My Blog My Blog

Why Marketers Should Leverage Subject Matter Experts for Audience Growth

Leadership
October 28, 2021/by
Why Marketers Should Leverage Subject Matter Experts for Audience Growth No matter the format, message, or style of online content, everyone's striving to reach the largest possible audience with the best possible content. Making that a reality requires companies to create something that answers an audience's most pertinent questions, is presented in an engaging way, and maybe even offers some new ideas no one's hit on before. As content marketers aim for these goals, one ingredient can distinguish popular content from something that barely gets noticed: the input of a subject matter expert (SME). Partnering with an SME can strengthen content's credibility and value, in turn helping audience growth. In this post, we'll review what a subject matter expert is, how to become one, and why your company should leverage SMEs in your content marketing strategy. Businesses might leverage an SME to integrate new software, fix technical issues, design their website, extract and format data, and provide insight. Additionally, a company may hire a subject matter expert to have on retainer as an ongoing consultant. When that's the case, you might be wondering what that job looks like. Let's dive in below. Subject Matter Expert Job Description While people can become SMEs no matter what their official job title and description are if you're a subject matter expert looking for a job, you might find a job that reads something like this: At ‘Company X', we are looking for a subject matter expert in social media to help...
Read Full Story

What Is Content Intelligence?

Content Planning
October 28, 2021/by
What Is Content Intelligence? All marketers want a content marketing strategy that helps them generate influence and a large audience. Case in point — “how to develop a content marketing strategy” was the fifth most searched question about content marketing in 2020. Unfortunately, no concrete formula will help you generate incredible content with consistent results, yet it is essential to create incredible content with consistent results. Competitive intelligence poses a solution to this issue, yet only 23% of marketers leverage it in their content creation strategy. In this post, discover what content intelligence is, and the benefits that it will bring to marketers leveraging it as a tool to create their own content marketing strategy. It is essentially a GPS that leads you to a high-quality content strategy that drives leads, conversions, and revenue. You don’t have to guess what will be of interest to your audience because the data shows you what performs well with your audience based on market and competitor analysis. Why is content intelligence important? Many marketers use content marketing to communicate with their audiences and draw them in, and content intelligence helps them do so effectively. Some additional benefits include: Generating a deep understanding of your target audience and the type of content they enjoy based on competitor data and analysis. Data from market research helps you create content that is entirely centered around your users and what they enjoy. Gain insight into various content types and how...
Read Full Story

28 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

Content Types
October 21, 2021/by
28 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your product and attracting future customers. But it's easier said than done. In this post, we’ll go over the definition of a case study and the best examples to inspire you. A case study proves how your product has helped other companies by demonstrating real-life results. Not only that, but case studies typically contain quotes by the customer, so it’s not just a marketing advertisement where you praise your own product. Rather, other companies are praising your company — and there’s no stronger marketing material than a verbal recommendation or testimonial. A great case study is also filled with research and stats to back up points made about a project's results. There are myriad ways to use case studies in your marketing strategy. From featuring them on your website to including them on a sales presentation, a case study is a strong, persuasive tool that shows customers why they should work with you — straight from another customer. Writing one from scratch is hard, though, which is why we’ve created a collection of case study templates for you to get started. Fill out the form below to access the free case study templates. There’s no better way to generate more leads than by writing case studies. But without case study examples to draw inspiration from, it can be difficult to write impactful studies that...
Read Full Story

How to Add YouTube Videos to Your Website: A Step-by-Step Guide

Youtube Marketing
October 21, 2021/by
How to Add YouTube Videos to Your Website: A Step-by-Step Guide Video adds value to your website, and the right videos can help drive increased traffic and conversion. As noted by Forbes, users retain 95% of the message when they watch videos compared to just 10 percent by text, making video a great starting point to streamline connection with prospective customers. Your best bet for videos? YouTube. With more than two billion logged-in monthly users, YouTube videos now reach 74% of adults in the United States — so it’s no surprise that the platform is used by almost 90 percent of marketers to drive user interest. Ready to leverage video on your site and capture the growing YouTube marketplace? Here’s a step-by-step guide. The Benefits of Adding Video to Your Website Video rules the digital media marketplace, but popularity alone isn’t enough to drive widespread adoption. In practice, YouTube videos come with key benefits for your site, including: Improved User Engagement As noted above, visitors to your site retain more information when viewing videos than reading text. This makes it possible to drive improved user engagement by creating compelling content they’ll remember long after they leave your site — and will hopefully bring them back again. YouTube also incorporates features to increase engagement, like sharing options and playlists. Reduced User Frustration If users have to scroll through walls of text just to find the basics of your brand or understand your value proposition, chances are they won’t stay...
Read Full Story

Is Blogging Too Saturated? Here’s How To Avoid Failure

Blogging
October 21, 2021/by
Is Blogging Too Saturated? Here’s How To Avoid Failure Want to start a blog but worried that blogging is an oversaturated market? You may be wondering how your blog will stand out amongst numerous ones in the same industry. You may even fear that your blog won’t be successful because you’re unsure how to create a blogging strategy that will make you stand out. You may have even started your blog and are frustrated that you’re not seeing the results you want. In this article, we’re going to break down what you should consider about starting a blog, how to tell if a market is too competitive, and other ways to make your blog stand out. Considerations for Starting a Blog in 2021 Starting a blog may feel like a daunting task. There are many questions around whether your blog will gain traffic and how to put your content in front of your desired audience. The benefits of blogging, however, is a long-term game. Posting to your blog consistently is a fundamental first step. The second step is centering your blog around a specific topic or theme. According to Website Setup, the number of blogs on the internet has reached over 600 million. If you’re looking to start a blog and worry that this number indicates that the blogging market is oversaturated, don’t panic. While blogging may be competitive, there’s a lot of context to consider that can give you an...
Read Full Story

How to Implement a Brand Activation Strategy [+Examples]

Marketing Campaigns
October 19, 2021/by
How to Implement a Brand Activation Strategy Did you know that it takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand? With branding, the goal is to continue making those positive impressions on an ongoing basis. One way to do that is through brand activations. In this post, we'll dive into what brand activations are, how to strategically plan a brand activation, and give you some ideas to inspire your own branding events. While a brand activation is a singular event or campaign that is meant to elevate your brand it shouldn't be confused with ongoing brand strategy. So, what does brand activation strategy look like? Let's dive in now. Brand Activation Strategy Before you get started with planning different brand activation events, it's important to understand the goal of each separate campaign. The best way to plan a strategy is to identify your goals. It could be customer acquisition, user sign-ups, social media engagement, etc. Ultimately you'll want to increase brand awareness, however, narrowing down your goal, even more, will make it measurable and attainable (hello SMART goals). Once you know your goals, you can begin brainstorming various brand activation events or campaigns that you can do to achieve your goals. For instance, let's say your goal is user sign-ups. One brand activation for that goal could be going to a trade show. There you can talk to potential customers and then hopefully sign up users on the spot (depending on your offerings). Once...
Read Full Story

How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide

Content Planning
October 19, 2021/by
How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide Whether you're just starting out with content marketing or you've been using the same approach for a while, it never hurts to revisit your content strategy plan and make sure it's up-to-date, innovative, and engaging for your prospects and customers – no matter when or how they intend to buy. If you're having trouble planning for the upcoming year or need some fresh ideas to include in your plan, read on. In this post, we'll dive into what content strategy is, why your business needs a content marketing plan, and what steps you need to take to create your strategy. Plus, we'll explore some examples of effective content marketing strategies for inspiration. Say your business goals include increasing brand awareness. To achieve this, you might implement a content strategy that focuses on SEO to increase your website's visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive traffic to your products or services. New business owners might assume a content strategy is a nice-to-have, but not necessary early on. However, producing high-quality content can be invaluable in building trust with new audiences and succeeding in the long haul. In essence, a good content strategy is the foundation of your Attract and Delight stages in a buyer's journey that follows the inbound marketing framework. Along with attracting prospects to your brand, you can leverage a content strategy for sales enablement and customer satisfaction. Plus, with 70%...
Read Full Story

The Best Free Business Budget Worksheets

marketing budget
October 16, 2021/by
The Best Free Business Budget Worksheets Keeping track of expenses as a business owner can be taxing. You have to document every detail to make sure you stay within your spending limits while promoting your products or services, delivering on promises, and developing new offerings. A business budget worksheet can help you stay organized. Having a template to work from will cut down on the time it takes to write down the details of a budget, help you prioritize projects and allocate resources to get them done, and reveal trends of the money you spend versus the results achieved. Depending on the complexity of your company, you may need to oversee a number of individual budgets while managing the overall spend. The business budget worksheets below range from specific templates — from product marketing to website redesign — to comprehensive ones that cover all aspects of your marketing plan. Let's dive in so you can take control of your budget like never before. How to Write a Business Budget 1. Use Budget Templates Creating a business budget from scratch can be overwhelming—you need to capture the details of each month's projected budget, actual spend, and the cumulative total of each. If you've never written a business budget or are looking for a specific marketing worksheet, you can start with HubSpot's Marketing Budget Templates. This download includes eight well-designed and detailed templates to easily manage your finances, with options for Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. A quick overview explains how...
Read Full Story

What is a Data Warehouse? Everything You Need to Know

RevOps
October 16, 2021/by
What is a Data Warehouse? Everything You Need to Know As a marketer or business analyst, you know that data is an important part of your success. And the way you store and organize your data will either make your job easier or harder. There are many ways that you can store data, one of them being data warehousing. This is an excellent option for businesses that need to look at a large amount of data from multiple sources. Today, let's learn what a data warehouse is and how it can help you analyze your data. With a data warehouse, you can perform queries and look at historical data over time to improve decision-making. The main people in a company who will use data warehouses are data scientists and business analysts. A data warehouse will get data from multiple sources, including relational databases or transactional systems. To access the data, analysts will use business intelligence tools to analyze, data mine, make visualizations, and conduct reporting. As data continues to evolve, it's imperative for businesses to use data to stay competitive. What is the ultimate outcome of a data warehouse? The ultimate outcome of a data warehouse is to extract insights, monitor performance, and improve decision-making. By using reports, dashboards, and visualizations, analysts have all the tools they need to make the right decisions. Benefits of Using a Data Warehouse 1. Historical data. One of the main benefits of data warehouses is the ability to look at a large...
Read Full Story