What’s the difference between content created and published by a brand and content published by a dedicated media organization?

Increasingly, the answer is “there isn’t one” – at least, not from the audience’s point of view.

This is great news for any brand looking to gain recognition as a trusted information source through its content marketing efforts.

But for media companies, this flattening of the content landscape has ushered in uncertainty around trust in their trade and their ability to monetize their content. Of course, publishers have opportunities to leverage their legacy of high-quality content and audience relationships as long as they adapt to shifting digital trends.

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No matter how well thought out your strategy is and how much buy-in and budget you secure, the success of your content marketing program hinges on a single, critical component: having the talent available to execute your plans.

That puts skilled writers in a position of power. Despite the looming specter of AI bots that can create assets at lightning speed and impressive scale, even the most sophisticated systems aren’t equipped to match the emotional depth and resonance of a story crafted with care by humans.

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(For the record, I promise this is the first, last, and only time I will paraphrase Beatles’ lyrics in a CMI post title. OK, moving on …)

Staying on top of new consumer learnings, expectations, and preferences is essential for companies to remain competitive and responsive in a fast-changing digital landscape. Transformation is not an easy task for any business, but the barriers can seem almost herculean to large enterprises in industries like insurance, finance, and health care. Not only do these organizations create communication under strict regulatory, legal, and privacy restrictions, they often face a deep-seated, institution-wide reluctance to tampering with what’s always worked.

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Before online influencer marketing became a major “thing” (and way before it was legitimized as a structured technique or a lucrative career path), it was known as word-of-mouth marketing.

As a kid, I learned about the concept by way of a popular commercial for Faberge Organics, in which a smiling Heather Locklear shared her secret for bouncy hair with two friends, who in turn told two friends, and so on, and so on …

Though the underlying mechanisms of the “tell-a-friend” technique remain largely unchanged, social media has fueled its evolution into a strategic discipline infinitely more targeted, impactful, and scalable than anything Faberge’s marketing team could have predicted.

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Editor’s note: Doing more with less is always an applicable mantra for content marketers. That’s why we brought back this post about how to amplify your best content.

Admit it: When the stress and exhaustion of finding something uniquely delightful for every person on your holiday shopping list have brought you to the brink of madness, you’ve at least considered the idea of regifting.

After all, that expensive orange scarf that sadly clashes with your skin tone, the never-opened kitchen mixer you got for your bridal shower, or that trendy toy your child never got around to playing with are all lovely gifts. And who knows? They even may be meaningful treasures to someone who needs them.
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As someone who started her content career in traditional journalism, I took some time to come to terms with the concept of native advertising. I bristled at the thought of paid ads masquerading as editorial content, violating the church-and-state division I was taught.

But, like it or not, the rules of publishing have changed. The lines between media and marketing have blurred, and brands have more power, influence, and opportunities to communicate directly with audiences. And new tools and strategies have emerged and disrupted the game.

Like any good species in a survival-of-the-fittest world, I’ve come around to see significant value in native advertising – when it’s executed smartly and strategically.

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You’ve been invited to attend an important business pitch, but it’s happening in an unfamiliar neighborhood. What’s the first thing you do to ensure that you get to the right place swiftly and reliably?

Unless you have one of those infallible internal compasses, you likely consult some guide – a map, a GPS system, a mass transit schedule, or maybe a friend with a great sense of direction. Because, without the right information, you risk traveling in the wrong direction, becoming paralyzed by indecision, or worst, getting hopelessly lost and losing out on a great opportunity.

In the social media sphere, navigational challenges abound for content marketers – new platforms to explore, new rules of engagement to learn, new creative pathways to pursue, and new roadblocks to avoid.

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Instagram is the “it” social media platform for 2019. There, I said it.

With plenty of creative possibilities, targeting opportunities, and personalization potential, the youth-friendly platform offers the power to connect with influential tastemakers, break through the competitive noise, and build active, engaged communities of customers.

And it might just offer brands the biggest bang for their content marketing buck. Though slightly in the shadow of big sister Facebook, Instagram boasts over 1 billion active monthly users globally. It’s eclipsed elder social statesmen like Twitter (335 million monthly users), LinkedIn (260 million monthly users), and Pinterest (250 million monthly users).

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