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Content marketing is hard. It involves research. There is a certain degree of getting into people’s heads. It challenges how you think and what you think you know. Successful content demands a degree of technical and creative craftsmanship. Perhaps the hardest thing about content marketing is that it’s never finished. It requires you to keep

When you begin your content marketing journey, one phrase comes up again and again – “bring value.” The gurus make it sound easy.” Just bring value to your audience!” they chirp. OK. Sounds good—just one question. What the heck does that mean? One way to create valuable content is by building pieces that accomplish The

Imagine you’re at a party with a mix of old chums and people you haven’t met. Your buddy introduces you to the coolest woman. “You two,” your buddy says, “should have a lot to talk about.” Your new acquaintance smiles and shakes your hand as your buddy drifts off. You like her immediately because she’s

I have a love/hate relationship with Twitter. It’s not my favorite social platform, but some smart marketing minds manage to share their keen insights and tips in just 280 characters. On marketing messages Terry Schilling explains why the research phase of marketing is so vital. It’s tempting to skip straight to messaging because, hey, you

Your customers don’t care how cool you are. They don’t care about your years of experience or about how many amazing features are packed into your product. Harsh, I know. You may already be thinking about companies whose marketing lists tons of features. Apple, for example. I’ll get back to them in a minute. Many

The most intimidating thing about starting content marketing is coming up with content ideas. You sit down at the time you’ve set aside to write your blog or social media post. You take a sip of your beverage, square your shoulders, and put your fingers on the keyboard. Consistency, you tell yourself, is key. The

A lot of small businesses are running around out there with multiple personalities – or no personality at all. In marketing, a business’s personality is known as its brand voice. Done right, brand voice tells audiences everything they need to know. It establishes the company in customers’ minds as a friend they want to engage

As superhero film geeks (myself included) psych up for the Christmas Day release of “Wonder Woman: 1984,” I had to ponder once again why the comic empire that owns my favorite superhero characters – Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman – does not make my favorite superhero movies. The last decade has been something of a golden

Marketing strategy is only half the game. Once you know what you should do, there is still the little matter of execution. There are literally millions of digital marketing tools out there. Some are free, some are paid. Some are good, some not so great. Some cater to big enterprises with an on-staff marketing team;

Who are you? That sounds like an existential, New Age-type question, but for businesses, it’s firmly rooted in good marketing. A strong marketing plan is planted in a brand story. It’s who your company is, deep down. It’s your brand’s personality – what it sounds like, what it looks like, what it stands for, and