Google update: Mobile-friendliness and SEO

April 2, 2015

Are you ready for Mobilegeddon

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.”Google

Well our friends at Google are switching things up yet again. Effective in late April, the search engine innovators will give even more love in mobile searches to sites that are responsive or optimized for mobile. It only makes sense, and is sure to improve the experience for users on smartphones, phablets, tablets and other mobile devices.

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Why longer content works in today’s 140-character, soundbite, snackable, tweet-frenzied world

March 24, 2015

Long live long-form contentHow many times have you heard that no one reads anything longer than a 140-character tweet anymore? That our attention spans are shot due to digital information overload, multi-tasking and multi-channeling? That if you create anything longer than 200 words or 30 seconds no one will pay any attention to it? Soundbites! “Snackable” content! Tweets!

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. (Well, except for the attention-span thing.)

While technology has certainly changed the way we think and process information, people still desire substantial information. They just consume it differently. In fact, due to the overwhelming glut of content available on the Internet today, Internet users are becoming more discerning about the content they consume, searching and scanning for content that’s worth their attention and time, and engaging more heavily with valuable, lengthy content. And in the online world — where everyone can be a publisher — the way to distinguish yourself is by producing an outstanding piece of substantial content that stands out from the rest.

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Publicity stunts can be bold – just don’t let them backfire

March 18, 2015

Publicity Stunts Can Be Bold - Just Don't Let Them BackfireFor years, PR and marketing stunts have been doing what they are designed to do – make media headlines and generate attention with the public. One of the earliest publicity stunts was in 1896 when the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad organized a staged crash between two full-size trains in Crush, Texas. Attendance was free with 40,000 people viewing the crash, but unfortunately the stunt backfired – some of the attendees lost their lives when the train boilers exploded blasting bolts, iron scraps and debris into the crowd.

Since then stunts have come in many forms, and some have even gone from stunt to time-honored tradition such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. As the world has gone digital, so have stunts with some receiving the most attention via social media and some beginning on social platforms.

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3 ways to manage content overload (as a reader)

March 17, 2015

3 ways to manage content overload (as a reader)

I churn out content every day—blog posts, magazine articles, press releases, Tweets, LinkedIn updates, the list goes on. This is, of course, not surprising, given that I’m in content marketing.

When sharing knowledge and knowhow in our professional space, we’re constantly dishing about ways you can produce better content: how to create more alluring blog posts, repurpose articles, craft the perfect social media post. But, I’m human, too. And I’m a content consumer. And, honestly, I’m overwhelmed.

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Buy me dinner first: How to nurture leads without coming on too strong

March 12, 2015

nurture leads without coming on too strong

According to a recent benchmark study by Marketo, 50 percent of leads aren’t ready to buy yet. That’s why it’s important to nurture them for a while and separate those who will never buy from those who will.

With advanced marketing automation software, companies can see a prospect’s behavior on their website virtually in real time. As consumers, we all know this on some level, but when your sales rep calls me while I’m still perusing your website or before my e-book is even finished downloading, I am forever turned off from whatever it is you’re selling.

Here’s why:

  • I haven’t had a chance to determine whether what I’ve downloaded is going to help me solve a problem, or simply take up space in my cloud
  • I stumbled upon your content while doing at least five or six things at once (and definitely don’t have time to hear a sales pitch)
  • I want to conduct additional research to compare solutions, if I’ve even identified what they are at this point

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Change the game in your career by becoming a visible expert

March 11, 2015

How I transformed my career from lawyer to ESPN reporter to sports marketing consultant by becoming a ‘visible expert’

476720863On Wednesday, March 11, I’m honored to be a panelist at the Jacksonville Women’s Leadership Forum on a panel entitled “Game Changers: Career-Defining Moments.” At just 33, why was I chosen for a panel on career-defining moments? It was probably because of that big career switch I made four years ago when I left my law practice and became ESPN’s sports business reporter on my way to becoming a nationally recognized expert on the business of college sports.

As I’ve prepared for my panel the past few weeks, I’ve been struggling to pinpoint the exact moment that changed my career.

My gut reaction was to say it was when I got my first book deal. Except, I wouldn’t have gotten that first book deal if I hadn’t written a legal journal article on the same subject or blogged about it for months afterwards. So was one of those my game-changing moment?

It took me a few weeks, but I finally figured it out. All those things — my legal journal article, my blogging, my book deal, my eventual invitation to write for Forbes and appear on television for Comcast Sports Southeast — they were all stairsteps on my way to my true game-changing moment: when I became a “visible expert” on the business of college sports.

What is a visible expert?

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‘Unfinished Business’ content marketing memes

March 6, 2015

Vince Vaughn’s new movie, Unfinished Business, hits theaters today. Co-starring Dave Franco and Tom Wilkerson, the flick features a small-business trip gone wrong. It generated buzz around the Internet earlier this week after Twentieth Century Fox and iStock created a hilarious batch of stock photos starring the Unfinished Business cast. We decided to get in on the fun by using them as a canvas for some content marketing memes. Check them out:

content marketing meme

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Grammar Etiquette 101 [infographic]

March 4, 2015

grammar etiquette 101

Joining National Peanut Butter Day (and National Wine Day), today marks one of our most beloved quirky holidays. It’s National Grammar Day. And in true, celebratory spirit, we’re giving y’all a gift. (Who said Christmas and birthdays had to have all the fun?) Spread the love by sharing our “Grammar Etiquette 101” infographic below to coworkers, family and perhaps those special Facebook friends who don’t proofread before sharing whatever it is that’s on their minds.

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Why every blog needs an editorial calendar

February 25, 2015

GettyImages_488499107Many of the clients we work with understand the benefits of having a blog. Most, however, haven’t embraced developing an editorial calendar. That’s a huge mistake.

Assigning bloggers to specific days, thereby creating an editorial calendar, makes many bloggers nervous. You want the freedom and flexibility to write when it’s convenient for you – we understand that. However, an editorial calendar has benefits that cannot be overlooked.

Ensure frequency

An editorial calendar ensures you have a minimum number of posts per week. According to a study by HubSpot, companies that post more than 15 blogs per month receive five times more traffic on their website than companies that don’t blog at all. If you have a smaller team of writers — or maybe it’s just you — 15 posts per month might not be a reasonable goal. However, the same study showed companies that increase blogging from three to five times per month to six to eight times per month almost double their leads.

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Inbound marketing strategy: Where to focus in 2015

February 19, 2015

inbound marketing strategy 2015As inbound marketing gains in popularity, some companies are playing catch up, while others are reaping the rewards of their efforts and refining their strategies. The cardinal rule in content marketing hasn’t changed along with the calendar year: it will forever be to focus on helpful, useful content that is well written and produced. As more and more companies see the ROI of inbound and shift more marketing dollars to content marketing, it’s important to know where to focus your attention:

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