublisherPoststoo!Thinkaboutwhatyoucan
dowithPeriscopeinyourbusiness!!
80.eGrabber
WithallLinkedIn’srestrictions,it’sgettingharderandhardertofindand
engagewithmyprospectsonLinkedIn.MysolutioniseGrabber’semail
prospector!ThistoolnotonlyallowsmetogatherANYONE’scontact
infoonLinkedInthatIcanexporttomyCRM–andemailthemrightfrom
thetoo!ANDIcanalsodoquickanddeepresearchontheircompany,
andthatgivesmesomethingtotalkaboutwiththem.Absoluteworththe
investment($600/yr).
81.Nimble
SpeakingofCRMs,IamahugefanofNimble.Despitethefactthat
LinkedInhasshutdownitsAPItomost3rdpartycompanies,Nimble’s
softwareallowsmetoquicklyhoveroveracontactandgatheralltheir
socialinfo,createacontactsheetonthem,andsavethemtomyNimble
CRM.Butthat’snotall,italsowilltellmewhoinnetworkisinfluential
(andtalkingaboutme)sothatIcanpingthemrightway,trackmy
meals,keepaneyeon“signals”(keywordsbeingsharedonmysocial
networks.)Itsoffersimmensevalueforaverylowmonthlyprice($15)
(www.Nimble.com/linkedinchat)
ASHLEYZECKMAN–TOPRANK
82.GroupHigh
GroupHighisarelativelynewtoolforourteam.Infact,weareinthe
processofco-creatinganeBookwiththemonbuildingrelationships
throughinfluencermarketing.
WhatIlikeaboutGroupHighisthatitmakesbloggerinfluencerdiscovery
easyforavarietyofindustries.GroupHigh’sinfluencerdataisbasedfirst
onblogpresenceandthenonsocialmediaimpact.Thatmeans,youcan
identifyinfluencersthatseethevalueofcontentbecausethey’recreating
itthemselves.
83.HemingwayEditor
Foratoolthatseemssosimple,theHemingwayEditorpacksapunch.
Withtheamountofcontentthatourteamcreatesforourownmarketing
andforourclients,thistoolhasproventobeincrediblyhelpful.
Sometimesyoucangetcaughtupcomplicatingcontentwhenitneedsto
besimple.Hemingwayalertsyouwhichsentencesarehardtoread,as
wellassimplealternativestothecontentlanguage.
84.TweetJukeBox
Gettingcaughtinthesocialmediatimesuckisnojoke.I’vefoundthat
onceIgetpulledintoTwitter,it’shardtoescape.
TweetJukeBoxhelpsprioritizesocialmediatimespend.Ifyouhavea
contentassetthatyou’dliketopromoteonTwitter,TweetJukeBox
makesschedulingsocialcontentsimple.Thatway,thetimeI’mspending
onsocialnetworkscanbeusedtoboostengagementinsteadof
schedulingmessages.
Whenwehaveacontentmarketingprojectwitharobustsocial
amplificationplan,IprefertouseBuffertoschedulemessagesacross
multiplecompanysocialmediaplatforms.
JENNYBRENNAN–JENNBRENNAN.ME
85.PostPlanner
IloveusingPostPlannertofindcontentformanagingFacebookpages.
Thereisalwaysaneedforgreatorganiccontentthatfanswantto
interactwithandPostPlannerliterallysavesmehourseveryweek!
86.Buzzsumo
Creatingoriginalcontentcanbereallychallengingattimes,but
Buzzsumohelpsmecomeupwithamazingideasbyseeingwhat’s
trendinginmyniche.IalsolovethefactthatIcanidentifyinfluencersin
anyindustry,IcanreachouttothemandaddthemtomyTwitterlistsin
seconds.
87.CoScheduleAnalyzer
ThisisanawesomefreetoolthatIuseeachandeveryday.Notjustfor
blogheadlineideasbutwhenitcomestocreatingFacebookads,using
thistoolhasmadetheworldofdifferencetoclick-throughsonthoseads
andtheconversionsthatoccurafterwards.
88.Agorapulse
Ifyouhaveateamandvariousclientstomanage,Agorapulsewillsave
youhourseveryweek.Youcanmanage,monitorandrespondtoall
thoseimportantmentions,messagesandcommentsrightwithintheapp
andwhat’smorethereportingfunctionalityhelpsmeidentifywhatcontent
isreallyworking,thereforenothingislefttochance!
ERICTUNG–BMCSOFTWARE
89.HootSuite
TheyjustannouncedschedulingintegrationforInstagram.That’s
AMAZING.Otherwise,Ihaven’tusedHootsuiteinlike3years.
90.Buffer
Bufferisgreatwiththeadd-ontools,Chromeextension,andevenmobile
appforpostingandschedulingonthego.
91.WordSwag
Let’sgoquote-images…withWordSwag.Notnecessarilyasocialtoolin
thetraditionalsense,butyoucanlive-quote-tweetinthemiddleof
conferencesessions.Easyaspie.
ANTONIOCALERO–
ANTONIOCALERO.COM
92.Buzzsumo
Wheneveryoufeelinneedofinspirationtocreatenewcontent,orsimply
wanttofindtrendingarticles,Buzzsumoistheperfectapp.Withaneasy
touseinterface,thistoolwillsearchontheInternetforanytopicofyour
choice,andreturnalistoffindingswithinformationabouthowmany
timeseacharticlehasbeensharedinthemostpopularsocialmedia
platforms.Youcanevenlimitthesearchtoaspecifictimerange,
languages,countriesandevendomains!Certainlymyfavouritetoolfor
contentcuration.
93.PostPlanner
Animportantpartofcontentmarketingissharingthatcontentwithyour
audience,howeverthisisnotaseasyasitsounds:somedaysaremore
activethanothers,differentaudiencespreferdifferenttypeofcontent,
etc.Postplannerisarobusttoolthatallowsnotonlycreatingdifferent
postingschedules,butalsoincludesasetofothergreatfeatureslike:
analytics,contentcuration,re-posting,teamcollaboration,etc…
94.Evernote
Thistoolallowsyoukeepingallyourcontentideasinoneplace,while
beingabletoaccessthemfromallyourdevices.Manytimesideasarrive
inthemostunexpectedmoments;butwithEvernoteyoucouldstart
draftingaprojectinyoursmartphone,tobecompletedatalatertimeon
yourlaptopandfinallysharedwithsomeotheruserfortheirinput.
Evernotealsooffersanawesomepluginforbrowserscalled‘Web
Clipper’,thatallowscapturingcontentfromwebsitesinarangeof
formats(bookmark,screenshot,fullarticle,simplifiedversion,…)and
thenstoreitinanotebookofyourchoice.
EMERICERNOULT–AGORAPULSE
95.CoSchedule.com
Probablythebestcontentcalendartooltomanageateamofwriters,
havethebesteditorialcalendarforyourWordPressblogandthetoolsto
collaborateoneachpieceofcontent.Andthepriceisgoodtoo!
96.InboundWriter
Ifyou’rewritingcontent,you’veprobablynoticedthatveryfewpiecesdo
verywell,somedoso-so,andmostdon’tdowellatall(intermsoflong
termorganictraffic).InboundWriterhelpsyougetmoreofthesehigh
performingpiecesbyreplacing“guesswork”withdataanalysis.Amustif
youwantthemostbangoutofyourcontentbucks!
97.Keywordtool.io
TheonlytoolI’vefound(whenyoutakethepaidversion)thatactually
beatskeywordplannertodeath.Thereisnobetterkeywordresearch
toolinthemarket,andwhenyouneedtoknowifthetopicyou’re
planningtowriteabouthassomepotential,it’lltellyou.
IANANDERSONGRAY–SELECT
PERFORMERSINTERNETSOLUTIONS
98.Buffer
IlovethesimplicityoftheinterfaceandtheeasywayIcanschedule
multiplepoststomultiplenetworks.Fromageekypointofview,Ilove
thefactIcanintegratewithotherservicessuchasIFTTTandBitly.
99.IFTTT
WhilstIuseanalternativeZapiersometimes,Ilovethesimplicityof
IFTTTandthewayIcanconnecttwoservicestogethertoautomatemy
socialmediaempireanddosomequitefranklymagicalthings!
100.AgoraPulse
I’vetriedmanysocialmediamanagementtools,butAgoraPulseisreally
turboboostedmyproductivitywhenitcomestoengagingwithmysocial
mediaaudiencesonTwitter,Instagram,andmyFacebookpage.
DANIELNEWMAN–BROADSUITE
101.Buffer
Intermsofscheduling,trackinganddistributingcontent,notooldoes
moreformethanBuffer.WithitssimpletouseinterfaceandeasyRSS
integrationBufferhelpsmegetthecontentinfrontoftherightpeople
andprovidesstrongdataandanalyticsonthebackside.
102.Buzzsumo
WhenitcomestoSocialListening,IloveBuzzsumo.Oneofthegreat
thingsitdoesisprovidemonitoringandalertswhencontentispublished
and/orsyndicatedtothirdpartysites.Sincesyndicationisanimportant
strategyforcontentdistributionitisgreattoknowwhenournameorour
articlesarecirculatedaroundtheweb.
103.Triberr
IhavebeenontheTriberrbandwagonforalongtime.Earlyinmy
bloggingdaysitwasbyfarthelargestsourceofsocialandtraffictomy
content.Forcuratingcontentandsharingyourcontent,itisagreathub
tomeet,connectandfindotherstogrowyouraudience.WhileIwould
liketoseethemfocusontheirmobiletools,Istillattributemany
connectionsIhavemadeandmorethan50ksocialsharestomy
communityonTriberr.
HEIDICOHEN–HEIDICOHEN.COM
104.Evernote
Iusedthistooltocapturecontentideasaswellasreferencesand
researchforfuturecontent.
105.WordPress
AveryeasytousecontentmanagementsystemthatIusedtodeliver
blogcontentonaconsistentbasis.
MARTINSHERVINGTON–PLUSYOUR
BUSINESS
106.Circloscope
Thistoolenablesyoutotakesuperengageduponcontentandfilterthe
peoplewho’ve+1d,commented,shared.Perfecttogoandbuild
relationships.AndisanessentialtoolintheGoogletoolkit.Youneedto
thinkbeyondG+astheplatformasCirclesare‘in’HangoutApps,Gmail,
GoogleContacts…
107.Buzzsumo
Ithinkeveryonelovesthistool!Aperfectwaytofindcontent,andmore
importantlytodoInfluencerresearchaswellasdiscoveringwhatcontent
getssharedlikecrazyonSocial.
108.WeDigReviews!
Thisserviceisfromus(PlusYourBusiness.com)andenablestotakeyour
reviewsandtellastory(see?acontentmarketinglink!)ofhowyour
LocalCommunityloveswhatyoudo.AndpeopleLOVEtoseethestars
inSearch–withthissystemtheycanevenappearinorganicresults,
increasingclickthroughratesonyourblogcontent.
KEVINMULLETT–KEVINMULLETT.COM
109.GoogleAnalyticsURLBuilderChromeExtension
ThisisasimplefreetoolthatallowsyoutoeasilybuildcustomURLsand
savesetsforcampaigntrackingonthefly,andwhentiedtoyourbit.ly
account,itallowsyoutotrackuniquemediumofflineclicksorclicksfrom
propertiesyoudon’thaveanalyticsaccessto.
110.SocialCrawlytics
Thisisanotherfreeyetpowerfultoolthatallowsyoutoinvestigateyour
competitors’mostpopularcontent,whereit’sshared,andwho’ssharing
it,whichgivesyouinsightfordevelopmentofyourowncontentstrategy.
111.TheInternet
Truecontentmarketingisaboutsolvingpeople’sproblems,answering
theirquestions,evokingemotionandentertainingtheminawaythatveils
promotionbehindexceptionalvalue.Icanthinkofnoonetoolthatis
morereadilyaccessibleandvaluabletomarketerstodaythanthemany
individualoptionsaffordedusbythewonderthatistheInternet.
LILACHBULLOCK–COMMAXIS
112.Agorapulse
AgoraPulseistheperfectallinonesolutionforsmallbusinessowners
andsocialmediamanagers.Iteffortlesslyhelpsyoumanageyour
content,conversationsandanalyticsinaclean,user-friendlydashboard
thatreallydoessimplifythewholeprocessfromstarttofinish.
113.GoAnimate
GoAnimateisapowerfulvideomarketingtoolthatallowsyoutocreate
qualityanimatedvideos(aswellasanimatedinfographicvideos)easily
andquicklythatproduceamazingresultswithoutbreakingthebank!
114.Talkwalker
Talkwalkerisasocialmediamonitoringtoolthatisincrediblypowerful
andintuitive.Theyhaveaplethoraoffeaturesandareaveryeasyto
usetool.Inanutshell,theyallowyoutodiscoveractionableandinstant
socialdatainsightsinonlyafewclicks!
SUEBZIMMERMAN–THEINSTAGRAM
EXPERT
115.SocialRank
YoucannowfilteryourInstagramfollowersbywordsintheirbio,
hashtagstheyuse,theirlocation,thenumberoffollowerstheyhaveand
more.Theabilitytosegmentyourfollowersallowsyoutosendspecific
messagestoindividualswhofityourspecifiedcriteria.
116.Iconosquare
YoucandownloadandsaveyourInstagramphoto.
117.Hootsuite
NowyoucanscheduleyourInstagrampost.
MARKSCHAEFER–BUSINESSESGROW
118.Affinio
Affinioisnotfreebutoffersauniquewaytolookatyoursocialmedia
audiencebyanalyzingthenaturalgroups(oraffinities)amongyour
followers.Forexample,foroneclient,wediscoveredthattheirsocial
mediaaudiencewasdividedintosevenmainaffinitygroups,butjustone
ofthesewastheidealgroupforthesubscriptionservicetheyweretrying
tosell.Thissuggestedthatweembarkonanewstrategytogrowa
differentkindofaudience.
119.Traackr
WhenIwroteReturnOnInfluence,thefirstbookoninfluencemarketing,
itwaseasytoseethatthiswasgoingtobecomeamainstream
marketingchannelquickly.TraackrisoneoftheleadingwaysIhelp
clientsmanageinfluencemarketingactivitiesandIlovemanyofthenew
featuresithasaddedtobecomeaCRMsystemforinfluence.A
particularlyusefulfeatureisthealertsIgetonhotcontenttrendsby
topic.Thishelpsmyclientsstayontopoftheissuesmostrelevantto
theirtargetaudience.
120.ShareTally
Hereisaneatlittletoolyoucanusetomeasuresocialsharing.Ifindit
frustratingtryingtodeterminehowwellasiteisdoingifyoucan’tseethe
numberofsocialshares.ShareTallyisafreeappthatcangiveyou
socialsharingnumbersforanypieceofcontentoranentirewebsite.
Freeandveryuseful.
STEVEDOTTO
121.Evernote
IStoreEVERYTHINGinEvernoteandoftenusethesharednotefeature
topublishcontentdirectlytosocialnetworks.Iwouldbelostwithoutit.
122.Grammarly
Let’sjustsayspellingandgrammararenotmystrongpoint.Everypost,
andemailIsharewiththepublicgoesthroughGrammarly.Itcleansup
mywordiness,excessiveuseof“really”andcatchestyposandother
spellingerrors.GrammarlymakesmelooksmarterthanIreallyam
(thereisthatwordagain!)
123.Slack
SlackhassurpassedDropboxasthemostvaluabletoolformy
distributedteam.Allinternalcommunicationsandassetsarepointedto
Slack,replacingemail,instantmessagingandevenDropbox.
SUMMARY
ContentMarketinghasalotoftools!
Ofcourseyouneedtohaveagoodstrategyinplacefirstbutwiththe
rightstrategyandtherighttoolsyoucanrapidlygrowyourpresence
online!
Sowhat’syourfavoritetool?
Name:IanCleary
Twitter:@IanCleary
Followers:43700
Following:25700
Activesince:04-2009
Top5topics:socialmedia,blogging,business,tech
Top3linkeddomains:razorsocial.com,socialmediaexaminer.com,
venturebeat.com
COMPARINGTHEROIOFCONTENT
MARKETINGANDNATIVEADVERTISING
byKelseyLibert
Manycompaniestodayrelyoncontentmarketingandnativeadvertising
togainvisibilityfortheirbrand—afterall,70%ofpeoplesaythey’d
ratherlearnaboutproductsthroughcontentratherthanthrough
traditionaladvertising.Butiseithercontentmarketingornative
advertisingasurefirewaytoboostbrandawareness?Andwhichone
offersmorebangforthebuck?
Toanswerthisquestion,weatFractl,acontentmarketingfirm,
collaboratedwithMoztosurveyover30agenciesspecializingincontent
marketingaboutcontentformatsandthemetricstheyusetotrackROI.
AndI’llgettowhatwefound,below.Butfirst,let’sremindourselveshow
eachapproachisdifferent,andwhateachapproachaimstodo.
Contentmarketingagenciesproducecampaignsforbrands(thisisan
example)andthenpitchthesetomultipletop-tierpublishersfor
coverage.Eachtimeapublisherwritesaboutacampaign,itwillusually
linkbacktothecompanyasthesource.Theselinksincreasea
company’sorganicsearchrankings,directtraffictothecompany’s
website,anddriveuserengagementforthebrandviasocialmedia.
Whereascontentmarketingusuallytriestosecuredozensofmedia
pickups,nativeadvertisingpromotescontentbypayingtopartnerwitha
singlepublisher.(Thisisanexampleofanativeadvertisingpartnership
betweenBuzzFeedandallLaundryDetergent.)Nativeadvertising(also
knownassponsoredcontent)offersaguaranteedplacementwithatoptierpublisherthatmighthavemonthlyuniquevisitorsinthemulti-millions.
Wetookadata-drivenapproachtocomparetheefficacyofnative
advertisingversuscontentmarketing.Here’swhatwelearnedabouthow
thetwostrategiesstackup.
First,welookedatcontentmarketingservices.Onaverage,65%of
agenciesproducebetweenoneand10campaignspermonthforeachof
theirclients.Theprocessforasinglecampaignincludesideageneration,
conceptresearch,assetdesign,and–thefinalstep–promotion.Once
ateamhascompletedproduction,theypassthecampaigntoamedia
relationsassociatewhosecurespresscoverageforthecampaign.The
goal:gettingstaffwritersatahigh-authoritywebsitestoproduceastory
aboutthecampaignfortheirpublishers.
Intheearlydaysofcontentmarketing,widgets,and“listicles”dominated
thelandscape.AsGooglebeganpenalizingbrandsforthincontent
pagesandlow-valuelinkschemes,theindustryscrambledtoproduce
higher-qualitycontent.Thus,likesomepublishers,contentmarketing
agenciesstartedtoproducemorearticlesandinfographicsthanother
contentformats.
Almosthalfofclientsmeasurecontentmarketingsuccessbythenumber
ofleads(i.e.,customerconversionsbasedoncampaigns),high-quality
links(i.e.,linksfromhigh-authoritypublishers),andtotalsocialmedia
sharesgeneratedbyeachcampaign.Excludingoutliers,theaverage
contentmarketingcampaignearns27linksfrompublisherstories(media
pickups),whereastheaverageforeachagency’s“mostsuccessful
campaign”is422linksandthemedianis150links.
Howmuchdoesthiscost?Wefoundthat70%ofcontentmarketing
agenciesoffermonthlyretainers,andthesefallintofivebuckets:Less
than$1,000,$1,000–$5,000,$5,000–$10,000,$10,000–$50,000,and
$50,000–$100,000.Contentmarketingcostslargelyrelatetothescope
oftheprojectsbeingproduced(e.g.,pressreleasesversusinteractive
graphics)andtheirreach(e.g.,influencermarketingversusnooutreach).
Wefoundthatapricetagofbetween$5,000-$50,000correlatedwith
campaignsthatgeneratedthemostlinks,whichsuggeststhatagencies
wereabletoproduceinnovative,larger-scopecampaigns,influencer
marketing,andcontentamplification,ratherthanjustissuingpress
releases.Atthelowerend,wedidnotseeasmuchactivity,andwe
speculatethatthosefirmsdidnothavetheresourcestogenerate
compellingcampaigns.Butinterestingly,atthehigherend,wedidnot
seeconsiderablymorevaluebeingcreatedoncecompanieswentover
$50,000.
Next,wewantedtoseehownativeadvertisingcompares.Wegathered
nativeadvertisingcostdatafromareportbyRelevance,anothercontent
marketingagency,towhichweadded100additionaldatapointstosee
whatnearly600publisherschargefornativeadvertising.Weincluded
generalnewspublishersthattendtodominatesearchengineresultsand
haveacollectivesocialfollowingofmorethan100,000people.
Atfirstglance,wesawthattheminimuminvestmenttopartnerona
nativeadvertisingisexorbitantformostbrands.Forexample,toteamup
withTIMEonanativeadvertisingcampaign,aclientcanpayupto
$200,000.Onaverage,thecostofanativeadvertisingcampaignfortoptiernewspublisherswas$54,014.29.(Forlower-tierpublishers,which
wecategorizedashavingadomainauthorityoflessthan80,thecost
dropstoanaveragebetween$70and$8,000.)
Clearly,nativeadvertisingisexpensive.Butwhat’sthereturn?We
reviewed38nativeadvertisingcampaignspublishedonBuzzFeed,a
leaderforsponsoredcontent,alongside58Fractlcontentmarketing
campaigns,toevaluatethereach(intermsoflinks)andengagement
(socialshares)ofeach.(FulldisclosureagainthatmycompanyFractal
isacontentmarketingagency.)Overall,Fractl’scontentmarketing
campaignswererepublishedandsharedmorethanBuzzFeed’snative
advertising.Forexample,justcomparingthetopperformingcampaigns
foreach,wefoundthatFractl’s11campaignsforclientMovotoresulted
in,onaverage,146pickupsand17,934socialshares.BuzzFeed’s13
campaignsforIntelresultedinonepickuponaverageand12,481social
shares.
Andinlinewiththesefindings,areportbyeMarketerfoundthatthemost
commonissuecitedbyexecutiveswhousenativeadvertisingwasof
scale.Ofcourse,you’repayingtopublishcontentsolelyonthesite
you’repartneringwith,whichlimitspotentialreach.One
additionalstumblingblock:Googleconsidersnativeadvertisingto
bepaidlinks,whichpreventscampaignsfromimprovingthecompany’s
searchenginerankings.
Withitssmallerreach,isnativeadvertisingeverworththecost?For
somefirmswithlargebudgets,theexpenseisworthitifitmeans
aligningtheirbrandwithahigh-authoritypublisherandtherightniche
audience.Ultimately,nativeadvertisinghasbeenproveneffectivein
drawinghigherclickratesthantraditionalbanneradsandotheroutbound
marketingmethods,soasareplacementforthose,itcouldmakesense.
WhileImaybebiased,thesedata-drivenfindingssuggesthow
companiesmightgetabetterbangfortheirbuckwithcontentmarketing
—especiallyifthey’relookingforawidereachwithdifferentpublishers
andaudiences.However,forthosemainlyinterestedinguaranteed
placementwithabig-namepublisher,nativeadvertisingmightbetheway
togo.
​THESE6TYPESOFCONTENTWILLBOOST
YOURTRAFFICANDENGAGEMENT
byMriduKhullarRelph
Howcanyoucreatecontentwiththemostefficiencyandease?
Areyouchallengingyourselftocomeupwithnewideasandnewways
ofimpartinginformationaboutyourbusiness?Areyouexperimenting
withthedifferentformsofcontentthatyourcustomersmayliketoread?
We’dlovetohelpyougetthere.
The2015editionoftheannualB2CContentMarketingBenchmarks,
BudgetsandTrends—NorthAmericareportputtogetherbytheContent
MarketingInstituteandMarketingProfsfoundthatwhile69%of
marketersarecreatingmorecontentthantheywereayearago,only
27%haveastrategythatisdocumented.
Thatsaid,contentisboomingwith65%ofrespondentssayingthey’re
betterconvertingvisitorsontheirwebsitesand62%sayingthey’re
creatingmoreengagingandhigher-qualitycontent.
HereatBuffer,we’vefrequentlytalkedaboutcreatingquality
headlines,workingwithimages,andexploringdifferentsocialmedia
channels.
Today,let’stalkaboutyourblog.Specifically,whattopostonit.
WhatKindofContentWorksBestandWhy?
InafantasticpostonDistilled,authorHannahSmithtalksaboutthe
importanceofcreatingcontentthatisgoal-driven—thatis,whatyou
createshouldbedrivenbywhatyouwanttoachieve.
Sheexplainsthatinordertosucceed,mostwebsiteswillneedfourkey
typesofcontent:
1.Contenttoentertain
Mostcontentmarketingeffortsfocusoneducationandhelpfulness,and
whilethisisagreattracktotake,asI’lldiscussbelow,itcanalsobea
missedopportunitytointeractwithreadersandconnecttothemona
verybasichuman-to-humanlevel.
Contentthatentertainsisoftenfunny,frequentlyhighlyshareable,
andoftenisabletoquicklytransforma“company”intoa“groupof
peoplejustlikeme.”
Thisaspectofjustlikemecanbecrucialinbuildingtrustandseparating
thetruefansfromtherandomvisitors.AsHannahexplains:
Contentwhichhasbeencreatedtoentertainmightnotbedirectly
relatedtoyourproducts/services,howeverinordertodoitsjob,itdoes
needtoappealtoyourtargetaudience.
2.Contenttoeducate
Contentthat’screatedspecificallytoeducateachievesthesamegoals
ascontenttoentertain,butisoftenanextstepinshowingreadersand
potentialuserswhyyourwebsiteorproductisworthstickingaroundfor.
Whilecontenttoentertainappealstoareader’semotions,contentto
educateappealstotheirrationality.
ContenttoeducateiswhatwegoforhereatBufferwithpostssuchas
theonethatyou’rereading.Again,shareabilityiskeywithcontentthat’s
meanttoeducate.
3.Contenttoinspire
Ininspirationcontagious?Itcanbewhendoneright,whensomething
youpublishresonateswithsomanypeoplesoquicklythattheycan’t
helpbutpassiton.
Inspirationdoesn’tnecessarilyhavetobequotesonapicture.
Infact,thebestkindofinspirationoftencomesintheformofcase
studies,customertestimonialsandstoriesoffailuresand
challengesthatsuccessfulpeoplehavefacedalongtheway.
4.Contenttoconvert
Contentcreatedforthepurposeofconversionistypicallymeantto
nudgeareaderinthedirectionofsomesortofaction,forinstance,
signingupforanewsletter,takingafreee-course,orbuyingaproduct.
ThisinfographicbyDistilledshowshowyourcontentcanbedividedup
intotheabovefourcategories:
6TypesofContentToExperimentWithonYourBlog
1.INFOGRAPHICS
It’sbeenprovenrepeatedlythathumanbeingsare,byalargemajority,
visuallearners.Speakingtothepowerofimages,onestudy
showedthatafterthreedays,apersonwouldretainonly10-20
percentofwrittenorspokeninformationbutalmost65percentof
visualinformation.
Anotherstudyshowedthatanillustratedtextwas9percentmore
effectivethantextalonewhentestingimmediatecomprehensionand83
percentmoreeffectivewhenthetestwasdelayed.
It’snosurprisethen,thatreadersnotonlyenjoylookingatinfographics,
butaremuchmorelikelytorememberthemandtheinformation
containedinthem.Thismakesinfographicsaparticularlygoodtypeof
contenttouseonyourblogorforyourbrandmessaging.They’re
digestible,they’regoodtolookat,andsometimestheycanbealotof
fun.Infographicsareparticularlygoodwhenyouhavedata-heavy
researchornumbersandstatisticsthatcanmakefordryreading.
Thebestpartaboutinfographics?Theygetshared,andshared
frequently.Uptothreetimesmoreoftenthanothercontent,accordingto
thisstudy.
Source:http://www.mammothinfographics.com/why-infographics/
Whencreatinginfographics,rememberto:
1. Focusonqualityandvisualappeal:Whilethereareseveralfree
toolsforcreatinginfographics,ifyou’renotskilledattheartofvisual
designordon’tfancylearningnow,investinginaprofessionalto
createonereallygreatinfographicwillalwaystrumpcreatingmany
mediocreones.
2. Havefreshcontent:Thoughitcanbetemptingtocreatean
infographicfromregurgitatedresearch,wesuggestyoualwaysgo
fornewandfreshideasthathaven’tpreviouslybeenshared(or
sharedwidely).Newresearchorstudiesinyourindustrythathaven’t
yetbeenreleasedcanbeafantasticwaytosharenewcontent.You
mighthavesomenumbersortheoriesfromyourownresearch,too.
Orputtogetherfindingsfromcompaniesthataren’twellknown.
Whicheverwayyouchoosetodoit,remembertomakeyour
infographicsfresh,current,andrelevantforyourreaders.
3. Begenerous.Itcanbealittlecounterproductivetospendtime,
resources,perhapsevenmoneyincreatinganinfographiconlythen
tokeepitexclusivetoyourownwebsite.Bytheirverynature,
infographicsaremeanttobesharedwidely,andyou’dtrulybenefit
fromyoursifyoumakethemshareable.Agreatwaytodothisisto
includetheembedcodeonyourwebsitewiththeinfographic,so
thatforanyonewhomightwanttouseit,it’ssimplyamatterof
grabbingitfromyourwebsiteandpastingitontotheirs.
Herearesomeexamplesofinfographicsthatwe’vehighlighted
before.atBuffer:
2.Lists
Brandsandbloggersarenowdiscoveringwhatwomen’smagazines
haveknownfordecades:Listswork.Andtop10listsworkevenbetter.
Acoupleofyearsago,marketingscholarsMathewS.IsaacofSeattle
UniversityandRobertM.SchindlerofRutgersUniversitysearchedthe
term“top[number]”inGoogleusingallnumbers1through100.Those
endinginzerodominated,followedcloselybythoseendinginfive.
Theyargued,intheJournalofConsumerResearch,thatpeoplelargely
exhibitedaso-calledtop10effect,thatis,wehaveatendencytolump
thingsintoround-numbergroupsandviewingeverythingoutsidethemas
inferior.Sothedifference,theysay,betweenitemsrankedNo.10and
No.11feelsenormousandsignificant,evenifit’sactuallyquiteminimal
orunknown.
InaninterviewwithCo.Design,theysay,
“Ourownexperiencessortofledtothisimpressionthatifit’snot
inthetop10,thenit’sinthenextcategory.Theoverallideaisthat
numbersgenerallyareconsideredtobeequidistant,but
subjectivelythey’renot.”
Whatdoesthismeanforyou?
1. Createlists.
2. Createmorelists.
3. Keepcreatinglists.
Infact,giventhat30%ofallblogpostsarelists,you’reunlikelytogo
wrong.
Whencreatinglists,however,rememberto:
1. Meetaneed:Trynottocreatealistforthesakeofcreatingalist,
butbecauseitwillhelpyourusersandreaderssolveaproblemor
fillaneed.
2. Experimentwithnumbers:Whiletop10listsare,andalwayshave
been,popular,listsofdozens,sometimeshundredsofresources,
tips,andstrategies,oftentendtodoverywellalso,especially
online,whereuserscansavethemforlaterandrefertothemas
theymovethroughthelist.
3. Makethemskimmable:Listsarefrequentlyskimmedthroughand
notread,somakesuretonumberthemandheadlinethemnicelyso
thatsomeonewho’slookingthroughquicklycanstillgetabulkofthe
informationtheyneed.
HerearesomeexamplesofliststhathaveworkedforusatBuffer:
FindYourStrategy:6ActionableSocialMediaStrategiesFrom
SuccessfulBrands
‘WhatShouldIPostonFacebook?’12FacebookTacticsWorking
RightNow
The43BestBooksandTwitterAccountstoInspireYourSocial
MediaSharing
3.Casestudiesandsuccessstories
We’rewiredtolovestoriesandthebenefitsofstorytellingarewell
documented.
Thebestkindsofstoriesalmostalwaysfollowathree-actstructure,a
modelusedinscreenwritingthatdividesafictionalnarrativeintothree
parts:
1. Thesetup:Thisiswheretheworldiscreatedandthelevelsetfor
whatpeopleareexpectedtodo,belike,andbehavelike.Thisact
showswhatnormallifelookslikeinthisworldandbytheendofact
one,somethinghappenstodisruptthisnormallifeandcauseour
protagonisttojumpintoactionormakeadecision.
2. Theconfrontation:Thesecondactiswhereourprotagonistmust
findsolutionstohisorherproblems,onlytokeepfindingbigger
problemsandbiggerbottlenecks.Theprotagonistdoesnotyethave
theskillsorexperience,perhapseventheconfidence,todealwith
theproblemsthatarethrowninhisorherway.Inorderforthe
protagonisttosucceed,theymustlearnanewskill,haveanew
experience,orhaveaeurekamomentthatelevatesthemtothe
leveltheyneedtobeinordertomaketheirworldrightagain.
3. Theresolution:Thisisthefinalact.Thestoryisbroughttoitsmost
intensemomentandthefinalclimax.Victoryhasarrived,andthe
protagonistandothercharactershaveanewsenseofwhothey
are.
WhyamItellingyouaboutstorytelling?
Becauseifyouapproachyourcustomersandusersasprotagonistsand
telltheirstorieswithallthehighs,thelows,andthedragonstheyhave
beatendowntogettotheirsuccesstoday,youwillfindamazing
resonancewiththerestofyouraudience.
Peoplemaywanttohearabouttheawesomefeaturesofyourproduct,
andyoushoulddefinitelytellthem.Buttrytellingthemstories,too,about
peoplewhobuiltbusinesseswhilevanquishingtheirownpersonal
demons,findingmentors,andeventuallyreachingthesummitwithanew
senseofself.Sharewiththemthetrialsandtribulationsofyour
customersandusers;indeed,tellthemaboutyourself.
Whilecasestudiescanbetoldinanumberofdifferentformats,itisone
oftherarecontentformatsthatisalmostexclusivelydesignedfor
storytelling.Itcanbeveryhelpfultotakeadvantageofthat.
Whencreatingcasestudies,rememberto:
1. Talkaboutfailuresandsuccesses:Casestudies,andanystories
really,aremuchmorerelatablewhenthey’reaboutrealpeople,and
realpeoplealmostalwaysexperiencefailurebeforetheyexperience
success.Whenyoutalkabouthowyourusershavesucceededwith
yourproductsorservices,don’talsoforgettomentionthejourney
theytooktogetthere.
2. Makeitaboutthem:Acasestudyisnotaboutyouoryourproduct,
it’sabouthowyourproductaidedinthejourneyofaperson.The
storyisaboutthem.Remembertokeepthatfocusonthemwith
yourproductonlybeingasmallpartoftheequation.
Here’safantasticcasestudythatachievesresultswithoutbeingsalesy:
HowOneCoupleisMaking$600,00PerYearSellingDigitalProducts
4.How-toguides
Whenyou’rethinkingofwritingahow-goguideonyourwebsite,go
long.Theperfectpostisknowntobe1,500wordsbutthemorein-depth
yougowithanideaortopic,themeatieritis,themorelikelihoodthatit
willgetreadandshared.
Medium’sresearchonthisshowsthatanidealblogpostcomesintobe
a7-minuteread,whichisapproximately1,600words:
Wedohow-toguidesprettyregularlyhereatBuffer,wherewe’lltakeall
theelementswe’vediscussedsofar—infographics,lists,etc.—andplay
withthem,butweusetheminthecontextoflong,detailedblogposts
thattellyoueverythingyouneedtoknowaboutthetopicathand.
Agreatwaytothinkabouthow-toguidesorlongerblogpostsistothink
ofthemaslistblogpostswithonlytwoorthreebulletpoints,where
you’redivingreallydeeplyintoeachofthosebulletpoints.
Whencreatinghow-toguides,rememberto:
1. Solveaproblemorfillaneedforyourspecificaudience:A
detailedhow-toguideisonlyhelpfulifitactuallysolvesareal
problemforyouraudience.Ifyouraudienceconsistsof
solopreneurswhohavebeeninbusinessfor5+years,atutorialon
settingupWordPressisprobablynotgoingtohelpthemmuch.A
tutorialonbuildingadditionalpassiverevenuestreams,ontheother
hand,mightbeexactlywhatthey’vebeenlookingfor.
2. Breakitup:Whenthingsstartgettingtoocomplicatedinyourhowtoguides(astheyoftendo),breakthemupvisuallybycreating
checklists,quotes,andsimplifyingwiththehelpofbulletpoints.
Longguides,especiallythosethatrun3,000-5,000wordsassome
ofoursdohereatBuffer,canbeespeciallydifficulttoreadifthey’re
alsothenwritteninlargechunksoftext.
Herearesomeexamplesofhow-toguidesthathaveworkedforusat
Buffer:
HowtoCreateaSocialMediaMarketingPlanFromScratch
HowtoChoosetheRightStockPhotoforYourNextProject
TheEternallyClickableHeadlinesofBuffer(AndHowtoWriteand
FindYourOwn)
5.Personalstories
Itisnosecretthatwhenitcomestosocialmedia,emotionrulestheday.
Itstandstoreasonthen,thatifyou’recreatingcontentforyouraudience,
gettingthemtoengagewithitonanemotionallevelisafantasticwayto
connectwiththem.
Personalstoriescomeinmanyshapesandforms:
Personalessays:Storiestoldthroughthelensofanexperience
you’vehadinyourlifethattaughtyousomethingorchangedyouas
aperson.
Opinions/rants:Handlethisonewithcare,butsometimes,going
againstthegrainandtakingastandagainstapositioneveryone
elseistakingcanbeagoodwaytogetsomeattentionandshare
yourideasandtheorieswiththerestoftheworld.Averygood
exampleofthisisJamesAltucher,whoisknownforhis
controversialideasonwhynottobuyahouseorinvestinyour
401k.
Inspirationaltales:Whetheryoursorsomeoneelse’s,thebest
waytoengageemotionistoshowortellsomeonethattouches
themdeeply.Alotofinspirationalstorieshaveawayofdoingthis.
Educatingyouraudienceisafantasticgoal.Inspiringthemtotake
actionofwhatyou’vetaughtthemmightbeanevenbetterone.
Whensharingpersonalstories,rememberto:
1. Inspire,notbait:It’seasy(andtempting!)torantaboutthingsfor
thesakeofrilingupemotions,butthisisalmostneveragoodidea
unlessyouactuallycareaboutanissueandarepassionately
sharingathoughtyouhold.Readerscanseethroughattemptsat
garneringclicks,whichleadstoalackoftrustinyourcontentand
therefore,yourbrand.
2. Bevulnerable:Writinginstructorswilloftentellyouthatthereis
one,andonlyone,secrettogoodwriting:Bevulnerable.Open
yourselfup.Allowfortheideathatsomeonemaydisagreewithand
perhapsevencriticizeyourwork.Asithappens,atBuffer,we
believethattoo.
HereisanexampleofapersonalessaythatmyfriendJenniferLawler
postedonherblogthatwilltakeyourbreathaway:
ForJessica
6.ResourcesandTools
Alistofresourcesandtoolscanbeafantasticwaytodelivervalueto
youraudiencewhilesimultaneouslyworkingwithacontenttypethatisn’t
quiteastimeandwork-intensive.
Thebestresourcesandtoolsliststendtogolong.AtBuffer,wetendto
prefergivingusersachoiceofeveryresourcewecangetourhandson
andlettingthemmakethedecisionforthemselvesbasedontheir
preferences.
Whencreatinglistsofresourcesandtools,rememberto:
1. Createlongerlists:Longerliststendtodobetterinthiscategory
becausetheytendtodelivermorevalueandcatertoawidervariety
ofusersthanjustaquicklistoffiveorsixresources.
2. Don’tforgetthevisualaspect:Especiallyforblogpostsofthis
nature,it’sveryeasytoforgettothinkaboutvisualelements.Those
areimportant,however,becausetheycanhelpbreakupthetext
andmakeforeasierreading.
Herearesomeexamplesofresourcesandtoolsliststhathaveworked
forusatBuffer:
TheBigListofTwitterTools:91FreeTwitterToolsandAppstoFit
AnyNeed
19+FreeToolstoStartYourPodcastFromScratch
37+TipsandResourcesforBuildingaFine-TunedContentMarketing
MachineFromtheGroundUp
SECRETSTOCUSTOMERREVIEWS
HELPINGSEOANDDRIVINGGROWTH
byBrianSutter
Nobodyneedstotellyouhowimportantcustomerreviewsare.Ifyou
havealocalbusiness,theoddsarehighyou’rekeenlyawareoftheir
influence.Whileonebadreviewcan’tnecessarilykillabusiness,itcan
definitelyhurtit.Aseriesofbadreviewscancontributetoabusiness
failure.Ontheplusside,acoupleofgreatreviewswilldomoreforyou
thanthousandsofdollarsworthofadvertising.
Therehavebeenaslewofstudiesdoneaboutconsumersandonline
reviews.OneofmyfavoritesisfromBrightLocal,whichhasbeen
surveyingcustomers’opinionsaboutlocalonlinereviewsforfouryears
running.ThischartfromtheirLocalConsumerReviewSurvey
2014showsthat88%oftheconsumerstheysurveyedcheckonline
reviewsatleastoccasionally:
At88%,youdon’thavetobecateringjusttomillennialstocareabout
onlinereviews.Astatisticlikethatsuggestsprettymucheverybodyis
doingatleastsomeresearchonline.
Arethoseonlinereviewsreallyinfluencingtheirdecisions?Theansweris
yes.Andit’saBIGyes.
Onlyoneintenpeoplesaidtheydon’ttakenoticeofonlinereviews.That
meanswe’vegotachannelthatispotentiallymoreinfluentialthan
advertisingandcanrivalofflinewordofmouth.
Customerreviewsandsearchrankings
Ifyou’vebeeninbusinessforawhile,neitherofthosechartsisprobably
muchofasurprise.There’sanotherfactorthatmakesonlinereviews
evenmorepowerful:Theyaffectsearchenginerankings.
Wantproof?Noproblem.Let’scheckoneoftheSEOindustry’smost
respectedreports:TheMoz.“The2014LocalSearchRankingFactors,”
Everyyear,MozsurveyssomeofthesmartestlocalSEOmasters
acrossthecountry,askingthemwhich“factors”(liketitletags,inbound
links,etc.)contributetorankings.Intheoverallviewfromthelatest2014
report,reviewscameinasthefifthmostinfluentialsignal.
HowDoYouRespondtoYelpReviews?
OverallRankingFactors
Mozhasalsoshowntherankingsignalsforlocalizedorganicresults
versusGoogle’sPack/Carouselresults.Forlocalizedorganicresults,
reviewssignalscontributed7.2%ofinfluence.Forthepack/carousel
results,theywere12.3%.
Interesting,right?Butwhatdoesitreallymean?
You’veprobablyguessedthebasicobjectiveofthisarticlealready:
ReviewsmatterforSEOrankings.That’sjustthebeginning.TheMoz
chartsincludemanydifferentkindsofreviewsignals.Here’salistof
whatsignalsare,andwhattheymean.Eachoftheseitemsrevealsalot
aboutbestpracticesforhowyouwillgetreviews.
Reviewquantity-Thischartisprettyself-explanatory:More
reviewsarebetter.BrightLocalspecificallyaskedpeoplethis
question.Theywantedtoknowhowmanyreviewsabusiness
needstobeconvincingtotheircustomers.
Reviewvelocity-Howquicklyabusinessgetsreviewsisknownas,
‘reviewvelocity.’Gettingtoomanyreviewstooquicklycanactually
hurtyou.Inyourcampaigns,avoidthementalityof,“Let’sgoget
morereviews,NOW!”Itcanreallybackfire.Whatyouwantisa
steadytrickleofreviewsovertime.Doesthissoundabitlikea
recommendationforlinkbuilding,too?Well,yes,itis.
Reviewdiversity-Youwantreviewsonmorethanonesite.If
customersareleavingreviewsonYelp,someonGoogle,anotheron
Angie’sList,againonYellowPages.com,andadozenothersites,
don’tworry.That’sactuallygood.
QuantityofThird-PartyTraditionalReviews-Thisjustmeans
Googleiscountingthereviewsyouaregettingonotherreviewsites
(besidesGoogleproperties.)Onceagain,morereviewsarebetter.
Authorityofthird-partysitesonwhichreviewsare
present-Googledoesn’tthinkallreviewsitesareequal.Tothem,
somereviewsitesaremoreimportantthanothers(i.e.,somesites
areconsidered,byGoogle,tohavemoreauthority.)
OverallVelocityofReviews(Native+Third-Party)-Googleis
measuringhowquicklyyougetreviewsonothersites.
VolumeofTestimonialsinReview/Schema.org-Schema.orgis
awebsitethatsetsthestandardsforakindofmarkupcalled,
“microdata”or“richsnippets.”Thefollowingisanexampleof
microdata/richsnippets,withcustomerreviewsandGooglemaps
data:
QuantityofNativeGoogleMapsReviews(w/text)-Thisisless
influentialthanitwasinearlieryears.AsGooglecontinuesto
changehowithandleslocallistings(andthenchangestherulesyet
again,andthenagain),theyphaseoutoldsignals.Anyofyouwho
werearoundin2012/2013andsawmostofyourGooglereviews
disappearwillbepainfullyawareofhowawkwardsomeoftheir
transitionshavebeen.
Diversityofthird-partysitesonwhichreviewsare
present-Googlewantstoseereviewsforyourbusinessona
differentreviewsites.Onceagain,don’tinsistyourcustomerleave
reviewsforyouononlyonesite.It’sgoodtospreadthereviews
around.
Product/ServiceKeywordsinReviews-Thisismostinfluentialin
theGooglePack/Carouselresults.Havingtherightkeywordsin
reviewsdoeshelp,butit’sarelativelyminorsignal.
Businessessometimesaskcustomerstoincludecertainkeywordsin
theirreviews.Italmostalwaysconfusesthecustomers,andasyou
know,confusedpeopleoftendecidetonottakeanyaction.Ifyou’vegot
enoughtimeandagoodenoughrelationshipwithapotentialreviewerto
mentionandexplainthatincludingkeywordsmayhelpyou,great.These
typesofexplanationsoftencomeoffasyoutellingthemwhattosay,like
theydon’tknowhowtotalkorwriteasentence.Withthisinminditmight
beworthconsideringleavingoutanyinstructiononwhattosaywhen
askingforreviewsfrompeople.
QuantityofReviewsbyAuthorityReviewers(e.g.,YelpElite,
MultipleMapsReviewers,etc.)-Woulditsurpriseyoutofindout
thatGoogleisalsomeasuringhowinfluentialdifferentreviewersare
(notjustdifferentreviewsites?)You’llseethisillustratedinreview
management.ThemostnotableexampleisYelp,wherereviewers
havetohavewrittenfivereviewsbeforeanyoftheirreviewsare
shownonthesite.
It’snotuncommonforabusinesstoaskforYelpreviews(whichYelp
aggressivelydiscourages)onlytoseeameagerhandfulofreviews
appear.Themostcommonreasonforabusinesstogetsofewreviews
fromtheireffortsisbecausetheyaskedpeopletoreviewtheirbusiness
whoaren’tregularYelpreviewers.Thereviewswereindeedleftbytheir
customers,butYelpfilteredthemout.Googlehasthisannoyingpractice,
too,sometimes.
Beyondtherankingsignals:Whatbusinessyou’reinalsomakesa
bigdifference.
Rankingsignalsdon’tflagclearlyenoughthatGoogleweighsa
business’sreviewsonthirdpartysitesbasedonwhichindustrythe
businessisin.Inotherwords,theyexpectyoutohavereviewsonsites
thatarerelevanttoyourindustry.
Fortunately,thereisafairlyeasywaytotellwhichreviewsitesGoogle
valuesmostforyourindustry.
Doasearchfor(yourindustryorkeyword)reviews.
Takealookattheresults-Byglancingatthelistingsyou’ve
alreadygotagoodideaofwhereyouwantreviews.Yelpisbigon
thislist(nosurprise.)SureCriticandAngie’sListalsoshowbig
results.LowerdownonthepageareYellowPages.comand
ConsumerReports.org.YouwillalsonoteadsforWow.comand
Local.com.
Youcanalsotakethisastepfurtherandfindevenmorereview
sites-Seethelineofgreentextbelowthebigbluelink?There’sa
littlegrayarrowattheendofthatlineoftext.Ifyouclickthegray
arrow,you’llgetalittlepop-uplikethis:
Click“Similar”andyou’llbebroughttoanotherpageofsearchresults.
Usuallythereareacouplemorerelatedreviewsitesinthoseresults.
Youcanalsofindmorerelatedreviewsitesbylookingnearthebottom
oftheGoogleresultsbelowthemapontherightsideofthepage.
Don’tgettoocrazytryingtofindeverysinglereviewsiteyourbusiness
couldhaveareviewon.Ifitweremybusiness,I’dfocusonthreemajor
sites,butkeepalistofmaybe15reviewsitestochecknowandthen.
Howimportantreviewsarealsodependsonwhatbusinessyou’re
in
Lumpingall“small”localbusinessesintogetherneverworksverywell.It
doesn’tworktoowellforreviews,either.TheBrightLocalsurveyasked
peoplewhichkindsofbusinessestheydoInternetsearchesfor.Here’s
whattheirrespondentssaid:
Asyoucansee,somebusinesses,likerestaurants,gettheirreviews
lookedatconstantly.Otherbusinessesgetcheckedlessoften.Ifyou’re
anaccountantoranattorney,onlinereviewsstillmatter(alot),butif
you’rearestaurantoradentist,expecttobeinthereviewsspotlightfar
moreoften.
Themajorreviewsitesforlocalbusinesses
I’veborrowedthislistfromMoz’ssite.Thelinksheregotothereview
protocolsforeachofthesemajorreviewsites.
Thislistisnice,butit’scriticalforyoutoreadandunderstandtheterms
eachsitehasforaskingforreviewsfromyourcustomers.Yelpand
Googlehavedeletedthousandsofreviewsbecausetheyfeltsome
businesseshadabusedtheirtermsofservice.Sobecareful.Readthe
instructionsfirst.Never,everbuyreviews.
Google+Local
Yelp
Foursquare
Yahoo!
Citysearch
YellowPages.com
UrbanSpoon
TripAdvisor
Facebook
Howtoaskforreviews
Onceyouunderstandhoweachreviewsiteworksandyouknowwhich
sitesyouwantreviewson,thenyoucangooutandaskforreviews.In
thecaseofYelp,don’tdirectlyaskforreviews,thoughYelpsaysyou
cantellpeople,“checkusoutonYelp.”
Askingforreviewsmayworkbestifyoucangivecustomersan
instructionsheetonhowtoleavereviews.DarrenShawofWhitespark
andPhilRozekofLocalVisibilitySystemhavecreatedaterrificfree
toolthatletsyoucreateacustomizedinstructionsheet.
Thereviewsitesyoudon’twantareviewon
Inadditiontoyourindustry-relatedreviewsites,thereareacoupleof
othersitesyouwanttostayontopof.Thesearetheones
youdon’twantareviewon.They’reexclusivelyforcomplaints.
RipOffReport.com
Scam.com
ScamBook.com
Searchforyourcompanynameonthesesiteseverysooften.Hopefully,
nothingwillshowup.
Dealingwithnegativereviews
Nomatterhowhardyoutryandhowgreatyourbusinessis,anegative
reviewcanshowup.Actually,acomplaintwill,showup.It’sjusta
matteroftime.
Negativereviewssting.Youputyourheartandsoulintoyourbusiness.
Youbustyourtuckussix,maybesevendaysaweekfortoomanyhours
eachday.Whensomeoneleavesabadreview,youmayputthatinto
question.Andyetalousyreviewisalmostcertaintohappen.
Respondingtoanyreview
It’shardtorespondtonegativereviews,butyoushouldalsorespondto
thegoodones.Thankpeoplefortheirfeedback.Thisisactuallysomeof
themostimportantsocialmediaworkyoucando.Maketimeforreview
replies,evenputtingthemaheadofgettingothersocialmediaupdates
done.
Nowthatyouknowcustomerreviewsarealsoinfluencingyoursearch
enginerankings,areyoumorelikelytocreateareviewprogram?
8COLLABORATIONTOOLSTOIMPROVE
YOURCONTENT
byAnnSmarty
Areyoupartofateamthatcollaboratesoncontent?
Wanttoolstomakethecollaborationprocessmoreefficient?
Whetheryou’reworkingonblogpostorcreatingsocialmediaupdates,
themorepeopleinvolved,therichertheresultscanbe.Using
collaborationtoolsmakestheprocesssmoothandseamless.
InthisarticleI’llshareeightcollaborationtoolstoimproveyour
productivity.
Discovereightcollaborationtoolstoimproveyourcontent.
#1:MapOutContentUsingMindMeister
MindMeisterisaneffectivebrain-mappingtoolthatallowsyouto
visuallybreakdowncomplexconceptsandshowhoweachidea
flowsintoanother.It’sperhapsthefastest,easiestwaytogetapoint
acrosseffectively.
MindMeisterisbrowser-basedandavailableonmobileapps.Thereare
avarietyoftemplatesandnumerousadditionalfeaturesfor
brainstorming,projectplansandmore.Mapoutyourcontent
strategywithyourteam,nomatterwherethey’relocated.
Price:Freeplangivesyouaccesstothreemaps.Note:MindMeister
collaborationfeaturesareincludedinthefreeplan.Therearemultiple
premiumplanoptions,startingat$36for6monthswitha30-dayfree
trial.
#2:BrainstorminRealTimeWithScribblar
Scribblarisaneducationaltoolthatcanalsobeusedforcollaborative
brainstormingsessions.
Primarilyaneducationaltool,Scribblarisafavoriteamongstudentsand
teachersforitsabilitytocreatemultiple“rooms”thatallowyouto
collaborateinrealtime.Plus,youcantextandaudiochatduringthe
process.
Whilethereisanobviousacademictone,Scribblarisagreattoolfor
creativepeoplewhoexcelwhentheylettheirideasflowinafree-form
conversation.Whenworkingonyourcontentplan,eliminateendless
emailsandconferencecalls.JustjumpontoScribblarandworkonthe
samedashboardtogether.
Price:Averylimitedfreeplan(2users,1room)andavarietyof
premiumplansthatstartat$9amonthareavailable.
Note:Chatwoocanbeagoodfreealternative.It’sonlinechatroom
softwarewhichiscompletelyfree.Youcanuseittocollaboratewith
yourteam(onaprivatecorporatesite)orwithyoursitevisitors.
#3:CompileResearchonCyfe
Cyfeisamulti-purposeresearchandproductivitydashboardthatlets
youcollectdata,createto-dolists,archivesearchresultsand
more.Ithelpsyoumonitorsocialmediamentionsandactivitytoo.
InviteselectedteammemberstodifferentdashboardsonCyfe.
Forcompaniesthatneedabitmoreoomphintheircollaborativetools,
Cyfeprovidesalongfeaturelisttohelpusersworktogetherinthecloud.
Price:There’safreeplanwiththeoptiontoupgradetopremium($19
permonth;$14amonthifpaidannually).
#4:PlanEditorialonGatherContent
Specificallydesignedforcollaborating,GatherContentiseverysocial
mediamanager’sandblogeditor’sdream.
Itallowsyoutocreateaneffectiveprojectoreditorialcalendarthat
haseverythinginthesameplace,andisorganizedthroughthesame
dashboard.Thisultra-organizedinformationkeepseveryoneontheteam
onthesamepage.
GatherContentiseasytouseandminimizesthetaskofmanaging
workflow,nomatterhowmanypeopleyouinvitetobeapartofthe
process.Nevercrosswiresormissdeadlinesagain.
Price:$79permonthwitha30-dayfreetrial.Note:Check
outCoScheduleasanotheroption.
#5:ManageProjectsonTrello
Ifyouneedasimplewaytosettasksforeveryoneonyour
team,Trelloisprobablythebestprojectmanagementtoolforthis
purpose.
Onceyouhaveaplan,createboardsandthenpincardswithtasks
toeachone.Then,writeeitherchecklistsorstandardtext
instructionsforwhateachtaskentails,andassignthosecardsto
differentteammembers.
Whentheworkisdone,attachdocumentstothecompletedcardif
youlikeandlistitascomplete.Also,@tagteammembersto
quicklygettheirattentionandconnectwiththem.
Price:Free.Note:AlsocheckoutWrikeforeasyprojectmanagement.
#6:ProvideFeedbackviaDivvyHQ
DivvyHQcreatesanall-inclusivedashboardwitheverytoolyou
needtokeepyourteamontrack.Thatincludeslimitlesscalendars,all
typesofmediaformats,socialpublishingandtheabilitytoparkideas
forfuturemeetings.Youcanalsoedit,makecommentsandkeep
trackofallchanges.
Manageyourworkflow,planoutyourmarketingandpromotional
effortsandsimplifyyoureverydayworkprogressfortheentireteamwith
DivvyHQ.
Price:Thereisa14-dayfreetrial,andthenthreepremiumplansstarting
at$25peruserpermonth.
#7:ShareDocumentsUsingGoogleDrive
GoogleDrivegivesuserstheabilitytocreatespreadsheets,
documents,maps,drawings,slideshowsandmore,throughboth
onboardandconnectedappsfromtheirextensiondatabase.
Youandalimitlessnumberofpeoplecancreatefoldersthathaveany
andalldocumentsyouneedforyourmarketing,contentandsocial
mediaplan.
Useexpansivesharingparametersorshareitemsoneonone.
Onceyoucreateandshareyourmaterials,collaborateatwill.(Users
canbeallowedtoeditorjustviewthedocuments.)
Assigndifferentcolorsforeachteammembercollaboratingona
document.Also,postcommentsforotherstoletthemknowifthey
needtoreview,edit,markas“done“orrespond.
Price:Free.
#8:ReviewDraftsonMedium
Totestoutcontentcollaboration,tryMedium.Thisplatformallows
peopletoshareadraftwithanyoneandthenapproveordisapprove
thechanges.Alltheapprovededitorsareaddedtothepieceinthe
“Thanks”section.
UseMediumifyouwantotherstoreviewyourdraftspriortopublishing
ortotestoutpotentialbloggersforyourteam.Havethemshare
draftswithyouforaneasysubmissionprocess.
Price:Free.
Conclusion
Peoplefromallovertheworldcanparticipateonefficientteams,thanks
tothevarietyofcollaborationtoolsandplatformsavailable.Expandyour
groupandcollaboratetotakeyourcontentmarketingtothenextlevel.
Brainstormingisawonderfulwaytoimproveyourcontent.Butthat’snot
theonlybenefittoworkingwithateam.Yourideasaremoredeveloped,
andyourmaterialcanbereviewedandeditedbyothers.Plus,youget
feedback.Allresultinstrongercontentforyourcompany,whetherit’sfor
abusinessblog,socialmediaoramarketingplan.
Whatdoyouthink?Whatcollaborationtoolsdoyouuse?Doyou
haveexperiencewithanyofthetoolsmentioned?Pleaseshareyour
thoughtsandrecommendationsinthecomments.
HOWTOATTRACT1,300SOCIALSHARES
AND2,752%MOREREFERRALTRAFFIC(IN
1WEEK)
CodyLister(@codyblister)
Everyonetellsyou,youneedtobuildyourlist.
Bloggershaveechoedthissuggestionadnauseam.
Howdoyoubuildalist?
Blog,buytraffic,guestpost,findproductaffiliatesorsellatripwireoffer
throughWarriorForums.
Mostbloggers,freelancers,smallbusinessesandstart-upsstartout
blogginglikethis:
1. Theysignupforasharedhostingservice,suchasBluehostor
GoDaddy.
2. TheyinstallWordPress.
3. TheyfindandactivateastandardWordPresstheme.(Maybethey
evenfeelit’stheirluckyday/week/yeartostartablogandso
splurgeonapremiumtheme.)
4. Theywriteandpublishtheirfirstblogpost(250to500words).
5. Theysetuptheirsocialmediaprofilesandstartpromotingtheir
post.
6. Theywaitfornewemailsubscribernotificationstofloodtheirinbox.
7. Maybetheyevenpromotethepostafewmoretimesonsocial
media.
8. Theygiveupandgobacktothedrawingboard.
9. Theywriteanew,longerpostandhit“publish.”Thistime,theybuya
stockphotographysubscriptionandaddafeatureimage.
10. Theyrepeatthesamepostpromotionprocessandfail.
Whenit’slaidoutlikethis,youcanseetheflawswiththisprocess.And
yet,thisishowmanypeoplestartblogging.
Theyfollowthe“builditandtheywillcome”lineofthinking.ButIdon’t
wantyoutofallintothattrap.Let’sforgetthisprocessalltogether,
since,inmostcases,itdoesn’twork.
BlogPostBonus:Downloadacontentpromotionchecklisttogrow
youremaillistby1,000.subscribers
Instead,I’mgoingtoshowyouthecontentpromotionprocessIusedto
attractengagedemailsubscribersandlotsofshares.
HowIGenerated167EmailSubscribersand
1,300SharesWithoutGuestBlogging
STEP1:FINDASHARE-WORTHYTOPIC
GotoBuzzSumoandenterthedomainnamesofafewpopularblogsin
yourniche.
Foreachdomainnameyouenter,sortthesearchresultsby“Total
Shares”anddeselect(uncheck)thefollowingcontenttypeslistedonthe
left-handsideofBuzzSumo:
Infographics
Giveaways
Interviews
Videos
Foreachblog,lookforthetopfiveortenpoststhatperformedwellon
socialmediainthepastbasedontotalsharecount.Eitherexportthelist
ofpostsforeachblogormakealistofposttitlesandtotalsharecounts
inGoogleSheetsorMicrosoftExcel.
Filteroutanypoststhathavealotofsharesfromonesocialnetworkbut
fewsharesfromtheothernetworks.
InBuzzSumo,enterakeywordphraseyou’reinterestedinwritingabout,
suchas“guestblogging,”basedontheresultsyoureceivedfrom
BuzzSumointhepreviousstep.Thenlookforthepostswiththe
highestsharecounts.ExporttheresultsfromBuzzSumotoGoogle
SheetsorMicrosoftExcelorwritethemdown.
AnotheroptionistosearchGooglefor“guestbloggingguide,”whichcan
helpyoudiscoverotherpopularpoststhataredifficulttofindorunlisted
fortherelevantkeywordinBuzzSumo.
Copyandpastetheblogpost’sURLintoBuzzSumotogettheshare
countsandviewsharers.
Onceyou’vedecidedwhattopictofeatureonyourblogbasedonyour
initialreview,proceedtostep2tohireagoodfreelancewriterifyou
don’thavetimetowriteit.
STEP2:HIREAFREELANCERTOWRITEAN
EPICBLOGPOST
Nooneexpectsyoutowritea4,000-wordblogposteveryday.
BrianDean,forexample,onlypublishesoneblogpostpermonthon
average.Youshouldfeelfreetopursueacommunicationfrequencyyou
feelcomfortablewith.
AsLauraRoederandMarieForleooftenstress,communication
consistencyiskey—asisqualityoverquantity.Aslongasyou’re
publishingcontentthatpeoplecancountononceaday,everyweek,
everytwoweeksoronceamonth,youcanestablishpresenceandtrust
withyouraudience.
Aswithmostexchangetransactions,yougetwhatyoupayfor.Ifyou
pay$20fora1,000-wordpost,thenyoushouldn’texpecttoreceive
creativeorwell-writtencontent.
Ithinkentrepreneursoftenforgetthatwritersneedtoeatandearna
livingtoo.Together,let’ssetaprecedenttopaythemwellforwriting
high-qualitycontent.
Afewmonthsago,CarolTice,thewriter’swriter,emailedmeastory
aboutawriterwholostherhomebecauseshewasn’tabletomake
enoughmoneyonherownasafreelancewriter.Ifyouhaven’theardof
Carol,youshouldcheckouthergreatblogandcommunityforfreelance
writerslookingtomakemoremoneycalledMakeALivingWriting.
PostBonus:Getanexclusivestep-by-stepchecklisttoimproveyour
contentpromotionstrategy.
Forourrecentguestbloggingguide—ourmostsuccessfulpostto-date
—IhiredfreelancewriterMahamChappalfromCarol’sFreelance
WritersDen.Ipaidher$100per1,000wordswritten,foratotalof
$400.Mahamwoundupwritingmorethan4,800words.
Why4,000words?
What’stherelationshipbetweencontentlengthandsocialshares?
Goodquestion!I’msureyou’vereadallaboutthevalueofepiccontent
fromBuzzSumo’sguestpostonOkDork.
Well,IdecidedtorunmyownanalysiswithBuzzSumoayearlater.It’s
stillclearthatcontentlengthandaveragesharesarenearlyperfectly
positivelycorrelated.
Whatthisdoesn’trevealisifblogsspendmoretimeormoneyoncontent
promotionforlongerposts.
Backlinko.com
NeilPatel.com
MatthewWoodward.co.uk
HubSpot.com
Copyblogger.com
OfthefivemarketingblogsIselectedatrandom,fourofthemreveal
thatcontentwithgreaterthan3,000wordsgeneratesthemostsocial
shares.ThesedatajivewithMoz’sanalysisoftheimpactofcontent
lengthonshares.
Source:Moz.com
AsconfirmedbyMoz’sinsightsfromanalyzing1millionarticles,long
formcontentofover1,000wordsconsistentlyreceivesmoresharesand
linksthanshorterformcontent.
Mozsuggeststhatthecorrelationbetweenlinksandcontentlengthisn’t
statisticallysignificantbeyond2,000words.
Alltold,sharecountandcontentlengtharenearlyperfectlypositively
correlated.Ihaven’tyetreadanystudiesabouttherelationship
betweencontentpromotionexpensesandcontentlength.
Itseemsplausiblethatpublishersspendmoretimeandmoney
promotinglongercontentbecauseitrequiresmoremoneyandtimeto
produce.
STEP3:CREATEANAWESOMECONTENT
UPGRADE
Togetpeopletosignupforyouremaillist,giveawaysomethingofvalue
forfree.
CopybloggergivesawayeBooksforfree,andinreturn,youregisterwith
youremailaddresstogainaccesstotheirfreemembershipcontent
library.
BloggersBryanHarris,BrianDeanandNeilPatelgiveawayfree
bonuseswitheveryblogposttheypublish.
Theyspendextratimecreatingfreecontentupgradessothattheirsite
visitorsoptintotheiremaillist.
Formoreoncontentupgrades,readBrianDean’spostabouthow
toincreaseconversionsusingcontentupgradesonhisblogBacklinko.
Fortheguestbloggingguidecontentupgrade,Ihiredafreelancerfrom
Upworkat$10/hourtoperformover51hoursofresearchanddataentry
tocreateaguestbloggingdatabase.
Thedatabasecontainscontactdetailsanddatafor290guestblogging
opportunities.
Intotal,Ispent$918.34tooutsourcetheblog-postwritingandcreatea
non-genericcontentupgrade.
For167emailsubscribers,thatworksoutto$5.50persubscriber.
Ispent$200onthepostwepublishedbeforeourguestbloggingguide
andgotzeroemailsubscribersfromit,somyrecommendationisto
createagoodcontentupgradeandhighlightitafewtimesthroughout
yourpost.
YoucanimplementHotjartorecordvisitorsessionstofigureouthowfar
yourreadersscrollbeforetheyopt-infromyourcontentupgradesor
leavethepage.
Youcouldalsoaddapost-specificcustomstickywidgettoattachtothe
right-handsideofyourpostaspeoplescrolldowntoreadit.
Therearemanyotherwaystoincreaseyouremailopt-inrates.Check
outDerekHalpern’spostforsevenhigh-convertingplacestoaddemail
opt-informstoyourblog.
Ifyou’reinterestedinsettingupcontentupgradeemailopt-ins,Bryan
Harrishasagoodtutorialthatexplainshowtosetupacontent
upgradeusingMailChimp.
STEP4:FINDSHARERSFORCONTENT
PROMOTION
Emailoutreachwascriticalforsuccessfulcontentpromotion.
YoucanuseBuzzSumotofindpotentialsharersforyournextpost.
OnecompanyIworkedwithhiredanagencytomanagesocialmedia
marketingforthem.PartofthisengagementincludedTwitterinfluencer
outreach.TheirresultsfromreachingouttoinfluencersviaTwitter
messageswasunsuccessfulforthemostpart.
Ofthe200to250individualdirectmessagestheysentviaTwitter
(otherwiseknownasspam),onlytwopeoplereplied.
Ofthepeoplethatresponded,onetriedtousethecompanyforitsown
audiencebuilding;theindividualdidnotenduphelpingthecompany
eitherwithalinktoapastblogpostorbyreferringtheiraudiencetothe
company.Theotherpersondidn’thavealargeorengagedenough
audiencetopromotethecompany.
Mygutfeelingisthatmostpeopledon’thavetimetocheckevery
messagetheyreceiveonTwitterandoftenignoreanymessagesthey
read.
Instead,startwiththenamesandTwitterhandlesofinfluencersyoufind
inBuzzSumo;thenworkbackwardstogettheiremailaddressesand
reachouttothemviaemailusingBuzzStream(orNinjaOutreach).
Hereisthestep-by-stepprocessIusedtopromotetheguestblogging
guide:
TaketheblogpostURLforeachpostyoufoundinstep1andenter
itintoBuzzSumo.
Iftheposthasmorethan100Twittershares,click“ViewSharers”
toretrievethelistofpeopleandcompanieswhosharedthatpost
viaTwitter.BuzzSumoonlyrevealsTwittersharers,soifyouseea
postgothighsocialsharesforanothernetwork(suchasFacebook
orLinkedIn)butfewsharesviaTwitter,youshouldskipitsinceyou
won’tbeabletoretrievedataaboutwhosharedthepost.With
BuzzSumoyoudon’thavetoworryaboutthedisabledTwittercount
issue,becausethey’vefiguredoutawayaroundit.
ExportthelistofsharerstoExcelorCSV.
CopyandpastetheexportedresultsintoasingleGoogleSheetsor
Excelworkbook.
Thenaddcolumnsforthepost’sauthorname,posttitle,blogname
andblogpostURL.
Repeatsteps1through4untilyouhavealistofatleast1,500
sharerstotalfromallrelevantblogpostsyoufoundinBuzzSumo.
Afteryounarrowthemdown,you’llbeleftwithfewerthan500.
Highlightallrowsandcolumnscontainingdata.(InExcel,youcan
usethefollowingkeyboardshortcuts:shift+CMD+rightarrowor
shift+CTRL+>andshift+CMD+downarroworshift+CTRL+
downarrow.)
SetupadatafilterinExcelorGoogleSheets.(InExcel,gotothe
“Data”tab,thenunderSort&Filter,click“Filter.”)
STEP5:FILTEROUTLOW-PRIORITYDATA
ROWS
1. Thenclickthedrop-downarrowatthetopofdomain_authority
columnandsetittogreaterthan10or15tofilteroutpeoplewhose
websitesdon’thaveanestablisheddomainauthority.(Thisisn’t
necessaryifyou’reonlylookingforsocialshares,butIpreferto
targetpeoplewhohaveatrustedwebsiteandsomesocialmedia
influence.)
2. Repeatthisprocessfornum_followerstofilterforpeoplewhohave
greaterthan5,000Twitterfollowers.
3. Repeatthisprocessforurl_share_ratiotofilterforpeoplewhohave
ashareratiogreaterthan1.0.
4. Repeatthisprocessforretweet_ratiotofilterforpeoplewhohavea
retweetratiogreaterthan2.0.
STEP6:SETUPAMAZONMECHANICAL
TURKHITTOREVERSELOOKUPEMAIL
ADDRESSESOFSHARERS
TheotheroptionistotryToofrtoreverselookupemailaddressesbased
onfirstandlastnameandwebsiteaddress.IpreferusingAmazon
MechanicalHITtomakethisprocessefficient.
Toreverselookupemailaddressesbasedonthefirstname,lastname
andwebsiteaddressyoureceivefromBuzzSumo,followthisprocess:
GotoAmazonMechanicalTurkatrequester.mturk.com.
LoginwithyourAmazon.comaccountcredentialsorsetupanew
account.
Click“CreateNewProject.”
SetupaMechanicalTurkHITassignmenttooutsourcetheemail
lookupprocess.
DownloadtheresultsfromAmazonMechanicalTurk.
Copyandpastethedataintoyourspreadsheetalongsideyour
existingdatarows.
ThensavetheExcelspreadsheetasaCSVfile.
AnotheroptionistoaddfieldsinAmazonMechanicalTurkforthepost
title,authornameandblogname.
Here’sanexample:
Withthisapproach,youcansavetimefromhavingtocopyand
pasteintoaspreadsheettheresultsyougetfromAmazonMechanical
Turk.Instead,youcandirectlyimportthe.csvfromAmazonMechanical
TurkintoBuzzStreamtostartemailoutreach.
Theonlydownsideisthatyouwon’tbeabletoimportintoBuzzStream
alloftheoriginalBuzzSumodata.Althoughtherewillbesomecrossover
betweenthedataprovidedbyBuzzSumoandBuzzStream,BuzzSumo’s
dataismorein-depth.
STEP7:IMPORTPERSONDATAINTO
BUZZSTREAM
Fortheguestbloggingguide,IusedBuzzStreamtoimportandmanage
contactsforoutreach.
InBuzzStream,click“More,”thenclick“ConfigureColumns.”
ThenaddthreepersoncustomfieldstoBuzzStreamforthefollowing
datacolumnsyouaddedtothespreadsheet(namethemwhateveryou
like):
PostFavorited
PostFavoritedAuthorName
PostFavoritedBlogName
1. Click“Import”andfollowtheprompttofindtheCSVfileonyour
computerandimportthedataintoBuzzStream.
2. MatchyourimportfileheadersanddatawiththerespectivecolumnheaderBuzzStreamfields.
3. UnhidethecustomcolumnheadersinBuzzStreaminthe“People”
tab.
STEP8:SETUPOUTREACHEMAIL
TEMPLATESINBUZZSTREAM
Tomakethingsefficient,addanoutreachemailtemplatetoBuzzStream.
TryusingavariationoftheseemailsIreappropriatedfromBrianDeanof
Backlinko.
Youcanusethisemailtemplate:
Subject:New[subjectname][guide/casestudy/post/article]
Body:
[FirstName],
Inoticedthatyoutweetedoneofmyfavorite[subjectname]posts,
“[PostFavorited],”(from[PostFavoritedBlogName]).
Ihaveanew[subjectname][guide/casestudy/post/article]comingout
thisweek.
Wantaheadsupwhenit’slive?
Best,
[UserFirstName][UserLastName]
YoucanuseBuzzStreamtoautomaticallyfillintheperson’sFirstName,
PostFavorited,PostFavoritedBlogNameandyourUserFirstName
andLastName.
Ifyoureceivea“yes”replytoyourinitialoutreachemail,youcanusethis
follow-upemail:
Body:
Hey,[FirstName],
Thanksinadvanceforcheckingitout.Seeyounextweek!
Onthedayyoupublishthepost,youcanusethisemail:
Body:
Checkitout,[FirstName]!
[BlogPostURL]
STEP9:SENDINITIALOUTREACHEMAILS
FROMBUZZSTREAM
SetupanalternatepersonalGmailaccounttointegratewithBuzzStream
soyoudon’thityourprimaryemailaccount’ssendlimits.Forexample:
[email protected]
InthealternateGmailaccount,file“yes”and“no”emailrepliesunder
Gmaillabelssoyoucanfollowup.Ifyou’dratherautomatetheemail
follow-upprocess,eitherhireapart-timevirtualassistanttomark
contactsforfollowupinBuzzStream,praythatBuzzStreamrecognizes
therepliesreceivedthroughyourpersonalGmailaccount,orusethe
defaultBuzzStreamemailissuedwitheachaccountandBCCthe
BuzzStreamemailfromGmail.
Forourguestbloggingguidepost,Iaveragedanemailtopositivereply
conversionrateof16.6%fromcoldemail.
Forevery271emailssent,Iget45emailsbackfrompeopleinterested
inreadingmyupcomingpost.Onthepublishdate,Isendthemafollow
upemailinformingthemaboutthepost.Ifdoneright,thiscanbeacost
efficientwaytogrowyouremaillist.Althoughpeoplehavemixed
opinionsaboutcoldemailoutreach.
TimSoulo’srecentpostexpandsonthisissue.
Timrecommendssegmentingyouraudienceinto3differentbuckets:big
fish,smallfishandnewbies.I’mnowusingthisapproachforpromotion
ofupcomingblogposts.
SetupGmaillabsforcannedresponses.Forinstructionsonhowtodo
this,readthistutorial.
TouseyourdefaultBuzzStreamemailforeasieroutreachandfollowup,
gotothe“Settings”tabinBuzzStream.
Thenclickthe“ConnecttoEmail”tabandbelowthepersonalemail
account(s),select“UseyourBuzzStreamaddress.”
STEP10:REACHOUTTOVIP
INFLUENCERSMENTIONEDINTHEBLOG
POST
AlthoughIhaven’tusedthismethodmuchforrecentposts,Ihaveusedit
successfullyinthepastforotherposts.
1. GetapreviewURLfortheblogpost.
2. EmailVIPsaheadsupabouttheblog-postmention,includinga
courtesypreviewURL.
3. Followupwithanythankyounotesreceived.
Ifyoudon’tmentiontheinfluencerinyourpostbutgivethemaheadsup
inadvanceofthepublishdate,chancesareslimtheywilltakeaninterest
inyourpost.
Nottosoundcrude,butit’slikeskippingforeplayandexpectingtohit
climax.Itjustdoesn’twork.
IwishIhadreadTimSoulo’spostsooner.Itwouldhavepreventedme
fromcoldemailingourguestbloggingguidetoIanClearyandIanBrodie.
Theydon’tneedunsolicitedhow-toadviceabouthowtopitchorwritea
successfulguestblogpost.
Idon’trecommendreachingouttotopbloggerswithoutaprior
connection,unlessyouwriteabouthowmuchyou’velearnedorgained
fromtheirposts.
Thatsaid,belowistheemailtemplateI’veusedwitha100percent
successrateforinfluenceroutreachinthepast.I’veusedittoemailtop
influencersandCEOswhenImentionedtheircompanyinmypost:
Subject:quickquestion
Body:
Hey,[FirstName],
I’mjustreachingouttogiveyouaheadsupthatI’mpublishinganew
postlaterthisweekabout[DescribeWhatYourPostIsAbout].
BecauseImention[Person’sNameorCompanyName],Ijustthought
you’dliketobeoneofthefirsttoknow.
Wouldlovetoshareitwithyouifyou’reinterested.DoyoumindifI
sendyoualink?
Best,
[YourFirstName]
Youshouldmentionthemortheircompany,highlightingsomethingyou
admireaboutthemortheirproduct;ortalkaboutwhatyoulearnedfrom
themthatyouthinkcouldbevaluabletoyouraudience.
Here’sanexampleofhowyoucanmentionaVIPinfluencerinyournext
blogpost:
I’velearnedatonofvaluableinformationaboutmarketingfromNeilPatel
overthepastsevenyears.
Iwanttosharewithyoumyshortlistofgo-toresourcesforlearning
effectivegrowthhacking,contentmarketing,SEOandblogging
strategies:
NeilPatel
SujanPatel
Backlinko
QuickSprout
Copyblogger
EnchantingMarketing
NeilPatelhastaughtmemanyvaluablelessonsaboutsearchengine
optimization,salesfunnels,influencermarketingandgrowthhacking.
OneofthemostimportantlessonsI’velearnedfromNeilisthatyouneed
tocreatecontentthatteachesyouraudiencevaluablelessons,
andpogostickingdoesn’tworktobuildsearchtraffic.
Pogostickinginvolvescreatingcontenttorankonthefirstpageofsearch
engineslikeGooglewithoutbeingcontextuallyrelevanttotheenduseror
searcher.YoucanreadmoreaboutitonNeil’sblog.
Twomonthsago,Imadethedecisiontostoppublishinglow-quality
“filler”contentonthisblogandtostartprovidingrealvaluetomy
audience.Sincethen,mysite’sorganicandreferraltraffichasgrowna
lot,andtheblog’semaillisthasgrownfromzerotomorethan1,100
subscribersinlessthantwomonths.
Ialsofeelmuchbetterprovidingrealvaluetoyoubysettingahigher
standardforourblogandcommunity.
Inturn,Neil’spostaboutincreasingsearchtrafficwithoutbuildinglinks
hasforcedmetocompletelyrethinkhowIapproachcontentmarketing.
STEP11:PUBLISHDATEFOLLOW-UP
1. Onthedateofpublication,sendafollow-upemailtopeoplewho
replied“yes”toyourinitialpre-promotionoutreach.
2. Emailinfluencersaheadsupthattheblogpostisnowlive.
3. Completethepost-promotion-processchecklist.
Whenallissaidanddone,ifyou’reconfidentyourpostisepic,proceed
tosteps12and13.
Sidenote:It’simportanttoknowwhetherpeoplewillshareyourpost
beforeyougothroughthehassleofadditionalmanualpostpromotion
afteryouhit“publish.”Timeisyourmostvaluablecommodity.You
wouldn’twanttowasteitonpromotingcontentpeoplewon’tactively
share.
STEP12:FINDAREPUTABLENICHE
CONTENTSYNDICATIONPLATFORM
JayBaersuggeststhat“Formaximumreach,youmustspreadyour
contentaroundlikeadigitaldandelion.”Bypublishingapostwithover
4,000wordsandspreadingitaroundlikeadandelion,wesawa
hugeincreaseinsocialshares,visitortrafficandemailsubscribers.
Makealistofthesyndicationnetworkswhereyouraudiencehangs
out.Inmycase,IknewInbound.org,GrowthHackers.com,Hacker
NewsandRedditcouldworkbecausethat’swheremarketershang
out.
Gotoeachnetworkandmakealistofthepeoplewhogetthemost
likesorupvotesonthepoststheyshare.
Lookforoneofthenetwork’stop“influencers”—someonewho
getscontentrepeatedlyupvotedorlikedmoreoftenthanother
contributors.
Emailtheinfluencersyouidentifyasviablecandidates,the
peoplewhoaremostlikelytoshareyourstuff.Ifthey’reunwillingto
helpyouforfree,offertocompensatethem.
Lookforafreelancerorbloggerwhomaybeinterestedinhelpingyou.
IfyoureachouttoRandFishkin,LarryKimoracommunitymanager,
you’rewon’tgettraction,unlessyou’refriendswiththem.
STEP13:PROMOTEYOURPOSTWITH
CONTENTMARKETINGRETARGETINGAND
CONTENTSYNDICATIONNETWORKS
Ifyouseethatthepostistakingoffthroughinitialearnedmedia
promotion,considerincreasingyourdistributionwithpaidmedia.
Herearesomepromotionmethodsyoucanusetoboostemail
subscribers,socialsharesandbacklinks(withoutlinkoutreachorlink
buying)forthepost:
Outbraincontentpromotioncampaign
PerfectAudienceretargetingcampaign(seeNoahKagan’spost)
FacebookDarkPosts
GoogleDisplayNetworkRemarketing
FiverrGigforRealSocialSignals
Foradditionalcontentpromotionideas,readthisblogpost.Theposthas
beensharedmorethan1,300timesonTwitter,Facebook,LinkedInand
PinterestandtrendedonthefirstpageofInbound.orgwith126upvotes.
EvenpopularbloggerslikeBrianDeanandAnnSmartysharedour
guide.
Annrespondedthroughmyinitialcoldemailoutreach,whileBrianfound
ourpostthroughanemailhereceivedfromafriend.
Thanks,Brian!
INBOUND.ORGREFERRALTRAFFIC
MorevaluablethantheupvoteswereceivedfromInbound.org,theysent
ustonsoffreereferraltrafficasthepoststartedtrendingonthefirst
page.
Theircommunityadministratorsupvotedourpost,andtheircontent
manager,Keri,evencommentedonthepost.MahamandIwereboth
flyinghighthatday.
Thepostcontinuedtrendingforanotherfourdaysandkeptsendingus
referraltrafficandemailsubscribers.Myguessisthatwesawatleast
100emailsubscribersfromInbound.org.
ThereferraltrafficfromInbound.orgalonesent308newuserstomy
websiteinthe11daysafterthepostwentlive.
ItreallydriveshomethispointfromJayBaer:
Atomizeyourcontentandgiveitlifewhereveryouraudienceaggregates
Inotherwords,blowalltheseedsoffthedandelionwhereveryourfans
hangout.
SOCIALMEDIATRAFFIC
WhatIfoundinterestingwasthesubstantialreferraltrafficwegotfrom
socialnetworks,including144uniquepageviewsfromTwitterand31
fromReddit.
Muchofthistrafficcamefrommypre-publicationemailoutreach.The
keyistoidentifysocialmediasharersofotherblogs’postswithasimilar
topictoyours.
EMAILTRAFFIC
Wesawaninsignificantamountoftrafficfromemail.
SomehowanewslettercalledFollowWeeklypickedupourpostand
shareditwiththeiremaillist,whichgaveusasmallliftintrafficbutonly
1emailsubscriber.
Worse,anemailannouncingtheposttoourlistonlydrove13people
backtooursite.Thatpalesincomparisontothe318newvisitorsand
955pageviewswegotfromInbound.orgreferralsforthatsameperiod.
THEUNTOLDCOSTOFCONTENT
MARKETING
Oftenpeopledon’ttalkabouttherealcostofblogging.
Forourmostrecentguestbloggingguide,Ispent$2,253.
Thattranslatesto$12.66peremailsubscriber!
DerekHalpernspends$1,000foreachvideohecreatesforhisblog.
Thatdoesn’tincludethetensof$1,000shespendsonFacebookAds
eachmonthtogrowhislistandpromotehisposts.
Let’sputthisintoperspective,formanypeople,ourrecent
postequaledonemonth’srentlivingina1bedroomapartmentinNYC
oryoucouldrentanewMaseratiforabout3months.
90.9%oftheexpenseswenttowardspromotionexpensesandthe
remaining9.1%werewritingexpenses.
Here’sabreakdownoftheallocationofexpenses:
WHATWOULDIDODIFFERENTLY?
IcouldhavebidlessperemailaddressthroughAmazonMechanical
Turk.Istartedbiddingat$0.50foreachHumanIntelligenceTask(HIT)
assignmentwith30minutestocompleteonetask.
OnceIsawtheworkerscompletingtasksin30secondsonaverage,I
reducedthebidto$0.15perHIT.Ifyou’rewillingtowaitlongerthana
daytogetbacktheemailaddresses,youmaybeabletofurtherreduce
thebidperHIT.
Inretrospect,IcouldhaveavoidedspendingmoneyonFacebookAds,
Fiverrjobs,extrabacklinksorthefreelancerfromUpwork.
SomebloggersrelyonapersonalassistantoruseaservicelikeWill
Blunt’sBloggerSidekick,whileblogslikeHubspotandContentMarketing
Institutehaveteamsofpeopledevotedtoeditingandpromotion.
It’sapparentthateffectivecontentpromotionisexpensive.Italso
requiresstrongsocialskills,asNeilPateldiscussedonQuickSprout.
OvertoYou
ExclusiveBonus:GrabaFREElistbuildingchecklisttodoubleyour
emaillistin30daysorless.
Effectiveblog-postpromotionisn’trocketscience,butitisanart.
Nowadays,youcan’tjustfollowthegenericprocessofpromotingyour
postwithyourorganicsocialmediareach.
Goodmarketersgrowthhackeachphaseofthecontentmarketing
lifecycle
(ClickToTweet)
Outofthe267peopleIemailedinadvanceofpublishingourguest
bloggingpost,atleast50peoplerepliedwithanenthusiastic“yes.”
That’san18.7percentconversionratefromcoldemailtonewpotential
fan.
IfIweretodothingsover,IwouldfirstmakesureI’mtrackingeach
emailsubscriberbasedontheirsign-update.Bydoingthis,whenI
launchmycourse(yes,thisisahint),Icandeterminethevalueofeach
emailsubscriberbasedontheirsign-updateandtheopt-intheysigned
upfor.
LeadPagescreatedanexcellenttutorialthatshowshowtocalculatethe
valueofanemailsubscriberusingGoogleAnalytics.
AnotherthingIwoulddodifferentlyisA/Btestmyoutreachemails.I’m
sureyoucanA/Btestyouremailsandachieveahigherresponserate.
Asatestamentthatemailpromotionworks,ourguestbloggingguideis
nowthemostshared“guestbloggingguide”outtherewithmorethan
1,300socialshares.
In2016,it’sunlikelyyou’llseesignificantvisitortrafficoremail
subscribersjoinyourlistfromapostonyourhomeblogunlessyouare
aggressiveandcreativeaboutcontentpromotion.
AgoodwaytostartisbyreadingSujanPatel’sContentMarketing
Playbook.Afterthat,readaboutTheSkyscraperTechnique®byBrian
Dean.Yes,hetrademarkedthenameintheU.S.(readthesummarized
USPTOapplicationhere).
Itwasn’tuntilIreceivedanemailfromBrianDeanpromotingoneofhis
upcomingblogpoststhatthingshitmelikeatonofbricks.IrealizedI
neededtobuckledownandgetseriousaboutDerekHalpern’s80/20
contentpromotionrule.
Longstoryshort,ifyou’rewillingtoputinthetimetopromoteyour
content,you’reapttogeneratemanymoreemailsubscribers,social
sharesandpageviewsforyourblog.
Name:CodyLister
Twitter:@codyblister
Followers:5014
Following:1809
Top5topics:SEO,business,entrepreneur,socialmedia,tech
Top3linkeddomains:marketdoc.com,intercom.io,wpcurve.com
4CONTENTMARKETINGTRENDSFOR2016
DominikGrau,@dominikgrau
InSeptember2015,Ebner’sCEO,COO,CMOandIattendedthe
ContentMarketingWorld(CMW)inCleveland.TheCMWistheworld's
largestsucheventandwe'vebeentheremanytimesnow,alltheway
backtowhenithadonlyacouplehundredattendees(thisyearthere
were3,500).
Sincethelaunchithasbecomeamassiveeventandwestronglybelieve
thatit'soneoftheworld'sbestconferencesformediacompaniesand
publishers.
CMWteachesmarketersandbrandstocreatecontent.You'lllearn
everythingfromcreatingacontentstrategy,attractinganaudience,
buildinganengagementuniverse,convertingleads,monetizinguserdata
andincorporatingnativeadsorbrandedcontentintoyourstrategy.
Contentmarketingtodayiswhatcustompublishing,corporatemediaand
clientcommunicationswerein2000.Iworkedatalargecustom
publishermanyyearsagoandhadweknownbackthenwhatweknow
nowaboutcontentmarketing-wesurelywouldhaveseenourprofits
skyrocketovernight.
Contentmarketingismediaredefined.Itiswhatyouneedtoknowto
create,growandmaintaingreatcontent.Period.So,whathaveweseen
atCMW2015andwheredowethinkthismarketwillbegoingin2016.
Herearemy4predictionsbasedondozensofconversationswith
executives,marketers,publishersandcontentprofessionals.
1.PredictiveContent
Contentmarketingisataturningpoint.It'snolongerenoughtojust
creategoodcontent.Youmustbeabletoanticipate,analyzeandpredict
whatkindofcontentwillbethebest,themostinterestingandthemost
engaging.
Contentmarketersneedtolearntheseskillsquicklybecausethat'swere
thecontentgoldwillbein2016:predictingandmatchingaudienceneeds
basedonbigdataandreal-timeanalysis.
2.Real-TimeRelevancy
Whilereal-timeanalysiswillbeimportanttodriveyourpredictivecontent
strategy,real-timerelevancywilldrivetheuserengagement.Onlythen
willcontentmarketingmessagesberelevantifatthesametimeyouare
abletopresentyouraudiencerelatedmessagesorproductsbasedona
deepunderstandingoftheircontentusage.
Ateverystageofthefunnelandineverycontentdirection:news,
evergreens,whitepapers,seminars,webinars,commerceproducts,
books,etc.Yourcontentshouldbematchedwithareal-timerelevancy
systemthatsmartlyintegratesmarketingmessagesbasedon
automatedtags,predictivecontentandrelatedtopics.
AcontentAmazononsteroids.
3.ConstantConversions
Contentpersehasnoquality.It'stheresultoftheactionsthatcontent
triggersthataretherealassetandtherealqualityofyourcontent.The
bestcontentconvertsusers.Eithertoe-mail,toyourstore,yourevent,
yourpartnersortoanotheractionthatismatchedwithyourmonetization
orengagementstrategy.Wewillseeaninfluxofcontentmarketingtools
in2016thatwilldothisforyou;toolsthatwillconvertandreengage
customers,thatwillreactivatedeadleadsandwillgiveyourcontenta
newqualitythatgoesmuchdeeperthaneverbefore.Bereadyto
convertbutbereadythateveryonewilldoso,too.
4.DeepMetrics
Goingdeeponconversionsisonlyonesideofthequalityequation.The
otherisdeepmetrics.Everyelementofyourcontentmustbeanalyzed
andeveryelementofyouraudiencebehavioraswell.
GoogleAnalyticsisnotenough.It'sagoodstartbutyouneedtoalign
everyavailablemetricsplatformandservicethatmakessensealongside
yourcontentcycle.
Godeeponmetricsandthinkabouthowdatacaninformyourcontent
strategyfromtheverybeginning,forexamplewhenplanningpredictive
content.ThinkaboutmeasuringROIandROE(returnonengagement),
mapyourleadcyclefromtheveryfirstclicktothefinalconversion.
Thebetteryourcontentmarketingcanbemeasured,thebetteryour
resultswillbe.
CONTENTMARKETINGONTWITTER
Thefollowingcharts,createdwithbuzzsumo.cominDecember2015,are
anindicatorofhowcontentmarketingpostsarebeingsharedand
redistributedonTwitter.Youwilllearnonwhatdayoftheweekcontent
getssharedmoreoftenthanonothers,howlongyourpostsshouldbe,
whattypeofcontentperformsbestandwhatdomainsarethemost
popularonessharedbycontentmarketersonTwitter.
SIMONGEISLER,PH.D
ChiefMarketingOfficer,EbnerMediaGroup
@simon_geisler
Top50TwitterInfluencer‚ContentMarketing’inGermany
Co-Founder,CommunicateAndSell,ContentMarketing-Agentur
desEbnerVerlags
Speaker,WorldClassDigitalTransformationConference
Dr.SimonGeisleristheChiefMarketingOfficeroftheEbnerMedia
Group,andtheCo-Founderofcommunicateandsell.de,Ebner’scontent
marketingagency.Simonisresponsibleforthemarketingstrategyofthe
companyandhemergesthelatestmarketingtrendswithhisunique
content-basedmodelsthathelpSMBsscaletheirmessagesbeyond
traditionalchannels.AstheCMOSimonhasaccesstoallEbner
businessunitsandcantakeadvantageofthelargecontentarchiveto
amplifytheimpactofcommunicateandsell.de.PriortotheCMOposition
SimonwastheDirectorofthecorporatedevelopmentunitatEbner
wherehemanagedM&Aactivities,marketintelligenceandsales
controllingwithafocusondata-drivenbusinessdevelopment.Simon
beganhiscareerasaconsultantatSIPAafterhecompletedhis
doctoratedegreeinphilosophyattheuniversitiesofHamburg,Oxford
andBerlin.
DOMINIKGRAU
ChiefInnovationOfficer,EbnerMediaGroup
@dominikgrau
JuryMember,ContentMarketingAwards
Speaker,ContentMarketingWorld
Speaker,FIPPCongress
Speaker,WorldClassDigitalTransformationConference
AuthorandContributorFIPP.com,LinkedInPulse
GuestLectureratUniversities
DominikistheChiefInnovationOfficeroftheEbnerMediaGroup.He
haslivedandworkedinEuropeandAmericawherehehasmanaged
mediabrandswithassetsinprint,digital,video,mobile,events,social
mediaandcontentmarketing.Dominik’scoreexpertiseasagrowth
managerisincreatingsuccessfulnewdigitalbusinessmodelsaswellas
transforminganddisruptinglegacybusinesses.PriortoEbnerDominik
wasanonlinedirectoratIDG,theworld’sno.1techmediacompany.He
ledthedigitalb2cbusinessinGermanywithaportfolioofsomeofthe
country’slargesttechwebsites.Dominikbeganhiscareerasatraineeat
Burda,atop5mediacompanyinGermany,whereheeventuallybecame
aneditor-in-chiefforcontentmarketingandcustompublishing.Duringhis
careerDominikhaswonmorethan15globalmediaawardsand
nominationsforaudiencegrowth,digitalmedia,tabletpublishing,print
andsocialmedia.
CHRISTINEGERBER
TransactionEditor,EbnerMediaGroup
@cgerber21
SinceNovember2015,Christineisateammemberofthenewcontent
marketingagencyCommunicateAndSelloftheEbnerMediaGroup.She
worksasatransactioneditorandisresponsibleforeditingand
distributingthecontentonthenewplatform
www.communicateandsell.de.PriortoEbnerChristinewasaproduct
manageratMediengruppeOberfranken,whereshealsosuccessfully
completedherBachelorofArtsinmediaeconomicsattheUniversity
Ravensburg.
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