3 Keys to Create Engaging Content for More Customers and Sales

One of the most exciting fields for startups right now is content marketing. This engaging way to spread the word about your business has continued to grow as different forms of content gain popularity. Though it all started with the typical blog, companies are now using various forms of content marketing like podcasts to drive more traffic.

This form of marketing is hard to master and with the dozens of verticals involved, it’s rare to come across a valid informational source. That is why Jason Quey started the Content Promotion Summit, an online event that is bringing together over 60 of the world’s best content marketers.

This free event that started July 25, was aimed at teaching the ins and outs of blogging, podcasts, public relations and more. If you’re looking to start with the basics, below are three keys to creating engaging content to get more customers:

1. Develop a strategy.

Every house needs a foundation. The same goes for your content marketing. Entrepreneurs creating a blog need to lay out a strategy that focuses on their goals.

As an example, Drift, a messaging app that helps you grow your business, utilizes their blog to create a voice around sales, marketing and customer acquisition. In under eight months, their blog has grown to over 30,000 monthly visitors without a budget, making their company a thought leader in messaging apps.

To develop your strategy, I suggest reading the Grow and Convert blog where Benji Hyam details the Google Suggested Search hack. This basically involves long tail search terms focused on how-to questions, comparisons, and questions.

2. Gain credibility.

You have the right foundation for your content strategy. Now you will want to know how to create the content to execute on that strategy.

There are different ways to establish credibility and some ways are better than others. Getting press attention, interviewing influencers in your industry, blogging on other company blogs and answering questions online are all ways to gain credibility.

As an example, at my startup Sourcify where we help entrepreneurs find the right manufacturer in minutes, we like answering specific questions on Quora that address the pain point we are solving. This not only gets us traffic but also boosts credibility as people upvote our answers.

3. Utilize social media.

Social media is one of the best ways to share your content. With that said, social media is all about engagement and far too many companies overlook this fact. Companies today post on social like they’re talking to a brick wall.

Hillel Fuld, one of the world’s top tech bloggers and co-founder ofZCast recently told me a story of when Gary Vaynerchuck explained the return on investment of social media. He described social media as being your mom. Mothers are always there to compliment their children and instill confidence. Social media is there to do the same for your customers.

Though content marketing may not show immediate results or returns, it is a must in today’s world of online marketing. By growing your blog or starting a podcast, you’ll see long term growth and gains that you wouldn’t have imagined possible. You could be invited to speak at major events or write for major publications, but if you don’t start now, who knows where your content could lead you.

 Source : http://entm.ag/2bC8CqZ

5 Biggest Ways Social Media Will Change in 2016

Here's how to stay one step ahead of the social curve.

Death and taxes used to be the only two things we could all rely on. Now we can add a third: that social media will roll out all sorts of weird changes. Entrepreneurs will then scratch their heads, wonder what this is all about, and finally jump on the bandwagon and try to catch up.

So before you scratch your heads, here's a heads-up. Five major changes are currently rumbling away in social media, and they're going to break out in 2016. You need to be ready for them.

1. Live Streaming Goes Mainstream

Live streaming is already out, but it's going to get bigger. Within months of its launch, Twitter's Periscope service already had 15 million registered users who could employ their smartphones to share instant content. Big companies have been quick to spot the opportunity. In July 2015, GE's Droneweek exercise took viewers into the company's factories and showed audiences, including the engineering graduates the company needs to attract, how jet engines, wind turbines, and locomotives are made and tested. The company got to tell its story through a week of live, authentic content.

Other kinds of content that companies can broadcast live include conferences, interviews, customer support, product demonstrations, and special offers. For small businesses, the select audiences who tune in are the most loyal customers. They're the people you want to hug closest, and live streaming brings them about as close as they can get. If you're not broadcasting live yet, expect to push up a Periscope in 2016.

2. On-Platform Content Opens Up

In 2015, Facebook snatched distribution from established content creators. Instead of publishers bringing Facebook users to their own websites, Facebook's Instant Articles program let publishers distribute their content on the social media platform. The content would load up to 10 times faster, more people would see it, and the publisher could earn advertising revenue. But the users would stay on Facebook, reducing the publisher's own brand value.

Despite the risks, 350 publications have now signed up, including The New York Times, BuzzFeed, and Huffington Post. More than 100 publications distribute their content through Instant Articles every day.

The program started on iPhones and expanded to Android devices at the end of 2015. It's still limited to select publishers, but expect registration to roll out more broadly--and force all of us to compare the benefits of showing our content on Facebook with the advantages of bringing users to our webpages.

3. Smarter Use of Snapchat

Of all the head-scratching moves in social media, few have created a greater risk of a bald spot than the rise of Snapchat. You spend time and money creating unique content for a targeted audience only to see that content disappear as soon as it's used. It's the exact opposite of the quick burst and slow burn that a good YouTube video or blog post can achieve.

And yet, companies as big as McDonald's, Acura, and Heineken have all waded in, keen to connect with the platform's young audience--and scared to be left behind.

The quality of the content has improved over the past couple of years, and it's going to get better. There are enough good case studies available now for anyone to be able churn out effective Snapchat content quickly and easily. Now that businesses no longer need to scratch their heads for good ideas, expect companies with youthful customers to start churning out disposable content.

4. Video Will Continue to Beat Static Content

At the start of 2015, the news was that Facebook users were posting 75 percent more videos than they were the previous year. In the U.S., it was closer to 100 percent, and Facebook was pushing 360 percent more video content into people's news feeds. Between April and November 2015, Facebook doubled average daily video views from four billion to eight billion. Even though the company counts a three-second glimpse as a "view," that's still a huge amount of video watching, and it shows how keen Mark Zuckerberg is to eat YouTube's lunch.

Those figures are only going to grow. Facebook has already made clear that it prefers video content to link posts and even images, so to build any kind of successful social media campaign, you will need to pull out a video camera and get shooting this year.

5. Virtual Reality Content Will Make Its First Appearance

When Facebook bought Oculus Rift for $2 billion in 2014, even the most savvy social media watchers were left bemused. But the idea is starting to become clear. Just as video is a more engaging form of content than still imagery, so virtual reality will be the next and most engaging step forward for content. The New York Times has already started creating virtual reality content that works with Google's Cardboard virtual reality viewer, and Paul McCartney invited a VR firm to film one of his concerts. It's still early days for virtual reality, but as we approach the end of the year, expect to see more moves toward a new kind of engaging content--and start scratching your head for a way to use it yourself.

Source :  http://bit.ly/1Q64UH5

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5 Things Tech Entrepreneurs Should Do Instead of Learning to Code

There’s a prevalent train of thought running amuck through the tech startup world: Entrepreneurs believe learning to code will boost their credibility, provide them with a deeper understanding of their businesses, and transform their abilities to lead their troops. Many will run to Codecademy, take a few courses, and expect to be able to write an enterprise app. This is comparable to taking a few guitar lessons and challenging Jimmy Page to a face-off; it’s not going to end well for you.

While understanding code could certainly be helpful, it’s a far cry from being acritical skill for most tech entrepreneurs. If you have at least one developer and you’re still coding, you are ignoring your core responsibilities. That’s why I’m going against the grain here and discouraging tech entrepreneurs from learning to code. There are way more important things you should be doing with your time.

Why Leaders Shouldn’t Learn to Code

If you’re starting out by yourself, there’s some merit in learning to code. Most entrepreneurs are great idea people. Knowing how to actually implement ideas could separate you from the endless line of people hoping to create the “next Facebook.”

However, as soon as you hire a single capable engineer, whatever coding skills you have are no longer necessary. One solid engineer could implement more in two weeks than you could in six months — and it would likely be more robust and scalable.

Every minute you spend in the trenches learning a programming language from the ground up is time your customers are being ignored, your marketing isn’t being executed, and your company is running without direction.

You’re the leader — focus on the overall vision of your company. Leave the code to the competent, career-oriented coders.

Instead of wasting time gaining skills your team already has, you should be coaching and guiding your team toward stardom. These five actions will provide much more value to your brand than teaching your computer a for-loop operation to ask your name and repeat it back to you:

1. Draft a Spec Doc

Even if you can code, taking the time to think through and map out actual customer needs, user flows, and interactions is essential to creating a successful company. Having a more detailed product plan with specifics will not only improve your company, but it will also greatly help in product development (as well as hiring great talent).

2. Evaluate Customers

The single most important thing a leader can bring to the team is a clear understanding of customer and market need. Although most leaders would probably claim to have a good understanding of their target customers, it is rare to find one who actually spends enough time studying and interacting with them. If you don’t fully understand the situations, stories, and users of your product, what (or who) are you even designing it for? Anyone can make up a target customer, but real people in the real world rarely act how you think they will.

3. Recruit Actual Software Engineers

If you were to spend a year learning the foundations of computer programming, you’ll likely end up with a crap junior coder (you) who has no real understanding of what they’re doing. Instead, you should hire an experienced engineer, place your clearly developed vision in his hands, and tell him to put the pedal to the metal. Now that is a winning formula.

4. Sell Your Product

Sales are the lifeblood of any company. Without them, you have nothing. So get out and pitch your product to customers, and then assess the ensuing feedback loop. These early pitches will teach you an immense amount about the needs and wants of your target audience. Imagine how helpful this information will be when you’re training your first sales hires!

5. Pitch to Investors

Nearly every business reaches a point where it needs outside funding to grow beyond being an experiment. If this is the path you’re going to go down, you — as the face of the company — need to be able to speak convincingly to potential investors. This takes a lot of practice, but it’s your job to draw interest in your project and get people to sign on the dotted line.

Coding is a valuable skill, but it’s definitely not a necessary one for a leader just because it’s a tech-based business. Leading a company is a skill in itself, and nobody expects a CEO to understand how to code any more than a software engineer is expected to know how to run a successful company. Instead, stick to your strengths, and hire all-star coders to make your vision a reality.

Source : http://bit.ly/1NG8RT7

Daily Updates, Follow Blog Marketing

Top 22 Digital Marketing Blogs

1

AllFacebook

From MediaBistro, this publication is devoted to everything happening at Facebook. They have a Twitter version too, but I find only Facebook changes their minds enough to warrant a platform-specific blog that I'll ready daily

2

Digiday

Good and getting better all the time. Thought-provoking insights from a pan-digital perspective. Heavy agency flavor.

3

Duct Tape Marketing

From John Jantsch and occasional guest contributors, everything that gets published here is worth examining. We work mostly with medium and large businesses at Convince & Convert, but I still learn a lot from Duct Tape and their scrappy, small biz sensibilities. John's new book: Duct Tape Selling is killer, too.

4

Econsultancy

Solid, broad-based digital marketing coverage with a research bent. Very strong in European perspectives too. I'm working on a cool new project with these guys. Stay tuned for more on that!

5

{grow}

From my friend the author, speaker, and college professor Mark Schaefer and a good crew of guest writers. {Grow} is a place to find conversations about topics that aren't covered in the more news-oriented blogs. Also a great example of a multi-author blog that somehow maintains a consistent editorial voice.

6

Hubspot

Remarkable volume of useful content. Essentially defined what a B2B blog could (and should be). These guys live and breathe Youtility (which is why they are mentioned in my book)

7

Ignite Social Media

I don't read that many blogs written by a single agency, but Jim Tobin and the crew at Ignite seem to consistently come up with interesting approaches that I don't see everywhere else. Bravo! Jim's book "Earn It, Don't Buy It" is full of TRUTH, too. (I got to write the foreword).

 12

8

LinkedIn Pulse

The email I get each day from LinkedIn Pulse consistently has links to blog posts written (on the LinkedIn platform, typically) that I want to read, but people I don't read enough. Also great for discovering new talent and fresh voices.

9

Marketing Agency Insider

About 50% of our consulting business at Convince & Convert is on behalf of agencies. Paul Roetzer and his team at PR20/20 write this massively useful blog about all things digital agencies. Terrific advice from the trenches. Paul has a great new book as well (lot of those these days!) called "the Marketing Performance Blueprint"

10

MarketingProfs

Hundreds of articles across dozens of categories. Breadth of topics and authors can make this a little bit hit or miss, but the weekly #SocialSkim roundup post from Angela Natividad is required reading. Overseen by Ann Handley, whose new book "Everybody Writes" is the best book on the subject since Stephen King's "On Writing"

11

MediaReDef

Must-read for media observers. A delicious, curated mix of tech and pop culture. Great trend watching.

12

Newsle

Recently bought by LinkedIn, I'm a huge fan of Newsle. Daily email that sends me updates and news about people to whom I'm connected on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. If you haven't used this, check it out.

13

PR Daily News

From Ragan, a nice aggregation of posts of interest to public relations folks. Curated from other sources, and some original content.

14

PSFK

Maybe my favorite email to receive each day (other than Quartz, which didn't make this list because it's not about digital marketing). PSFK is like Willy Wonka marketing. Amazing case studies and super interesting experiments from around the world. I find a TON of my Youtility examples for keynote speeches from PSFK.

15

readwrite

My preferred tech news, geek, gadget site. Not strictly digital marketing per se, but terrific at keeping me up on broader tech and social media issues.

16

Real-Time Daily

From MediaPost, a blog and daily email about RTM and real-time, programmatic media buying. Most of this one isn't super relevant to me, but every once in a while there's a great nugget that I've never seen anywhere else.

17

Six Pixels of Separation

I'll never be as smart as Mitch Joel, or as prolific. Thoughtful brilliance flows on this blog like water from a tap. The wide topical array makes it such that not every post is for every reader, but stick with Mitch and you're guaranteed to receive something worth your attention on regular intervals.

18

Social Fresh

The name fits. Fresh content for social media and digital marketing professionals. I consistently learn stuff from this great blog. Heavy contributions from Nick Cicero (my co-host on the Social Pros podcast) are a differentiator.

19

Social Media Examiner

Outstanding tactical coverage of all things social media, from Mike Stelzner and his excellent team. Great virtual events too, including Social Media Success Summit (I'm the closing keynote)

20

Social Media Explorer

Founded by my pal Jason Falls, and now run by the inestimable Nichole Kelly, this is a thinking person's blog of social media and digital marketing issues.

21

Social Media & Marketing Daily

Another from MediaPost, this roundup includes a lot of big-brand coverage. Good source of case studies and guest for the Social Pros podcast.

22

Social Media Today

A powerhouse aggregator site that has more and more content written specifically for it, too. Noise-to-signal ratio can be a little high, but frequently you'll find interesting concepts and it's a very good source of fresh voices.

Source : http://bit.ly/1h6EOoI