Here are the stories that grabbed our attention this week. We hope you find some inspiration before you head out to enjoy the weekend.
- What Can Tinder Teach Us About SEO and Content Marketing? What inspires someone to “swipe right” on your content? If you don’t know the answer, you’ll want to make a coffee date with this blog post, which does a pretty good job of skipping the niceties while pointing out the parallels between a dating profile and mid-funnel content – and even squeezes in a “Masters of None” reference to earn my right swipe. There are five solid takeaways for marketers who want to match their content with the right audience.
- The Democratization of Distrust Is Our Biggest Opportunity: While many of us continue to bemoan the “fake news” economy, this Content Marketing Institute article gives us a more positive spin on trust – anointing trust as both a currency and a metric, revisiting the value of being known as the trusted source, and recognizing the real value of a trusting audience. While our President may lie with impunity, it’s more complicated for our brands. We must earn our clients’ trust in order to succeed with content marketing.
- Who in Your Company Should Contribute to Your Content Marketing Program? The glib answer: Everyone. The reason: You want to leverage every role’s expertise to construct a compelling content strategy. The article’s author stops short of suggesting that every accountant and salesperson should be contributing blog posts and video content, but she does make the case that every client-facing role in the company has the potential to help the marketing team understand the questions customers ask and the kind of language they use and respond to. Smart marketers will continue to mine their teams – everyone from customer service reps to the C-suite – for valuable insights to spin into compelling content.
- Email Marketing Cheat Sheet [Infographic]: No, it’s not as “sexy” as a flashy video or an interactive e-book. But email is still incredibly important to a successful marketing strategy. Did you know that 72% of consumers prefer it as their primary means of communicating with brands? You’ll find lots of similar gems in this colorful infographic – including tips on building an effective list for lead gen, the three components of a successful personalization strategy and which components you should be testing on a regular basis.
- Amazon Is Launching a Home Makeover Show Featuring YouTube Stars That’s Designed to Sell Products: Has anyone started a blog with daily updates on what marketers can learn from Amazon yet? There’s no shortage of content for it, and here’s yet another primer from Mr. Bezos. Amazon has made successful inroads with video, and has pioneered many forms of influencer marketing and they obviously know a thing or two about content curation. This latest mashup leverages the power of past successes to launch a new sales vehicle for its products. The show is intended to serve as entertainment, but it will feature products that viewers can immediately add to their shopping carts.
Want more B2B insights? You can save up to $800 off your pass to B2B Marketing Exchange (formerly Content2Conversion) at the gorgeous Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona, if you register now. The resort is stunning, the company is fabulous, and the access to marketing leaders, experts, breakthrough trends and advice is unparalleled. Check out what previous attendees say about what you’ll gain from #B2BMX.
