Content Marketing: How to Grow Your Business With Content

Content is King...it's Just the Way It Is

As a small to medium sized business you might have heard the phrase "content is king" somewhere along the line. It might seem crazy, but the truth of the matter is that content IS king and content marketing is something that small to medium sized businesses will need to take advantage of at some point or another, especially if they are looking to grow their business. 

We have worked with hundreds of clients who have been working on building their business for years only to find that their marketing campaigns have lacked a few major key factors that are simply imperative if you're looking for profit, growth and wealth. 

As a small to medium sized business it is very important that you include these factors within your marketing campaign: 

1. Strong Brand (one that will stand out from your competitors) 
2. Marketing Campaign that includes Social Media Marketing and SEO
3. Content Marketing

With these three key factors incorporated into your marketing campaign you will see that the growth you're seeking will hit home. You might want to consider looking for a company to help you with your marketing needs so that they can focus on marketing your business while you can focus on what matters most -- growing your business.

Content marketing is extremely important and it isn't something that just anyone can succeed in. It takes time and skill, and yes, a little bit of strategy. In a recent article (below), Joe Pulizzi talks about the top ten content marketing strategies from the last 15 years: 

1. There is no silver bullet
Regardless of what anyone says, there is no silver bullet when it comes to content marketing strategy. So many marketers are looking for the perfect dashboard, system, process, and distribution plan for their content marketing. It simply doesn’t exist. We’ve worked with hundreds of small and large brands around the world, and only one thing has been consistent: Every plan we developed was different. Why? It’s simple: The mixture of communicating what your business offers, delivering on your customers’ informational needs, and sharing your own corporate story is impossible to duplicate —  the output from your particular blend of attributes and goals should always be different and unique. 

As Don Schultz, the father of integrated marketing, has always professed, competitors can copy everything about what you do… your pricing, your product, where you promote it… but they can’t copy exactly how you will communicate. 

2. You can play offense or defense 

One of my favorite basketball players of all time is Julius “Dr. J” Erving. I’ve heard many interviews in which Dr. J talks about two ways to look at basketball offense: You can impose your will on the defense, or you can take what the defense gives you. Dr. J always chose to exert his own will, and that worked for him (quite well, in fact). LeBron James, on the other hand, usually takes what the defense gives him, which is why he racks up so many assists.
Both strategies can be effective. At CMI, we decided to exert our will with the term “content marketing.” In 2007, we popped onto the scene and started using the term like it had been around for years. Through lots of planning, strategy, and luck, it worked, and now content marketing is the defacto term for our industry. (Incidentally, HubSpot did the same thing with “inbound marketing.”) 

But imposing your will is just one way to do it. You could also choose to ride the waves of others and pick your sweet spot. A great example of this is Social Media Examiner. When it launched in 2009, many thought it was late to the party… but it rode the social media wave and executed a content marketing strategy second to none, growing into one of the most-trafficked B2B marketing sites on the planet. 

3. Content marketing is the great equalizer 

“David vs. Goliath” is alive and well in content marketing. Large budgets don’t always win; actually, the smaller players usually come out on top because they are equipped to move more agilely and quickly than their larger competition. For instance, CMI had a smaller budget than almost every marketing media company on the planet, yet we came out on top through focus and hard work. I’ve never seen a bigger company move faster than a smaller organization. OpenView Venture Partners is, relatively speaking, a small VC company compared to its peers. On the web, though, it dominates. 

4. You don’t have to be on all platforms 

In many cases, it’s smart to weave your story onto multiple platforms. It’s entirely possible to have a killer webinar series, amazing blog, outstanding video program, and cutting-edge digital magazine all at the same time.
But there is another way. You may decide to focus and work to dominate one platform. How about a killer podcast series? What about an amazing print newsletter? Maybe a blog is just the platform for you. 

Yes, you construct your strategy before choosing your channels, but don’t feel obligated to be active on every channel that your customer uses. The international travel magazine, Monocle, has just a print magazine. No iPad version. No Facebook page. It works for the magazine and its readers. 

Sometimes simple and focused is better. 

5. Subscribers rule 

If I have one regret as a content marketer, it’s that I didn’t focus early enough on generating subscribers. It took us years of experimenting, but we finally found our “Moneyball number:” the subscriber. We’ve found that once someone is a subscriber, they do different things than non-subscribers that lead to more revenue for us. Instead of converting from content to an immediate sales opportunity, we’ve found that converting from content to more content is the best way (for us). (For more on subscribers, please check out these outstanding reports from ExactTarget — a great example of content marketing, as well.)

You can read the rest of the article here.

If you or your business is in need of content marketing or general marketing assistance, Classic Image is a premier marketing and design agency that has helped hundreds of companies over the last decade. They are affordable, too, so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg while you're trying to bring your business to the top.

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The Best Advertising Campaigns of All Time

An advertising or marketing campaign is something that stands out and a good advertising campaign should be something that will stick with you, something you will remember. Slogan's are also something that people tend to remember, such as Nike's Just Do It campaign or Got Milk? so they are just as important as a solid marketing or advertising campaign. 

Any business - including small to medium sized businesses - should make sure that they have a solid advertising or marketing campaign that will make them stand out. A campaign that will still with potential customers or current customers for years to come, solidifying your place within the marketplace. In order to do this properly you will need the expertise of a company who's main focus and goal is to help a business like yours ride to the top through marketing or advertising efforts, just to ensure your efforts are effective and your hard earned money isn't wasted. 

The infographic below shows the best campaigns of all time. These are campaigns that probably everyone remembers, which means they are also effective campaigns. 

Are there any advertising campaigns that you remember that are not included on this infographic? 

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Revamping Your Brand

Revamping Your Brand is Imperative for Continual Business Growth

While it might seem like a lot of work, all businesses large and small should consider revamping their brand, depending on the following factors:

• Age. How many years has your company had the same look and feel? How long have you had the same logo design where things are measured in weeks and days today? It's imperative for continual business growth to keep your brand fresh...
• Introduction of a New Product or Service. If your company is about to roll out a new project, property or product it might be a good idea to update your brand or logo, keeping your business fresh. 
• A merger. If there is a change in leadership within your company then you might want to consider making a change. 

If your company is experiencing any of the above you might want to assess your business and where it stands as a brand. Even with that said, however, it's important that you don't just change for change's sake or because you're tired of your brand. You shouldn't make a change until you fully understand just how much it's going to cost, both dollar-wise and emotionally. A change in your brand isn't just another marketing campaign, it's more than that so you want to ensure that you choose the best company to help you with all of your branding needs---at an affordable and reasonable price. 

There are major companies that have recently decided to revamp their brand, such as Apple. Google, Inc and Android based devices are rising to the forefront so Apple has decided to boost their brand, offer more features and other enticing product offerings. 

According to this video, released in June 2013, Apple is looking to revamp their brand and stand out from the new Operating System rave Windows 8. 

In addition to the new operating system, Apple has decided to revamp their advertising campaign -- a wise choice, in my opinion. 

What are your thoughts on Apple's revamp? A good or bad idea? 

If you would like help with revamping your business' brand, contact us today to discuss your needs and the world of possibilities that a brand revamp will bring to your company. 

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Video Marketing: A Few Video Marketing Ideas That Stand Out

Interesting Video Marketing Campaigns of Summer 2013

Video marketing is becoming increasingly important in today's day and age. Social media marketing and video marketing often go hand in hand, and with the right techniques they could really help a small to medium sized business grow and flourish -- faster than businesses who do not utilize social media or video marketing tactics. Today it is possible for a small to medium sized business to take advantage of video marketing and for an affordable price. 

Throughout this blog I have included a few very interesting video marketing campaigns that have recently shown some success -- or who have at least brought awareness to a company's products or services. 

Samsung's New Ad Campaign

Buddy the Dog has somehow managed to get the attention of customers worldwide. What do you think of this video campaign? Do you think it's effective? 

What about this other ad campaign below? 

For businesses that would like to take advantage of what video marketing or advertising has to offer there are a wide variety of companies out there that will fully manage your video marketing campaigns as well as search engine optimization and tactics. I've worked with quite a few and I've found that my business has grown quite a bit by combining video marketing and social media with traditional marketing tactics like direct mailings and so on. 

If you or your business is in need of some marketing assistance, Classic Image is a premier marketing and design agency that has helped hundreds of companies over the last decade. They are affordable, too, so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg while you're trying to bring your business to the top. 

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B2B Marketing Selling Strategies

B2B marketing is one of the best ways to help your business
flourish.
Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

While economic times are still a bit tighter than we would all like to admit, it’s important for business owners to try their best not to skimp on promotion—especially with b2b marketing or marketing to other businesses. A lot of business owners will simply put up a website and run an occasional ad in an industry trade journal. Sure, this advertisement might bring in some new customers and help in some respects, however, successful B2B marketing needs to provide a steady stream of consistent messages across a wide variety of platforms.

Putting up a well thought out and designed website is a start for reaching other business owners who are also potential customers, but it’s also important that you do not think of your website as a “once and done” type of thing. B2B marketing and social media tactics are extremely important for you to work on because you will receive much better results—results that can make a world of difference in your business.

The article snippet below is from a recent article posted on Business News Daily, about how B2B businesses can market their business—successfully—from day one.

Be engaging

Just having an online presence isn't enough, though. Your B2B customers are still consumers and they need to detect coherence in your overall marketing strategy.
"Start with an Internet strategy that maps your overall business strategy." Rigano said. "How much do you want to grow, what markets will be most important to your growth, and what will constitute success in each of these markets? 

Set up your website to support your achieving these goals, with content that makes your company easy to find online, and helps convert prospects into buyers. Hold your website accountable for sales, and use analytics to continually measure results and refine your strategies. 

Email and social media also are essential and fit into almost any budget, but they require effort and monitoring. 

"I'd suggest tools like e-mail and social networking because not only do they come at little to no cost, but they are often user-friendly and allow you the ability to get very, very targeted who receives your message, when they receive it, how they receive it and why," said Jeremiah Sullivan, co-owner and operator of Woodbridge, N.J.-based Framework Media Strategies, a marketing and public relations firm. "Even better, these tools also allow for consistent and immediate communication between you and the business you've reached out to and also records a written history of everything shared." 

Tracking results

Whatever approach a business owner takes, tracking the results and making adjustments is the key to success. 

"The United States Postal Service's intelligent mail bar code tracking, which makes it possible to receive notifications that let you know when a direct mail piece will reach a recipient," said David Henkel, president of Niles, Ill.-based Johnson & Quin, a provider of integrated marketing services. "An email can then be sent or a call can be made to a prospect informing them that their mail piece is about to come."

It is also important to consider the types of businesses you are trying to reach when determining whether email, direct mail, banner ads or other vehicles are the best way to reach customers.

 You can read the rest of the article here.

For B2B businesses or small to medium sized businesses who would like some tips on successful marketing and social media marketing tactics, please contact us at Classic Image today to see how we can help your business with all of your marketing campaigns from social media marketing to direct marketing. We strongly believe that combining inbound and outbound marketing tactics is a great way to help any business flourish.

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