Every day we find helpful, innovative articles. In many instances we end up posting them through our Twitter and Facebook accounts but sometimes 140 characters isn’t enough. We decided to create a bi-weekly series highlighting our favorite articles. In volume 1 we focus on content marketing and content creation.
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Your First 9 SEO Tasks
by, Eric Enge
SEO can be tough to explain to someone. When you consider the massive list of constantly changing factors (Google reportedly uses over 200) that go into SEO, a common question for an SEO beginner is simply ‘Where do I start?’
This step-by-step article is a must-read for anyone that is beginning to work on SEO. The eighth step in this post is something that a lot of people forget about SEO, which is a reminder that creating “remarkable” content is as important as anything. After all, this is what the search engines want you to do!
You don’t have to research SEO for long to find someone’s shortcut for cheap search results. These are not reliable ways to build your brand! Create unique, non-commercial material that provides a service to your readers and you will be rewarded.
Do the 10 most powerful brands use content marketing?
by, Sarah Quinn
If this article was on @SavedYouAClick, the tweet would say ‘Yes (well, except for Apple)’.
Yes, nine out of ten of the world’s most powerful brands use content marketing, but the Big Kahuna has chosen to stay away from content marketing. Initially, this is a shock. Content marketing has proven to be an effective tactic, and judging from the content that other brands such as Coca-Cola and IBM are providing, these tactics aren’t any less effective for the companies on the top of the food chain.
Apple’s approach of ‘no approach’ with content marketing couldn’t possibly due to ignorance, right? But I can only speculate on why they’ve avoided it. It’s possible that they have taken the stance that their product sells itself, and they don’t need to go heavily into content marketing. They also might think that their continued dominance paired with content creation silence creates a perception of superiority over their competition. Or as the article suggests, maybe they just want to be different.
Which brands use content marketing?
8 Most Innovative Brands On Vine
by, Nick Westergaard
Almost daily, I’m astounded by the type of brands that are taking advantage of Vine as a social medium. If you’re GoPro, providing interesting content on Vine is a no-brainer. But what if you’re General Electric or Wheat Thins? How do you make an engaging eight-second video if your job is to sell newspapers or chewing gum? I’m not sure I’d know where to start.
“How does using Vine/Instagram/Twitter fit with my brand?”
We see and hear this question a lot, usually by companies that think their product is too boring or unspectacular for something like a video-based social media. These are great examples of companies that only had to think slightly outside of the box to provide engaging content to an extended audience of viewers. Any company can create the next viral sensation, you just have to capture your audience’s imagination.
As a side note, we think that Lowe’s deserves an honorable mention for the awesome stop-motion videos in their “Fix in Six” campaign, which you can find here.
How The Hell Buffer Creates So Much Content So Quickly
by, Kevan Lee
Having the ability to write good content does not always result in consistent content creation. If you don’t have discipline, motivation and organizational skills, your ability to gain an audience is going to suffer.
In this article, Kevan Lee from Buffer describes the steps he takes to put out at least three 1500+ word posts a week. Some of his tips include blocking out outside distractions, keeping a notebook of ideas, and focusing on one (or a few) main idea(s).
What I found most interesting about his process is that he splits his articles into a three-day process: one for researching, one for writing, and one for editing. He takes this strategy a step further by staggering his ideas so he can work on three different articles at the same time. By doing this, he gets to research one idea, write another, and edit a third, all in a single day’s work session. This strategy makes effective use of time, but still lets him spread his ideas so he can look at it with a fresh perspective each day.
Tips on efficient content creation
The 8 Types of Images That Increase the Psychological Impact of Your Content
by, Alex Turnbull
By now, you probably know that using images with your text creates a stronger connection with your audience. In fact, this article says that our brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. So what types of images should you use?
While all these types of images are obvious once you read them, it’s easy to narrow your focus towards one thing, especially after writing a long post. Usually the correct image depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Sometimes a screenshot is best for displaying exactly what you want your audience to see. Other times, a chart or graph can turn your statistics into easier to digest visual proof. You may feel limited by a stock image search, but there’s almost always a creative way to make them work. Context is key with images, and luckily this article provides an image type for any situation.
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/toffee_maky/
