Several semi-reliable websites credit Leonardo Da Vinci with writing the phrase, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” I love this phrase. Without getting to philosophical, in my opinion DaVinci understood that simplicity doesn’t necessarily dumb things down. On the contrary, simplicity...

Too much talk about Facebook ‘likes’ and Twitter ‘followers’ is dumming down your analytics. If you were asked for the most important metric you track related to your online marketing efforts, what would you say? What is the very first thing that came to mind? Depending on your responsibilities within...

Why a hyper focus on measurement and incremental gains makes marketers average. Let’s talk about how a myopic focus on measurement can suck all the innovation and success out of our strategy. Here is an experiment: Walk around your office and ask everybody three questions. The first question: “Should...

Here are 10 templates to help you with everything from content marketing planning, creation and distribution.

One of the biggest challenges for content marketers is tying their activities to return on investment (ROI). Numerous case studies show that content developed using insights from customers, also known as data-driven customer insights, produce increased customer engagement and generate significantly higher...

I’ve had a number of clients tell me, “I looked in my Analytics for about three hours yesterday and it was really cool, but I don’t know what I learned.” Do you suffer from from ERH (Eyes Rolling into Head) when you look at the multitude of reports in analytics? Most marketers...

Blogs no longer get the same buzz as their newer social media cousins, Facebook and Twitter. That said, blogs are at the heart of social media, especially if you’re involved in content marketing. Chris Brogan refers to blogs as your social media outpost because blogs supply the content that drives social...

As a CMI reader, your business is probably considering building out a  Facebook fan page. Although Forrester Research predicts 2011 will be the year when marketers will begin to “think outside the Facebox,” C-suite business leaders and content marketers alike can’t deny the attractiveness...

Businesses are expected to increase spending on social media marketing by more than 40% percent in 2011, according to marketing research firms Altimeter and Alinean. Still, in today’s “age of austerity,” every significant investment requires proof of bottom-line impact and superior value – a condition...

How do you know if you content marketing is really working? Here are some tips on how to prove what results your actions are having.

In our ongoing series, we’re helping B2B marketers overcome the challenges highlighted in our recent B2B Content Marketing: 2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends. Most recently, our contributors are providing insights and examples to help you make the case for content marketing in your organization. First...

When it comes to metrics, many marketers will first monitor whatever is easiest to count. But, what’s most important is counting those things that help you best determine how well you succeeded in achieving your objectives. Therefore, to track your content marketing’s effectiveness, match your metrics...