Tag Archives: editorial
Customer loyalty develops from quality custom content
Content marketing has become the foundation of successful online presences. Nearly every business – large or small – uses custom content to give their brands voices on the web, speaking to potential customers each time a new article goes live. If organizations want to strengthen customer relationships through creative content, articles must be engaging to foster loyalty and company culture. While a high percentage of marketers know their content marketing strategies lead to favorable outcomes, developing effective game plans that facilitate engagement remains the greatest challenge. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 86 percent of B2C companies use branded content to reach new and existing customers, using an average of 12 tactics. Continue reading
Where’s your traffic from? Top referral sources are specific to domains
A large part of a content marketer’s efforts are put into generating custom content that can optimize a site to be found in SERPs. Brands need to be revealed in organic search through SEO initiatives, but also through referrals from other websites. New research from Conductor shows that referral traffic is a big player in how web users get to websites, but that individual domains see differing results. Conductor analyzed the referral traffic of fifty B2C and B2B websites, finding that top 10 percent of referral domains (excluding search) drive 91 percent of the referring traffic. The figure jumps to 98 percent when organic search is included as a traffic referrer. Continue reading
Marketers spend $1.7 million on branded content
America’s corporations are turning to content marketing to raise brand awareness, according to a recent survey conducted by ContentWise and the Custom Content Council. Not only did 79 percent of respondents report moving moderately or aggressively toward the development of more branded content, but 52 percent reported outsourcing a portion of content creation. The survey also revealed that company spending on branded content rose to $1.7 million, compared with $1.6 million two years prior, showing that marketers are beginning to understand the value of content marketing. The average budget dedicated to outsourced content creation this year was $371,364, while companies that exclusively outsourced brand content spent nearly $1 million with agencies. Creating searchable, branded content can illuminate websites in SERP and can also position businesses within greater industry conversation. Brafton recently reported that marketers should generate custom content to gain high-quality leads and brand awareness as 2012 draws to a close Continue reading
Resource-lacking B2C marketers can outsource content creation
Generating quality, custom content is a challenge for marketers who lack resources. The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) recently released a report detailing the state of B2C content marketing, revealing that 51 percent of marketers have difficulty producing enough content, while 49 percent need help producing content that is engaging. Although B2C marketers reported that they struggle with resources, just 44 percent use a third-party to create content. Another 52 percent struggle with budget allocations, making outsourcing an attractive option. Outsourcing is a cost-effective way to ensure that marketers are getting quality content when they lack manpower or funding. Brafton interviewed Peter Moeller, marketing director for law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck, who said that effective content marketing can drive results for less costs Continue reading
Social needs interactive content to prevent community ‘ghost towns’
A recent report by ComBlu studied more than 200 online communities managed by 92 brands, revealing that advocacy is a focus goal for social efforts, but some content marketers are failing to adopt best practices that win follower loyalty. Although the realm of social marketing and online branded communities is growing and changing, the report showed that some businesses are neglecting to use custom content to engage particular cohorts.ComBlu defined advocacy as marketing around a product or service to deepen relationships, win support and spread an idea among partners. Eighty-four percent of brands have an advocacy focus, as opposed to emphasis on customer support and feedback. According to the report, many brands have not leveraged their community managers to engage customers. These managers often fail to respond to user questions in forums or on discussion threads. In 2011, 42 percent of brands had cohesive strategies for social engagement, but now only 27 percent have developed strategies. Continue reading
