Indicators of Content Marketing Success for Strategies and Organizations
Most reading this probably agree they eat Internet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We’re information (read: content) consumers. My attention’s up for grabs, but you better hit me with your best shot.
On the flip side are the content creators, marketers like you and me. …And everyone else.
With all the hungry infovores on the Web, marketers have long been aware of the opportunity and power of getting content into popular channels of consumption. Yet the volume was dialed up on the content marketing buzz as interesting commentary and reports on the topic came across my screen this week.
Read more of Indicators of Content Marketing Success for Strategies and Organizations.
February 16, 2012
Authority + Trust = Conversions
Yesterday, I had an interesting encounter at the grocery store that truly demonstrated the power of trust and authority on conversion.Two women, who had never bought almond butter in their lives, decided to do so because they heard it helped with a good night’s sleep on The Dr. Oz Show.
They didn’t even know how it worked, but they didn’t care. They trusted the authority of the information presented in the Dr. Oz show and it moved them to action. Today, we’re going to talk a little bit about establishing authority and trust through various mediums in a way that moves people to act.
February 14, 2012
Social Media for Lovers: Lessons in Brand Voice
On my morning commute I flip between terrestrial radio stations, and today I caught an interview between Carson Daly and Christina Milian, celebs on the singing star-maker “The Voice”.
The interview was part of Carson’s morning show on an LA top-40s station, and while the station is part of CBS Radio, he freely uses the platform to promote his other hosting gig on NBC’s musical reality competition. Christina, is the newly appointed social media correspondent for The Voice and she shared her experience using Twitter on behalf of the show.
It turns out some tried and true lessons of love hold fast in social media. Isn’t that perfect, it being Valentine’s Day and all? 
Read more of Social Media for Lovers: Lessons in Brand Voice.
February 13, 2012
Your Complete 2012 Guide for Tackling Important SEO Issues
Bruce Clay Australia’s SEO Factors and Trends report is out, packed full of information on the key factors in 2011 that impacted search engine optimization, including tips on how to address them, plus a look into 2012 trends. The 25-page report is a handy reference guide for professionals and business owners who want a high-level overview of the issues in search marketing that websites need to address to help shape Web marketing strategy. The report is free and available for download here.
Read more of Your Complete 2012 Guide for Tackling Important SEO Issues.
February 10, 2012
Is Pinterest the New Social Media Echo Chamber?
Move over, StumbleUpon. There’s a new aggregator in town. No longer will users aimlessly browse for random gems of content. That’s so 2009. Now, old math is applied to present content in a new way: content + interest = Pinterest.
Pinterest does not represent a revolution in content curation by any means. The newness of Pintertest comes in the form of content consolidation. All content, all the time. Every social media site under the sun has some way of allowing its users to easily share content with one another. So why are pins so interesting and why are online marketers, specifically, SEOs so giddy with excitement? I’ll give you a hint: it’s two-parts shiny new object and one-part traffic generation.
In January, Pinterest drove more referral traffic to websites than Google+, YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn combined. And the growth shows no signs of stopping, but that doesn’t always mean more traffic for your site.
Read more of Is Pinterest the New Social Media Echo Chamber?
February 9, 2012
All-Access Glimpse into the New SEO for Dummies Book
A lot has changed since “Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies” first hit the scene in 2009 … but then, Web marketing is a fast-moving industry. What hasn’t changed, though, are the fundamentals of solid SEO practices. Along with a refresh of the entire book to ensure it’s current to address trends and technology in Web marketing, the second edition of “Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies” is more than 700 pages of tried-and-true methodologies in SEO. Launched in January, the newest edition is hot off the presses and available for purchase now on Amazon.
We thought we’d give you an all-access glimpse into what the book has been up to since it launched into the search industry a few years back. Now in 2012, the book’s contributions have made a name for itself, and backed by a high-powered brand, the book keeps everyone very busy. Let’s take a glimpse into the new life of the “Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies” book.
Read more of All-Access Glimpse into the New SEO for Dummies Book.
February 8, 2012
Ask Him What NOT to Do: Woody Harrelson’s Social Media Smackdown
Know your audience. It’s a truism we assume every big name actor is familiar with. After all, their success depends on spectators buying into each performance. So how is it that an Oscar nominee forgot this basic tenant of the actor’s handbook? Did Woody Harrelson fall victim to apathy born of accolades and forget to research his audience before agreeing to this latest turn in the spotlight?
Unfortunately for Woody, he’d never before performed for an audience so unforgiving as Reddit, the Academy and north-nosed critics included.
As members of the marketing community can attest, knowing your audience is an important principle for more than actors. Unfolding in real-time, Woody last week demonstrated a major social media faux pas which could have been avoided had he followed the basic principle of understanding his audience when interacting with communities online.
Read more of Ask Him What NOT to Do: Woody Harrelson’s Social Media Smackdown.
February 7, 2012
The Many Ways Virtual Communities Impact Our World Offline
Technology has sufficiently crept into every nook and cranny of our lives. From the way we brush our teeth to the way we move about town to the way we interact with people, it’s a part of who we are.
I recently led a discussion along with Jen Lopez, community manager of SEOmoz and author Becky Carroll at the Emerging Media Conference in San Francisco. The three of us, along with the audience, talked about how social media and virtual communities impact our lives in ways we could not have imagined prior. It was an exciting and engaging conversation that allowed us to explore social media and virtual worlds outside the realm of marketing.
And, since the topic is fresh in my mind, I thought I’d share some of those concepts with you today. Let’s dive into some of the research on the virtual world’s impact on the physical world, and explore how these virtual communities have impacted our relationships and what we should do with these discoveries.
Read more of The Many Ways Virtual Communities Impact Our World Offline.
February 3, 2012
The Optimized Future: SEO in the Year 2022
What will SEO and SEM look like in the year 2022? In this post by BCI staffer Bob Meinke, he dives into the possibilities of the future as marketers in his entry into a content hosted by SEO Chicks, dubbed “SEO: The Next Generation.”
Read more of The Optimized Future: SEO in the Year 2022.
February 2, 2012
Why Page Titles Matter
Google recently reminded webmasters that page Titles matter and are an important part of the search results displayed. Why did Google write another post about “better page titles in search results” when the majority of webmasters already know that relevant descriptive Title tags are an important component of a properly constructed Web page?
Google primarily uses the tag, if one exists, to display the hyperlinked headlines users’ see in the search engine results pages. Since that is the case, this is likely a reason Google elected to spend the time to remind webmasters of the value it places on page Titles.
Read more of Why Page Titles Matter.
