Content marketing can get attention for your company. Publishing original research can earn something much more elusive: authority.

Producing original research indicates your brand has insights about your industry that no one else owns. Given how hard it is to say something truly new and compelling with content marketing, it’s a small wonder more people don’t use original research.

But not all research projects are created equal, and over the years, I’ve learned to spot research inexperience. These eight signals tell me whether a study was well designed or produced.Continue Reading

“Isn’t it obvious?”

How many times have you asked this? That phrase often comes out when you realize some request or suggestion you thought you conveyed wasn’t acted on.

This signal amplification bias (as psychologists call it) explains how most miscommunication happens. People routinely fail to realize how little they actually communicate to their colleagues.

In other words: People believe they said a lot more than they really said.Continue Reading