Proliferation

Mar 21
0

4 Obsolete Content Marketing Strategies You Should Probably Stop Using

By | content marketing, Mobile marketing | No Comments

Much like the rest of the Internet, content marketing is an ever-changing field. As Google search guidelines and consumer online behaviors evolve, content marketers from the Midwest to Utah need to stay on their toes in order to keep consumers engaged.

You’d think any content marketer worth her salt would understand this. Nonetheless, we’re always surprised by how many marketers are still holding on to old strategies — strategies that have long been obsolete.

Focusing Only on Short-Form Content

While short-form content makes it easy to crank out a large quantity of pieces, Google search criteria no longer value short-form pieces as well as longer ones. Long-form pieces tend to rank higher than short-form ones — and there’s simply no substitute for comprehensive, detailed content that both informs and educates your users.

Keyword Stuffing

Back in the day, content marketing was all about the keywords. Companies from the East Coast to Utah could stuff their content full of keywords and expect it to rank highly — no matter the quality of the content.

Nowadays, Google and most other search engines actively penalize websites for this; instead of just focusing on the keywords, put more effort into crafting a quality piece, and use keywords where it makes sense to do so.

Using Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions used to be a great place to stuff in some more keywords and boost your search rankings. Now, however, meta descriptions have no impact whatsoever on SEO. It doesn’t matter if you use keywords or not; just don’t bother with meta descriptions.

Writing for Anyone & Everyone

We understand that companies generally want their content to resonate with as many viewers as possible, however that approach may actually be hurting your content marketing strategy instead of helping. Determine who your target audience is, then write your content explicitly for that audience. No matter how good you think your content is, it will be of little use if your target audience does not agree.

Bonus: Don’t Forget About Video!

While you can’t go wrong with written content, video is truly the next big thing. For content marketers in Utah and around the world, video brings in unprecedented levels of engagement — so get behind that camera and start filming.

Mar 11
0

The Facebook Emojis We Wish We Had

By | content marketing, digital marketing | No Comments

Ever since the introduction of the “like” back in February 2009, Facebook users have been clamoring for a new way to react to friends’ posts, photos and status updates. For seven years, the Facebook “like” was the only way to react to someone’s post (without actually writing a comment), which left many users conflicted over the ethics of “liking” that status about grandma’s death or little Timmy’s broken arm.

That all changed on Feb. 24, 2016 when Facebook rolled out with a slew of new emoji digital reactions. The five new emojis — “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry” — give Facebook users and digital marketing companies alike something to celebrate; in addition to giving users more freedom of expression, the emojis give Facebook & affiliates rather detailed information about user likes and dislikes.

Not everyone is happy about Facebook’s new emojis, however. The very day the update went live, comic artist Matthew Inman — better known for his page The Oatmeal — had already come up with a list of satirical new emojis for the social network, with reactions ranging from “meh” to “I just threw up in my mouth” and “I read this while pooping.”

In an interesting turn of events — or clever marketing ploy — anonymous programmers have come up with browser extensions intended to change the innocuous emojis into Pokémon or various images of spray-tanned American tycoon Donald Trump.

These so-called Reaction Packs open the lid to a Pandora’s box full of possibilities: from Studio Ghibli’s Soot Sprite reactions (which are already available) to Disney characters or SpongeBob reactions, the opportunities are endless.

This is good news for both digital marketing companies and trademarked character enthusiasts alike; not only can marketing companies gather data from the use of Facebook’s existing emojis, they may be able to incorporate brand-specific Facebook emojis to accompany a movie or product campaign, a la Twitter’s current hashtag emoji options.

Facebook’s new emoji reactions have only been live for a couple of weeks, and their future is as of yet uncertain. One thing’s for sure, though: there will never, ever be a Facebook “dislike” button. Sorry guys.

Mar 09
0

The Most Iconic Brand Logos in History

By | advertising, Design | No Comments

Nothing helps to solidify a brand’s place in history like a great logo. A great logo is clean, simple, and above all instantly recognizable. Any marketing agencies and designers can easily create a flat-color logo with a simple shape and clean lines, but what contributes to a brand logo’s overall staying power? A good logo should not only be aesthetically appealing and universally applicable, it should also accurately represent the company mission.

Logo design has changed significantly over the years, yet only a select few logos have stood the test of time. From legendary 20th Century designers such as Paul Rand, Milton Glasser & Saul Bass to up-and-coming graphic design firms, here are the most iconic logos in history.

Iconic-Brand-Logos

Mar 09
0

There’s More to Content Than Just Text

By | content marketing | No Comments

In the world of content marketing, the saying goes, “content is king.” However, there are many different kinds of content, and a number of different ways to produce it. Marketers from the Midwest to Utah employ writers and aspiring journalists alike to pen everything from blogs and whitepapers, but while written works can be powerful tools, don’t forget about video and visual content.

Visual Content

While the average person retains only 20 percent of what they read, consumers retain nearly 80 percent of what they see. In addition, 40 percent of people respond better to visual content than plain text alone — and that goes for consumers from the East Coast to Utah.

Not only is visual content more likely to make an impression on consumers, visual media is more likely to be shared on social media channels. According to Social Media Today, social media users are 40 percent more likely to share visual content than written works.

Video Content

For content marketing companies in Utah and elsewhere, video productions can be a great way to boost engagement and help get your search results to the top of the first page. Videos are 50 times easier to get to the front page of search results than other kinds of content. Video work doesn’t have to be 100 percent original — you can use video to recycle old content and put a fresh spin on things.

By 2014, half of all Internet content existed in video form; by the end of the decade that number of expected to top 90 percent. Content marketing specialists who have yet to jump on the video bandwagon are potentially missing out on some serious marketing opportunities.

What Medium Fits the Audience Best?

In the end, content marketing professionals should pick the medium that fits the target audience the best. Whether it’s written works, static visual mediums or video, content that resonates best with viewers is content that drives conversions.

Mar 08
0

The Holy Trinity of Content Marketing: Channels, Strategies and Tactics

By | content marketing | No Comments

It’s well-known that content is an integral part of marketing; however, the million dollar question on every organization’s mind is: how does content marketing fit in? While it’s not exactly its own channel, like, say social media or search engine optimization, marketing companies from Utah through the Midwest are relying heavily upon the incorporation of content marketing into these channels for successful advertising campaigns. So where, exactly, does content marketing fit in?

Perhaps the primary focus of content marketing is to relay a message or story to your target audience. It doesn’t matter if you’re targeting an audience in Utah or a consumer base on the East Coast; content plays the critical role of conveying your brand’s story to your audience. Choosing how the audience receives the content comes second to the primary goal of conveying the brand relevance and personality via well-written content.

Strategic Content Through Brand Stories

In the same way that any type of marketing campaign, whether content-centric or not, needs an outlet to reach new target audiences, it also needs a solid strategy to be successful. And while content can’t be purely categorized into one sole “strategy,” it certainly can be designed to fit an effective marketing strategy.

The theme that your content intends to express to audiences is the core strategy of any marketing campaign, whether you’re targeting an outdoorsy audience in Utah or preppy Ivy League schools on the East Coast. Your content strategy should consist of a successful relationship between the channels that you use and your overarching theme.

Pinpoint Focus, Then Employ Tactics

The tactics behind content marketing consist primarily of how, when and where you choose to broadcast content. For example, a successful content marketing tactic might involve steady, organic link building through 100 percent unique articles, blogs and infographics. Before deciding on a particular tactic, however, analyze what your end goal is. Is it brand awareness, higher SEO rankings or more on-page conversions? Once you’ve pinpointed your primary focus, you can utilize the most resourceful content tactics possible.

Mar 04
1

Product Placement in Hip Hop & Rap

By | marketing, Music | No Comments

While Beyoncé’s shout out to Red Lobster in “Formation” was hard to miss, product placement in rap & hip hop music is often more subtle — but no less pervasive. From Run-DMC’s influential track “My Adidas” and Golden Age hip-hop’s fascination with Cristal champagne to Jay Z’s incessant name-dropping of fashion designer Tom Ford, marketing agencies got nothing on hip-hop’s biggest artists when it comes to clever and persistent product references.

From luxury cars and Air Jordan sneakers to chain restaurants and brands of fancy alcohol, check out these blatant brand product endorsements from both big-name rappers and lesser-known acts alike.

 

fusion_rappers

Mar 02
0

Content Marketing: Fact Vs. Fiction

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing | No Comments

Content marketing is easy, right? All you have to do is write a couple of blog posts, choose a few stock photos and call it a day, right? Wrong. From Utah through the Midwest, there are a plethora of myths surrounding how content marketing works. Some of the key attributes of this niche marketing genre require client to consumer trust, strategic brand investment and a healthy relationship with social media outlets.

Whether you’re believe old wives’ tales about re-spinning content or buying into the idea that marketing and advertising are one and the same, here’s the real scoop on fact, fiction and theory when it comes to content marketing.

Content-Marketing-Fact-Fiction

Mar 01
0

Inside the Beautiful Mind of a Content Marketer

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing | No Comments


The occupation of content marketing is uniquely different from other marketing occupations. Throughout Utah to the Midwest, the creative job description of a professional content marketer requires the mind of an artist coupled with the writing style of a reporter. By perpetually trying to think outside of the box, the content marketer must not only possess a keen sense of wit, but he or she must simultaneously be mentally organized and innovative.

As artists who are as passionate about AP Style as they are about the Oxford Comma (or lack thereof), finding a great content writer requires a unique simulation of particularly-curated character qualities. Here’s the breakdown on what makes or breaks a good content marketer.

fusion_contentbrain

Feb 25
0

Landing Page Essentials

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, web development | No Comments

The landing page of your website is so much more than just a place where end users go to learn more about your products and services — it’s also where they make a first impression of your company or business. There’s a specific science behind what makes a successful landing page and what might cause people to bounce from your site faster than a fifth-grade game of dodgeball. If you’re attempting to pursue any type of content marketing campaign — whether you’re in Utah or the Midwest — there are a few key components you should know about landing page content and layout.

From an attention-grabbing headline to straightforward design basics, here are a few tricks and tips to help you achieve a landing page that simultaneously attracts positive attention while decreasing your bounce rate.

fusion_landingpg

Feb 25
0

You Know You Work at an Ad Agency When…

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing | No Comments

The workplace is full of stereotypes; however, nothing quite defines typical marketing agencies like the quirky copywriter, music-geek art director or the frantic accountant. Walking into an ad agency is a bit like playing Russian roulette — depending on the day, you might either be met with a cranky, coffee-deprived crew or you might be applauded by a group of interns playing a competitive game of ping pong. One thing is for certain — you can never be sure of what happens behind the creative doors of a marketing agency. Depending on the type of day the team has had, you might be walking into Rivendell or you might be strolling into Mordor.

From the Justice League-certified programmer to the moleskin-clad copywriter, here are a few of the stereotypical people you might meet at your local ad agency.

Work-in-Ad-Agency