4 ways you’re flushing money on your marketing automation software by not being strategic.
Not quite as old as the chicken or egg, but the debate has been going on for years. Is marketing automation software worth the cost, or could you get away with using something cheaper? Well, the answer isn’t as cut and dry as you’d hope. (And it can’t be found in a pretty infographic or price comparison chart.)
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Turning another year older makes you reflect on all you’ve accomplished. Five loooonnnnngggg years ago this week, I launched an agency focused on creating great content, from blog posts to e-books, infographics, case studies, website content, checklists, videos and beyond. In the process, we became experts in content marketing strategy — the what, why, when, where and how of content marketing.
Throughout our five years, content marketing has become THE marketing buzzword. “Content marketers” are now a dime a dozen. But truly great content is rare. And, man, is it hard to create.
That’s why, to celebrate our 5th birthday, we’re pulling back the curtain to give you a glimpse inside Rep Ink’s creative process so you can see what goes into creating content worthy of the spotlight.
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We’ve all done it.
Dinner is simmering on the stove and, hey, I have a few minutes to kill. Let me just give social media a quick scan.
Then, before we know it we’ve watched three Tasty videos, an adorable (but worrisome) clip of dogs playing with a bear and received some life motivation from a pre-kindergartener. BAM.
Dinner burns and we find ourselves scraping burnt pasta from the bottom of our cast-iron pot, and eating Nutella out of the jar. Again.
Good content does that. It grabs ya and pulls ya in and makes ya want more.
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A blinking cursor on a blank screen is the devil on the shoulder of a writer. It’s the visual manifestation of writer’s block. My most recent episode? When I was trying to pen a guest article for a local business magazine. I wanted to contribute something that would educate B2B marketers. I know. Not very narrow. *Blink. Blink. Blink.* Then, I thought of ways I probe our clients when determining topics for their blog posts. “What’s a common misperception or challenge you’re noticing from your clients?” Well, for us, it’s blogging. Devil gone.
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There’s nothing worse than getting someone’s name wrong. And depending on when that offense occurs, catastrophe can take place. That being said, are you using “demand generation” when “lead generation” is what you really mean? If so, your marketing efforts could face catastrophe, too.
Lead gen and demand gen may be sisters from other misters, but they are not one in the same. With proper planning, they can complement each other. But you’ll need to pick a team for each tactic you use — one piece of content can’t achieve both demand gen and lead gen goals.
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Hey there.
You’re probably reading this because you:
a) like reading everything I write
b) think lightning is BA
c) want to learn the basics of account-based marketing (ABM)
Whoever you are, welcome. And unlike IRL introductions, there are no sweaty handshakes involved, so let’s get down to business(-to-business).
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Oscars weekend I had the pleasure (and honor) of serving as a judge for the Little Rock Advertising Federation’s American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) competition. As someone who has entered creative work into the ADDYs in multiple districts throughout the course of my career, including our first-ever entry here at Rep Ink, it was eye-opening to be on the other side of the table.
And since I can’t say anything specific about the work or the winners (who will be announced later in March), here are a few things I wanted to share about the experience:
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2016 is here with lots of ch-ch-ch-ch-changes to offer (R.I.P. David Bowie). Yes, we’ll be getting a new president, but our industry will also be accelerating like your uncle’s new Tesla. Luckily for me, some of the top content marketing blogs have already done the hard work of tracking down industry idols (e.g. Ann Handley; Sonia Simone) to ask their predictions for this coming year. And though they may have not been able to predict the name of Kimye’s baby like this guy,
I’m feeling pretty confident that these industry gurus will be pretty spot-on with their forecasts.
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One evening about a year ago, I found myself trying on glasses frames for about two hours in my apartment. I don’t even wear glasses. But my former roommate Victor does. He had ordered five pairs of frames from Warby Parker as part of their free five-day home try-on offer. I thought this was the coolest thing; I’d certainly never heard of anything like it. And as a college gonfiabili student with no discernible income, being able to try on glasses at home for free was pretty damn great, even if I wasn’t looking for glasses in the first place.
Victor and I tried on all five pairs he ordered and explored dozens of other designs on the Warby Parker website. I had to wonder: what was the reason behind such an awesome try-on offer? Their company story is fascinating. It began when the founders’ frustration with crazy-expensive glasses finally boiled over. They wanted to make sight—a basic necessity—more readily accessible to those in need of glasses. And so they did.
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