We’re a couple weeks out from Hodges’ first-ever Facebook live event and still I find it hard to watch the archived video. Don’t get me wrong, the event exceeded our expectations and the feedback from viewers was amazing. In fact, someone even recognized Jon at a downtown restaurant and asked him if he was the guy from the Facebook live event…in our minds, we’re stars! The reality, however, is that it’s hard to watch and listen to recorded versions of ourselves – we’re our own worst…
Read MoreAs we’ve preached here, here, here and likely a dozen other times, understanding your audience, their goals and the obstacles that stand in their way is essential intelligence that organizations need in order to create relevant content. Not only will this exercise help you create better content, which most marketers believe is the key element to a successful content marketing program, it also has the potential to drive revenue and conversions. But how do you ensure that your audience intelligence — the prospect and customer insights…
Read MoreOwning your story, which we covered in our previous post, is one thing. Telling it consistently month after month with a fresh and interesting perspective is another. Based on our experience, the reason most owned content strategies fail – or at least don’t reach their full potential – is because not enough resources and time were devoted to the many steps and dimensions that are part and parcel to an effective content strategy. Build the infrastructure A critical first step is identifying subject-matter experts (SMEs),…
Read MoreWhile there is, and likely will always be, a place for media relations and traditional news delivery, the audience for this type of information is shrinking. According to Pew Research Center’s State of the News Media Report, 2015 circulation numbers in the newspaper industry alone were down 7 percent from the prior year. Compounding that, advertising – in both print and digital – was down 8 percent. The implications for individual publications is staggering with staff being slashed, the elimination of entire sections, and in…
Read MoreLooking at the most successful projects I’ve worked on to date, two common threads emerge: a focused goal and a clear definition for what success looks like. Whether it’s driving web traffic among a target demographic or increasing a client’s Facebook community, a clearly defined objective makes all the difference. But that’s often easier said than done. Figuring out where to start and understanding how to get there typically require some upfront strategizing that can make or break your ultimate success. Know Your End Goal…
Read MoreFor those of you who know me well, at some point you may have heard me talk about my childhood dream — to become the next Katie Couric. It seemed very realistic when I was in middle school. After all, she did have Virginia connections. I sincerely pursued the idea through college. I interned at Henrico County School’s TV station (and if you can find the tape, I seriously abused the term “excellent” during my interviews), attended the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and…
Read MoreUnderstanding your audience is a central piece of the marketing puzzle. It’s the legend for your marketing strategy, guiding what you say to whom and where. But how do you begin unlocking those answers and building a meaningful program that truly benefits your customers and earns their business? Identify your perfect match We start by asking senior leadership to help us define the attributes of an ideal customer. There are many definitions of “ideal,” but in most cases, we define an audience as desirable because…
Read MoreIn today’s social landscape, reaching any audience type can be tough. Most platforms require that you spend ad dollars to reach people who are not already part of your network and recommend you set aside an additional budget to ensure reach to your existing community. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several clients ask for best practices for increasing reach and each time my answer has been, have you considered an influencer campaign? What is an influencer? So let’s start at the basics. What…
Read MoreFor many websites, gated content is a central piece of their content marketing program because of its one of the most effective tools to capture relevant emails for future prospecting. But how exactly do you identify which information is valuable – or even alluring – enough to seal behind a gate? What is gated content? Gated content is any content that requires completing some sort of form to access. Sometimes it's as simple as providing an e-mail address. Other times, more information is required –…
Read MoreLead generation and mobile are two of the biggest trends in online marketing. So it’s no surprise Facebook is examining how it can change its ad platform to better marry the two and mirror capabilities already offered by Twitter. Recently Facebook announced it has developed its own version of lead-gen cards—native ads that allow users to download offers directly from the platform without filling out a form or leaving the site. So what does this mean for those of us interested in lead generation? The…
Read MoreJust hours after our most recent Hodges Starters event (where we discussed the importance of supporting your content with ad dollars), Facebook announced its latest tweak to the newsfeed algorithm—part of which was yet another blow to organic reach for brands. Ok, so maybe the timing was sheer coincidence, but the gist of the announcement is that the social network is listening to its user base (read: trying to stay relevant) and will begin prioritizing friend content, which users say they want to see more…
Read MoreYou’ve heard us say it before…the days of reaching large portions of your social fanbase for free are largely over. But it’s not all bad news. While it costs money to reach social users – people both within and outside your current fanbase— each of the major social platforms now offer audience targeting tools that will allow you to reach qualified contacts at a reasonable price. You no longer have to rely solely on demographic and interest targeting. Instead, you can send targeted messages to…
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