Producing content in the public sector may seem, at first glance, like a completely different beast than marketing content for the private sector. However, once we look at the reasons for publishing content, the “marketing” aspects aren’t all that different. Private industry may have bigger budgets and...

On a recent trip to Pittsburgh, PA., one of our clients introduced us to two intriguing retail experiments on using content creation to drive business at retail locations: The Waffle Shop and the Conflict Kitchen. What’s interesting about both of these experiments is that they leverage a content-centric...

Once upon a time, there were two blog authors who were well-respected in their industries. Equally smart and versed on a subject area, they each wrote posts about important stuff. Author A wanted to tell others about the flaws in some conventional thinking and disprove claims made by competitors in his...

Many companies have no clue what the difference is between good and boring content. I’ll go even further than that.  Many organizations are not even aware that their message has lost all connection with their audience, and some even seem to excel at finding ways to render their content marketing completely...

Content marketing is lunch pail work. It wears a blue collar and sometimes even a dirty blue collar. It’s the guy with callused hands in the boardroom. That’s because content marketing is for doers. After all, who has the time to sit around “thought leading” when there is so much coal to shovel onto...

Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If your content marketing is on autopilot and you’re not getting the results you want, I wouldn’t say you’re insane, but you could certainly use some fresh ideas. Unremarkable content can also be...

Couples with marital troubles are often told to spice things up in the bedroom. Why is that? Well, it turns out that people get bored with even the most fun activities. You see, we as humans are programmed from a biological and emotional perspective to seek out new challenges and experiences in almost...

How do you break through the deluge of constant texting, e-mailing, Tweeting, ”Facebooking,” and online gaming to reach your audience in a meaningful way? One answer: It’s not only what you deliver (content) but also  how you deliver it (creative). Even when you have solid product messaging and a good...

The word “enchantment” evokes fairy tale stories of Prince Charming freeing young female hearts from the prospect of a lonely, loveless life. It also alludes to every day joys and simple pleasures such as meeting “the one,” getting married and having your first child. But what in the world...

You’ve probably used demographics or psychographics to identify and understand your customers and your market. But have you ever thought of using these data to create content? This post shows you how to: Limit the data you collect to extract the best ideas for content for your industry, product or service Identify...

“If people aren’t talking about you, they’re not talking about you for a reason. And the reason isn’t that they dislike you. They’re not talking about you because you’re boring.” ~ Seth Godin The formidable challenge for marketers of boring brands is that you have to present content that is remarkable...

When it comes to finding ideas for your marketing content, you can easily run into a wall. To fill the pipeline, you need a constant source of relevant and usable ideas. You created an editorial calendar tied to company milestones, you found a way to repurpose existing content, you have a thought leader...