The Content Czar

When is the last time you saw a car commercial, jumped off your sofa, drove to the dealer and bought a new car? The answer is probably never unless it was a really, REALLY good sale. It's just not how we shop. In an age where we skip ads on YouTube, search for the "X" on internet display ads and fast-forward through TV commercials, the old model of interruptive marketing simply doesn't work anymore. What does  work? Meeting the customer where he or she is at, answering their questions and building long-term trust. Content marketing is one great way to accomplish all three. What is Content Marketing? Content marketing is the use of content--articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, etc--to help solve people's problems and build trust with your brand by educating them in a personal, non-preachy way. Let's play the inception game and analyze the content marketing behind content marketing. Suppose you are a small business owner wondering what conte...

There's no shortage of paid tools available for content marketers to use in their day-to-day work. The problem is, not everyone's budget can justify spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars to maintain them. Thankfully, there are a number of free tools out there as well. Sure, their scope and quality may not be as great as the paid ones, but they have gotten the job done for me. Here are five great, free tools to use for your content: Lumen5 Video is the future of marketing. If you don't have video editing training or an expensive piece of software, don't fret. Lumen5 lets you make short, simple videos with your own captions, images, and background music. You can either upload your own images, music and video or pick from their library of thousands of files. Then, you simply stitch the images and captions together in a basic editor tool. You can even add zooming effects and timing. The end result is something great you can share on social media. Di...

I've been using social media for a while now, both personally and professionally, and have formed opinions on the various channels when it comes to marketing. Some have worked great for me, while others have lagged behind. So below, I wanted to share what has worked and what hasn't when it comes to social media and content marketing. Facebook Despite its many controversies lately regarding privacy and data collection, Facebook has served me well over the years. It has a variety of advertising formats and goal options depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Whether you desire link clicks or impressions, Facebook has a solution for you. They're also always innovating. Recently they added a simple way to turn your image-based ads into videos. Facebook Live, now around for several years, is a great way to connect with your fans and prospects. Finally, despite the recent bad PR, Facebook is still the largest, most widely-used platform out there. Basically, y...

A content marketer's learning never ends. The tools in our industry are constantly evolving, and we need to keep up. And we don't just need to know content. In digital marketing, content is closely intertwined with search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media, and analytics. A great way to keep up with your professional education is to become certified in these areas. Fortunately, many certification exams are free and offered through Google. Here are a few I have taken and can speak for, Google Analytics IQ Exam This exam tests your knowledge of Google Analytics, a robust platform that digs into your website's audience, user behavior, conversions, and other metrics. You definitely need to prepare for this exam as it can test anything covered in the Google Analytics preparatory courses . The exam is free and consists of 70 questions with a 90-minute time limit, but you can finish it in half the time if you're prepared. Yo...

It's not enough to create a piece of content and just let it sit on your website. Sure, if your website's domain authority is super high and you're on top of your SEO and SEM games, you have more of a cushion. For most of us, unless we put our content out there, no one will read or link to it. In fact, building backlinks can be just as important as building an audience. More quality backlinks equal a higher domain authority. So how do you get the word out? Traditional public relations can play a big role if done correctly. The following are tips for getting your piece of content exposure in both print and online publications. Find Pitching Opportunities The first step is to find opportunities for your content. You can buy a paid tool like Cision , or you can do some free searching on Google. There are magazines and websites in nearly every industry. Don't believe me? Check out this publication on emu farming. Once you find a publication, check if they h...

What is every marketer's goal? Obviously to convert people into customers. It's no different with content marketing. Each blog post, infographic, video, case study or eBook you create needs to ultimately convert. Otherwise, it serves no practical purpose. Master Digital Marketer Andy Crestodina outlines four basic steps to optimize a website for conversions. Research Audience Questions The first step for any content marketer in optimizing for conversions is to research what questions your target audience is asking. What are they wondering about? That's what they will be searching for on the internet. How do you discover these questions? Talking to sales reps who regularly deal with customers or reviewing logs from your call center are both great ways to gain valuable insights. If you're a one-person show, you can always poll existing customers. Maybe offer an incentive, such as a discount, if they respond. Keyword research is another great way to find out...

Your content strategy should stay lively, interesting and varied to attract different audiences. Imagine eating the same food for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Even if it was your favorite food, you probably couldn't go more than a couple days without your taste buds and stomach begging for mercy. It's the same principle with your digital content. You might have a passion for writing, like me, but if your entire content strategy revolves around text-based materials, your target audience might eventually tune out, or you might never reach those people who prefer listening to a Podcast on their way to work. To help you spice things up, here are five website content ideas to try out. Infographics This infographic shows visual learners that 65% of the world's population is like them. Infographics are visual representations of data. Instead of merely writing that 65 percent of the population is made up of visual learners , you might take a picture o...

Creating a buyer persona is a great way to get to know your audience. In day-to-day life, we always know our audiences. You know your one friend is clueless about sports but is a Star Wars fanatic, so you don't talk to him about the NBA finals. Your girlfriend's sense of humor might revolve around sarcasm, so you won't get caught telling her knock knock jokes. When we get to know people, we learn how to talk to them. As a content marketer, it's important to apply this same principle to your audience in writing or any other form of content that you create. Know Your Audience A common mistake I made when I was new to content creation was delivering the same message to everyone, regardless of who they were. If I was promoting a new faucet, I would be tempted to use the same messaging for both homeowners and contractors. But that would never work. Homeowners would care about how the faucet looked and how water efficient is was. Contractors cared more about...

A case study has three basic parts: problem, solution and results. We all learn through examples. When we're kids, we learn basic math by adding or subtracting apples or some other fruit because it helps us visualize the concept. Nothing ever truly makes sense until we see an example. This is why case studies are so important to content marketing. They're basically giant, evidence-backed examples. When you learn how to write a case study, you essentially learn how to prove the value of whatever you're promoting through a real-world situation. What is a Case Study? Simply and logically put, a case study is a study of your product, application or service in a real-world case, or situation. Suppose you've developed a robot that will iron your clothes for you, and you want to sell it. Why should anyone believe your robot actually works without proof? The case study is that proof. You find someone who has used your product and write up a case study on the...

Backlinks, an important part of off site SEO, are links that other sites use to get to your site. Building website authority is one of the most important aspects of SEO, and the primary way you accomplish this is through link building strategies. Backlinks are links that other websites use to link back to your site. They lie at the very core of off page SEO because they make a statement that another webmaster found your content valuable enough to link to. They give your site authority , which will be rewarded by Google and other search engines with a high search rank. But how can you build backlinks? It's not like you have control over other sites, and you can't force them to link to you. But you can persuade them. Here are five basic link building strategies you can apply in your SEO today. Create Engaging, Shareable Content The goal of any SEO strategy is to have stellar content that people will share. There is no exception when it comes to building backlinks. Na...

Optimizing your online content for search engines is crucial to being found by your audience. So you've started a blog for your client, your company or yourself. You've developed some great content ideas and have written your first post! Now what? Just hit publish and watch as the world flocks to read your fine work? Not so fast. If you want any chance of having your blog found, you need to make sure you have an SEO strategy. That is, you need to optimize your web page so that search engines can find and rank it. Your goal is to have your web page appear as close to the top of Google search results as possible. So, without further adieu, here are seven useful SEO optimization tips that you can apply in your content today. Have Clear, Descriptive Title Tags Page titles are the first thing your readers will see relating to your page and are therefore important to search engines. Make sure each page has a unique title which describes that page's contents a...

Developing content can be a challenge, but there are ways to get past that writer's block. Ironically, the first content idea that comes to my mind while developing this new blog is "how to develop content ideas." Before even trying to brainstorm any ideas, you first need to determine an overall purpose and target audience. We all have moments when we struggle coming up with content ideas. Here are five tips to help you next time you're stuck in that labyrinth of uncertainty: Get In Character Remember your target audience. No, become  your target audience. Actors are best known for "getting in character" in the hours or even days before a show. This helps them understand the character's quirks and mannerisms so they can play the part effectively. Try the same strategy with your target audience. If you're targeting fishermen, think, "What would I care about if I were a fisherman? What kinds of pain points would I have?...