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 2009, most small businesses do have websites and the term, ‘content marketing,’ has gone from obscure to fashionable. In fact, in 1997 when we started our small business magazine in Southwest Florida, few owners had websites, let alone an online marketing strategy. When I say fashionable, I mean that the usage of the phrase has skyrocketed in

It’s been a very good year for content marketing. In fact, visitors searching our site for the phrase “content marketing” increased by 85% in 2009 over 2008. 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. How To Create the All-Important Here is the Cliff’s Notes bullet point version with more detail and links to the full articles following: 5 Reasons an eBook Should be a Core Component of Your Content Marketing Strategy

If you can succeed at providing plenty of substantive information that addresses their biggest problems, you are beginning to play the role of content concierge in their lives. Your content is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Make sure that every major problem faced by your customers is matched by a critical mass of relevant content on your site. 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. When you find yourself in a new town but are blessed

Proving again that our readers like to dig into a variety of topics under the broad content marketing umbrella. how to create effective elevator speech to drive your content marketing using content marketing to survive the recession making an eBook The topics range from : low cost research as killer weapon

When You Deliver Great Content and Control a Critical Buyer Database You Drive Sales Believe it or not, it all comes back to content marketing. Here is how publishers increase the likelihood that influential buyers will purchase advertising from them. Simply create an outstanding magazine filled Although they are in the advertising business, small publishing companies have never done much advertising for their magazines. The reasons were simple, but not necessarily obvious: They didn’t have to—and it wouldn’t work if they tried it.

The real investment will be in time and thought required to craft a content marketing strategy which provides valuable information to your customers and prospects. You may need to a hire specific content creation resources either internally or externally. Because buyer behavior has changed, you cannot expect traditional advertising alone to drive buyers to your business as it did a decade ago. Social media marketing is a trend, not a fad. But, most small to medium-sized businesses have yet to participate fully and enthusiastically.

The just released study on business use of social media from the folks at Business.com is must reading for content marketers who are active, tentative or hesitant about social media. Your buyers are using social media extensively. Tags: Content Marketing Knowledge Center Marketing Basics News Online Social Media Tips & Mini-Guides Trend If you’ve been dragging your feet on social media, it’s time to take both of those feet and jump right in. Their research, 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study makes it clear that even small business owners need to take

It’s all about creating relevant and compelling content that transforms you into a thought leader who can become a trusted provider That is ultimately how you convert visitors into buyers Of course, this is gospel for me and many content marketers. Since Heather does search engine optimization for a living, it’s wonderful to hear her say that it’s ultimately That’s the key word from veteran SEO expert Heather Lloyd-Martin SEO is not about creating a website sausage overstuffed with key words and phrases.

In other words, they will help you send a message to your target buyers or listen to what those buyers are saying about you. Find the alltop for your industry - here’s content marketing . Zemanta - Great for adding additional content and links (courtesy of Drew McLellan ). Thanks to my co-author, Joe Pulizzi, and some helpful contributors for making your search for the right implements a lot easier. If you are starting from scratch, it’s almost impossible to figure out what social media and other related online tools will be genuinely useful

The winners in this new world will be the early adopters who understand the new breed of buyer, take advantage of better and cheaper technology, and deliver problem-solving content. Play the Powerful Role of Publisher to Meet Your Buyer’s Critical Information Needs The best business-to-business and business to consumer publications delivered must read content for the buyers The Paradigm is Shifting. Now Get Ready to Remodel Your Marketing