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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 22, 2016 9:49 PM
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A useful aid for getting your business known is through video marketing. That said, you have some things to learn first. The following article will equip you with tips to help your business prosper and increase its customer base.
Videos should be concise and have a clear point. The majority of people aren't going to watch long videos therefore, you need to provide them with the desired information quickly. Think about dividing it into segments that can be watched in stages if a longer video is unavoidable.
Be certain to optimize each video. Come up with different descriptions and titles for the videos that you upload to different sites. Don't forget about targeted keywords. You might also include contact information so that customers can reach you....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 22, 2016 11:22 AM
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Much has been written about the fall of traditional media, but I had a front row seat. I lived through it as a producer for 30-years at one of America’s great TV stations, and now I’m on the other side of the equation, managing a thriving marketing firm that specializes in video storytelling and content marketing. How much has the world changed in that span? I went from typing TV scripts on a manual typewriter to writing this blog on a MacBook Pro — a sentence that helps illustrate the dramatic changes in technology that revolutionized the ways information is delivered and the monumental changes in both audience size and expectations. Throw in the rise of search, and the ability of an audience to curate its own news and information, and you have a new world where brands are basically required to create their own content. How we got here is what’s so interesting....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 22, 2016 10:58 AM
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Patagonia plans to donate 100 percent of its sales on Black Friday, Nov. 25, to the environment. The company will donate that money to small grassroots organizations that fight for clean water, air and soil. These are small groups, often underfunded and under the radar, who work on the front lines," noted Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario, in a post she wrote announcing the company's plans. "The support we can give is more important now than ever." Patagonia has already committed to donating 1 percent of its sales—so far that's totaled $74 million—to the environment. But this year, "during a difficult and divisive time, we felt it was important to go further and connect more of our customers, who love wild places, with those who are fighting tirelessly to protect them," said Marcario....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 7:37 PM
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Social media has become a prevalent part of public relations practice. Research and observation suggest young public relations practitioners are often the ones to perform social media tasks. Guided by literature on public relations roles, millennials, and pigeon-holing, this qualitative study explored whether new professionals are in fact relegated to being social media practitioners. Analysis revealed several factors, including agency billing rates, mentorship, and personal attributes, which impact the tasks new professionals are assigned....
Key Findings
- Several participants admitted that they used social media for one-way message dissemination, although they recognized that this might not be the best use of such platforms.
- Although many participants spent more time on social media than they did on traditional tasks, very few of them did social media exclusively.
- Many participants attributed their social media use to agency billing rates, rather than specialized expertise. Senior practitioners have higher billing rates that do not fit into the client budgets allocated for social media.
- Several young practitioners discussed the role of mentorship in their professional development. Those with strong mentors and advocates shared more diverse professional experience.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 11:30 AM
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Blogging may be an elder statesman when it comes to the formats content marketers have at their disposal, but that doesn’t mean the technique is ready to go the way of the dinosaur. In fact, CMI’s 2016 B2B Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report found that 81% of content marketers include blogging among their techniques. But, as with any tactic, blogging has been impacted by many shifts in marketing best practices, consumer behaviors, and technological advances. What are the latest trends in blog creation and usage, and how do these shifts impact blogging’s role in your content marketing strategy? Orbit Media’s second annual survey of 1,000 bloggers aimed to answer these questions. While Orbit Media co-founder Andy Crestodina’s own summary focuses on changes over the past year, the results also reveal some trends that gradually have been gaining momentum over a longer time. Below are some of the findings that we at CMI found to be particularly intriguing, along with some actions that we suggest to help you take full advantage of this powerful content marketing format....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 11:01 AM
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When James Thompson started his job as Diageo CMO, he tallied the number of presentation slides he was exposed to in his first two months of meetings. The final count — more than 12,000. I read in AdAge that he started a PowerPoint ban in some Diageo meetings to “just talk to me please” and help convey that the team doesn’t have to be “totally buttoned-up all the time.” “It stops conversation. It makes people feel secure the’ve communicated what they wanted to. But, in fact, it doesn’t move anything on … We just want people to be at their best, and that is usually when they are able to think and respond and build rather than sell.” Marketers as a general rule suffer from PowerPoint-itis. We tend to use presentation slides as a crutch. As soon as we have a marketing idea, we rush to create a lengthy PowerPoint or Keynote or Prezi about it. Rarely do we have a meeting without a slide deck. As a result, business conversations turn into dueling sales pitches. Of course, PowerPoint-itis is not the fault of the tool. It’s how we habitually use presentation software in a way that gets in the way of communicating ideas....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 1:22 AM
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Currently, it’s estimated that there are more than 8 million blogging moms active in the world. 85% of them have already agreed to be sponsored to test and recommend products. Dozens of YouTubers and Instagramers have reached more than $ 1 million in sponsorship and advertising revenues. Today, it’s estimated that the market value of influence marketing is between US $10 and $15 billion and will continue to grow over the next few years. By 2016, Instagram already had more than 500,000 active advertisers, and next year Snapchat plans to make more than US $1 billion in advertising dollars. The most recent studies clearly demonstrate that a companies’ investment in campaigns on new platforms has also been very profitable. On average, they pocketed $6.85 in return for every dollar invested. There is no doubt, brands have found a golden vein to reach their customers.Can we really talk about influence marketing strategies, when in fact, they’re just advertising placements?...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 20, 2016 11:49 PM
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Putting together an A+ landing page can be tricky.
There are so many elements that a top-notch landing page needs, and making those elements the "best" they can be often depends on what your landing page goals are.
Take form length, for example. It's just one of the many components you need to optimize, but best practices will tell you that both short and long forms perform well -- it all depends on whether you want to generate a lot of (potentially) lower quality form submissions, or a smaller number of higher quality submissions.
Download our free guide to landing pages here to learn how to design landing pages that convert.
So if you're looking to up your landing page game, it's helpful to know what goes into a great landing page and see a few examples of these nuanced elements in action. Surprisingly, when I started doing research into the latter, I realized there are hardly any sites out there with examples of modern, impressive landing pages that are more than just a sign-up form on a homepage. So we decided to compile a list of landing pages we love ourselves....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 20, 2016 11:10 PM
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Toronto's Spin Master has done it again. The toy company that brought kids to a fervour over Zoomer robotic pets has created the hottest toy of 2016: Hatchimals. But they're already sold out everywhere, leaving parents in a panic.
WTF is a Hatchimal? Good question.
Imagine a large, speckled egg that hatches as a result of touch and sound. Inside, your child will find a bright, fuzzy robotic creature. It could be a Draggle, Penguala, Owlicorn, Burtle or Bearakeet (don't worry if you can't tell the difference, they look pretty similar.) That's when the fun starts. Kids then teach it to walk, talk and play using specific phrases.
"Hatchimals incorporate the very best elements of nurturing play with the interactivity of robotics in a truly innovative and entertaining way," Ben Varadi, Spin Master's chief creative officer, said in a press release. "This is one of the most unique products Spin Master has ever launched and we're confident that the consumer response will be strong."
Well, that's putting it mildly. The toy retails between $60 and $90 and it has sold out online everywhere. Sears, Toys R Us, Mastermind, Chapters... no one has it....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 20, 2016 8:33 PM
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This is the time of year people post their prognostications for the next year. The predictions will be … predictable: More video! More Snapchat! More podcasts!
Well, OK. It’s pretty easy to make a prediction based on what’s already happening. But there are less obvious tectonic forces rumbling through our marketplace. Here’s a view of some of the underlying shifts, the marketing mega trends, you need be considering in 2017....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 19, 2016 10:59 PM
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If you've decided that you want to start an email newsletter, or you want to revamp one that's not performing well, keep on reading. We've compiled some of our absolute favorite email newsletters to inspire you to make the best email newsletter for your company possible.
Each newsletter on this list is fabulous for different reasons. Some have exceptional design, some have exceptional copy, some have exceptional calls-to-action ... but all are exceptional at solving for their subscribers' needs. Check 'em out....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 19, 2016 10:14 PM
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People often assume that trade blogs are dry and uninteresting by their very nature. That isn’t—and shouldn’t be—the case.
After all, who will keep coming back to your blog if they’re bored to tears whenever they visit?
Luckily, there are plenty of easy ways to spice things up.
Here are 25 useful tips to turn your B2B blog into something that delivers the returns you deserve. It’s never too late to make your B2B blog an effective part of your online marketing strategy.
In fact, I’m bursting with ideas for making industry blogs more dynamic and engaging. Here are my 25 best tips....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 19, 2016 8:55 PM
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We — John Borthwick and Jeff Jarvis — want to offer constructive suggestions for what the platforms — Facebook, Twitter, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, WeChat, Apple News, and others — as well as publishers and users can do now and in the future to grapple with fake news and build better experiences online and more civil and informed discussion in society.
Key to our suggestions is sharing more information to help users make better-informed decisions in their conversations: signals of credibility and authority from Facebook to users, from media to Facebook, and from users to Facebook. Collaboration between the platforms and publishers is critical. In this post we focus on Facebook, Twitter, and Google search. Two reasons: First simplicity. Second: today these platforms matter the most.
We do not believe that the platforms should be put in the position of judging what is fake or real, true or false as censors for all. We worry about creating blacklists. And we worry that circular discussions about what is fake and what is truth and whose truth is more truthy masks the fact that there are things that can be done today. We start from the view that almost all of what we do online is valuable and enjoyable but there are always things we can do to improve the experience and act more responsibly.
In that spirit, we offer these tangible suggestions for action and seek your ideas.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 22, 2016 11:30 AM
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Sure, articles let brands talk directly to customers about solving problems, like how to save for a home while paying off student loans, for example. Blog posts have relatively low overhead compared to, say, a national ad campaign or video product release, and in some industries such as finance, they are necessary to edge out competitors trying to capture the same audience. But a content plan with only blog posts is like a diet that consists solely of bananas. Sure they provide some value and it’s safe to eat one per day, but without diversity you’re going to become malnourished. The problem for many brands is they don’t have the data to justify alternative approaches that may cost more than a 600-word article. When our data scientists examined 3,200 stories produced on the Contently platform over the last year, they found that a different type of content outperforms blog posts across most industries: - Infographics reach 54 percent more readers than blog posts. - The median cost to reach one reader for an infographic was $0.04 versus $1.77 for a blog post. -Infographics have a 73 percent completion rate. Blog posts have a 66 percent completion rate....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 22, 2016 11:04 AM
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Black Friday is losing its relevancy to US shoppers. The holiday, which takes place the day after Thanksgiving, has historically been the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. But over the last several years, shopper traffic in stores on Black Friday has been falling with many retailers like Walmart, Target, and Amazon kicking off their holiday discounts online several weeks in advance. Foot traffic in stores this year is expected to fall by about 3.5% on Black Friday compared to last year, according to data from the location tracking service Foursquare....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 7:48 PM
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I think many marketers are still reluctant to go all in on LinkedIn simply because they don’t understand how to utilize it properly. It’s also possible they don’t fully understand all the opportunities it presents.
Maybe it’s because of its robust set of features, the inherent learning curve, or the lack of understanding of the nuts and bolts of the platform. Whatever the reason, there’s a definite trend of marketers failing to extract LinkedIn’s full potential.
In fact, a study from the Content Marketing Institute found that an overwhelming number of LinkedIn users consider it to be ineffective as a marketing tool:
B2C marketers in North America in particular saw only limited results.
But what if I told you that there’s a way to kill it on LinkedIn and generate valuable, ongoing leads for your business? What if you could have an amazing ROI by following a fairly simple formula?
It’s definitely possible. The key is to infiltrate LinkedIn Groups....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 11:36 AM
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Content marketing is one of the best long-term marketing strategies for businesses. Not convinced? If so, you’re not alone. The benefits and impacts of content marketing can be easily overlooked or just plain unclear to many marketers and business owners. But here’s why it’s time to start taking notice of the value of content marketing and what it can do for your digital marketing efforts — as well as for your brand and business....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 11:22 AM
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The real conversation for media companies, according to Hernandez, isn’t about websites and apps. It’s about audience and control. Platforms like Facebook need the content—otherwise, they wouldn’t be courting publishers to the tune of millions of dollars. Publications need the targeted distribution those platforms can provide, especially since almost half of Americans regularly get their news from social media. It’s a symbiotic relationship, not a zero-sum game. “Empires rise and fall,” Hernandez said repeatedly throughout our conversation. “No matter which empire or brand or platform is rising, it will eventually fall. But journalism will be a constant.” Look at Twitter, which has mainstream cultural relevance but struggles bring in ad revenue and compete with other major social networks. That’s why it killed off its video platform Vine in late October (R.I.P., Vine—you’ve given us some great times). Or look at Facebook, the largest social network in the world, which remains incredibly valuable and influential, but has started to take on a lot of criticism about political censorship, fake news stories, and inflated video engagement data. “The influence of Facebook, you can see cracks in it as Snapchat has started to amplify,” Hernandez offered. “Empires rise and fall. And who knows what’s next?”...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 10:51 AM
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Empty space is not always wasted space.In fact, when it comes to web design, it's a best practice to give your content a little breathing room. Today's website visitors are content-scanners. They scroll quickly, skim posts, and get distracted by busy layouts trying to accomplish too much. The key to getting your visitors' undivided attention is simplicity -- and that starts with an effective use of whitespace. In this article, we'll take a brief look at why whitespace matters, what it means for conversion-driven web design, and how eight websites are using whitespace to lead their visitors towards a desired action....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 21, 2016 12:45 AM
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As Text: "Fortunately, the Air Dri-Goat features a patented, goat-like out sole for increased traction, so you can taunt mortal injury without actually experiencing it. Right about now you're probably asking yourself, "How can a trail running shoe with an outer sole designed like a goat's hoof help me avoid compressing my spinal cord into a Slinky on the side of some unsuspecting conifer, thereby rendering me a drooling, misshapen, non-extreme-trail-running husk of my former self, forced to roam the Earth in a motorized wheelchair with my name, embossed on one of those cute little license plates you get at carnivals or state fairs, fastened to the back?" To that we answer, hey, have you ever seen a mountain goat (even an extreme mountain goat) careen out of control into the side of a tree? Didn't think so." Nike pulled the ad after receiving a slew of complaints....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 20, 2016 11:42 PM
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Mobile devices have become a companion to many people when they watch TV, whether it’s browsing related content or discussing it socially. And more TV and video viewers are participating in these types of second-screen digital activities currently than did so two years ago.
Research from Ericsson, a communications technology company specializing in mobility, broadband and the cloud surveyed more than 30,000 internet users worldwide ages 16 to 69 who have a broadband internet connection at home and watch TV and view video on a weekly basis. Generally, the study found that more respondents are conducting digital activities via a smartphone or tablet, while at the same time watching TV, than they did in 2014....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 20, 2016 11:03 PM
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Our content marketing infographic series covers three challenges that most marketers face today: scaling content production, creating a distribution strategy, and earning your audience.
This infographic, “Earn Your Audience,” details how to reach your target audience through engaging content. Marketers understand that they need to provide tangible value in their customers’ lives, and content is one of the last mediums left to effectively do this. Instead of allocating a large portion of marketing budget to traditional advertising, successful marketers are opting to think like consumers and deliver engaging content that creates a two-way conversation with their audiences.
Take a look at the infographic below for more on how to build and retain meaningful relationships with your audience
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 19, 2016 11:14 PM
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The Trump Organization settled fraud suits against Trump University for $25 million, removing the trial from the President-elect’s schedule. But because a settlement is a negotiated solution, you can’t immediately tell who came out on top — maybe $25 million is a lot less than the plaintiffs could have gotten. That is, until you read the statements each side made....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 19, 2016 10:28 PM
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Let me start with a basic statement. Keywords aren’t that important anymore.
How can I be so sure about this? Because the data tells me so. First, let’s look at an example.
In a recent study, we cracked the Hummingbird algorithm code wide open. We analyzed 9.93 million words of content, smashed them together, shook them up and came up some astonishing results. Our focus was to understand exactly how Hummingbird works and how it ranks websites based on their content.
Our study analyzed select sites within a narrow niche and discovered how they ranked comparatively in select topics.
The top-ranked blogs did not necessarily have high keyword saturation, keyword representation or lots of high-DA backlinks.
What did the top ranked blogs have, if not keywords or backlinks?
They had strong topic coverage, few gaps in the topics that they covered and comprehensive content within each of their chosen topic categories.
In other words, they had really strong content, instead of a really strong link profile....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
November 19, 2016 9:58 PM
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..."Law enforcement agencies are increasingly interested in trying to detect plans for disruptive events from social media, and also to monitor activity at large gatherings of people to analyze security," the study argues. "There is significant work on crowd simulations to determine how crowds can be controlled. At the same time, legitimate concerns have been raised about the potential for law enforcement agencies to overreach and use such tools to violate people’s privacy."
And when it comes to employment and the workplace, the study sees AI as replacing tasks rather than jobs, while also helping to create new kinds of jobs.
The authors conclude by saying they’ve found no cause for concern that AI poses an imminent threat to humanity. No machines with self-sustaining long-term goals and intent have been developed, they write, nor are they likely to be in the near future....
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Really practical video tips.