Id3as

I love reading the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections of websites – sometimes before even reading company information in the About section or product specs via the Product tab.  I like doing this for a few reasons:

1.  More organic.  Since the material is written to answer questions or solve problems, it usually shies away from simply broadcasting the product’s features.  As such, the tone is very different from that of traditional brochureware. 

2.  More revealing.  The selection of sample questions to which they have provided responses tells me a lot about the company.  What do they feel is most relevant for potential customers to know?  Conversely, what should customers not know or what questions do they not anticipate customers asking? 

As both a creative and an analyst, I can extract a lot about a company just from its FAQ section.

As a bonus, when available, I love clicking on the option at the bottom of the webpage that asks, ‘Was this page helpful?’  I never get bored seeing that question.

So, then, should company websites be entirely comprised of FAQs?

Perhaps.  Nowadays, I’ve begun to notice a trend in converting FAQ-type content into the company’s external online community.  You will notice these URLs for the portals as http://community.CompanyX.com or http://support.CompanyX.com. 

The community can serve various purposes.  The first one is obvious:  facilitate self-service and make it findable, reducing the strain on the contact center and others responsible for handling direct inquiries or requests. 

Moving beyond the FAQ format, the community can extend to include new product announcements, promotions, and other information relevant to customers or prospective customers.  In this way, the ‘marketing’ material is peripheral to the content that users actively seek out – useful, but not intrusive.

If I build it, will they come?

One of the biggest complaints about creating a new platform for users – whether for customers or employees – can be debated via the question, Who will end up using it?

As with any technology, people will only use it when they discover and experience value.  After the discovery phase comes validation – OK, great, the community website content answered questions and helped them understand more about using a particular product or service – but what comes next is crucial:  diffusion, or spreading the good word about that experience.

(Share Clip)

  The main community webpage for Cisco.

Of course, all companies pin their hopes on word-of-mouth marketing, but online communities need it even more, because the deepest value comes from content that’s written, edited, commented on, liked, and shared by users.  By extension, a community needs to not only build momentum but also sustain it for the benefit of all of its members.

Indeed, an active community’s most active content contributors may very well become its loyal customers who are more than happy to share their experiences with others.

Final Thought:  Today’s customer would rather find an answer on his or her own, rather than spend time on the phone with the call center.  Creating the tools to deliver a unique experience will create legions of happy customers and a marked improvement to the bottom line.  Your marketing writers could be the missing link to delivering expert service, delivering efficiency and driving down costs in the process. 

ChangeU: for your independent study…

• When Should Customer Service Be Measured?   3 Approaches, via Qualtrics: http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/when-should-customer-satisfaction-be-measured/

• Knowledge Management:  Making the Most of Intellectual Assets, via MindTools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_87.htm

Going Green generally means recycling soda cans and paper, but you can also go green with your content.  Reusing your own content is essential to working smarter, particularly in today's content fueled marketing strategies.  Let’s consider some simple ideas about reusing the thought leadership you've already created and how to extend the value of that which you'll create in the future.

Going Green with your Content to Maximize its Impact

If you provide content in any format online or digitally (a newsletter, a twitter account, a blog, etc.), you can probably get more out of the work you do by having an effective content "recycling" strategy. This simply means you will reuse content in a structure way in many places - so a blog post, is tweeted, posted on your company page on LinkedIn, retweet a couple weeks later, etc.  

Basically, you can use the same idea in various forms in multiple places – do the research, writing once and adapt it to the different channels.  Link them all back to your website (your blog post) to drive traffic over time.  Here's an idea of what your content recycling strategy might look like:

• Define an idea, then write a blog post
  • Consider turning this post into a series.  And, over time, you could consider turning the series into an ebook, manual, or guide.
  • Put an excerpt of relevant posts into digital marketing materials (a link or summary) or in your email newsletter.
  • Bring your idea to life in a video, screencast, or podcast.
  • Refresh the post, if needed, after 6-12 months to keep it current and relevant
• Find/create an image/take a photo
  • Post that image or picture on Instagram, Pinterest, or Flickr
  • Use the image in a SlideShare presentation.
• Feature your post in multiple tweets for your post to share over a period of time (30 – 90 days)
  • This will give it maximum exposure - one every other week is probably the right frequency to retweet the same post
  • Be sure to write different tweets (please don't use the same one every time).
  • Use a scheduling tool, such as one found in HootSuite to time your messages.
  • This keeps your Twitter page and feed active, with minimal effort.
• Use your posts to create updates for your LinkedIn Company Page or Facebook Page.
• No new ideas?  Interview your internal experts or customers - these make great posts as well.   
  • Turn that interview into a blog post, include photos or video.
  • Tweet excerpts from the interview linking it back to your or the guest’s profile or blog pages. 
  • Cross-posting and sharing/calling out guests will help introduce you to a new audience and also potential customers.  
  • Follow the same strategy as listed above

Final thought: Repurposing content makes good business sense, especially if it is already proving to be effective in retaining current customers and gaining new ones. Moreover, this efficient, time-saving practice will save you money and countless man-hours.

     Want Help? Contact our team today ask a question via the form to the right.

     ChangeU: for your independent study…

1. Check out Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/ The world's largest community for sharing presentations online. SlideShare also provides users the ability to rate, comment on, and share the uploaded content. 

2. “The Three Pillars of SEO In 2013: Content, Links, And Social Media” Forbes.com 5/23/2013, Jayson DeMers  http://goo.gl/gJ9Ar  A good SEO strategy is the difference between your business easily being found online and getting lost in the noise of thousands of other businesses trying to stand out.

3. Top 100 Tools for Learning: http://goo.gl/4vuM1 Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013: Results of the 7th Annual Learning Tools Survey The list was compiled by Jane Hart from the votes of 500+ learning professionals from 48 countries worldwide - See more at: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/#sthash.8k6o5mLm.dpuf

Running a business large or small requires an enormous investment of time and attention to dozens of details.  So how involved should the CEO or business owner be with marketing, communications, and messaging?  Is it worth his or her time for the CEO to blog?

In short, the answer is Yes.  And there are ways to do it effectively and efficiently without removing his or her managerial responsibilities.

A Credible Source

Perhaps the best reason for a CEO to blog is authenticity and credibility:  if the public has the chance to read the words of the leader, the organization can break down barriers of communication and the public can not only learn more but also, via the Comments or sharing features, engage in a one-to-one dialogue with the most senior leader.

What’s Old Is New Again

The idea of a personal letter being written from the CEO and disseminated to a wide audience is nothing new.  The CEO is often the byline of the ‘Welcome’ letter in a New Employee Orientation package, and the CEO (or CFO) is the one authoring the Management Discussion and Analysis portion of an Annual Report. 

However, for anyone who’s spent time in the PR or HR function of a company, such letters are often ghostwritten, and final signoff from the CEO doesn’t come until much later.  If this is widely understood and accepted, does that undermine the credibility of the CEO?

Not necessarily.  Single-use letters like the Welcome letter or Annual Report introduction can have long lead times, but a blog’s format requires a much more active messaging format.  As such, a reader may fully expect that the CEO receives assistance from a PR team member or designated writer, but by and large, many of the posts will be written directly by the source.

Delegate But Still Oversee

One strategy for the CEO to blog or write personal thoughts is the idea of note-taking, and using technology to ‘ideate’ and capture thoughts as they occur.  Communications professionals can provide their CEO or members of senior leadership with tools to capture thoughts in transit – as they often travel – and then take these disparate notes and put them into a more structured format suitable for a blogpost.

Indeed, even recording audio or video clips can be extremely valuable, as the communications or marketing team can transcribe the material – or with permission, use it as part of the blogpost itself, for extra authenticity. 

For CEOs involved in a more day-to-day, client-facing capacity – as so many are these days – a video capture can do wonders for communicating with a key prospect, supplier, or industry partner, and can open the doors to more detailed discussions and communications.

For busy or shy CEOs, all it takes is one customer to reveal, ‘I read your blogpost,’ or ‘I saw your video,’ and they will realize the value of the effort.

Perfect Shouldn’t Be the Goal

The search for perfection is what often prevents many people from starting on their social media journey.  Luckily, with the dynamic tools of social publishing these days, attempts can be corrected or modified quickly.

Over time, the CEO will discover his or her ‘voice,’ and a willing audience will embrace it.

Final Thought:  As businesses of all sizes these days are doing more with less, and with so many customers bored or tired with faceless communications, a continuous stream of real messaging from the CEO can go the extra mile in converting naysayers to believers.

Figure out a combination of tools and strategies that work, and produce an outstanding platform that makes people want to come back for more.

Want Help? Contact our team today to ask a question via the form to the right.

ChangeU: for your independent study…

1. THE 2103 BRANDFOG CEO, SOCIAL MEDIA & LEADERSHIP SURVEY:http://goo.gl/fH8CBi  This second annual survey was conducted to better understand C-Suite social media strategy and measure its effect on executive leadership, brand image, and brand trust.  The results?  Over 80% of respondents believe that that social media is an important communication channel for CEOs to engage with customers and investors.

2. THE SOCIAL CEO:http://goo.gl/6yHKL4 Research firm KRC and public relations firm Weber Shandwick teamed up to study perceptions of CEOs who engage in social media.  One interesting finding:  73% of executives with social CEOs search to see what their CEO is posting.

3. RESEARCH FROM CEO.COM: http://goo.gl/CYHRyM  After sending his first tweet, Warren Buffett joked, “Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?”  However, according to this report from CEO.com and Domo, 68% of CEOs have absolutely no presence on any of the major social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google Plus). 

What is Content Marketing?

According to Wikipedia, content marketing ‘is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.’

This catch-all phrase certainly means different things to different marketers, in different companies and in different industries.  As such, a community of content marketers and professionals has evolved to address the ever-changing needs of this business process.

A content marketing strategy occurs when a brand, company, or organization utilizes longer-form content – articles, videos, photos, research findings, among other assets – to capture the attention of potential customers – hopefully leading to engagement, and then eventually, sales. 

While advertising campaigns are designed to generate awareness, the discipline of content marketing involves a dedicated, focused approach that includes any or all of the following aspects:

• The development of a content marketing team of bloggers, researchers, editors, designers, and developers to create the company’s content
• A schedule or calendar for content distribution
• A platform to publish and distribute the content, often the company’s website but also various social media channels and email or automation programs
• Monitoring and metrics tools to measure audience reception to and engagement with the content

Spreading the Love

Discussions of content marketing generally include social media, but there are many other business functions to which content marketing extends.  As such, one or more individuals from these departments could take a more active role in a company’s content marketing strategy.

• Sales.  Salespeople and those supporting sales operations need a consistent stream of content to put in front of prospects.   Sales professionals are a perfect group to measure the strength of content assets, as they can give immediate feedback to the marketing team as to what is performing and what is not.
• Customer service.  As customer care has largely moved online, a customer community, self-service site, or FAQ webpage are all considered content marketing, as customers go online to search for the information they need.  Customer service managers can measure the impact and utilization of such content, and so by extension, their content is content marketing.  (They can also insert some helpful information about the company’s new products as well.)
• Human resources and administration.  Many companies large and small have realized that their corporate intranet, in which reside dozens of important employee-related policies and documents, need to be more clearly organized and utilized.  Document retrieval and utilization are by extension, content marketing, as HR managers, using the proper tools, can determine which pieces of content are accessed more than others, and give attention where needed.  Indeed, employees can be considered an internal audience.

Automating the Process

With the proliferation of Twitter timelines, blogs, Facebook Pages, YouTube channels, and Pinterest boards, marketers are very well aware of the need to constantly and consistently feed ‘the content beast.’ 

As such, shrewd marketers understand that not all of their content needs to be original.  Indeed, marketers have learned that they can capture the interest of their core audience of buyers and influencers by aligning themselves and the brands they represent with the content of others, a process otherwise known as content curation.

Examples of content curation include retweets – merely passing along a tweet which you find interesting, while still identifying the original author.  Another example of content curation is finding a YouTube video or SlideShare presentation which you consider interesting, and then embedding it on your website or blog, and including your remarks or commentary.  Thanks to embedding technology, this process is legal and ethical, and serves to promote both the content of the original creator as well as your own.

There now exist several content marketing services that include curation tools, that automate this process and introduce efficiency to content marketing efforts.

The Evolution of an Industry

Content marketing is not new.  Some clever marketers have been utilizing content marketing practices for at least a century.  Recipes and cookbooks featuring branded packaged goods – from Betty Crocker to Martha Stewart – serve as longstanding examples of content marketing.  Magazines, eBooks, How-To-Guides, research studies, articles, and even entire courses have served their purpose in performing content marketing for their underlying brands and companies.

ChangeU: For your independent study….

Annual Research: Content Marketing Budgets, Benchmarks and Trends, for both B2B and B2C - http://bit.ly/1uv4tMu

The Content Marketing Institute’s 2015 study of content marketing in both B2B and B2C environments.

Why Your Content Marketing Team Needs A Marketing Technologist - http://cmo.cm/1uv4EaC

A discussion of the technology needs for a full-in content marketing program.

The Social Customer Engagement Index - http://bit.ly/1tZIThy

The results and analysis of a survey of online communities that serve the social customer.

Does it make sense for busy professionals – such as accountants, lawyers, engineers, recruiters, insurance agents and the like – to spend the time and money on digital marketing?

The answer is:  absolutely.  Though it may often prove difficult to transfer expertise or convey a sense of the working relationship online, professional services firms should definitely consider maintaining a website and engaging in multiple digital marketing and media strategies.  

The ability to present thought leadership and increase the likelihood of getting found by prospective clients are proof of the positive results of a robust digital marketing program.

Learning and Leading on LinkedIn
LinkedIn, of course, is the go-to resource for professional networking.  The maintenance of a solid, robust profile, as well as a competent, up to date Company Page (see ours here), can help portray expertise to the widest professional network on the Internet.  LinkedIn counts over 300 million members in over 200 countries and territories.

LinkedIn can help a professional services firm navigate the digital landscape by allowing the firm and its founders, partners, and employees to iterate – try something and see what kind of response it receives. If a post receives feedback, publish similar posts.  If an InMail does not lead to a positive response, change the subject line or level language and try again.

See another example: The LinkedIn Company Page for Frontline Source Group, a Dallas-based staffing agency and recruiting firm.

LinkedIn can be a great way to perform testing of digital strategies, to see what works for the firm.  Some of these tactics include, but are not limited to:

•    Blogging - using the LinkedIn Publisher feature
•    Microblogging – posting updates and measuring engagement, similar to Twitter
•    Email – using the InMail feature, to test what messages resonate with prospects
•    Paid advertising – testing various paid advertising products, including promoted posts, display or banner ads, and text ads

As with any strategy, the ability to track and measure results is imperative.  Professional services firms already do this for their business, and so this would be a natural fit.

The Soapbox
One of the largest concerns with professional services marketing is content:  what exactly should be shared or expressed online?  What would be considered appropriate – or even legal? Content marketing as a way of avoiding legal or ethical challenges is not fun. Rather, the goal of blogging, messaging, commenting and sharing is to engage readers and hopefully capture the interest of prospects.   

The decision to spend time on content marketing and blogging is difficult, as even CEOs and other business leaders are still figuring out the best way to carry out this increasingly important marketing process.But the good news is that as content builds, the site is being optimized for search, and after a few months, the firm and its professionals can enjoy higher discovery, more clickthroughs, and multiple inquiries on the Contact page.  

Joining the Conversation – and Connecting Strategies
Thought leadership is what separates one expert from another online, and a highly regarded blog can make all the difference. As individuals consume the Web with more specific intent, users are increasingly typing in longer phrases, questions, and search strings.  For instance, users will type a legal question in the Google or Bing search bar.  A law firm’s blog that can anticipate and address such expected questions or specific legal terms is sure to get found more quickly. In fact, some professional services firms use Google’s organic keyword search tools to make a decision on paid search – amplifying their visibility and a likelihood of a click and a formal inquiry.  

These thought leadership efforts can be boosted by syndicating the content with links published to the practice’s social channels, like Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ - and of course, LinkedIn – and any email newsletters or alerts distributed by the practice. In this way, the digital marketing process is made more efficient, as efforts and results from one strategy or campaign can be carried over to another.

Final Thought:  A professional services firm should have a digital presence for several reasons, perhaps starting with an individual’s profile page on LinkedIn as a good way to test the digital marketing waters. Thought leadership drives engagement via several channels, and getting found based on insights and expertise will serve the firm well.

ChangeU: For your independent study…

Small Business on LinkedIn http://smallbusiness.linkedin.com/
LinkedIn’s Small Business Resource Center, with links to sales, marketing, and recruiting solutions using the social network.  

McKinsey to Professional Services: “Huge ROI From Social Media” http://bit.ly/1C4fSr7
A blogpost on global consulting firm McKinsey’s view on professional services firms and social media.

B2B Growth in the Digital Age http://pwc.to/1C4fWqW
A series of videos produced by consulting firm PwC on the differences between B2B and B2C marketing.

Most businesses, small and large, choose to lease equipment rather than purchase it to retain as much working capital as possible, especially when they are first getting started.  Whether the equipment is new or used, there are many leasing companies that are ready to help these businesses acquire the equipment and technology they need. To stay ahead of the competition and capitalize on these opportunities you need to develop a digital marketing strategy that uses multiple online elements.  

Here are just a few things to consider when creating your plan:   
Identify your target customer
The more you can learn about your target customers, the better you will be able to reach them, meet their needs and build a respected reputation for your business.  One of the best ways to this is to simply go to local businesses and speak with the owners to find out what type of equipment they are leasing, how much they pay for it and how long they lease equipment.  You should also evaluate your current customer base to determine what their current business processes, challenges, and goals.  Lastly, become familiar with your direct competition. Do some research to learn what kind of equipment they have, what their prices are, and examine their offline and digital presence.  This initial due diligence will eliminate costly mistakes and mistakes, help you provide new ways to provide lease equipment to our target customers.  

Establish credibility with your website 
Create your website to make your business credible and accessible for potential customers that are considering leasing equipment to grow their business.  And while your business is mainly an offline business, it is highly likely that your potential customers are searching for your services online, and as such they expect to be able to find with your business whenever and wherever they are online. Therefore, a responsive, professional looking website with relevant information about equipment leasing is enough to establish an online presence.  However, do not stop there, understand that people will visit your website for a deeper dive into your business, so invest the time providing all the key information they need to begin the decision making process.  
 

Use Social Media to engage your target customer
Social Media has made it possible to reach more people than ever before, making it all the more important to create a strategy to be able to compete in this space.   Do this by learning which social media platforms your target customers are using, then focus your efforts accordingly.  It’s recommended that you make a company profile on the major social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as these will help you engage and establish a relationship with your target customers.  You can use Facebook and Twitter to answer questions quickly, announce new equipment and upgrades.   Another smart way to build your reputation, particularly in your local area is to use Twitter coupons for discounts on equipment, new releases, or bundle options. This small gesture will go a long way in showing your target customers how affordable leasing equipment from your company can be. Additionally, LinkedIn is an essential part of your social media presence.   This professional platform gives you visibility in front of entrepreneurs and managers as well as create significant opportunity for networking.  
Create content to add value your business
Now that you have established an online presence with your website and social media, create content that will help your potential customers grow their business.  The most effective way to share this content and add value to your online presence is by adding a blog to your website.  Use your blog to direct traffic back to your website, provide industry news, make recommendations, and address common purchase barriers.  Bottom line is the more valuable and consistent the content, the more engaged customers will become with your business and the benefit to you is that fresh content will keep you search engine optimized.

Final Thought
In order to be successful in the digital realm you don’t have to use have a big budget, you just need a plan that allows you to reach your customers.  If you remain consistent, provide relevant content and value to your customers your business will succeed online.  

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

MARKET TRENDS & FORECASTS  http://bit.ly/1rsBlhD 
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association's (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25) reports on equipment finance activity such as New Business Volume, Aging of Receivables, Net Investment at Risk, Average Losses, Credit Approval Ratios, and Total Number of Employees.  

The Fundamentals of Leasing Business Equipment http://bit.ly/1tqZDjy 
From computers and heavy machinery to complete offices, it is possible to lease almost anything for your business. Equipment leasing can provide a lifeline for cash-strapped businesses in need of the tools of the trade.

Industry Information: A Powerful Tool for Equipment Leasing and Financing http://bit.ly/1DhbCRM

EL&F firms can use IBISWorld industry research to more easily identify leasing opportunities.

Still on the fence about content marketing for your company or business? There are certainly some considerations before you take the plunge. Let’s have a look at a few of these.

Total cost: is it really cheaper? Yes! Traditional advertising is expensive and nearly impossible to measure the return. Social and digital publishing technologies – on which content marketing efforts reside – are all about ROI and visibility. Companies and business owners alike can instantly view followers, likes, retweets, comments, page views, and other data. Such feedback is critical to understanding what’s working and what’s not, so decisions can be made. And often the content delivers interest on the part of a potential buyer – a sales lead – furthering the case for content marketing.

The joys of feedback
Instant gratification is at the heart of content marketing. Knowing which content is performing helps us decide which to continue producing – and which to let go. But it’s not just the metrics and measurement of the content that should encourage you to jumpstart a content marketing program. It’s also the feedback from customers, partners, suppliers, and the industry or community in which you do business. Tweets, comments, shares, and other content behaviors will tell you what outsiders – or even insiders, your employees – think of your company. In this manner, content marketing becomes your ad hoc feedback form or survey, constantly providing you the insights into your business that are often difficult to obtain.

The need for processes in place
While content marketing ultimately proves to be less expensive – but so much more valuable – than traditional paid advertising, the costs will diminish in time. It takes time to understand the content marketing process, as well as to train a team of employees and even customers to deliver valuable content. When companies learn about content marketing and the ability to get employees and customers to blog, tweet, and post to social networks on behalf of the company, executives and business owners get excited. Why have marketing and communications be carried out by a select few in a department, when the entire operation or enterprise can be engaged?

Here are the essential first steps to creating a full-on content marketing process:
• Designate the desired content developers – internally or externally – and create some How-To’s or guidebook (Hint: do NOT call it Content Marketing Policy, as this will be sure to turn people away).
• Create a broad list of ideas, keywords, story angles, messages, and other creative assets that will help your content marketers generate quality content.
• Invest in (some are actually free) a publishing platform that makes it easy for content to be drafted, published, and measured.

Being authentic has its risks
Content marketing is not without its risks. When others are sharing their messages about your company or brand, there are bound to be differences in opinion or expression. Some of these may be acceptable to you, but others may not. Content marketing ventures require you to have an appetite for risk in the content that’s created in support of your brand – from a typo in a tweet to a negative review of your business on a consumer ratings blog.

The context surrounding this requires you to:
• Ensure that you have content guidelines and even suggested content.
• Anticipate content with quality or opinion issues.
• Devise a strategy to deal with content that does not meet your standards.

Final Thoughts
While daunting at first, the decision to take the plunge into content marketing will have innumerable benefits. Start small, and scale your content marketing operation over time.


ChangeU: For your independent study….
 

What is Content Marketing, Really? http://bit.ly/1uNSedk
Blog from HootSuite, one of the largest social publishing and monitoring providers.

How To Rapidly Grow Your Business with Content Marketing http://bit.ly/1BUksrq
A webinar on demand from HubSpot, one of the largest content automation providers.

The Rise of Smart Content Marketing http://slidesha.re/1vw2Z58
A SlideShare presentation on the art and science of content marketing.

One of the biggest obstacles to rolling out a content marketing program usually centers around the big question: what are we going to create?
When the business or entrepreneur suddenly realizes that content marketing requires work – and often a lot of it – the hopes of a full-scale content marketing program begin to soften.
But fear not: with a little bit of planning and intuition, the content marketing program will take off and sustain itself in surprising – and profitable – ways.
This article will explore ways to make things easier for everyone – while not straying from the core goals and intended results of a content marketing program.

Dust Off What You Already Have
Authenticity is the heart of content marketing. Images or videos of your office, workspace, products, and equipment can be made beautiful (thanks to simple editing and design tools of Instagram and even YouTube) and shared with your customers and prospects.
The camera on your smartphone or tablet is good enough for this exercise. Be creative and have fun!
Also, think nostalgia. Any old documents, menus, and photos can be scanned and uploaded to social media channels as a way to share with your customers how far you’ve come. (Are you about to do a website re-design? Save screen shots of your old website and save them for a future ‘look back’ at your company.) Everyone loves nostalgia, and uploading images and documents of what your business looked like just a few years earlier will intrigue your customers – while strengthening the idea that you have survived and plan to continue going strong into the future. How’s that for using content marketing?

Repurpose, Repurpose, Repurpose
Anything creative that’s been developed for your business is ripe for re-use in a content marketing program.
Was your business reviewed by the local newspaper or by a popular online review site? Perfect! Here is what you can do to use that for your content marketing program:

• Regularly tweet the review, including the link back to the review webpage. Be creative with each tweet, perhaps using different hashtags to highlight your business’ products or services
• Do the same for your Facebook Page. Facebook’s publishing tools will automatically capture a thumbnail photo from whatever images are available at that webpage, giving the post an instant graphic, which is very efficient.
• Was it a print newspaper or magazine mention for which there is no link? No problem: scan the portion of the document that mentions your business, and then upload that to Twitter and Facebook and do as you would above.

Remember that copying word for word may infringe on copyright issues, so using only part of what’s been published by others keeps things ethical while still providing a teaser into who you are or what your business provides.

Final Thoughts: Content is readily available in the most random of places. Anything related to your business – a review, a photo – can be repurposed and used for content marketing. Creativity begets creativity – have fun and let the content tell your story.

ChangeU: For your independent study….

How To Use Instagram To Promote Your Products http://bit.ly/1DGLPpP
Tips for maximizing Instagram to build an audience of prospects and clients.

Yelp for Business Owners http://bit.ly/1DGSznP
A step by step approach to establishing a presence on the review network.

Nostalgia Marketing: Harnessing the Power of the Past http://bit.ly/1wdt7kQ
From marketing automation provider HubSpot, some reasons behind using memories to market the present.

No doubt, you’ve heard the expression content curation, but perhaps have no idea what it means.

But if you’ve ever retweeted, shared a Facebook post, or used the AddThis or ShareThis widgets to republish blogs or articles you find on the Internet, then you’ve already been engaged in content curation.

Pretty cool, huh?  So then why do marketers make such a big deal about content curation?  Moreover, how can you more effectively or systematically bring content curation into your marketing mix?  Let’s have a look.

What It Is and Why Publishers Are OK with It

Content curation is basically gathering and organizing content you find on the Interwebs.  This is content that you find relevant to your business, products, customers, and brand; you then take the next step and repurpose that content on your own social media channels or publishing platforms.

You aren’t stealing the content; instead, you clearly indicate the name or source of that original content when posting, giving attribution where necessary.

The sharing of content was once a source of frustration for publishers in the early days of social media and dynamic publishing, but it has since become a strategy they actually endorse and encourage.  The reason:  a publisher can get content out there on as many channels as possible.

Publishers benefit from readers, viewers, listeners, and eyeballs.  They understand that not everyone might be visiting their websites, reading their Twitterfeed, or watching their YouTube channel.   However, if they encourage individual users to share this content – republish links, along with comments and mentions – that content can be shared hundreds or thousands of times through the Interwebs.  (Of course, they have software to measure the extent to which this content gets shared.)

Networks like YouTube and Instagram, owned by Facebook, have made sharing easier (and more ethical) by embed codes – in this way, the content isn’t really republished, but still residing on the original channel – and most blogs today have some sort of simple sharing feature that encourages people to share content off the original page.

Why This Benefits You

Besides the benefit to publishers, the benefit is also to you, the entrepreneur:

• Sharing the curated content on your sites and channels is free.
• Adding a few words as an opinion can demonstrate thought leadership, or how this piece of content might be connected to your business or products.
• You won’t need to incur additional expenses in creating similar content from scratch.
• The professionally produced content will render beautifully on your sites and truly resonate with your audience – encouraging them to comment, respond, and share.  This engagement may actually signal a potential visit to your business or even a sale.

How To Curate Effectively

Never miss a relevant post again!  Curation takes time, patience, and strategy.   You want to ensure that you do not miss the most important posts, and you want to share them in a timely manner or else the content may already become old.   Here are some tips:

• Create a short list of news sites and blogs whose content you’d like to align with your business.
• Set up Google Alerts, YouTube channel alerts, or a Twitter list to follow news or updates from these sites as they happen. (There also exist content curation platforms which do all of this for you.)  You should also set up filters to ensure you do not also catch irrelevant, time-wasting content.
• Digest the relevant content quickly, and decide if it is something you’d like to add to your business’ media channels.
• Consider the comments you’d like to add, then quickly publish.
• Measure the response from your customers, employees, partners, or perhaps even the original publisher.

Final Thoughts:  Don’t worry about sharing content that aligns with your business – publishers encourage it! However, be sure to add your own personal comments to make the piece relevant to your customers, employees, and brand.  If relevant enough, the content can be shared continuously, furthering the value chain and keeping your company top of mind.

ChangeU:  For your independent independent study ...

5 Simple Steps to Becoming a Content Curation Rockstar http://bit.ly/1A8jrWc

An eBook from a content curation platform vendor, Curata, on how to find and share content more effectively.

Content Curation:  6 Strategies to Add Value With Your Own Commentary http://bit.ly/1xhkst8

From the Content Marketing Institute, a detailed approach to curation involving commenting and summarizing relevant content appropriately.

How to Speed Up Your Content Curation Process http://bit.ly/1xUTrk0

From Social Media Examiner, some methods to identify relevant content intelligently and quickly.

Content marketing is about delivering value to your audience. When you create content that challenges, solves, informs and entertains, you will discover that people are not only drawn to your business but will help to share your content via their circles of interest and enable you to generate more leads. The key to success is the quality of your online content. Not all content will generate leads. There is a plethora of other businesses out there trying to do the same thing so what you need to do is stand out from that crowd.

To develop leads from great content you need to drive them to engagement where they will interact with you on some level. You need to give people something of value to convince them to give you their contact details so you can follow up with them at a later point.

At Change3 Enterprises we offer free downloads like our ‘Partner Marketing Guide’ – a free resource in exchange for an email address: 

You can try:

• Free quote for services;
• Newsletter sign up;
• White papers on industry topics;
• Membership access to resources.

Stay away from the pushy sales pitch and focus on the value that you can give to people that interact with your brand online.

Online Content Keeps on Giving
There are a range of different ways that you can create your brand voice and if you do it well it will be shared broadly to help grow your business.
Some of the content that you may use:

1. Blogs: Business blogs need to be regularly updated. It is ideal to add fresh content every one to two weeks. Allow readers to comment and easily share posts to promote a wide readership;
2. White papers: Position you and your business as thought leaders within your industry. Provide well thought out and researched information to target your demographic market;
3. eBooks: Offer informative eBooks as free downloads to collect contact information;
4. Case studies: Show case customers positive experience with your brand and build up your business credibility;
5. Press releases: Announce exciting company news through press releases that can be widely distributed. Track where they are picked up and published for reliable links;
6. Newsletter: Add a prominent sign up to your newsletter on home and other pages. A regular newsletter distributed to subscribed customers is a powerful communication tool;
7. Other media: Videos, audio and other forms of media are ideal to share on your website and social media portals to create an interesting digital profile.

Connect with Consumers
Keep it interesting and informative, make sure that your content:

1. Resolves an issue: We constantly surf the Internet to answer a question that we have. Design your content to address issues and provide solutions in your expertise area. Break them down to specifics and deal with one problem at a time;
2. Talk about success: People want to see positive content. They will be attracted to successful stories related to your brand that demonstrate how you can help. Don’t forget to use a range of media to engage consumers across platforms;
3. Shows thought leadership: Lead thinking and innovation within your industry. Look at ways that you can create a significant point of difference with your brand and talk about it;
4. Contains variety: Don’t just use one media. Create a range of creative content to appeal to consumers. Shareable content will get seen more than content that is informative but maybe a bit dry.

Final Thoughts
Always keep focusing your content on the reader, not SEO. For your content to really work for you make sure that it provides value to anyone that reads it and solves their issue or at the very least entertains them. Keep your content interesting and most of all make sure that it stands out, you don’t want to get lost in the crowd.

See some of the best:

• 6 Epic Content Marketing Examples From 2014 http://bit.ly/1A2q4gJ
• B2B Content Marketing – 10 Fantastic Examples http://bit.ly/1AhDIeN
• Want more? See other 10 Examples of Great Content Marketing http://bit.ly/1BiVCkt

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

6 Steps To Turn Your Online Lead Generation Into Lead Nurturing http://bit.ly/1EJc37c
Ways To Generate Leads Online http://bit.ly/1CEl5QT
How To Generate Leads With A Powerful Content Marketing Strategy http://bit.ly/17dRmpi