Last summer we published a popular post about three content strategy practices that will make you a better content marketer. Over the past several months, we have talked about these topics as well as several others in more depth.

Why are we so passionate about content strategy in the marketing world? As I mentioned in the original post, marketers have a lot to learn from content strategists. Our intent is not to turn you, dear marketer, into a content strategist; rather, we want to help you understand how to take what content strategists have been doing for years and apply it to your marketing. (You may want to hire a content strategist, and, if so, there are two primary types to consider.)Continue Reading

A few months ago, I was cleaning the basement with my kids. The goal was to put the toys away so it could be vacuumed, dusted, etc.

I looked over, and my 8-year-old was erasing the whiteboard and chalkboard. When I asked her to help clean up, she explained that she was cleaning. The whiteboard obviously needed to be erased.Continue Reading

You.

That’s the topic of my post today. You.

I recently participated in a panel for the Detroit Content Strategy Meetup, and one of the questions posed by our moderator, Chris Moritz, was this:Continue Reading

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on Bruce McDuffee’s podcast, Manufacturing Marketing Matters. At the end, he posed this challenge question from a listener:Continue Reading

“It’s getting very, very difficult for product companies and services companies to differentiate … Content allows you to do that. That is the biggest opportunity.”

I often think about this view that Robert Rose shared in the documentary, The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing.Continue Reading

My 8-year-old daughter recently questioned her 4-year-old sister: “What’s your POV?”

Not surprisingly, my 4-year-old just looked at her, dumbfounded. She has no idea that POV means point of view or why a young child (or anyone) would need this.

Continue Reading

Kind. True. Necessary.

Those are the three words my good friend uses to help her kids understand whether they are making good choices with what they say.

“Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary,” she asks when they may have said something that is rude or unintentionally hurtful.Continue Reading

Our annual content marketing research literally has thousands of data points our research team digs through each year. While the quantitative data is interesting, we get most excited about pondering ways to turn the findings into actionable ideas to help you improve your content marketing.

One of the key areas we focus on is effectiveness: What percentage of survey respondents say their organizations are effective at content marketing, and how has this changed since last year? And, more importantly, what can you do to become more effective at content marketing?Continue Reading