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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 7, 2015 1:49 AM
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Let’s see if we can make order here and gain a better understanding of where content consumers stand when it comes to long-form articles.
Storytelling has always been in flux. As humanity progresses, so do our technologies and our patterns of perception. The latest popular trends in story consumption involve formats like listicles and quizzes, but people do still like to read.
It may be a generational thing, but it always comes down to personal preference and the mood of the moment. There’s still plenty of room in the content media industry for interactive, quick fun as well as long-form, in-depth immersion into topics.
When it comes to putting news scoops into nuanced contexts, presenting multiple narratives on the same events, or establishing authority and thought leadership, Or, to riff on the oft-cited “snackable content” analogy, just because someone loves a thick, juicy steak doesn’t mean she’ll never want a candy bar....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 7, 2015 1:29 AM
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Two years ago, Twitter-owned Vine was growing like kudzu. It was widely embraced by both consumers and marketers who sought to push the envelope with creative six-second clips. But the explosion of new video formats on Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube, which all now boast sizable scale, has caused top brands to quietly slip away.
"Over time, it became difficult for many marketers to achieve scale [on Vine]," explained Tyler Hissey, senior digital strategist at Hill Holliday. "In the last six months or so, brands have started to de-emphasize Vine as a channel because of the targeting capabilities on all these other platforms."
Data is proving this out. Video analytics firm Tubular Labs reviewed Vine, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts of 40 major brands, including Coca-Cola, Target and Dunkin' Donuts. Between September and November, marketers posted 2,500 social videos, and Vine contributed just 113 of those clips—equivalent to 4 percent of branded content.
Only 13 of the 40 brands posted to Vine during the third quarter of 2015, down from 21 in the first quarter of this year, Tubular found....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 7, 2015 1:04 AM
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Who doesn't love hearing a juicy story? Whether sitting around a crackling campfire, listening to a horror story, or even just a phone call with a friend venting to you about that bad date last week. We all love listening to a great story, one that both captivates and holds us speechless for a moment in time.
Since the first cave drawings were discovered, over 27,000 years ago, telling stories has been one of the most important means of communication. Human beings are natural storytellers, it’s intrinsic to our genes. Everything from religion, to science, to love needs a story for people to find it believable. It only makes sense to marry the elements of storytelling and social media marketing—leveraging one of the most basic aspects of human nature. For social media and content marketers, “when you present your content in new, engaging and interactive ways, it stands out in a constant stream of competing information.”
The question then is, what storytelling tools are out there that you can use to enhance your social media marketing? Here are a few of my personal faves...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 2:10 AM
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What did you do in 2015 to make sure that your business stayed one step ahead of the competition?
Did you manage to spot the upcoming trends and leverage them whilst they were still in their infancy, or were you late to the party – minesweeping the scraps left by your more forward-thinking peers? Did you spot that great new social platform and get your business up and running on it, or were you fooled into thinking that Ello really was going to be the next big thing?
Whether you got it right or wrong in 2015, let’s look back at some of the biggest developments in digital marketing, and why we expect them to expand even further into 2016....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 1:51 AM
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These days, there are plenty of so-called influencers roaming the web trying to get their voices heard, but nine out of 10 of them have little substance and even less to offer.
Most resort to repackaging the advice of others, and end up adding to the noise instead of becoming the signal.
When Neil was starting out, he didn’t aspire to become an influencer. Instead, he worked day and night to find solutions to the problems that he and his colleagues were facing....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 1:21 AM
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Participation in, or intimacy with, an engagement idea is not an end in itself. Through the creative platform, we must encourage a person to do something that leads to sales - learn more, buy more, use more or tell (advocate) more. The success of creative is measured by its effectiveness in changing behavior through this shopper journey.
This post argues two basic points. First, and contrary to conventional "digital eco-system" thinking, both traditional and new media are useful at each stage. And, second, the decision making process -- and media needed to stimulate behavior change -- depends on category type...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 1:03 AM
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Technology is emerging that is not about the channel or ad. Instead, the content is the thing.Innovative content marketing platforms focus on creating better content experiences that the consumer self-discovers through search engines, content alerts and social networks. This flips the focus and optimization from the channel and ad to the content experience underneath and how the value is rewarded by these earned channels.
This paves the way for more resources to be spent on creating more valuable content experiences versus optimized ad creative and paid channel performance.
These technologies make it possible to use analytics to produce better creative that truly engages customers, creates and tracks behavior, permits continuous creative improvement and optimization and opens the door to a new age of storytelling....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 5, 2015 2:44 PM
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The holidays are here and that means one thing for a majority of users, shopping. For a web designer working on a retail website, that means a variety of things.
One of the most important is design, eRetailers invest in making an online shopping experience a similar if not a better experience than that of a brick and mortar location. With online retail, there is a unique opportunity to not only design the best was to present the product and providing a great user experience.
Below are a couple of great examples online retail merchandising from around the web.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 5, 2015 2:20 PM
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You can learn a lot from your competitors.
If you’ve ever wondered why your competitors are outranking you, or getting more social love, this article is for you. With the tools mentioned below, you can learn a lot about your competitors.
Here are 12 tools that will help you get more traffic....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 11:48 PM
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Data can be very powerful. If you can actually understand what it's telling you, that is.
It's not easy to get clear takeaways by looking at a slew of numbers and stats. You've got to have the data presented in a logical, easy-to-understand way.
Enter data visualization. The human brain processes visual information better than it processes text -- so using charts, graphs, and design elements, data visualization can help you explain trends and stats much more easily.
But not all data visualization is created equal. (Just check out “Why Most People’s Charts and Graphs Look Like Crap” to see what I mean.)
So, how do organize data in a way that's both compelling and easy to digest? Get inspired by the following 16 examples of data visualization that communicate interesting information with both style and substance....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 11:37 PM
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At CMI, we’re in the thick of planning, and there is one theme that surfaces repeatedly: We need to double down on what is working well – and stop doing what isn’t.
There is no simple way to figure out what is effective. However, the first step is to start thinking about effectiveness when you start creating the content. Read on to get some tips from the community at large as well as our panel of B2C research roundtable participants...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 11:25 PM
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It’s great if you know a little bit of coding so that you can make small changes yourself.
But for 99% of bloggers out there, it makes no sense to learn how to build a pop-up tool from scratch.
Instead, you can save yourself hundreds of hours of frustration and effort and just use a tool. You can find a free tool for just about any basic function. And even if you want a more complete tool, they typically don’t cost more than $50 a month.
I’ve put together a list of 25 great tools—divided into 4 main categories—that you can immediately use to improve your blog....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 1:11 AM
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In this brave new world of content marketing overload, the brands who will succeed in 2016 are the ones who tell the most interesting stories using the most innovative formats. These 5 types of content can help you connect with your audience in new ways that keep them engaged.
What other content types would you add to the list to try in 2016? Tell me in the comments before you go. For even more content marketing tips, check out our Brand Storytelling & Technology interactive experience....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 7, 2015 1:36 AM
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You know the importance of social media and that you need to post regularly, but do you see a lot of interaction on your accounts?
If you don’t, you’re not alone. Many people take the time to stay active on their social media accounts but still don’t see much return on effort (ROE). That’s because many people don’t know the secret sauce it takes to increase interaction.
Today we’ll be looking at how to get more Twitter engagement. Twitter, after all, is an excellent B2B social media platform, second only to LinkedIn. So keep the following advice in mind to start seeing more likes, retweets and followers...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 7, 2015 1:10 AM
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Social media analytic tools are essential for any Brand to measure always the impact on your activity , for competitor analysis and know always Customer needs and inquiry. Consumers and businesses alike have something to learn from just about all of your social media interactions.
How many people did your post reach? What sort of links do your followers like best? Does anything you do online even matter?
The rise of social media has been accompanied by the creation of tools to that analyze the impact of most of your social media activities.
Here are 50 top social media analytical tools to help your business....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 7, 2015 12:47 AM
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Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell,” said entrepreneur and marketing guru Seth Godin. On his blog he explained what makes a story great, “A great story is true. Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic. Consumers are too good at sniffing out inconsistencies for a marketer to get away with a story that’s just slapped on.”
Storytelling has become a skill that business owners can no longer ignore because of its ability to transform how a brand is perceived by potential customers. A brand that is able to tell a great story is more trusted and favored than a brand that doesn’t.
Today, brands can’t afford to be boring and overbearing with the promotion of their products. It turns a lot of consumers off; especially Millennials because they have gained the ability to filter out content that doesn’t benefit or entertain them. Businesses needed to learn how to integrate storytelling into their marketing and communication efforts to make their brands seem more appealing....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 1:59 AM
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An infographic illustrating sufferers of infectious diseases by state took the top prize at the 2015 Kantar Information is Beautiful Awards.
Launched four years ago by data visualizer David McCandless, author ofInformation is Beautiful, and Kantar creative director Aziz Cami, the Kantar Information is Beautiful Awards is a platform to promote global best practice for a nascent design form that is now big business.
This year’s other Gold Winners include:Dear Data, an experiment in creating and sending data visualizations relating to life as it happens around us using analogue instead of digital means, by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec won Gold in the Data Visualization Project category....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 1:36 AM
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According to the IAB’s “Digital Shopping Report,” more consumers overall still prefer tablets over smartphones when it comes to making retail purchases — 35 percent vs. 28 percent — though when it comes to younger consumers, it’s a different story.
For shoppers between the ages of 18-34, the majority prefers smartphones over tablets for making purchases — 43 percent vs. 35 percent — while for adults between the ages of 34-54 it's the opposite, with most in this age group opting for tablets over smartphones — 41% vs. 35%. Those between the ages of 55-64 are more than twice as likely to use a tablet: 34 percent vs. 15 percent, respectively.
The study found this trend continues when identifying what devise consumers use for checking prices and reading product reviews. Consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 were more likely to skim product reviews on smartphones than tablets — 44 percent vs. 32 percent — and members of this age group are also more inclined to check prices on a smartphone than a tablet as well: 42 percent vs. 32 percent. Those between the ages of 35 and 54, however, are more prone to use tablets to read reviews, locate stores, check store hours, and compare prices: 40 percent vs. 35 percent....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 6, 2015 1:09 AM
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Accenture conducted an online survey of over 4,500 consumers in October 2015 across the United States, Canada and China. Overall, consumers are showing an increase in their spending expectations this holiday season, with 40 percent of US consumers planning to spend more on holiday shopping although they are still enticed by a good deal.
Sparked by ongoing optimism around consumers’ personal financial situations across each of the five markets, consumers remain enthusiastic about Holiday Shopping–both in-store and online, although the majority of shoppers would prefer the online option over physical stores where a retailer sells their product using both channels.
And despite increased instances of cybersecurity breaches across multiple industries in recent times, consumers are increasingly open to sharing personal information with retailers in order to receive personalized offers. Privacy and security concerns are the number one reason in all markets for consumers when shopping on a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 5, 2015 3:33 PM
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Presenting the recipients of Best In Class, a special award to commend the most impressive sites in each of the WOTY 2015 award categories.
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Rescooped by
Jeff Domansky
from Top Social Media Tools
December 5, 2015 2:35 PM
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It doesn't matter if you have a well established business or a new one, everyone can benefit from learning to use social media better. But which platform is right for you? The What Social Media Platforms Are Best Suited For Your Business infographic from Quick Sprout helps you determine which platform your target audience uses so you can save yourself some time.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 5, 2015 12:04 AM
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Every individual, small business and large enterprise will not only create content and engage on social media in 2016, but seek new ways to cut through the noise and stomp out the competition.
So how do you ensure your brand gets the exposure needed to fuel growth? With the help of great tools, of course. Here are 11 marketing tools you can use to grow your brand in 2016:...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 11:40 PM
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Lots of people dread public speaking. It’s also something most professionals will need to attempt at some point. Consequently, there’s a lot of advice out there on how to conquer your fears and engage the audience. Unfortunately, a lot of this advice will do nothing of the sort, and may make the situation worse. I asked frequent speakers for the worst advice they’ve been given. If you want to feel comfortable on stage, ignore anyone who tells you these gems....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 11:32 PM
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With the increased use of content curation (the best marketers use a mix of 65% created, 25% curated, and less than 10% syndicated content), some unique challenges need to be addressed in a content marketing measurement strategy, including: - Marketers who are curating content are selecting, organizing, and contextualizing third-party assets.
- Target audiences are not necessarily consuming content within branded experiences.
- Content curators also are redirecting traffic to external sites and distributing content across multiple channels – including email, social media, and feeds in addition to branded sites and blogs....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 4, 2015 10:09 AM
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As you know I get most of my jokes for Friday Funnies in my inbox. Today’s Friday Funnies isn’t so much a joke as it’s the funny things that some kids came up with at a Catholic elementary school test.
Can you imagine a nun sitting at her desk grading these papers , all the while trying to keep a straight face and maintain her composure!
Pay special attention to the wording and spelling . If you know the Bible even a little, you'll find this hilarious!
It comes from a Catholic elementary school test. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testament.
The following 25 statements about the Bible were written by children. They have not been retouched or corrected. Incorrect spelling has been left in....
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For every study that claims no one reads articles anymore, there's another concluding articles get the most engagement. What's a content publisher to do?