Out With The Old and In With the New

Achieve your goals by giving up first.

I wonder how many times I have waited until the start of a new year to go on a diet, begin a new marketing plan or revise my goals and agenda. The plan in my mind was always to get rid of the old and start the New Year off with a renewed mind-set and good planning.

I have a simple mindmap on my bulletin board and as I review it, I am pleased with some of the results and a little bummed at what I didn’t even address, yet alone achieve.  My 2014 plan will be similar to my 2013 plan.  Copy and edit!

At the top of the list was “Simplify & Focus.”  I made some good progress on that, but not as much as I wanted.  Interestingly, it is one of the top topics my accountability partner has identified for her business too.

I’m excited to have an accountability partner again.  It’s nice to have someone you trust who you can bounce ideas off of or receive objective opinion from.  It’s even better when the AP has some complimentary skills or experience to bring to the table.  It’s also useful to have someone kick you in the ass when you need it or give some reassurance when needed.

In fact, this post is a result of my AP noticing that I haven’t posted here in a while and challenging me to get one out by Monday.  She also sent me 2 article ideas. (Aw, bless her little heart!)

The Year of Giving Up!

Unfortunately for many, each year brings failed resolutions and those can be troubling. Maybe they weren’t the right goals in the first place?

Maybe you’re like me – that failure is not an option.  It may be the anal-retentive German in me, but you feel an obligation, especially when someone else is involved, whether family, friend or client.  You made a commitment!

Let’s face it, some of the best laid plans and great ideas go nowhere.  Or they take more time and resources to achieve than previously thought.

A resolution or project may hinge on the talents or cooperation of another person who may not be as talented as you thought or cooperative as they once were.

No problem. Give up!

It’s killing your personal and financial ROI.

Thinks and Grow Rich book coverDon’t feel defeated. Napoleon Hill said, “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”

Gives new meaning to the expression, “Out with the old and in with the new!”

Understand that I’m not suggesting that you abandon any obligations.  You need to be accountable and it may take some time and resources to bow out. But it may be well worth it!

What I’m suggesting is that giving up on an objective, project or individual, after careful consideration, can free your mind, renew your spirit and give you more resources to achieve other important personal or professional goals.  Cut your losses and move on.

You owe it to yourself and others who depend on you.

Do you deserve it? Absolutely!

It’s been suggested before and maybe you’ve experienced it.  Some consultants and coaches recommend that you fire the bottom 10% of your clients every year, and that can be very gratifying!

I’ve terminated employees and vendors who just didn’t work out and could no longer support no matter how much I wanted to.  And there were a few I really wanted to!

I never thought I would get divorced – it just wasn’t how we were raised.  But after thinking about it for a couple of years, it felt great when I finally made the change.  I’m not saying I’m proud of that.  But it was the right thing to do for both of us even though it took time, effort and emotional capital.

Let’s start 2014 by making our dreams & goals a reality.

1) Start with a new mind-set.

We often start a new year’s resolution with yesterday’s thinking. Write down all the negative thoughts you have regarding each previous defeat (e.g. “nothing ever works for me”, “I cannot invest in this anymore”, “I don’t have enough support or resources”, etc.). Then write down new and positive thoughts that will lead you to success.  Go with what works.

2) Habits are important, whether they are good or bad.

What triggers you to fall back into the old habits that stopped you from having success? Make a list of circumstances or events that may trigger defeat. Use productive thinking and write out what you can do to succeed and give up on your old habits.Find a trustworthy support system.

Many of us fail at doing our best because we do not have a person(s) who will tell us what we need to hear instead of what we want or hope to hear.

3) Find people striving for the same goals you are trying to achieve.

It might be a friend or colleague who will support you.  Whoever it is, they should be there from the start to the finish and always have your best interests in mind.  Like an accountability partner!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.  How are you going to spend it?  Don’t wait to get started.  Make 2014 a year designed just for you!

I wish you peace.

Content Marketing World Day 2

The Best Tweets from Content Marketing World 2013

As I followed the Twitterstream from Content Marketing World in Cleveland, I was thinking that it might be easier to take notes from the comfort of my own office than if I were at the conference itself.  Yesterday I was talking about the benefits of attending conferences live, but with so many prolific Twitter reporters, it’s easy to get so much from 1,000 miles away.

I still don’t think it’s a substitute for the opportunity to meet people, hear their reactions and see the slide decks, but I learned a lot of good information from the tweets from Content Marketing World. #cmworld  Here they are with some comments by me in italics:

Summary of top tweets from day 2 of Content Marketing World 2013 #cmworld

I missed the first sessions.

9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action; over half lead to purchase. (That’s pretty flippin’ important!)

@MarketingBuddy says that websites need to be laid out like comic books

Instagram is a wonderful way to see how users see content through their mobile eye

Lookbooking is like Pinterest meets Slideshare. Embed digital “books” with text. (I need to check this out)

Content marketing tool Lookbook allows you to create a visual digital “book” of your content recommended from @jcherno

The “Hippo” method of website redesign: Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. (That’s not always the best thing!)

9% of U.S. adults are using smartphones during sex.  12 percent of smart phone use during showering (They never explained how many were using a smartphone while having sex in a shower)

Quick trick: test visual rendering by pinning your site to Pinterest.

Most customers don’t want to have a relationship with you. They expect a solution from you“, by Ed Hadley.

Homepage carousels are great for art directors, bad for conversion. Well, damn. (First I heard of this. Interesting.  Our customers always like sliders)

Remember to measure your evangelists! (They are a target persona!)

Give evangelists something to evangelize. Supply sharing fodder.

Pick the right channels & platforms to connect and engage with clients ( go where they consume content). (YES! Determine who your personas are, where they hang out, what their pain points are and give them quality content every step of the way!)

content is liquid; it will adapt to whatever container you put it in.

Use structured content to develop a consistent experience regardless of device platform.

65% of smartphone shoppers say they prefer mobile web vs mobile apps for shopping

Look at everyone one of your images meta tags. (Develop custom meta tags for every picture, and custom title tags and meta descriptions for every page on your site.)

Marketing is Not A Department” says @bernieborges The marketing function belongs to all employees

Google image search now has drag and drop for image search! Take the time to add detail > get found first.

The more likes/shares your Facebook post receives, the higher % of your followers your post is shared with | Comments worth more (Many people don’t know this!)

Decide keyframes in your videos for YouTube. Google will use them in their search.

86% of Americans use a smartphone while watching TV. People are primed to do act while watching TV.

75% of people would not return to a mobile site that won’t load in four seconds or less (Google is watching this too!)

Been attending a webinar by Ann Handley of @marketinprofs on creating epic #content. Focus on empathy, utility and inspiration!

Content optimized for search engines is not necessarily optimized for sharing.

People take in visual content 60K times faster than written content.  (And people scan web pages before they decide whether or not to read them)

Without a story your organization is forgettable, maybe even boring (Story telling was a big subject at Content Marketing World. Case studies are similar and effective, especially if you end the story with a testimonial!)

52% of B2B content marketers say they face challenges producing the kind of content that engages.

Stories help customers to remember your company. Where would Allstate be without their main character Mayhem? (It helps them like and trust you too)

40% of content marketers own less than 10% of the budget

Look at your title. Think how it works visually. A shorter title gets bigger type!
Consider the cover, it’s critical

The CMO should be the 2nd most important person in a company,@bethcomstock from GE is an example

We invented this super-charged SEO approach…and then realized it already existed. Content marketing

content creation is expensive. Leverage other people’s resources/content

Secret sauce, secret sauce, secret sauce… Enough with the sauce.

“If you don’t have room to fail, you don’t have a right to grow.”

For SEO, don’t forget to go back in time. Top searches for 2012. Can you bring it back for 2013?

Webinar attendance measures: Send to 50K qualified, 3 weeks out, 4x. Expect 1/4-1/2 % response and 40% actual attendance.

Ignore click thru rates : Shoot for a zero opt-out rate

Avoid the “landmark” writing session. Write 30 minutes a day. Then re-read what you wrote, or notes, or mind map. (Spread out is better. BUDGET enough time for each project!)

Spend 80% of your time on content distribution and 20% on creation. (Lotsa people tweeted about the 80/20 rule.  One of the biggest take-aways from Content Management World!  Creating focused content that appeals to your audience is critical, but you need to spend much more time promoting it to those audiences on the platforms that they prefer.)

Avoid TH:DR (Too Hard – Didn’t Read) – 94% of viewers leave a site without reading a single word! Make content more effective (Make it scannable!  Images are strong.  I coach my clients to try and write site content with a headline, a couple sub-headlines or bolded text, some bullet points, and only then, a few short paragraphs and some attractive images.  BTW, I don’t know if I have them in my notes, but the use of humans in images was recommended.)

People remember stories, not facts

Want content ideas? Find out what prospects are asking your sales team and answer them through content (Also monitor Answer sites related to your niche.  Bonus Tip: Google “your keyword or niche” + FAQs to find out what others have deemed most important or top of mind)

Timing is defined by your audience not you. Press Releases accrue views over time.

Be a do-er. Test stuff. Slideshare, Youtube, Pinterest are free. Use them to test how your content will look.

Strategy = “Hire great people, and good things will happen.”

Award Winners:

Pace @PaceComm won Agency of the Year

Julie Fleischer @jfly from Kraft Foods won Content Marketer of the Year

Joe Chernov @jchernov tweeted: Couldn’t be happier to hand over my Content Marketer of the Year tiara to … @jfly! Congrats & deserved!

Marketer of the Year finalists were Todd Wheatlan Julie Strawson, Julie Feischer, Christa Carone, G.Stenitzer, Linda Boff, Chris Fram

Best length for video is 60-90 seconds, @ToddWheatland

@LinkedInMktg, aka Jonathon Lister from LinkedIn is giving the afternoon keynote:

@LinkedInMktg has and always will have a members-first mentality, even over revenue

The same person who goes to LinkedIn in the day may go to Facebook at night. They behave differently in each place. (They invest time in LinkedIn.  Facebook is less an ‘investment.’)

Professionally we invest time vs Spending our personal time. Nice B2B vs B2C perspective for marketers

Marketers must adopt a ‘members-first’ approach to content. Deliver a meaningful amount of high quality content

My key takeaway from day 1 of #cmworld: Content needs a post-publication strategy.  (See above. 20% create content and 80% promoting it)

Every story is made better with a great visual.

Impressive: Hubspot’s native ads on LinkedIn generated 400% more leads than all other marketing.

Change the mantra from “always be closing” to “always be helping”

Building relationships is not just about content but context.

The key ingredient to creating better content is relevance (You need to know your personas to create better content!)

When seeking relevance, find qualitative info, not just quantitative info on audience.

This is great stuff: Moving from information to insights makes your content relevant.

Real-time, relevant content – 1)Wait for the moment; 2) In the moment; 3) Anticipating the moment (predict)

Is your content relevant? Look at: Social engagement, Increased referral traffic, Higher quality leads (…and sales. THAT’s how you measure social media ROI!)

When creating global content, @rohitbhargava says apply LIST method: ensure Language, Idioms, Spelling, Time Zone are appropriate.

Put podcast on website but on: stitcher,soundcloud, blogtalkradio,spreaker,bluebrry, ibsyn

Half of podcast consumers are age 12 to 34.

Storytelling is the new currency in B2B conversations. Convert client interactions into shared experiences.

Benefits of Humor: evokes emotion, cuts through the noise, humanizes the brand, shows authenticity

Despite what we saw from @Mildenhall amateur-quality video is OK for most brands. (I agree.  In fact, I think audio quality is more important than video quality!)

VIDEO: Embed subscription forms into your videos. Allow docs to appear during video. IE. masterclass.com

Marketo got 8k views for a whitepaper on inbound marketing. They turned it into a (more visual) SlideShare, & got 328k views!

Failure is part of the creative process.

 Do any of these ideas inspire you?  Can you implement them and profit from them?

 

 

Content Marketing World

Content Marketing World Notes

Some 1,500 marketers converged on the Cleveland Convention Center for workshops and keynotes by some of the most prominent marketers in the United States.  I wish I could have been there!  While there was a livestream available, not everything was broadcast, nor should it be.  It would be great to see the slides and videos and to actually hear the presenters in person and to hear the responses they got from the audience.  I’m going to put this conference on my agenda for next year!

As with many of the conferences I’d like to attend, following the Twitterstream (Hashtag #cmworld) can provide really useful ideas and perspectives.  I thought I would share my conference notes with you!

Content Marketing Ideas and Strategies

Your marketing should be so useful, people would pay for it.  (This was re-tweeted more than anything)

Strategic Eavesdropper

Be a farmer, not just a hunter

50% of businesses do not have a documented content strategy

Jay Baer: Our personal and professional relationships have collided in
unprecedented ways

Three types of utility. Number 1 = self serve information. Self-serve information:
since customers are hyper-researching everything today, give them what they’re
looking for. You are competing for attention from everything, even cute puppy
videos.

As of 2011, Buyers will use 10.4 sources of information before making a purchase. Almost double from 2010 (5.3)

We’re researching online before purchasing more than ever

“Just be useful.” @jaybaer’s No. 1 marketing tip

Today, we NEED more information because we HAVE more information:
smartphones are used by 57%; access to all info at all times

“You are competing for attention against everything” @jaybaer #CMWorld
Example was Facebook feed – friend posts, family, company post

Smart phone penetration in the USA is 57% in 2013

Commit yourself to taking away doubts of your prospective customers through CM

relationships are created with information, not people. 70% of b2b decisions are
made before the prospect talks to a person

Jay Baer – Trust is the prism thru which all business success must pass.

Best way to create trust is to proactively admit your shortcomings. Transparency.

“We don’t need MORE content, we need a better STRATEGY for that content.”

Worry less about selling better and worry more about teaching better. Who will be
the best teacher in your category?

Lowe’s #lowesfixinsix #tips are awesome! #cmworld They worry less about selling
better, and worry more about teaching better. (See also McDonald’s farm video)

To be useful you have to research customers…or simply talk to them before plunging into content creation (I agree with this!  Who are your customers? What solutions do they want?  What is the best way to approach them?)

Data and insight are not the same thing. Talk to your customers. They’re not a number.

Only 11% of companies that rate content marketing as ineffective have a written
strategy @CMIContent @MarketingProfs research.  (Enough said)

Market your marketing

Market your marketing. Step 1: Create a useful, educational piece of content. Step
2: Promote via Social, Email, Paid.

Content is fire, social media is gasoline.

Use social to promote Youtility first, company second.

Too many companies are using twitter as the world’s shortest press release and that will never work

You have to spend as much time Marketing your Marketing as you do creating your content

Helping beats selling

Content Model Evolution

Step 1.) Start with content inventory

Step 2.) Identify customer profiles (research data, focus groups, proxies)

Step 3.) Define user tasks (brainstorm, involve everyone, group related tasks

Top tips for activating influencers:

Tip 1 – Think scale from the start.

Tip 2 – Identify the right influencers. Number of followers or klout scores do not
always matter for #b2b.

Tip 3 – Offer a compelling value exchange. Especially in #b2b, this means getting
creative.

Tip 4 – Craft a compelling assignment. Influencers will not be interested to do
something boring for you.

Tip 5 – You do not HAVE to approve every post.

Tip 6 – Be honest and transparent.

Tip 7 – It’s OK to reuse, refresh and recycle your content. It’s yours.

Tip 8 – Don’t measure vanity metrics. They take attention away from reality by
focusing attention on groups & concepts.

Tip 9 – Instead, measure ROI – calculate back to other types of marketing spend

Tip 10 – Influencer marketing should never stop, it’s always-on. Continue building
dynamic influencer lists

Content percentages according to @CocaCola: 70% bread and butter content,
20% innovative content, 10% high-risk content

Sponsored content is now mainstream and has surpassed advertising as the #1
way social influencers generate revenue. (Think about that for a minute!)

Content Creation Ideas and Innovations that Separate Good from Great by Ann Handley

Innovative Content should be Useful x Enjoyable x Inspired. Great formula

Better to annoy a few people to get 100 to love you, than to avoid offending
anyone. (Have you ever heard that if you haven’t pissed somebody off, you’re not trying hard enough?)

The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.

Persuasion is the result of understanding #CMWorld

Conversion content: what your customers need to believe

Borrow trending topics from Pinterest and write about it (Not just Pinterest, but ANY content where your target audience is)

“Your top-of-funnel content should be intellectually divorced from your product,
but emotionally wed to it.”

Mission statements set the bar: Brand promise and Brand purpose  (What’s in your mission statement?)

It’s more important to get their attention than pitch them immediately. (Important to note that they said “than pitch them immediately. NOT “then pitch them immediately!”)

SEO is an instrumental aspect of the Content Marketing process.

Cornerstone = educate. Connection = Engage. Conversion = Evangelize.

Good content is not storytelling, it’s telling a TRUE story well

Ann Handley: innovation should be inspired by data.

Authorship is starting to matter. Anonymous content is falling by the wayside.

Use social media for storytelling; NOT just sharing.

Tap into conversations already happening. What do people care about? (Not
products)

Great ideas are simple but not obvious. (One of my favorite quotes from Content Marketing World!)

“Only audience segments — fact-based understanding of your audiences — will provide a sustainable path for creating strategy.”

make sure content marketing is part of your bigger strategy. (Absolutely)

Real issue: your content needs to answer the questions people don’t know they even have yet or problems they don’t have yet

“Segments are about two things: common ground and conflicts. Content strategy often forgets about the conflicts.”

At the end of the day, someone tweeted: “After a full day of sessions at #CMWorld, it’s still clear that there’s no consensus on what is “content.” That has to change.”

Not sure I agree with that. Do you?

My thanks to everyone who tweeted this event, sharing their biggest takeaways and ideas. I’ll try and tune in again tomorrow!

What were your biggest takeaways from #cmworld 2013?  Can you define, “What is content?”  Please share below!