AC Transit avoids the "build it and they will come" mistake to which many companies and organizations fall prey. They know that simply offering bus service and implementing technology is just the beginning to motivating Bay Area residents to take the bus regularly.  They also prove that traditional outdoor advertising can still work brilliantly at the right time and place.  This is targeted, visual content marketing at its best.

The San Francisco Bay area boasts excellent public transit systems in the city itself and in surrounding counties. AC Transit is notable not only for a well-run system, but for its effectiveness in marketing the benefits of public transit to its passengers.

AC Transit is the third-largest bus-only transit system in California, serving over 400 square miles of the East Bay.  Every weekday, over 230,000 people ride their fleet of nearly 800 buses.  They run buses on 105 routes with more than 6500 stops.

Even better, they do a great job of marketing all those buses, stops, and routes to current and future passengers.

We have already written about their wonderful online marketing campaign that paints such a compelling picture of the benefits of bus travel. AC Transit  created ACT for Me as “Your Guide to the Future of Public Transit.”  They illustrate why AC Transit should be an integral part of your life by sharing a creative range of content—from user-generated videos, to a travel savings calculator, to a discussion of community and environment benefits, and the exciting future of transit. Here’s A Public Agency That Really Understands Content Marketing.

Now they are adding even more value for their customers and continuing their effective campaign in a brand-new way.

Helping Passengers First by Adding Smart Transit Technology—and Then by  Enticing Them with Smart Targeted Marketing

AC Transit committed to NextBus to improve bus travel for their millions of annual passengers.  This system tells riders exactly when the next bus will arrive—and can even send arrival alerts so passengers never miss a bus.  However, they didn’t assume that every rider–or potential rider–would be aware of this new technology nor understand how NextBus could help them

To make the most of their NextBus implementation, they have recently added advertising to their bus shelters.  Now, even passersby get the message about how easy it is to use public transit and to stay on time.  The bus stop ads illustrate that it’s easy to know when the next bus will arrive by using NextBus technology. They use an image of a rider using a smart phone to access bus data with an additional close-up image of a smart phone and showing a NextBus prediction. Of course, they include the appropriate web address to use so that riders can access the NextBus data immediatel

In this way, AC Transit helps current riders to improve their bus riding experience while providing an easy-to-understand marketing message for folks who may be just beginning to think about taking the bus on a regular basis.

Even in Northern California, it can be difficult to get drivers out of their cars and onto the bus. But AC  Transit is doing a stellar job of marketing that is very likely to make that transit transition seem like a very smart idea .

Too many websites lack effective headlines. In fact, many have no headlines at all.  This void violates the first commandment of content marketing: “Think Like a Publisher.” 

That commandment covers a lot of ground, but let’s just focus on the all important headline. Unless you have time to go back to school, you can learn plenty from legendary print and online publications like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and yes, in its own unique way, the New York Post.

The purpose of a headline is simple: To make your visitors want to read the story that follows. Your headline must just explain enough so that readers correctly and eagerly anticipate content that follows. The right headline will then intrigue visitors enough to jump into the story.

It doesn’t matter that your site covers a niche that only some people care about. Your headlines must still entice those targeted visitors into reading your stories.

We can learn a lot from some of the best practitioners such as the Times, the Journal, and the Post. I have selected recent headlines that illustrate key elements for those of us who aren’t trained journalists—but who must nonetheless capture our readers’ attention whenever they visit us online.

Essential elements to emulate in the headlines that follow:

1. They tell just enough of the story so readers know what to expect if they continue reading.
2. They appeal to readers likely to have an interest in the story.
3. They are brief—longest 12 words; shortest 3 words; most 4 to 5 words
4. They get to the point. You don’t have to do much guessing about the topic and why you might care.
5. Some are clever or amusing, but not at the expense of meaning. In fact, a straightforward headline may be just fine for many topics.
6. When appropriate, they identify the key player(s) and/ or the key issues that the story covers. For example:
1. Key players–
1. Toyota,
2. US Hockey,
3. young smokers,
4. US banks,
5. Wal-Mart
2. Key issues—
1. Toyota safety problem,
2. US hockey victory,
3. curbing health care costs
4. plunging consumer confidence

How do the headlines on your website or blog measure up to the pros?

New York Times

• Toyota Official Says Recall May Not Fully Solve Safety Problem
• No Brownies at Bake Sales, but Doritos May Be O.K.
• French Ad Shocks, but Will It Stop Young Smokers?
• U.S. Men’s Hockey Victory Only a Bit Player on NBC
• Movie Review: In an Ever-Changing New York, Falling in Love May Be the Only Constant

Wall Street Journal

• Small Businesses Seek More Action to Curb Health-Care Costs
• Consumer Confidence Plunges
  
• Number of Problem U.S. Banks on the Rise
• Wal-Mart Buys Online Movie Service
• Credit-Card Fees: the New Traps

New York Post

• Don’t laugh: Curling is no joke
• Tiger’s ’sorry’ statement a real bogey: experts
• Police: Irate NY man crushed 30 cars
• Burning mad over tan tax

How do your headlines measure up? Do you have any headlines on your key pages? Do you have enough headlines? Give your site a critical assessment.  When you optimize the quality of your headlines, you’ll delight both your readers and the search engines.  You’ll improve readership, ranking, and results.

Headline feedback requested:

Please send me your favorite examples of great headlines—and why you love them.  Or send some examples of really bad headlines—and why they suck.

After all, the newsletter has a relatively finite reach, even online.  Think beyond this single content product.  You can dramatically increase the impact of your content marketing by thoughtful repurposing of the information and resources you developed in order to create the newsletter itself.

Here are 7 ways to extend the reach of your content far beyond the circulation of that print publication.  None of these require significant incremental expense. But they will consistently deliver dramatic increases in the reach of your content to prospective customers—and the impact it has on them.

1. Be certain that each newsletter story links to a dedicated page on your website or blog. You want your readers to find their way easily to your online home so they can discover lots more about your company, its products, and its people.  Your hyperlinked newsletter articles make the natural content connection.  In addition, try to link to more related stories on your site or blog from the original article.

2. Record audio and video of interviews for your newsletter for later repurposing. Post videos of interviews to YouTube and other targeted video portals specific to your industry. Upload audio to your website and blog.  Research podcast directories that may be relevant to your industry. Many of us would rather watch or listen to critical content.

3. Develop a news release schedule before your newsletter comes out. Target three or four key topics that affect your customers and the industry (based on the newsletter content). The release link should take them to the newsletter subscription page. Consider offering a free whitepaper or report as an incentive.

4. Discuss the newsletter and its content on your business blog. Post some of the key findings/issues. If you don’t have a blog, it’s high time you started one to connect to your customers.

5. Sent out news releases through a keyword-optimized service such as PRWeb. Make sure that they really are newsworthy. You’ll be surprised at your reach beyond your static newsletter readership. You’ll be picked up in the blogosphere and even by traditional reporters who are always looking for news stories.
Remember, news releases are for much more than getting press; they are for building key links and for helping bloggers and influencers find your site. Industry bloggers will be key to extending the reach and impact of your newsletter.

5. Continue the news release program after your newsletter is released, pushing the audience to  videos, an eBook, or key articles.  Your newsletter content can still be the foundation for newsworthy stories weeks or sometimes months after it hits the virtual street.

6. Be sure to make RSS feeds available for your newsletter and for all of your web content. This is an easy and free way of syndicating your news stories that will extend your newsletter subscriber base dramatically.

7. Be sure each article integrates social media sharing capabilities so that enthusiastic readers can tell your stories to their colleagues and friends on Facebook and Twitter.  If you’re lucky, a great article may go viral and be spread across the web by enthusiasts who value and want to share your content.

8. Provide something remarkable and different on your website or blog for download. This does two things: 1) continues the conversation with your current customers, or 2) gives you information on prospects so you can begin a conversation with them. Something remarkable may be a free eBook about the 10 trends in your industry, or a free white paper on a new, cutting-edge technology. Keep the sales pitch out. Seek only to educate at this point.

This lame attempt at artificial online intelligence was amusing, but appalling.

I was awake late one night not too long ago and wound up on a marketing product site that didn’t want to let me go. Up popped the following dialogue between the fictional Lacey and my canine alter ego.  Her enthusiasm for her product never flagged in spite of my devious doggy replies.

See if you’re smarter at spotting a prevaricating PC pooch than ‘Lacey’ was in this actual dialogue (or dogalogue).

Woof, indeed. 

Penton’s shift to online only for Welding Design & Fabrication symbolizes the decline of traditional media.  At the same time, Miller Electric shows just how powerful content marketing can be as a replacement for traditional publishing—even when publishers take their acts to the web.

Penton’s print magazine launched in 1959 when Eisenhower was President, Sputnik had just gone into orbit, and most TVs were black and white. After decades of success, the print edition of Welding Design & Fabrication succumbed to fundamental changes in buyer behavior and vanishing ad dollars.  In fact, only an association publication remains in print.

Print pubs are perishing across the B2B landscape as advertisers and readers flee. What’s happening at Penton is happening everywhere. You may regret the demise of B2B print as do I, but you cannot bring it back to life. You can no more expect a return to publishing days gone by than you can to poodle skirts and hula hoops.

In most niche markets, only one or two publications are likely to survive. This print apocalypse would have posed tough marketing challenges just 10 years ago, because B2B buyers still relied primarily on print for their information. Thus, sending a message to those buyers meant either PR or advertising campaigns aimed at welding or whatever targeted magazines delivered the right set of customers. Today, those buyers have moved online.

Just Going Online is Necessary but not Sufficient to Solve the Publishing Problem

Penton promised great things for the online version of Welding Design & Fabrication in their news release, “We are excited about the opportunity to focus our efforts online and trust our readers will look forward to the enhanced online features and solutions we will be launching in the near future to better support their operations.”

But, as my friend and former Penton exec, Bob Rosenbaum pointed out, “A focus on ‘product introductions, as well as increased participation by thought leaders, vendors and suppliers throughout the industry’ is shorthand for a reduction on spending for original content.“ He added that “This move makes sense only in the context of cutting expenses. Readers don’t want this, and while advertisers in the market are looking for creative digital products, they will view this as a last gasp. And they will flee.”

In fact, the current site seems to bear out Bob’s concern:

• Its lead news item is 15 days old as of January 29
• the only event it shows is 4 days past as of January 29
• It has a link to webcasts, but they appear to date back to 2007
• it doesn’t produce its own videos and those they show appear to be vendor infomercials
• its educational products are provided by ToolingU.com and available to anybody without going to Penton.

Of course, as unfortunate as this disappointing effort is for the future of Penton, it is equally problematic for marketers who need to connect to buyers in a meaningful way.  If Welding Design & Fabrication loses relevance online, how can marketers reach and influence their buyers efficiently?

There is a sound content marketing solution, but it requires businesses to replace the role of traditional publishers. Those early to market with the best solutions will benefit the most—and possibly lock out late comers. Miller Electric shows us the way.

Smart Business are Becoming the B2B Media—No longer out of Choice But out of Necessity.

Millerwelds.com shows what business can and must do from now on to replace the role traditional media in the marketing mix. We have written extensively about them online, Yes, Content Marketing Can Make Welding Cool!  and in our book, Get Content Get Customers. But, a single current example illustrates how their content beats the Penton online welding effort. They produce a host of very useful and practical videos that instruct users on a broad range of welding topics.

Here’s one example:

Although there is a brief mention of a Miller product, this video is all about best welding practices.

Penton lags way behind Miller not only in videos, but also in how-to information, interactive buying guides, and easily accessible content.  They prove that a business can out publish a publisher.

You may not have the resources that Miller can leverage, but by studying their approach to their customers, you will certainly be inspired to start thinking and acting like a publisher. That’s critical,because soon you will have few realistic alternatives to effective content marketing.

Guest post from Kathleen Taylor, APR, President of the Southwest Florida chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association offers 4 top takeaways from their January 2010 Social Media Cafe.   Her report from the seminar illustrates that social media is beginning to permeate PR even in a relatively small market such as the Naples/Ft. Myers Fl area.

By Kathleen Taylor, APR

"The wisdom’s in the room. Make a concerted effort to learn from those around you," said Butch Ward from Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, FL, as he spoke with a crowd of public relations professionals at the January 2010 Social Media Café.  Butch and three fellow experts shared new ways of including social media tactics in our public relations practices.

The Poynter Institute describes itself as “a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders.” The Institute’s interest in how PR or “business communication” professionals practice exemplifies the social media requirement  to reach beyond the way we’ve always done things. As Butch reminded the audience, we are all learning together as we explore the new  social media sandbox. Fortunately for all of us, not everything is new and unfamiliar.

In fact, as we expand our minds to embrace new technology and new methods, the best of traditional public relations and marketing principles still apply.  Moreover, even new elements such as business blogging don’t need to be intimidating.

Here are 4 useful tips from the Social Media Café seminar that will make even reluctant marketing professionals comfortable about  jumping on board the social media train before it has left the station:

1. Research, planning, implementation, and evaluation: These fundamentals still apply to social media.

Don’t be tempted by the deceptive simplicity of going social. Some companies jump right in with little or no knowledge of why they want to be there. Don’t abandon the traditional wisdom of defining goals and calculating the plan. Before diving in, consider what you want to talk about and which social media connection can be the most beneficial. Are your customers already participating on this platform? Do you want to build your brand in a different market? Not all Social media sites serve the same purpose, and many are industry-specific. Companies will typically benefit more from a social media venture that fits them strategically. Social media is continuously evolving, and it can serve a multitude of purposes for a company; just don’t let the extent of your reasoning be “because everyone else is doing it.”

2. Blog posts don’t need to be long or fancy to be useful and popular. Just know your subject matter, and give people what they need to know.

Your business blog can provide timely and valuable insights to your customers about your industry, on current events, and on key market trends. Don’t be intimidated because plain and simple writing will work just fine when combined with the authenticity and transparency your customers demand. Your business will benefit from a blog because you give customers reasons to keep coming back. Providing a detailed, updated communications with your audience makes your company  both more approachable and more valuable to customers. Equally important is the fact that regular, relevant blog activity that attracts and keeps a regular following can boost your Google Web site ranking.

3. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million!

Practically from the moment the moving picture was invented, audiences were captivated. In recent years, YouTube has captured our attention with millions of users count on it for news, entertainment and seemingly countless cute kitty home movies (Doubt me? I dare you to search for “cute kitties” on YouTube.). Research by eMarketer shows that there is a HUGE audience watching online video. Now, it’s your turn to put video to work in attracting that vast universe. From promotional videos, how-tos, and testimonials to commercials and interviews with company officials, you’ll find dozens of opportunities to get your customers to pay much more attention to what you have to say (Here are 2 recent posts the may be helpful as you explore the possibilities: 10 Ways to Win with Online Video and 6 Secrets to Making Online Video Work for Small Business )

4. Talk about ethical decision making within a social media context before a crisis presents itself.

Pretending something will never become a problem is a bit like triple-dog daring Murphy’s Law.  Your limited time is better spent considering sticky social media situations in advance than to find yourself in a crisis without a plan.
A case in point: As both professional and personal participation grows in social media networking, there are ethical concerns on both the part of the employee and the company when it comes to social media and the freedom it allows. If unfavorable commentary about your company were broadcast through an employee’s personal site, would his or her job be at risk? Are employees already aware of the expectations? Have a plan. Be proactive and have these conversations about social media ethics with your employees and partners now.

Contributing presenters to the Florida Public Relations Association’s Social Media Café on January 22, 2010 at the Royal Palm Yacht Club in Fort Myers, FL included: Butch Ward of Poynter Institute, Michelle Catin of rbb Public Relations, Chris Griffith of Keller Williams Elite Realty, and Michelle K. Gardner of John Scott Daily Florida Institute of Government at the University of Central Florida. You can read more about the presentations at the blog: http://www.fpraswflchapter.blogspot.com/

More on guest blogger, Kathleen Taylor:

Kathleen Taylor, APR is the president of the Southwest Florida chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association. She currently works as a public relations consultant for a variety of clients ranging from real estate to healthcare. When she’s not penning public relations prose at
her computer, she’s discovered that logging miles in her running shoes provides great cardio and generates great ideas. You can follow Kathleen on Twitter @KatTayls, and learn more about her profession background at http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/taylorkathleen.

Because all of us are smarter than one of us, you will find lots of value in the new e-book, Key Content Marketing Trends and Predictions  for  2010– which even includes my own fearless prediction on content marketing. The genius behind this e-book is Ambal Balakrishnan. She has turned crowd sourcing into an art form.

Ambal has recruited 39 experts and given them an opportunity to display their knowledge. She adds her own value by synthesizing the best of those 39 predictions to come up with her own top 10+1.

Aside from its intrinsic merit, this e-book is a perfect example of content marketing at work. It delivers relevant and valuable content for marketers that illustrates how savvy its creator, Ambal, is about content marketing. Thus, it gives her instant credibility among potential clients.

Here are her top five trend takeaways synthesized from her 39 contributors:

1. Interruptive, "tell-and-sell" marketing is a thing of the past.
2. Don’t follow the crowd.
3. Get visual.
4. Grow more ears.
5. Think about engagement.

There’s plenty of substance behind those brief bullet points, but you’ll have to download the free e-book to access that terrific content. Click on this link to bring your content marketing knowledge up to speed.

Why this e-book represents content marketing at its very best

Key Content Marketing Trends and Predictions  for  2010 has plenty of intrinsic value for marketers. But that’s just the beginning.

What I really love is that Ambal is helping other content marketers with their content marketing. Needless to say, it is in our collective best interests to assist Ambal to promote the heck out of her ebook.

We will happily promote the e-book to our own networks of readers and fans.  Moreover, this e-book is easy to talk about and to explain to fellow marketers—who, in turn, are likely to spread the word. Best of all, she has provided us links to every possible preconfigured tool and image so that we can share it on our websites, our blogs, our eNewsletters or on Twitter. For example, the image I’m using in this blog post comes from a direct link that Ambal provided. She made it very easy for me to help her and to help myself in the process

These critical content marketing components optimize the probability that it will become a pervasive Internet presence within a matter of hours, days or weeks.

That’s pretty smart content marketing.

Thanks to Lou Bortone, video marketing guru for this guest post

In an over-crowded and hyper-competitive marketplace, video marketing can help you break through the clutter and deliver your message in a powerful and memorable way. Thanks to YouTube, and inexpensive, easy-to-use camera options like webcams, Flip Video cameras and iPhones, online video is now well within the grasp of just about anyone.

However, just because creating video is more accessible than ever, that doesn’t mean we all know how or where to use it. As with any marketing tool, you’ve got to start with your goals for video. Your video marketing objectives may include greater visibility, enhanced credibility or expert status, higher search engine rankings, increased brand awareness or all of the above!

By beginning with the end in mind, you can decide on how best to use your video to achieve your objectives. To give you some ideas for diving in, here are ten great ways to use online video:

1. Put a “welcome” video on your website – Engage your web visitors the moment they arrive on your home page with a brief welcome message. Let your prospects see that there’s a real person behind your company. This can establish an immediate connection and quickly build trust and rapport.
2. Record and post client video testimonials – Don’t leave home without your Flip cam – or any portable camera that you can take to events and conferences. Use networking opportunities to tape brief client or colleague testimonials. Video testimonials are far more powerful than text alone.
3. Produce a “Quick Tips” series for YouTube – By posting video tips, you’re enhancing your expert status within your niche, and establishing yourself as the “go-to” person for your specialty.
4. Create video tutorials to demonstrate your products or services – These training videos don’t have to be elaborate. Just look at the success of the simple, but compelling “In Plain English” series done by the folks at CommonCraft using only paper cut-outs. Use Camtasia, Jing or even PowerPoint to bring your tutorials to life.
5. Place a “pitch” video on your sales web page – Online marketers who depend heavily on sales pages are facing challenges engaging visitors and maintaining their attention. Putting a video front and center on your sales page and can break through and deliver your message in a much more compelling way.
6. Launch a live webcast with Ustream.tv or TinyChat.com – Web resources like Ustream.tv make it very easy (and surprisingly low-tech) for anyone with a webcam to create their own TV channel on the web.
7. Tape your event or speaking engagement – Weather you’re a speaker, author or occasional guest panelist, be sure to tape your live event so you can use it as a demo video on your website. Later, you can repackage the content as a CD or DVD product for sale.
8. Start Vlogging – If you’re doing regular blog posts (and you should be!) switch things up with an occasional video blog or “vlog” post.
9. Send a Video Press Release – Because video releases are still relatively novel, you can really get attention and get past gatekeepers by sending a video message instead of, or in addition to, a traditional press release.
10. Create an “instant” photo/video montage – This may be the lowest hanging fruit of all the video production options. You can use “done for you” video sites such as Animoto.com or OneTrueMedia.com to create professional videos using just photos, music and text. I use OneTrueMedia often to create holiday video cards, birthday video cards and more!

Whatever way you choose to use online video, the important thing is to get started. It’s never been easier and – if you want to stay top of mind with your customers – it’s never been more important!

Check out Lou’s informative video below:

Lou Bortone is a long-time marketing consultant and branding coach who helps entrepreneurs build breakthrough brands on the Internet. As an online video branding specialist and award-winning marketer, Lou provides services such as video production, brand development coaching, creative support and video coaching.

Lou is a former television executive who worked for E! Entertainment Television and later served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox in Los Angeles. Lou is an author and ghostwriter of six business books, a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach. His website is at: http://www.OnlineVideoBranding.com.

The Geico gecko campaign is an excellent example of effective advertising because it integrates humor with a consistent product benefit message. Nonetheless, it suffers from the same limitations that afflict all advertising:

• It calls out to customers whether or not they want to hear the message. Thus, however amusing, it’s still an example of interruption marketing.
• Because each ad is short, Geico is limited in the amount of information it can convey.
• There is little intrinsic value to the content of the ads. That is, they don’t help Geico customers be more successful or live better lives.
• However amusing, their constant repetition can become annoying even for big fans of Geico like me.
• This is strictly one-way communication that does not enable customer interaction.

Now, however, they have added a powerful content marketing component to their marketing mix.

Geico Jumps on the Mobile Content Marketing Bandwagon with GloveBox™ App

Most of us rarely interact with our own insurance company let alone with other insurance carriers. Now Geico has cleverly added intrinsically valuable content to its GloveBox™ App so that both customers and non-customers will benefit.

Normally, we contact our insurance companies because we have a specific insurance related-problem. Now we are enticed to interact with Geico so that they can help us with the number of car related challenges. 

Here’s the kind of useful mobile content that Geico promises with the content-driven iPhone app:

• Bill Pay & Insurance ID Card(s) – Pay your GEICO auto insurance bill and access your current insurance ID cards from your phone.
• Accident Helper – Take advantage of our Accident Helper which helps put you in contact with emergency services, gives you a place to organize photos and much more.
• Roadside Service – Locator features allow you to find nearby tow services and gas stations…anywhere, anytime. Use your phone’s GPS or enter a location manually, it’s up to you!
• Taxi/Rental Car – Need a taxi to get home from the repair shop or maybe even after a night of fun? Want to rent a car? Our locator will help find what you need in moments.
• Auto How To’s – Our step-by-step instructions can help you jump start a vehicle, change a flat tire or check your tire pressure.

With the GloveBox™ App Geico has gone from an amusing TV commercial that reaches out to us whether we want the interruption or not to a mobile helper that can extricate us from car challenges wherever we happen to be. 

It’s great to know that the Geico gecko has jumped on board the content marketing bandwagon for the benefit of his company and his customers. Crikey! That’s one savvy marketing lizard.

Social media certainly loomed larger in the past 12 months but interest in content marketing strategy accounted for the majority of the most popular posts.

Here is the Cliff’s Notes bullet point version with more detail and links to the full articles following:

• How To Create the All-Important Elevator Speech For Your Presentations and for Your Content Marketing
• 5 Reasons an eBook Should be a Core Component of Your Content Marketing Strategy
• 5 Twitter Tips to Strengthen Your Content Marketing Strategy
• Want to Attract and Retain Great Customers? Become Their Online Content Concierge!
• Six Steps to a Successful Small Business Content Marketing Strategy
• 6 Reasons Why Your Blog Is Your Most Important Social Media Tool
• Why Being Visual Can Bring Beautiful Business Results
• 6 Reasons to Embrace Social Media Today
• Top 10 Lessons Small Businesses Can Takeaway from Smart Content Marketers
• 6 Secrets to Making Online Video Work for Small Business

A more detailed look at the top 10 with links to each complete article is just below.  Kick back and enjoy.

1. How To Create the All-Important Elevator Speech For Your Presentations and for Your Content Marketing
   It is so hard, but so important to explain what it is that you do and how it will benefit the person to whom you are communicating. Not at length.  But so concisely that it can be communicated in less time than it takes an elevator to go up a few floors. And, so compellingly that your listener will remember and repeat it to others. Click to read more.

2. 5 Reasons an eBook Should be a Core Component of Your Content Marketing Strategy
   Of course, I’m assuming that you already have a website and are probably doing some business blogging.  You may also do a regular eNewsletter to inform your customers and prospects about the great content you have created recently online.  Your next step is to create an e-book that targets your ideal customers. Click here to read more.

3. 5 Twitter Tips to Strengthen Your Content Marketing Strategy
   You may be wondering why something as seemingly simple as Twitter causes so much confusion and consternation among business people.
   Perhaps, it best likened to a tool like a hammer which is simultaneously simple and powerful.  After all, a hammer can be used to put up a basic bookshelf or to build an entire home that will house a family for a lifetime. Click here to read more.

4. Want to Attract and Retain Great Customers? Become Their Online Content Concierge!
   Think of yourself as the ultimate knowledge resource like those concierges serving fine hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton or the Four Seasons—But Available 24/7. Click here to read more.
5. Six Steps to a Successful Small Business Content Marketing Strategy
   How to go from clueless to compelling to transform prospects into buyers
   In 2007, the mention of content marketing brought as many blank stares from small business owners as the mention of a website did 10 years before. In fact, in 1997 when we started our small business magazine in Southwest Florida, few owners had websites, let alone an online marketing strategy.
   In 2009, most small businesses do have websites and the term, ‘content marketing,’ has gone from obscure to fashionable. When I say fashionable, I mean that the usage of the phrase has skyrocketed in the past two years. For example, the number of visitors to our website who arrived because they had done a search for ‘content marketing,’ has increased by a factor of 10. Click here to read more.
6. 6 Reasons Why Your Blog Is Your Most Important Social Media Tool
   It’s much more powerful than those young whippersnappers–Twitter and Facebook
   Thanks to free or inexpensive blogging tools, any individual can be on the same technological footing as the New York Times or Business Week.  That may seem relatively obvious to many of you.  What I think is less obvious is that your blog is every bit as much a social media tool as Twitter, Facebook or MySpace.  In fact, I believe that a blog is the most important social media weapon in your arsenal. Click here to read more.
7. Why Being Visual Can Bring Beautiful Business Results
   Inspiration from ‘Visual Blogger’ Mark Smiciklas of Intersection Marketing
   It’s hard to make things easy. And, it’s even harder to be amusing at the same time.
   But the very best visuals take a complex idea or series of connected ideas and make them instantly understandable. Just the right visuals make those ideas even more memorable when they are funny as well. In the case of the Intersection Marketing blog from Mark Smiciklas, he manages to do both consistently. Click here to read more.
8. 6 Reasons to Embrace Social Media Today
   Social media marketing is a trend, not a fad. But,  most small to medium-sized businesses have yet to participate fully and enthusiastically.
   We have just written about a powerful new research study that paints a picture of how thousands of smart companies are already benefiting from the inclusion of social media.  What’s clear from that research is that when we evaluate social media, we are not talking about the marketing longevity equivalent of the hula hoop or the Lambada.
   Social media marketing is here to stay.  Because you want your organization to be here for the long haul as well, you need to move now.  Not next week. Not next month. But now. Click here to read more.
9. Top 10 Lessons Small Businesses Can Takeaway from Smart Content Marketers
   This week, several client meetings reinforced a vital truth:  Content marketing isn’t an arcane theory taught in expensive graduate schools that only billion dollar companies can use. In fact, great  content marketing is much more about brains than big bucks.
   Those client conversations took me back to lessons learned from more than a dozen case studies we featured in Get Content Get Customers. What came through loud and clear was that content marketing requires discipline, patience, and persistence, but it doesn’t require an enormous budget.  Click here to read more.
10. 6 Secrets to Making Online Video Work for Small Business
    Kathy Saenz of Neighborhood America Shares What It Takes to Make Video an Effective Content Marketing Tool
    Even a micro business can use video effectively to communicate with its customers online.
    But, as we amateur carpenters know, you can wind up with a mess instead of a masterpiece unless you understand how to use a potentially powerful tool well.   In that spirit we’re happy to can share with you six terrific tips for using video successfully from talented Southwest Florida professional, Kathy Saenz. Click here to read more.

Thanks to everyone for their support in 2009!