Climb Off the Digital Slush Pile: Content Marketing That Works
January 20, 2012 by Martin Wong
Literary agents have a name for the thousands of manuscripts that come through their door each day from hopeful authors. It’s called the “slush pile”. The agent’s job is to read through that slush pile and pick out the few that are worth taking to market. Thus, when we read a book, we trust there has been some quality control. Similarly, when a reputable newspaper prints an article, we trust the editor has checked facts and news sources; furthermore, he has curated the information by giving prominence to the article based on his assessment of its newsworthiness.
On the Internet, anyone can blog, tweet, and YouTube. As a result, the content out there is the digital equivalent of a huge slush pile, all of it competing for attention from your target audience. What can you do to increase the success of your content marketing efforts?
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Social Media: Dial It Up in 2012
January 15, 2012 by Martin Wong
When every major brand has a Facebook page and a community manager who monitors tweets, it’s time to recognize that social media has become mainstream. Marketing departments who want to attract and retain followers must dial up the volume to get noticed by social media users.
Remember the days when a website was just an online version of your print brochures? Now websites must capture attention, deliver a constant supply of useful content to their customers, and work hard behind-the-scenes to collect data. Good online campaigns drive visitors to a website for proof and measurement of a campaign’s success.
The same goes for social media. A simple Facebook page is old hat. Your campaigns must engage, amuse, and assist your customers before they’re willing to share their social network with you. Many companies with Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook already know that in order to make a difference to their businesses, they need to take the next leap and treat social media as a communications channel, not just an advertising spot. Here’s what we’re seeing:
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The Future of Advertising and NFC (Part 1 of 2)
October 27, 2011 by ray.silva
Near Field Communication Series (Part 1 of 2)
The Promise of One-to-One Marketing
In a world of hype and unfulfilled potential, near field communication (NFC) devices and apps are making a strong case for going mainstream with a new class of services. With 1.3 billion Internet users worldwide and companies such as Google, Apple, and RIM working on NFC-based tools and services, marketing professionals need to keep an eye on developments in this area.
What is NFC?
Near field communication (NFC) allows short-distance (“near field”), encrypted wireless data exchange for transactions and data communications between devices that are touching or in close proximity of less than 20 centimeters. Two NFC-enabled devices can exchange information or launch applications by simply touching with a tap or being close together.
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