You know this works. You’ve made case after case. You’ve used data. You’ve used anecdotes. You’ve got eyewitness testimony. But nothing works.
The head-shed just won’t buy it. Why? Here’s why:
Marketers (especially ones focused online) live in an echo chamber of self-confirmation that doesn’t benefit you in the boardroom with C-levels. They simply have different and more high level priorities than you do.
There’s a lot of truth in that. Those of us online start a business case from a completely different level. Facts we know to be true, and are used as pillars of an argument are just assumptions to an executive team.
In other words, our advice is, at this point, a leap of faith. Maybe the parachute will open. That’s a difficult way to gain executive buy-in.
We’ve got to find a way to walk them through it. Read the entire post here: Get Executive Management to Approve Anything
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Everything you need to know about Google+ in a Podcast
Stumbled on this today:
In consulting larger companies, I’ve recently learned that it’s many times easier to convince decision makers to act when a competitor is already executing a similar strategy.
It’s a trap for many companies. Always afraid to be first, so every time you’ve got a new idea, the top brass always as ask: who among our competitors are doing this?
Sure, a competitive review is a sound pillar of a content marketing or social media audit…but it’s just one pillar.
To put it this way, if you are in a race and pass the guy in second place, what place are you in? It’s not first.
Photo: Screenshot from the Play it Safe post on Distilled.
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Marketing: broadcast vs. narrowcast
Can you find 30 minutes? Maybe while you’re driving?
Podcasts are a fantastic way to find creative ideas for blog posts, while making use of time you’d rather spend doing something else.
Tonight I listened to an outstanding production called The Content Marketing Warfare Podcast. Producer Ryan Hanley, interviewed well know expert on Google+ Mark Traphagen (May 12, 2013 edition). In 30 minutes, you’ll get everything you need to know about Google+.
And its important we understand this network and why it’s different. Just the other day a friend on Facebook commented, ”Google+ is like a gym. Everyone joins it but only few use it.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Quips like that are merely the regurgitation of misinformation. How so? I immediately searched for that individual on Google+ and could not find her. She’s either using a pseudonym or is not using Google+ — and I’m betting it’s the latter.
Google+ is a game changer. In this podcast, Mark lays out a couple really compelling reasons.
- Google+ is an open network. Facebook search, including the new graph search thingy, is terrible. Last weekend I searched for a friend to connect with by name and location and Facebook could not find him. I had to get the direct URL by email to link up. Google+ has a great search feature, but more importantly, Google+ is open, so it impacts search results on the web. Facebook has spent most of it’s life trying to build a giant network with a deep moat around itself. The ads may not be Facebook’s demise, but it’s closed door policy just might.
- Find new people. Facebook is great for linking you up with people you already know. Google+ links you up with people you don’t know. This is how the open network and search features of Google+ have a direct impact. Why would you want to do that? If you’ve ever looked for a job, promoted a company, or tried to acquire new customers, the answer is quite inherent.
Check out the podcast…it’s well worth your while.
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More Content. Repurpose Content. Improve Content.
It’s long, but it’s quick and well worth a few minutes.
Slide #4 in the presentation that is part of this post: The Principles of Customer WOW
Matt McGee wrote a solid post on his small business search marketing blog today called, My Definition of “Social Media Experts” is Different from Social Media Experts. I agree with much of what he said, except this part:
Why would anyone, much less a social media expert, publish their own content in such a way that it creates value for some other domain? If you’re using Quora blogs or Google+ or LinkedIn to publish evergreen content that attracts links and generates long-term value, you’re not getting as much value as the site hosting the content.
Matt likes Bono. He strikes me as a stand up and all around nice guy. He consults for small businesses on the side and in fact I researched his work for a possible recommendation for a small business I’m helping, until I saw he’s not taking any new clients at the moment.
He is also a search guru. In fact, he doubles as the Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Land and Marketing Land, but I’ve had this debate a million times with SEOs and I’m convinced it’s not right.
Why? This post itself is part of the point. Check the links to above to those two respective sites — these don’t lead to the publications.
These other networks provide an opportunity to connect with an audience outside one’s domain. And it’s a great way to create more content, repurpose content and improve content.
Any Caveats?
Yes. I would never recommend using one of these other sites as an organization’s primary blogging domain. Otherwise, when and if it shuts down, you’ll wind up with the conundrum I fell into when Posterous announced it was shuttering.
Still, for a minimal investment of time, it’s a great place to expand a digital footprint, to engage new people, to find new content, and to build ideas. In fact, I’ve redoubled my content production here on Tumblr about the time Posterous was shutting — because Tumblr is a social network onto itself. Google+, where we had a small debate about this topic, is another example that I think falls into the same category.
What do you think?
Update: In the spirit of sharing ideas, Matt thinks I’ve interpreted his point. Maybe I have; I’ve never claimed to be an expert. As I’ve heard time and time again, I’d like to think we are all students of social media. Here’s his response:
Photo Credit: Flickr
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Content Marketing: Five Creative Ways to Repurpose Content
Haha!! This needs to be in every building these days.
This sign exists because someone did this.
More content. Marcus Sheridan calls it the content arms race, which leads to and endless battle of quantity versus quality.
Rest assured, Marcus isn’t sacrificing quality. As he said in this interview with the New York Times, it’s all about answering customers questions.
How profound. Search is an explicit expression of need. We are searching for answers. And so there is a need for more content.
In a guest post on ProBlogger today, How to Get More Content for Your Blog, freelance blogger Kristi Hines, says, “ Most people can’t just write a blog post in 15 minutes.”
In the post, which is well worth reading, she suggests:
- Repurposing content
- Transforming content into other forms
- Attracting guest posts
- Hiring freelance writers
In one of his infamous “White Board Friday” videos, a content marketing lesson in and of itself, SEOmoz’s Rand Fishkin, discusses ways to develop content ideas that your competitors cannot replicate. At least not easily.
Finally, I’d offer this presentation on repurposing content and I’d be careful to point out my golden guideline: seek to add value with every iteration. Repurposing content isn’t simply about regurgitation — rather it’s refinement, improvement and polish. It’s about taking a good idea, and making it better.
Today I made a new connection on LinkedIn. Normally, this isn’t a big deal, except that I had sent the original invitation in 2008, or about five years ago.
The startup I was working for was being acquired and naturally staff reductions were being implemented. I was to receive severance and reached out to connect with soon-to-be former colleagues on LinkedIn.
It struck me as funny, so I posted a message on App.net, which is billed as an ad-free alternative to Twitter, though it just announced a freemium model. A fellow user responded with common ground: he’d received Twitter replies from 2010. I just might do that too, to bust come chops.
