Blog - Page 14 of 22 - Michael Dillon

February 3, 2017

How to Stop Overthinking Your Content and Start Writing What Your Customers Love

You might find it hard to believe, but content doesn’t have to be game-changing to perform well and achieve its objectives. In my experience, a lot of marketers are fixated on creating that “perfect” piece of content. They tell themselves they won’t settle for anything less, but the reality is that what they wind up creating is rarely as revolutionary as they hoped it would be. There are a few reasons why. Perfectionism isn’t healthy It causes stress, which in turn can cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and increased susceptibility to infection, and much more. If that’s not enough to worry you, consider this: However hard we try – perfection is unattainable . Perfecting your content is unhealthy, and on top of that, you’re setting yourself up for failure. That brings me nicely to this next point. ‘Create the best content ever’ isn’t a tangible goal If you […]

Enough Already About the Value of Content

There’s a simple way to fix all the bad content brands publish: spend time with your audience I am sick of reading everyone’s trends for 2017 about content value: “For 2017 it’s not quantity, it’s quality.” “Marketers will be producing for value, not volume.” “You’ll see better content out there, not more content out there.” Right. Because marketers are always looking to produce content with no value. Makes a lot of sense. Let’s publish a lot of nonsense and see if we can do our jobs with it. As long as we check that box off on the editorial calendar (that no one is looking at, ever), we will be “getting it done.” Stop, Stop, Stop You know what the real problem is? Someone (a lot of people) had to write about what was going to happen in 2017. And this ‘everyone’ knows we’re producing way too much content […]

How to Create a Killer SEO Plan for 2017

How to Create a Killer SEO Plan for 2017 2017 is here! I get excited with the changing of each year because it always presents new opportunities and new ways to improve both in marketing and in life in general. It also gives me motivation to make any adjustments I need to be a better marketer. Of all the forms of online marketing, I think SEO is the most dynamic. That’s simply because the state of SEO is ultimately in the hands of Google that’s perpetually tweaking and improving its algorithm for optimal user experience. This means plenty of potential for those who stay on top of things and continually rethink their game plan. And to me, success largely comes from planning ahead and always having a strategy in place for getting to where I need to go. That’s why I brainstormed some key aspects of SEO that I […]

Agencies and Content Marketing: Predictions, Trends, and Challenges

Some 84% of marketing agencies say content will become more important to their clients over time, according to recent research from CopyPress . The report was based on data from a survey of 300 marketing professionals who work for agencies, brands, and/or themselves. More than half (54%) of respondents who work for agencies say their clients know nothing about content marketing. Just 5% say their clients are very knowledgeable about content marketing. Some 82% of agency marketers say they create 1-10 pieces of content, on average, for each of their clients each month. Some 92% of agencies say they produce blog posts for clients; Web copy is the next most popular content type (70% of agencies produce for clients), followed by interactive media/videos (45%), infographics (30%), and illustrations (16%). Agencies say their biggest content marketing challenges are understanding/meeting client expectations (33% cite it as an issue) and scaling up […]

3 Website Hacks to Radically Improve Your Conversion Rates

Is your website getting good traffic but not converting the way you want? Effectively guiding visitors down the conversion funnel is no easy task and there is no magic formula to success. Ecommerce is a trillion-dollar industry. In the United States alone, online sales are expected to reach $523 billion by 2020 . This could mean a number of things for consumers. For ecommerce business owners, it means that optimizing their online platform needs to be a top priority, if it isn’t already. The problem, however, is that competition is tougher than ever. There is no shortage of online shopping outlets and consumers have no problem bouncing from platform to platform to find the best options. With an infinite number of choices literally at their fingertips, it is essential to go above and beyond to meet the wants and needs of visitors in as many ways as possible. Let […]

How to Run LinkedIn Ad Campaigns: A Beginner’s Guide

But if you’re new to LinkedIn ads, fear not — we’ve put together a step-by-step guide to setting up your first LinkedIn ad campaign. Bookmark this post, and refer to it when you’re ready to get started. How to Run LinkedIn Ad Campaigns 1) Create a New Ad Campaign To start, go to https://www.linkedin.com/ads/ . Once in the ads platform, select "Create Ad." From there, you’ll be taken to your member dashboard, where you’ll be prompted to add billing information to your account, if you haven’t already. Don’t worry — you won’t be charged until your campaign is live, and from there, you’ll be charged periodically for ad clicks and other engagements. On your dashboard — or "Campaign Manager," as it’s formally called — you’ll see a call-to-action (CTA) to create a campaign. Click that button, and you’ll be redirected to a site where you select what kind of […]

5 Things You’ve Been Told About Social Marketing That Just Aren’t True

Social media is ever-changing, evolving, and taking on new roles in the world we live in. That means it’s also changing the way we do business. Although it’s definitely picked up in the last few years, the idea of social media marketing for your business has been around long enough to have spurred a few misconceptions. We’re here to debunk a couple of these myths. 5 common social media marketing myths 1. You need a lot of followers to be successful on social media Followings are great—it means people like your brand enough to subscribe to your feed and get regular updates. As a marketer, it’s tempting to measure your social media strategy by the size of your audience But keep in mind that just because someone is following you, it doesn’t mean they’re reading everything you post. Followers are a good metric, but an even better one is […]

Turmoil Ahead: The Future of Net Neutrality, Publishing, and Digital Marketing

In 2017, marketers will be at the mercy of politics. Net Neutrality, a pillar of Cloud-based content, apps, and services, faces extinction under the Trump administration. If the Web becomes a pay-for-performance utility, Cloud strategies could become prohibitively expensive for small and midsize businesses. So, where might marketing dollars go instead? Cloud strategies are enticing because they enable marketers to own an audience rather than rent one. Most social networks, newspapers, and magazines are in the rental business, and therefore poor substitutes. Thus, an end to Net Neutrality may push marketers toward open publishing platforms, which combine traits of paid, owned, and earned media. LinkedIn, Quora, Medium, podcasting, and their kin could rise meteorically on an un-neutral Web. RIP, Net Neutrality On February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted Net Neutrality rules designed to protect free expression on the Internet. The FCC banned Internet service providers (ISPs) […]

Creative Frameworks that Build Content Marketing Success

There are two ways to go about business. The first is to have an idea and then frantically do a lot of stuff hoping some of it works. It helps to only focus on tasks you’re already comfortable with, ensuring that critically important things will fall right through the cracks. This approach is closely related to the frequently made-up statistic that a billion percent of new businesses fail. Luckily, we have option two: Find solid frameworks and adapt them to your own unique circumstances. This way has the advantage of not burning through all of your money, leaving you heartbroken and living in a van by the river. On Monday, Brian Clark kicked off the week (He’s still on the blog! We’re very excited!) and walked us through a detailed framework for mapping a customer’s journey experience . That’s everything your customer is thinking, seeing, doing, and feeling as […]

How to Use Video Content to Accelerate Engagement

There’s no denying that today’s consumers are visual people. Did you know that landing pages featuring video content increase conversions by 80 percent? Video is by no means a new tactic in the realm of marketing. However, the trick is developing captivating branded content that brings an innovative engagement factor to the audience. Video content should do more than just inform and educate. It should tell a story that the viewer can relate to. There should be a certain level of mystique that provokes a reaction. Be honest: Would you rather learn about a brand from a compelling video or a wall of text? Let’s talk about four ways you can use video in your next marketing campaign to engage your customers like never before . Show, Don’t Tell, Your Unique Brand Story The hard truth of business these days is that there is an oversaturation of companies doing […]