“With a Thanksgiving celebration, you take the time to prepare a great meal and gather those you care about; then, the leftovers extend the specialness of the day for some time thereafter. Content marketing works in a similar way.”

Think of blogs as the whole spread. They’ve got staples, like though-leadership, and garnishes like videos, infographics, and and white papers.

Rob offered 21 tips on how blogs can feed other content. Here are a few:

1. EBOOK: Is an extension of your blog. Take that blog content, edit it, repurpose it, add value to it. String it together in a logical and coherent manner. Dress it up with pretty pictures and formatting. Lo and behold, you’ve got yourself an eBook.

2. VIDEO: In and outside a blog is a powerful tool for corporate content marketing strategies of any size. They are a boom for internally produced video projects and consumer-generated video alike.

3. EVENTS: 56% or companies with content marketing programs use events to build face-to-face relationships (source: PulsePoint Group). And 74% and use social media. Repurpose your most popular blog content for these events

Read more about Content Marketing at Barn Raisers

Hubspot recently released an eBook that offers easy fixes to common blog problems. Among their tips were:

1. Too Much Promotion – You like leads, but your reader wants to learn. Post content that shows your expertise. People like to hire experts, not relentless self-promoters.

2. Publishing Infrequently/Inconsistently – Pick a schedule and stick to it. People expect a regular frequency for blogs. You don’t have to post every day. Just stay on top of it.

3. Failing to Cross Promote – If you have a blog, you probably have a Facebook page and Twitter account. Share your new posts to cross pollinate your audiences. It will strengthen engagement and reduce the amount of time spent on generating content.

Download the full eBook from HubSpot

NM Incite partnered with us to gather dynamite attendee learnings into a free eBook – TNT Trends & Takeaways. Contributors hail from worldwide agencies to up-and-coming startups; Directors of Marketing to CEOs.

Download Here

Highlights include:

· Data on the most talkable topics, speakers and Keynotes

· Insights into Paid, Earned, Owned, and Shared Media

· Measuring ROI through data and dynamics

· Advocacy Word of Mouth Marketing

Excerpts:

Understanding Word of Mouth Measurement Through its Dynamics

To measure success, marketers have to understand word of mouth dynamics and information flows unique to their category. Are consumers more likely to talk about the brand online or offline? What does that mean for marketing and sales?

- Idil Cakim VP of Client Development, NM Incite

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A Push Towards Advocacy

It’s not enough to just acquire fans/followers because any good media buy or acquisition campaign will do that. It’s now about converting an acquaintance (i.e. fan/follower) to a BFF… After all, I’d rather have 1 best friend than 10 acquaintances.

- Joe Fairless Management Supervisor, Mr Youth

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The Era of Real-Time Marketing

The traditional Marketing approach of “learn, then do” must be turned on its head as consumers will tell us what is relevant and meaningful in real time and we must respond immediately, doubling down on what works and shutting down what doesn’t… “Learn Do” has become “Do Learn”.

- Chris Laird CEO, P&G Tremor

Download the full eBook

1. You’re Probably Already Doing it – Content is such a broad term, that it probably describes something you already do. Blog posts? That’s content. Brochures? That’s content. Find ways to repurpose these materials into webinars, infographics, podcasts, etc.

2. You Know How to Recycle – You’ve probably heard “Reduce, Recycle, Reuse” before. Focus on the last one. Reusing your content is an easy and effective way to produce more. 20 blog posts could make an ebook. A webinar could become a whitepaper.

3. Videos Work – You don’t need a production crew to video your top sales rep speaking about your product. Edit the video with free software like iMovie. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just interesting and informative. And be sure to end with a call to action for your product.

4. Everything is Interrelated – Once you start producing content, link back to older content. Keep that content tail long and strong to be sure you squeeze every last lead out your work.

Read Matt’s tips in depth at MarketingProfs

1. Are 70% more likely to be seen as a reliable source

2. Increased conversations by 166% through amplification and referrals

3. Are 50% more likely to create content that influences a purchase

Download the eBook at ComBlu

Kathy Baughman, President/Co-Founder of ComBlu, will be a speaker at WOMMA’s Chicago Talkable Brands Exchange on Thurs. Sept. 22. Her session is titled “Building a Meaningful Measurement Strategy.”

ComBlu is a WOMMA member.

Did it work? In short, yes, quite well. Their website was robust with content. That content drove comments, blog posts, tweets, news pieces and a 100% increase to owned media. And their bloggers have continued to engage FAIT ICI in the store and outside.

What did they learn?

Perhaps the most interesting part of the cited post is what they learned from making a group blog.

1. It all starts with goals and metrics.

2. Have an editorial calendar and slot in your authors VERY early in the process.

3. Having a broad rubric instead of forcing authors to write on specific topics was helpful to us.

4. Select your authors carefully.

Read the rest of the lessons learned and successes of the program at Communications Conversations

The 33 page book is a bit hard to summarize in this format (that being one of the difficulties of content production.) But the overall theme of the book focuses on producing relevant, sharable and effective content that drives sales. The graphic below serves as a good visualization.

Key Takeaway: Notice how the process loops after Measurement? Content production is never a static task. Constant evaluation is imperative to success.

Download the full eBook at ComBlu

“The Edelman Trust Barometer indicates that individuals need to hear/read/see things three to five times before they actually believe it.” –Michael Brito

Your all of your content needs to drive to a your goals. In the cited article, Michael Brito offers three reasons why relevant content is critical:

1. Relevant content adds to the conversation – First find the naturally occurring conversation that correlates to your goals and then figure out a way for your content to add to that conversation.

2. Relevant content positions the brand as a trusted advisor - As more people see your work and how it elevates the community, more will be driven to your brand.

3. Relevant content is authentic but more importantly, believable – Your customer has their guards up against charlatans. If your content isn’t relevant, you’ll be ignored.

Read the in depth article at Social Media Explorer

The folks over at the Content Marketing Institute recently released their second version of The Content Grid.

You’ll see that it is organized by the stage of knowledge and interest a potential customer has against their closeness to purchase.

How to use this: Take an inventory of what you are currently doing. Compare it to the chart and see if you are missing any content opportunities.

See the full chart and read more at the Content Marketing Institute and Eloqua

Arik Hanson compiled a solid list of marketing presentations on:

1. Blogger relations
2. Social media disasters
3. Facebook marketing
4. Content strategy
5. And community management

Weekend Homework: Find something amazing on Slideshare and post it on this blog, share it with your friends and pontificate Slideshare’s value.

Read Arik’s full post at Communications Conversations