Did you know that social media can generate almost 100% more leads than any other channel including; direct mail, telemarketing, trade shows or even PPC?

Are you wondering, what do top social media marketing experts know that the rest of us might not be so clear about?

Creating a social media marketing strategy is a must in order to have an effective social media campaign.  Social media marketing should be merged with your traditional marketing efforts, however, a separate marketing plan should be in place to document content strategies and guidelines, short-term and long-terms goals as well as how to specifically measure all social media efforts. 

Here are 5 tips to help you create an effective social media marketing strategy:

Excerpt from the useful article by Neil Patel and published on his Quick Sprout Blog:
"Content marketing is more than writing blogs. Way more.
If you’re just getting involved in content marketing, the first thing you need to do is launch your blog and start writing.
Then, when your blog is established and purring along, try throwing in a new type of content.

But before I share the 15 types of content that will drive you more traffic, there are a few things you need to know:
- You don’t need to try all of these examples - different content types suit different brands in different ways.

- Don’t be afraid to try new stuff – I’ve found that some people shy away from new types of content because they think it will take too long, be too hard, or fall flat. I understand your apprehension, but I encourage you to try it anyway.

- Pick one and put it in your schedule – if you use a content marketing schedule, slot one or two of these into the editorial calendar for the next month.

- This list is not exhaustive – I encourage you to think of content not in terms of types but ideas. The form that the content takes is secondary. The idea is primary.

Let's look at these 15 content types (here just is the list):
#1: Infographics
#2:  Meme
#3:  Videos
#4:  Guides
#5:  Book reviews
#6:  Opinion post (a.k.a. “Rant”)
#7:  Product reviews
#8:  How-to
#9:  Lists
#10: Link pages
#11: Ebook
#12: Case Study
#13: Podcast
#14: Interview
#15: Research and original data

Conclusion:
The more types of content you use, the more powerful your content marketing efforts become. Content, regardless of its form, speaks to an audience. That audience, in turn, listens, shares, learns, and converts.

There’s a wealth of potential here — the kind of potential that your brand needs in order to advance to the next level. Now, you have a plan to get there..."

Each type is analyzed with more information, how to do it, things to keep in mind and useful external links.
Read full, long and interesting article here:
http://www.quicksprout.com/2014/04/14/how-these-15-types-of-content-will-drive-you-more-traffic/

Recently, LinkedIn announced that all users can now post and share content on LinkedIn. This announcement took the site from a basic social networking site to a networking and publishing platform, meaning it becomes much more powerful for your business. The Perks of Publishing on LinkedIn Last month, LinkedIn announced that it boasts more than …

No one cares about your marketing goals. But everyone likes a good story. (Leadership skill, too.

If you are going to create #contentmarketing these days it better be EPIC. There is way too much noise. Only Epic Content will do. Here are 5 Easy Steps To Create Epic Content Marketing:

* Get your C-level executives to BELIEVE.
* Think Mobile First.
* Work with customers and creating a "commons".
* COPE (Create Once Publish Everywhere).
* Write a Content Marketing Mission Statement.

Set the stage with those easy steps and EPIC is possible, epic content marketing is probable IF your commitment is strong, you learn fast and you don't mind failing a little. Remember the content you write is NOT about you.

Epic content marketing is always about CUSTOMERS. Answering questions, solving pain points and finding innovative ways to be "of service" are all great ideas for your EPIC content marketing.

Does your business have data that could tell an interesting story? I'm betting it does. I'm also betting  you could be using the data you already have (or could readily get) to communicate a much more powerful message than you currently do. The secret is this: When it comes to [...]

Go ahead and ask anyone in marketing as to what’s that one classic rule in writing copy or creating advertisements is, and they’ll always go back to A.I.D.A which stands for:

A→Attention

I→Interest

D→Desire

A→Action

The best part of the principle is that each of those parameters is like mandatory checkboxes for marketers. Depending on the purpose of campaigns, you can skip one or two of these parameters.