Use Images (Not Just Words) to Turn Your Distracted Visitors into Engaged Readers
With attention spans rapidly diminishing, the old saying “a picture’s worth a thousand words” is especially true when it comes to harnessing the power of images to engage readers. Yes, words are still a necessary part of the equation. But using images makes it possible to share close-ups of your environment, which can help minimize distractoins and increase engagement.
Whether you decide to purchase stock photos, take advantage of Flickr’s Creative Commons, or decide to take your own images, there are multiple ways to find, edit, and enhance photos to complement, if not entirely replace words. With mobile applications like Instagram and Photoshop, photography is now more accessible than it ever was before, so there’s no reason we all can’t be more visual. So, how is your company using images to turn distracted visitors into engaged readers? Share in the comments below!
Building 4 Key Relationships Every Content Marketing Strategy Needs
Relationship building is a skill that is not usually taught in the college classroom, but mastered over time through trial and error. Although it’s one of those really important aspects of being a successful marketing professional, we fail to significantly analyze it in how-to blogs or connect it to content marketing. Anthony Gaenzle does both by breaking down the 4 key relationships every content marketing strategy needs:
- Enemies (competitors)
- Allies (non-competing companies)
- Partners
- Audience
The goal is to create content that really resonates with your community and builds relationships. By thinking of your audience as your friends, your content is more likely to add value to the intended community. The key is to identify what types of content is desired and deliver creatively and consistently through effective relationships. How do you use content marketing to create relationships? Tell us in the comments!
The Great Content Checklist: Tips, Tools, and Examples
By Mike Murray
What marketing pro doesn’t appreciate a blog filled with tips, tools, and real-world examples? One who prefers to create ordinary content over great content. This blog isn’t for them, it’s for us - the mover and shakers, the experimenters, the curious, the motivated content marketers that seek to connect in meaningful and valuable ways. Mike Murray’s blog provides tips for launching great content by dissecting examples and applying best practices. He also points to a few helpful tools that save time and enhance quality.
7 Lessons Learned While Content Marketing for an Early-Stage Startup
By Sean Smith
Startups are pretty much the quintessential underdogs of business. They must attract attention from beta testers and investors, while supplying a solution (preferably revenue generating) that fills a gap in the market. Sean Smith is gave startups a leg up with his post of 7 lessons learned while practicing content marketing for the early startup Spectafy.
I believe the best lessons are learned through experience, which makes this blog especially valuable to those of us who are either part of a startup or were hired by one. Thankfully, Sean made these mistakes already, so we don’t have to. Although this entire blog is angled towards early-stage startups, the lessons hold value for any stage business conducting content marketing.
7 Landing Page Flaws That Kill Your Conversions (and How to Fix Them)
By Neil Patel
Think of landing page flaws as a deadly poison designed to kill your conversions. A flaw is anything that distracts web visitors from completing a goal conversion, such as issues with color usage, copy, forms, etc. Once you’ve discovered the flaw, it’s then time to find a solution. Lucky for us, Neil Patel published a well-designed infographic on not one or two, but 7 landing page flaws that cause failed conversions. Check it out, then have some one-on-one time with your landing pages. Be sure to note your present conversion rate before implementing changes, so you can measure impact.
Hopefully, these blogs add some value to your current efforts and future plans. See you back here next Monday!
