Tag Archives: featured
Deliver branded content to meet consumers’ needs
Content marketing continues to expand its reach and educate consumers. According to a November 2012 report from nRelate entitled “Behavior Shift: Getting Content in Front of Consumers,” 92 percent of adults read and search for content online. These internet users spend approximately 7.2 hours a week looking for content, and their average session includes three to four blog content articles and two or three video content pieces. Forty-eight percent are more likely to click on related content after reading and engaging with a post. Continue reading
Case study: Content marketing consistency wins long-term results
Content marketing is a marathon – not a sprint. But when 60 percent of brands add fresh content at least weekly and the broad majority use up to 12 formats, fast and steady and quality ”wins the race.” It sounds like a tall order, but consistent, premium output is key to earning and maintaining audience interest. One of Brafton’s clients in the rapidly growing cloud-based phone systems industry, ShoreTel Sky, offers a prime example of how regularly posting relevant content can build influence and win web leads. “If we had to do content marketing in house, frequent publication wouldn’t have been sustainable.” – Amber Newman, senior marketing communications manager for Shoretel Sky When Shoretel Sky was first setting content marketing goals, the company wanted a strategy that not only demonstrated the importance of cloud-based phone systems, but also showed the brand’s expertise and thought leadership in a competitive field. “Our whole industry is growing rapidly, in terms of adoption and technological developments. Because of this, buyers want to know more. This need really lends itself to content marketing,” said Amber Newman, senior marketing communications manager for Shoretel Sky. Continue reading
Publish branded content or be left behind: Offline marketing declines
As 2013 edges closer, it’s time to look at content marketing and how to approach the practice over the next 12 months. A big component of successful custom content is its ability to generate high-quality leads, and new data reveals that lead generation budgets are moving toward optimized content. Branded content is already embraced by a significant population of marketers today. In fact, MarketingSherpa’s 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report noted some interesting trends in how professionals identify and reach out to prospective customers. Continue reading
Subdomains vs. subdirectories for SEO: No SERP benefits for subdomains anymore
In a recent Webmaster Help video, Google’s Matt Cutts reported that adjustments to Google’s search algorithms have removed many of the advantages given to sites organizing content using subdomains rather than a subdirectory. A subdomain appears as such: “http://www.blog.brafton.com”. A subdirectory looks like this: “http://www.brafton.com/blog”. According to Cutts, subdomains may have traditionally held special SEO appeal, because brands using multiple subdomains could see more results on given SERPs. However, this is no longer the case Continue reading
Content marketing recap: October 2012
October is ending on a traditionally “scary” note in honor of Halloween, but this month’s content marketing updates might give marketers peace of mind as they’re planning strategies for the final quarter of the year. Check out Brafton’s take on October’s biggest industry headlines and what they could mean for your content marketing campaign. Content marketing: Strategic plans and quality material are in demand A pair of in-depth reports indicate content marketing is mainstream. According to Econsultancy’s survey of B2B and B2C brands, 91 percent of companies market their products and services with content, and more than 90 percent say content will become more important to their brands in the next 12 months. The Content Marketing Institute’s B2B survey found similar results – 91 percent of B2Bs use content marketing, and 54 percent will increase their content spend over the next 12 months. At the same time, Econsultancy found 55 percent of in-house marketers and 58 percent of agencies currently don’t have a strategy for content (though they aim to execute one soon) Continue reading
