(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) In an article earlier this year for the Content Marketing Institute, digital marketing guru Sujan Patel makes a compelling case for earning the “trust factor” in content. I strongly agree that this is an overlooked value – if your target audience doesn’t consider your content as […]
4 Ways to Conduct a Great Content Interview
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) I read many blogs and reports about content marketing, and most focus on storytelling and SEO: You want to convey a compelling narrative about your clients, and, obviously, you need people – specifically your target audience members – to find it online and read it. As […]
Content Strategy: Avoid Format Blunders
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Are you deploying multimedia content strategically – or are you doing it because “that’s what everyone is doing?” Do you have an effective content strategy? Sure, we’ve seen lots of statistics touting the dominance of video – that video will account for a staggering 80% of […]
Ask “Why” to Connect Content to Audience
In content marketing, it’s critical to make a meaningful connection to the target audience. But it’s not an easy task: Potential customers and partners are perpetually busy. There’s plenty of content out there competing for their time. If you don’t offer something that’s instantly compelling, they’re going to swiftly dismiss you and move on to […]
How “the Right Voice” Drives Good Content
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) In my most recent blog, I presented findings from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) which convey the extent of challenges tech companies face in trying to produce content: The vast majority do not feel their organizations are effective at content marketing, according to CMI’s “2014 B2B […]
What IT Companies Must Know about Content Marketing
(This is the first of a two-part blog on effective content marketing. If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) As an occasional contributor and one-time webinar participant for the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), I’m always eager to read the organization’s research. Given that W2 Communications is a high-tech PR agency, I found the “2014 […]
What “The Godfather” Teaches Us about Business — and Content
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Depending upon one’s perspective, they were either a group of enterprising olive-oil importers or the most notorious crime family in the history of cinema. They were the Corleones. And “lessons learned” from the three Godfather movies still convey much relevance today in the business world. After […]
Why PR Teams Need In-House Training
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) How much money do organizations invest in external trainers and educational seminars a year? Actually, U.S. companies will spend $156 billion a year on employee training alone, according to the American Society for Training and Development. But recently at W2 Communications, it only cost the price […]
Content Director Featured in Top B2B Pub
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) What are the rewards – and pitfalls – of hiring ex-journalists as content marketers? Dennis McCafferty, W2 Communications Director of Content, was recently featured in an article in a prominent website, The B2B Marketing Mentor, to share his thoughts on this topic. B2B Marketing Mentor is […]
Avoiding the ‘7 Sins’ of Content Marketing
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Despite all of the ‘science’ that gets tossed out there about content marketing – such as proven techniques to get optimal SEO, ROI on content spend, etc. – we’re still talking about a pretty subjective practice here. Which means different perspectives will shape the final effort. […]