Overcoming 10 Content Marketing Challenges

Content Marketers are passed the very privileged and powerful responsibility of becoming an extension of a particular brand. Not only are Content Marketers responsible for research and ideation, but creating compelling content that works, and getting this content seen by the right pairs of eyes is a crucial part of the job. This multifaceted and exciting role comes with its very own set of challenges and obstacles which must be overcome daily in order to drive success.

1. Being An Effective Brand Ambassador

With this responsibility comes the duty for Content Marketers to align themselves completely with a particular brand, its messaging, ethos and values in order to produce content that works and accomplish the specific goals it has set out to achieve.

Challenge

Whether it’s Social Media management or content promotion, knowing the brand inside out, and being an extension of a brand is key to being a successful Content Marketer.

Content Marketers are therefore tasked with a very real and clear challenge, becoming an effective brand voice whilst achieving established Content Marketing goals as a means of facilitating the entire SEO process.

Tip

A clear and concise balancing act must be achieved here, and Content Marketers must have the ability to shout about a brand without sounding like a broken record.

2. Strategising

The first step of developing a tailored content plan is strategy.

Challenge

Content Marketers must address these crucial questions which set the very foundations of their tailored Content Marketing strategy:

• Which type of content should be created?
• What is the goal for that specific type of content?
• Who is the intended audience(s) for that content?
• How will it be produced and promoted?
• Where will it be marketed?
• When will it be published?

Tip

Addressing these questions at the start of any campaign, Content Marketers are tasked with regularly mapping out strategies which are completely tailored to a specific brand and which encapsulate that client’s overall goals.

3. Ideation

Challenge

Think of an effective idea…go! It doesn’t quite work like that in the world of Content Marketing. Yes creativity is a prerequisite for the role, but ideation and thinking of that exciting content idea on your client’s behalf can sometimes prove to be slightly tricky.

With this in mind, there are numerous techniques Content Marketers use to come up with content ideas which are completely targeted and help achieve the client’s goals whatever they may be.

Tip

Whether it’s increasing traffic, social visits, generating brand awareness or conversions, Content Marketers will not be close to achieving these unless highly targeted and considered content creation ideas have been explored.

Brainstorming methods to assist with content ideation can include:

• Yearly events – Creating content around key dates, events and seasonality related to the specific industry.
• Mind mapping – Mind mapping is an effective way to develop an idea starting from one central theme.
• What? Who? Why? When? Where? and How? – Formulate sustainable ideas focussed on answering these key questions.
• Picture association- This method can assist Content Marketers to come up with inspiring ideas.
• Problems and solutions – Create content which solves problems by offering audiences a solution.
• Word association – This method is a highly creative method of generating content ideas.

Check out the blog post: 8 Effective Content Ideation Methods for more information on how to create compelling content ideas.

4. Retaining an Audience

Challenge

Successful Content Marketers not only create and distribute useful content to a targeted audience, but retain that audience throughout the duration of a Content Marketing campaign and beyond.

Supplying an engaged audience base with consistently valuable content is no easy task, but one that can be achieved through conducting thorough research into audience types associated with a particular brand.

Tip

Understanding that audience’s behaviour and really drilling down to what makes a certain audience tick and how they behave and share content is key in retaining an audience.

Understanding your target audience inside out is the key to delivering them what they want, retaining them on a long-term basis and ultimately influencing that audience’s behavioural habits.

5. Choose The Right Promotion Techniques

Challenge

Choosing the most appropriate content promotion techniques which align to a particular brand and industry are vital elements to Content Marketing.

When it comes to content promotion, is it advocated to channel this through a selection of owned, earned and paid media channels.

It is therefore the responsibility of the Content Marketer to decipher which channels would be most suitable for the client and decide which methods align closest to the overall goals of the Content Marketing campaign.

Tip

Read the blog post: Content What? A Beginner’s Guide To Content Marketing to find out more about owned, earned and paid media promotion techniques.

6. Resonating With Several Generations

Challenge

It goes without saying that the digital world is made up of an eclectic mix of audiences of varying ages.

The scope to tap into multiple generations is evident, however, Content Marketers must create content which not only resonates with these various age groups, but completely mirrors that age group’s expectations, values and experiences.

Tip

Creating compelling content is one thing, but harnessing an awareness of how various generations consume content and share it with others is key in being effective in today’s highly competitive digital marketplace.

Check out James’ video on marketing to Generation Z as well as his slides on marketing to young people in general.

7. A Happy Marriage Of Content And Context

Challenge

Writing content for contents sake is a common trap that Content Marketers could all-too often find themselves falling into.

Tip

It is imperative that Content Marketers immerse themselves in a certain industry, and create compelling, engaging and highly relevant content related to that specific industry.

8. Being An Effective Storyteller

Challenge

A crucial aspect of Content Marketing is the ability to outreach to key industry influencers and sell an idea to promote content.

Cue effective storytelling. It is one thing picking up the phone and contacting a PR or a journalist, but a completely different scenario being able to confidently sell a story to these key industry influencers and publishers.

Tip

Being an effective storyteller from the get-go, and having the ability to attract attention from influencers is a challenge Content Marketers face on a regular basis. But being able to attract attention and promote the unique qualities relating to the content and its offering is an effective way to overcome this challenge when it comes to content promotion.

9. Flexibility

Challenge

Yes, Content Marketers create well thought out and tailored content strategies, but in their day-to-day practises, they are faced with alterations and changes that need to be implemented at the last minute.

Perhaps this is due to a reaction to a breaking industry news story relating to a particular brand, hype on social media, or perhaps an amendment to a press release, change is inevitable and it is the job of the Content Marketer to not only be fully engaged but aware of these changes and prepared to react and adapt to any given scenario.

Tip

Ideas evolve and change, it is inevitable, and having the ability to be flexible and adaptable are qualities that will help any Content Marketer in their day-to-day role.

10. Keeping On Top

Challenge

Keeping on top is a challenge, but by living and breathing the industry you write for, Content Marketers can overcome this challenge.

When it comes to content creation, immersing yourself completely in a specific industry is key. This will not only aid content creation but will help you keep up with industry news and events and what is happening in the world of social media.

Tip

Reading regular blog posts, watching videos and setting up industry-specific alerts will keep you on top of your clients and ahead of the game.

Want To Find Out More?

If you want to find out more about what is it like to be a Content Marketer, and what is involved in this highly rewarding and multifaceted role, get your hand on your free whitepaper: The Complete Guide To Content Marketing Strategy, Planning and Creation

Got any questions? Feel free to leave a comment, tweet me @Koozai_Jenny or Contact Us today.

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Content Marketing For Generation Z

This is the transcript from our new video so it may not read as well as a normal blog post would.

Hi there. My name is James. I’m the Content Marketing Manager here at Koozai, and today we’re going to be talking about content marketing tips for Generation Z. So we’ve heard the term Baby-Boomers, Generation X, Millennials.

Well, now is the time for brands to get their heads around the new crop of teenagers, the new generation, Generation Z. So these are the people that were born between the mid to late ’90s all the way up to mid-noughties. It’s really important for brands at the moment to get their heads around this new consumer, the intricate nature of this hyperconnected consumer. We’re going to do that today. We’re going look at ways in which we can do that.

So there’s engagement, interaction. There’s newsjacking. There’s the idea of being multi-platformed. There’s the idea of relying on reviews and testimonials, as well as the idea of social responsibility. So let’s delve into some of those in a little bit more detail.

So engaging and interaction. Now, you want to use social media to your advantage. To do that, don’t just rely on these kind of approaches. You want to listen and communicate with your consumer. So that’s what young people want. That’s what Generation Z want. They want brands to engage and interact with them. So there’s a growing need for brands to be a bit more agile. Agile marketing is another term that we’ll really start to hear of. If you’ve not really heard of it already, you’ll really start to hear of it in the coming months and years.

It’s this idea that brands need to be a lot more responsive. They need to be a lot more transparent. They need to be adaptable to the changing nature and functions and habits of consumers. It all boils down to the idea that using social media, they really should be communicating, interacting, and engaging with their consumer.

So that’s one thing to massively rely on and to think about when creating content and when working out your marketing strategies is how integral social media can be. I’m not just talking about the traditional platforms, Facebook, Twitter, but I’m also talking about things like Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, the things that young people are using on a more regular basis than they are with the traditional platforms.

So newsjacking, this idea of instant gratification. So your brand needs to be part of the news. It needs to be part of where young people are getting their information from and the ideas that young people are seeing on an everyday basis. So what you want to do is you want to create content that’s going to reflect topical news, such as easily consumable, kind of bite-sized pieces, such as memes or visual content, short videos, clips, Vines, that type of thing.

Alternatively you want to outreach to journalists who have covered a news story on a topic that’s relevant to your brand, and you want to supply them with comment, analysis, insight, editorial, again to really push that to get your brand on the agenda, when journalists are reporting on particular news. So it’s another way that Generation Z are consuming and effectively understanding more about brands if they’re seen on a regular basis, especially in the news.

Multi-platform. So it’s not just about these traditional push approaches anymore. Above the line marketing, TV, radio, ads, print ads, absolutely fine. But what brands need to get their heads around is this idea that you want to leverage those above the line marketing techniques and platforms to push not so much your message, but to push your consumers and Generation Z back online and have those conversations online.

You’re starting to see a lot of this with traditional advertising. A lot of brands are encouraging their consumers to use particular hashtags, to have that conversation back online, because this is where Generation Z feel most comfortable, and this is where especially brands can track and engage a lot more with their consumers.

So have this idea of a multi-platform approach, whereby you can leverage above the line and below the line. In addition to that, really start to think about how you can use mobile. So we’ve heard a lot recently about the mobile update from a search engine marketing point of view. But in a general marketing point of view, mobile is absolutely integral to Generation Z and the way that they’re consuming content and the way they’re interacting and engaging with brands.

Reviews. So there’s been loads of research on how young people actually rely very much on reviews and testimonials, especially from their own peer groups, especially from their own friends. They trust them. We’re in this new connected world, whereby young people are relying on people that they know to give them the reviews and the views of particular brands, products, and what have you on a fairly regular basis, and they trust them.

So what brands need to start doing is getting their heads around this idea that the transparency, the reviews, they’re good. They’re open. Be open. Think about using third-party review services, but also start looking at ways in which content marketing you can start to create user-generated content. So start marketing with Generation Z, not marketing at them.

Now finally social responsibility. We’re now in a world where young people are very savvy. They’re socially savvy. They have a good social idea or grasp of social responsibility, and they have a social consciousness as well. So brands that are doing really well at the moment are those that are transparent about their supply chain, for example, if they have an ethical supply chain. They want to be nice and transparent and showing their consumers just really what they’re all about. So this is an idea that when it comes to creating content, factor this into your activities, this idea that you want to show that you’re a socially responsible company even from an environmental point of view or whether it’s concerning social issues, something like that.

Whatever it might be, this isn’t just done on a whim. This is something that has to be really factored into your overall philosophy of your company. But if you are engaging in any of these socially responsible activities, it’s really important to shout about it and talk to your young audience about it because this really resonates well with them.

Okay, so that pretty much covers it for today in terms of ways in which content marketing can be used to help market toward Generation Z. If you have any other tips that you’d like to share, please leave them in the comment section below or tweet me.

That just leaves me to say thank you very much for watching. For more information, please check our social profiles coming up right now.

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Top 10 Pitfalls Of DIY PPC Management

So you want to start up your own Pay per Click (PPC) account, but don’t know where to begin. Take a step back – is this really a good idea? Do you actually fully comprehend what it takes to understand and implement the correct practices on a PPC account?

Many people who take on DIY PPC under-estimate the importance of building a great account structure and continually managing and optimising their account. PPC can be a maze of complex jargon, bizarre practices and ongoing testing; so you need to be certain about what you’re getting yourself into before jumping in at the deep end!

These top 10 pitfalls of DIY Pay per Click (PPC) will give you an idea of what you need to consider:

1. Campaign Settings

   There are many campaign settings options and you may be thinking to yourself where do I start?! If you select the wrong option, this can jeopardise the performance of your campaigns. The worst thing is that you may not even realise this, so make sure you understand each campaign setting before clicking on just any of the options.

2. Understanding Keywords

   Do you know what keywords to target? I don’t just mean targeting the technical jargon you and your colleagues use in your industry, I mean using the search terms your customers’ are searching for in Google search! If you’re not careful, you could find yourself targeting incorrect terms and getting nowhere fast, if efficient keyword research is not carried out.

3. Account Score and Quality Score

   Whenever you take a negative action on your PPC account e.g. irrelevant keyword to ad text and landing page, your quality score will be affected, which in turn will increase your costs. Bear in mind, a PPC expert will already know the best methods to use to create the best account structure and quality scores.

4. Bidding Strategies

   There are many bidding strategies out there that you can try. However the problem is that many businesses fail to align their bidding strategies with their business goals, which is essential. It can seem quite daunting when there are so many options you can choose from. Tara’s blog post discusses the best options available.

5. Accurate Tracking

   Tracking conversions is useful in measuring how successful your PPC account efforts are. If you set this up incorrectly, for example, by putting the wrong code onto your site or putting the code in the wrong place on your site and you do not know how to fix it, you will find yourself with a whole maze of problems. A PPC expert will ensure that your conversion tracking is set up properly and they will sort out any problems for you.

6. Making Mistakes

   There are numerous mistakes that can easily be made if you don’t have the correct knowledge to implement changes on your account. Whether you’re accidentally pausing high converting keywords or have structured your account incorrectly, these mistakes will come back to bite you!

7. PPC Terminology

   CTR, CTA, CPM, CPC and the list goes on! Give up yet?

8. Landing Pages

   Do you really know what the best landing page is to choose on your website? Most paid search traffic is sent to the Home page, sign-up page, shopping cart page or the product page, however these aren’t always the best pages to use to keep the searcher interested in converting, which means you are wasting money. Koozai spends a lot of time testing what works well and not so well on landing pages and can guide you on choosing the best landing page for your website.

9. Keeping Up With the Latest Changes

   The world of AdWords is constantly changing with new features and rules. As a small business owner or Manager, your time may be better focussed on other tasks. PPC requires a level of knowledge to produce fantastic results, which means keeping up with changes is a necessity.

10. Wasting Money

    Finally, you have to accept that you will waste money whilst trying to learn this skill-set. PPC costs can spiral out of control quickly if you’re not managing the account efficiently and effectively. So before you hand over your credit card details, make sure you’ve done your PPC research!

PPC is an ongoing time and cost commitment and your account needs to be run by the correct person. I’m not saying that DIY PPC can’t be done, as many have succeeded. However, if you want peace of mind, then an agency may be the correct option for you.

At the end of the day, it isn’t just about buying keywords and creating a few ads – it’s about getting the most leads for the best cost and at the best profit.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, feel free to add them below or tweet me via @Koozai_Sophie.

Alternatively, if you need help with your own PPC account, speak to Koozai today to see how we can help.

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How To Get Into Digital Marketing: A Graduate’s Guide

For students or recent graduates looking to get into Digital Marketing, there are a number of ways to stand a better chance of being recruited, and excelling once you’ve landed yourself your dream digital role. Sharing tips from my own experiences, here’s how…

Whilst Digital Marketing is a highly competitive industry, you don’t necessarily need an advertising or marketing degree to make it in the industry. You actually need a killer CV, varied work experience under your belt, a willingness to learn and a positive attitude.

Throughout my time studying at University and my post education work experience, I’ve learned a few tips that helped me get snapped up by a top agency like Koozai. Here’s what I did:

My Top 10 Tips

• Network with industry experts and begin making contacts
• Ask family friends, neighbours, anyone that you meet if they have industry contacts and get in touch with them
• Put yourself out there and take on any task that’s given to you, making a good impression is crucial in such a sociable and connected industry
• Stay open-minded and positive, even once you have landed your first industry role. It can be hard learning new things every day but it’s also very rewarding.
• You’ll always be learning in this industry as it’s always evolving. Keep up-to-speed with changes by reading, watching videos and attending webinars.
• Blogging can help to enrich your knowledge and you will probably engage with other like-minded bloggers and enhance your network
• Setting up a website is the next step from blogging and it encompasses all of the same benefits. This will help you to also build your technical knowledge.
• Working on friend’s / family projects is great practice to help build your confidence and get vital experience. You can still put this on your CV as work experience
• Gathering work to showcase at interviews is important as it shows you have proof of your work and it also sends a good impression to the employer. It also shows that you haven’t just turned up unprepared and you’ve gone beyond the expectations.
• Engage in Tweetchats using hashtags such as #marketingprofs. Not only will this get your voice heard in the industry but there’s endless amounts to learn from likeminded people.

Whilst University is a place to meet friends and have fun, the end goal is to do well and eventually get a job. The best way to equip yourself for post-University life and the working world is to find as much work experience as you can and network like crazy. If you’re at University and looking to get into marketing, for example, find local agencies, create a cracking CV and a speculative cover letter personalised to the company for whom you are applying and get your LinkedIn profile up-to-scratch and looking professional (make sure your photo isn’t of you with a drink in your hand). List any transferrable skills on your CV, whether its customer service from your waitressing job or report writing skills you developed on a University project – it all helps.

You can find work experience in other ways such as:

• Follow local agencies on Social Media and tweet them directly asking for a meeting or requesting work experience
• Look out for University emails about potential work experience
• Attend relevant talks at university that give you the opportunity to chat to speakers in the networking sessions afterwards
• Use University careers services to look over your CV and give you mock interviews. They can raise questions you hadn’t thought of and allow you to go to your interview with more confidence.
• Put your name forward for industry projects at University as they will enhance your experience and skillset which may not just lead directly to work experience, but also allows you to create contacts this way
• Use websites such as Graduate Jobs South for opportunities as well as CV and interview advice
• Search for companies with work experience opportunities and tweek your cover letter and CV to fit the company. By looking at their website you can generally get a feel for a company and how formal they are so you can try and pitch it similarly.
• Showcasing your creative work using sites such as Behance will show your enthusiasm and can be used during the recruitment process

Throughout each stint of work experience, make sure you list your completed tasks so when you come to write about them in your CV your mind doesn’t go blank. Having relevant industry experience is one of the first things your potential employer will be looking for so don’t miss out on crucial details.

Networking Tips

If you’re at University, take advantage of any guest lectures or Digital Marketing activities that you can help out with. Guest lectures will open your eyes to the industry from different perspectives. For example, it might be someone working at an agency, or running a campaign, or someone talking about a recent development. Whatever the talk, attend and immerse yourself in this wonderful sector.

If your University or College doesn’t provide talks like this for you then the first hurdle is knowing where to look for events where you can network and meet interesting industry experts. I would recommend the following industry conferences for networking opportunities and for gaining knowledge:

• The Content Marketing Show, a free marketing conference about all things content
• Brighton SEO, run by the same guys as The Content Marketing Show. Also free and jam packed full of workshops and training sessions.
• Use Meetup to look for other free or cheap Meetups locally to you

I would also recommend keeping on top of communities online such as LinkedIn and Google+.

Once you’re at these events it’s easy to shy away and go home after the conference but when hundreds of people are there you’ll go unnoticed unless you approach the speakers and engage in conversations and pick their brains. Networking can seem daunting but everyone’s been at the beginning of their career and they’ll more than likely be willing to help you in any way they can. Start by saying why you did or didn’t enjoy their talk (only go with the latter if you have a constructive comment to follow) and ask for their thoughts / opinions on a new trend or a new Google update, for example. You can offer them your CV, ask for their business card or you could write to them on Twitter and say something like “I really enjoyed your talk at XXXX and I’d really like the opportunity to talk to you properly about it”. If you can get their email address this way or via their website and you pitch your email in the right way, you never know – you could be their next intern! Another tip is, if you know the company’s email format and you know the speakers names, there’s nothing to stop you from contacting them directly to follow up from your chat at the networking event.

Resources I Recommend For Inspiration By Interest

Advertising

Subscribe to Campaign Magazine. There are often discounts on this so it needent break the bank. Campaign is a great resource for industry opinion and it’ll keep you going for weeks.

Keep up with current affairs. This helps me to engage in diverse conversations with industry experts and hold my own in interviews. This also allows for exciting Newsjacking ideas for advertising campaigns. You can do this by picking up The i each Sunday, The Metro on the tube or by listening to radio stations such as BBC Radio 4 as they quite often have CEOs from fantastic organisations and varied industry experts.

Whilst I regularly check Adweek and Brand Republic for the latest trends and theories, there are also a few books that I really enjoyed reading:

• Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom
• Creative Mischief by Dave Trott
• Hegarty On Creativity: There Are No Rules by John Hegarty

Follow industry experts like @davetrott and @rorysutherland on Twitter for their take on all things advertising.

Content

Sign up to the Content Marketing Institute’s free webinars. These vary from webinars about content strategy to making an engaging webinar. These are all free to watch and archived so you can go back to the one’s you found most useful.

Follow the Convince and Convert team for their blogs and podcasts. They have some great content pieces for you to go and enjoy for free.

Follow Content Marketing Institute Founder @JoePulizzi and Top Rank Online Marketing CEO @leeodden on Twitter for up-to-date Content Marketing information and for content inspiration.

Design

Design has always been a love of mine and other than the standard Grand Designs viewing on a Wednesday night I do the following things to keep up with design trends:

I follow @IMKellyHoppen. Not only has she got a job as an interior designer and business woman, but she also speaks at lots of events and exhibitions that incorporate both. Following her on Twitter is a great way to keep up with industry events that are going on and even when I can’t make them, there’s usually a synopsis, slides or a write-up online that I can find.

I frequently visit Wired and The Verve as they have great design categories on their websites. They have lots of information on branding, technology, design and The Verve also have reviews of mobile applications and various other technological advances.

If you’re interested in packaging design like I am, you might also like The Museum Of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in London.

PPC & SEO

Firstly, the best places to read up on SEO and PPC are Search Engine Land, Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Journal.

Additionally, there are some great LinkedIn groups that you can really take advantage of such as ‘SEO & PPC Professionals’, ‘SearchX (SEM SEA SEO) Search Engine Marketing Professionals’ or ‘SEO SEM Social Mobile (Digital Search & Internet Marketing)’. You can request to join these groups and there is an array of articles and discussions for you to get your teeth sunk into.

To see what people are talking about simply search for the hashtag ‘SEO’ or ‘PPC’ on Twitter and this brings up some interesting articles.

I would also really recommend following State of Digital’s founder @basvandenbeld as he gives some fantastic talks which he shares his slides for. State of Digital is also a great platform for industry knowledge.

Whilst this isn’t a self-promotion post, I do feel that our Marketing Director, Sam Noble, gives a great account of what PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is in our Koozai video here. If you’re new to PPC I would definitely recommend watching it.

PR & Social

Using PR and social together is a great way of outreaching to agencies or individuals for freelancing work. With the Internet there are so many fabulous opportunities waiting for you to take advantage of. Building a rapport with an agency has never been so easy – so get liking, favouriting and retweeting!

Similarly, one of the most effective ways to network is by getting involved in Tweetchats. A great free tool for doing this is Tweetdeck which allows you to view your Home page, notifications, direct messages and recent activity from your newsfeed. You can engage in social and PR based conversations by using hashtags such as #PR #PublicRelations #PRtips #SM #socialmedia #SMO and many others.

I would recommend some great networking sessions and seminars you can attend such as The Power of PR and Social Media, PR 101 – Learn The Basics Of PR and the Social Media Workshop by the Bright Ideas Trust.

Follow We Are Social via their website or on Twitter as they are a great resource for social statistics, campaigns and interesting snippets of information.

If you take anything away from this blog, let it be this:

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and start making industry contacts wherever possible and if you’re seriously interested in getting into the creative industries then I suggest starting your own blog or even better, setting up your own website.  Even if all the content on there isn’t relevant to marketing, having a public platform of opinions and tips will show your passion for the industry and it will also improve your skills along the way.

If you have any tips you’d like to share, or have any questions you’d like to fire my way, please leave a comment below or tweet me @Koozai_Sally.

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PPC Myth-Busters: 5 B2B Folklores Debunked

Can PPC save a dying business? Is Google AdWords too expensive? Time to explore some common PPC fairy tales.

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Are Landing Pages Killing Your Conversion Rate?

Call extensions, new ad formats and remarketing are a few substitutions for landing pages, which don’t always translate to the strongest conversion rates.

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6 Steps To Building A Massive Audience With Content

Creating and curating the best quality content on a consistent basis, that is timely and relevant for your audience, is the first step towards successful content marketing.

From there, you can build a significant audience over time, make appropriate offers, and generate revenue. It sounds a lot easier than it is!

Fortunately, there’s a formula you can follow! My buddy, Joe Pulizzi — founder of the Content Marketing Institute, discovered several similarities used by some of the most successful content marketers.

In this week’s featured article, Joe outlines the common steps he found in growing and monetizing an audience.

See also this helpful post on Influence&Co:

Crystallize Your Content ROI With This Comprehensive Guide http://t.co/RSJPCajtdm via @InfluenceandCo | This is good!

— Mari Smith (@MariSmith) May 28, 2015

The blog version of this week’s edition of THE SOCIAL SCOOP weekly newsletter follows below! If you’re already subscribed, you’ll continue to receive The Social Scoop via email on Fridays. If you’re not yet signed up and would like to be, please enter your name and email in the box to the right (desktop) or below the post (mobile). Thank you!

Mari’s Top Social Media Picks – May 29, 2015 Issue #151

Greetings! Please enjoy this week’s top 3 articles we’ve selected for you!

1. Content Marketing: 6 Steps for Building a Massive Audience

via TopRankBlog.com Step by step, this post — based on a talk by Joe Pulizzi — shows you how to go about growing your audience by putting into practice the strategies used by some of the most successful content marketers.

2. New Hootsuite Tool Creates Your Facebook Ads for You

via SmallBizTrends.com This is a rather nifty launch from Hootsuite and a convenient alternative to boosting your posts directly on Facebook. It’s still in Beta and will likely include improvements as they continue to develop the feature. I played around with the set-up a bit and here are my results.

Wowee, folks, this is BIG news for Hootsuite users – the platform just launched a new FREE tool that creates your…

Posted by Mari Smith on Friday, May 22, 2015

3. How to Encourage Your Customers to Recommend You to Their Friends

via Red-Website-Design.co.uk

Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing out there. People trust the opinions of their friends and family much more than any other type of advertising. Check out the terrific infographic by Salesforce showing why people talk about a brand and tips on how to get your customers to say good things about you!

How to Encourage Your Customers to Recommend You to Their Friends http://t.co/tLZhM8UDBH via @Red_Web_Design | Terrific!

— Mari Smith (@MariSmith) May 19, 2015

That’s all for this week’s issue of The Social Scoop. Here’s wishing you a wonderful weekend and enjoyable week ahead.

On a personal note, I’m doing my best to pace myself and build up energy this weekend… next week is a BIG week — it’s the first in the series of Facebook’s Boost Your Business events right here in my “back yard,” San Diego! I look forward to meeting many of my peeps there. My team and I just finished updating my full Calendar of Events. So much travel in July-October. Wowee. It’s a jet-set life, but always striving for that coveted balance. (And, I certainly look forward to seeing my father and sisters in Scotland in July – yay!)

Cheers!

P.S. Learn how to master Facebook’s changes and get serious ROI from your campaigns! NEW six-part *live* online training course – SAVE $150 when you sign up before June 6th.

I’m delighted to partner directly with Facebook to lead a series of live training events. By attending my special new online program, I’ll be able to share with you the latest best practices for generating real results and revenue on Facebook.

from Yong Johnson’s DM blog http://ift.tt/1SGns0s via Digital marketing strategy consulting
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1dCKeqo