As I have scanned and read the 100 plus blogs in my Google Reader subscriptions over the past week these are five articles that have stood out.

1. 10 Steps To Optimize Your Content Marketing Strategy

This article is fromLee Oddens Blog titled “Top Rank Blog” which always has great posts and is worth subscribing to if you have an interest in social media, SEO and inbound marketing. He says

“The rising importance of optimizing one’s digital assets came out of Google and other search engines’ decision to start including information and file types from other sources than their main search index. Some queries trigger search results that go beyond web pages, MS Office docs and PDF files to include sources such as images, blog posts, news, video thumbnails, books and shopping.

While many SEOs were responding to the changed landscape of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and optimizing for other file types, many others were already optimizing holistically under the premise of, “What can be searched on can be optimized“.

Most companies are not wired to create the variety of content that can achieve top visibility on search engines. In most cases, search engine optimization efforts are focused on content and digital assets that are currently in place.  Being able to get more marketing impact out of existing content is as much a driver of digital asset optimization as it is a part of a holistic strategy that matches up with the opportunities presented by an ever changing search results page”.. read more

2. The Personal Branding Content Lifecycle

Personal branding is so much easier now with the ease of blogging and being able to promote your content with social media. This article by Chad Levitt on Dan Scwabels blog (which is always full of great tips and insights on how to create a personal brand) looks at how important content is as part of a personal brand creation and marketing strategy. He says..

“To create a credible and influential personal brand requires that you create remarkable content. Here is a flow chart that details the different stages of the personal branding content life cycle. Use it to help you understand the different stages and how to use each stage more effectively as you create the brand called you.

Create Content:

Creating content is the first step in the content life cycle. Content can be blog posts, interviews, video blog posts, mash-ups, wikis, podcasts, eBooks, webinars, linkfests, etc. We live in a world that is thirsty for great content. If you want to get ahead with your personal brand you need to see yourself in the business of creating content regardless of what industry you are in. There is a market for everything and eyeballs waiting for their attention to be grabbed“…read more

3. Top Trends in Mobile

Mobile data is going to continue to be one of the fastest  growing areas in the online and digital space and cannot be ignored in developing and creating an online presence either personally or for your corporate brand. This article is from Mashable  one of the top social media blogs in the world..

“Overall, the trend of convergence between mobile devices and the internet not only continues, but is accelerating. We saw lots of shiny new phones of course, but we’re also hearing a lot more about environments like the car becoming increasingly connected. Tablets and smartbooks add to the array of devices we’ll need data plans for, and cell carriers will need to begin addressing a heterogeny of devices and platforms that single consumers need to get connected. Read on for some of the bigger trends the wireless industry is concerning itself with today and down the next few years of the mobile roadmap”... read more

4. Video Is The Fastest Growing Website Feature For Small Business

The other content trend in social media and SEO  that you ignore at your marketing peril with over 25 billion online videos being viewed in the United States a month is online video. This article by Reel SEO highlights online video and its marketing importance for small business…

“Indeed, small businesses have been racing to get their websites video-capable over the past year - and those same small businesses are spending more on paid search advertising.  According to a new report, small business advertisers spent more than twice as much on paid search and nearly 4 times as many of them reported having video on their website vs. a year ago.

Local online advertising firm WebVisible just released the second installment of their study, “State of Small Business Online Advertising,” which examines trends among their nearly 12000 small business advertisers and represents around $22M in Q4 2009 U.S. small business advertiser spending.

While there are a lot of nuggets of data about where SMBs are headed with online advertising, I thought I would take some time to highlight the aspects of the data that most apply to our readers: video, search, and conversion”…read more

5. Scaling Social Media

A lot of people say social media marketing is free. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the platforms are free but the time and resources required take time and expertise and these are not without cost. As social media marketing matures how to scale the effort is new territory. In this article Chris Brogan one of the top social media bloggers and authors globally touches on what are some of the considerations in taking social media marketing to the next level….

“If you’re a company considering using social media tools for business communications, marketing, sales, etc, you’re no doubt wondering about how much time it will add to your already busy day, especially if you’re a smaller business. The answer varies depending on how you’re using it, how many platforms you’re engaging, your goals, and more. But we can still walk through some potential recipes and give you a sense of what will take time, how you might budget for it, and how to consider your engagement efforts. From a business perspective (and you can stretch this for non-profits and other organizations), it comes down to a mix of prioritizing and satisfying customer needs. Here are my thoughts on scaling social media.”

What are the top 5 social media articles you have read this week?

I recently participated on a marketing panel where the discussion topic was titled “Digital and Online. What’s Next” and a lot of the discussion and questions were about social media and social media marketing.

There is a distinct trend within digital marketing called “content marketing” that has emerged as marketing continues to evolve  that is facilitated by social media.

Social media allows information to be shared and amplified by online word of mouth…also sometimes called “world of mouth”. Previously the only way you could share information was through actual word of mouth in your town or village square either face to face or telephone. Social media with its ease of use and it’s power to share information virally to many friends at once is changing the marketing landscape.

Many  marketers have not picked up this emerging trend of content marketing as it is not currently mainstream.

Hubspot is one of several  B2B Technology companies that have developed a technology platform that  leverages the “Content Marketing” through optimizing and promoting  that content through Search Engine Optimization and Social Media.

So we now have 3 New Pillars of Marketing and they are.

1. Content including text , video and powerpoint presentations amongst many other types of media
2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization).. to facilitate that content to be found by people using search engines such as Google.
3. Social Media.. to amplify and leverage the content through online word of mouth

A recent guest post on the Hubspot blog by Zack Urlocker covers how effective this type of marketing has become when he said.

” When Sun Microsystems acquired MySQL in 2008, we applied the same techniques (inbound marketing through content) across Sun’s entire product line of software, servers and storage. The results were significant. In the course of a year, we increased the lead volume by 100x and created a pipeline of revenue approaching a $500 million annual run rate.” ..Now that is a B2B marketing strategy that is worth pursuing.

Also Lee Odden from Top Rank Blog adds to the discussion and takes a closer look at enhancing your content marketing with a post title ” 10 Steps to Optimize Your Content Marketing Strategy“  that is certainly a great read on the topic.

I recently wrote a post titled “30 Things You Shouldn’t Share on Social Media” which highlighted some of the  negative aspects of social media.

To be  positive I decided that I should list “20 things you should share on social media” that can assist your business to be viewed as a leader in its industry and drive inquiry and sales and help you get found online.

So here is a list that might assist you with what things you should be sharing as a business on social media.

20 Things You Should Share On Social Media

1. YouTube Videos reviewing products or showing how to construct a product for DIY
2. Photos of events, exhibitions and post them on Flickr
3. If you are a creative business and create images and art also put them on Flickr or other social media sharing sites
4. Audio recordings of your online videos put them on your website or blog
5. PDF documents of offline archived information that is appropriate to put online
6. Slideshare presentations
7. Graphs
8. Infographics
9. Webinars
10. Podcasts
11. Music if you are a musician
12. Text format  of your video blog posts
13. Microsoft Office Documents
14. Notes displaying keypoints from your power point presentations
15. Newsletters
16. Press releases about your brand
17. News items about your company
18. Your Bookmarking such as Delicious, Stumbleupon and Digg
19. Competitions shouldn’t be just advertised on traditional Mass Media  but shared via social media  ..have a look at Ford’s Fiesta competition
20. Share your humour.. mix up your serious content with some humourous photo’s, articles and even cartoons

Every one of these different types of content or “digital assets” can be published on multiple social media channels that are appropriate to leverage your content by world of mouth.

What content are you sharing on social media and can you do it better?

Writing an article for your company blog is not for everyone. Just trying to come up with ideas for the blog can be a challenge. At the end of the day there is one important element that is absolutely essential and its name is “Passion” with a capital P…. I couldn’t write about cooking, it bores me. ….Putting pen to paper about gardening would turn me to drink. So there you have it, it’s the one core ingredient required or else your blogging journey will not be a lifetime adventure but just a weekend away.

So you have the passion, you can spell, you don’t mind writing a few sentences and your grammar ain’t half bad, so what’s next. Well it helps to create the right mood, the right eco-system to help facilitate a creative writing head space.

Over at the inspiring Zen Habits blog to which I have my Google reader plugged into, I came upon an article titled “9 simple ways you can bring yourself into flow” which provided some great strategies on how to get into creative flow for writing. The 9 ways are below in simple format

• Pick a enjoyable, challenging activity – this means passion
• Eliminate distraction
• Think before you do
• Isolate yourself
• Let go
• Give yourself a time limit
• Keep moving
• Don’t think
• Practice

So we have laid the platform for a creative blog writing environment, what are some tips on keeping that blog post cupboard full of ideas and your company’s blog pumping out great content that will change your business.

1. Industry News – whats happening this week, this month

2. Industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments

3. Customers Pain Points – Write posts that provide solutions for your customers problems

4. Customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project, they will often let you publish their name

5. What not to do – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall remain anonymous of course)

6. Create a video blog post by interviewing a successful client – this can a powerful providing authentic evidence of authority and credibility for both you and the client

7. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each of  your vertical markets

8. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for future reference and planning

9. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and personal blogs for ideas

10. Look through your latest news releases for ideas

11. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are passionate about

12. Develop a series of how to blog posts

13. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos

14. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button and write the headline and save it as a draft or write it down before you forget it.

15. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye

16. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own

17. Place Powerpoint presentations on your blog by posting  and then embedding links from Slideshare

18.  Run polls and surveys on your blog

19. Create great headlines that catch people attention and makes them want to read the rest of the article

20. Add credbility banners such as how many subscribers, number of hits, blog grade and any awards

21. Provide “share this” buttons to Facebook and Twitter as a minimum

22. Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and Email

23. Write in bite size chunks and use bullet points so readers can quickly and easy consumption

24. Break up large blocks of text with iconic and interesting images

25. Take screen shots to place in your post using Software like Snagit to highlight points .. a picture is worth a 1000 words

26. Be yourself even if it is a company blog.. be authentic.

27. Optimize your blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

28. Promote and distribute your posts on to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

29. Make the blog easy to find on your company’s web page with a large bannner or button

30. Finally, have fun, mix up the types of posts and add some humour occasionally

What makes your blog rock? Look forward to hearing your suggestions

I recently read an article about how some websites are churning out content using low cost content production resources such as articles from content farms and videos from automated video production companies.

So why do these companies pump out this low value content?

• Long tail search engine rankings
• To monetise via either via affiliate links within content or
• Display ad revenue, selling value by every thousand impressions.

What are the numbers? At last estimate, one such network reported revenue of  over $200 million a year.

The mass media companies with their newspapers (Text) and TV (Video)  rely on subscriptions, readership and ratings to obtain their valuable cash flow. The reason they generate the dollars is because the more valuable the content they provide the more money they make. TV shows and events such as the Super Bowl provide millions of dollars per 30 second commercial because large numbers of people value the content, nothing more nothing less.

In the social media universe of Blogs, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube the rules of valuable unique content are no different.

People read a blog because the content is interesting and inviting. People watch a YouTube video because it entertains, informs or educates.

The paradox about content is that the value is not just for the the audience but also the producer of the content. So why am I writing “content” late at night ?.. because the value provided is not just for the reader but for me.. yes me (the selfish writer). So what do I get out of it?

• Tired in the morning … Yes
• Red Eyes.. Yes
• Slightly annoyed partner.. Yes
• Worn out Keyboard.. Yes

All of the above is true but the real essence here is that to write this, I had to read (love reading), learn (love a bit of learning), think (now that is dangerous) and discipline myself to.. not watch TV or play…but  to sit down and write this post. I gain insights and learnings that provide me, the writer with value that is very hard to measure on an ROI level. ..a content production farm does not float my boat, it doesn’t give me juice or passion.

So what are the benefits?

• Possibly positions me as a thought leader
• Helps me gain a little bit of credibility
• Meet great people through comments and Tweets
• Constant learning
• Improves my blogs SEO
• Increases my subscriber count through growing traffic
• Positions me to maybe monetize my blog
• Delays Dementia

So why do you write your blog or publish your VBlog?

Content marketing is a new and emerging marketing strategy that is quickly becoming a major consideration to be included in a companies online marketing toolkit as the traditional methods of marketing become less efficient and so more costly.

The web allows companies and brands to showcase their expertise and thought leadership through content marketing with minimal friction online that can be spread through different mediums and channels at a lower cost.

So what is content marketing?

A definition by Wikipedia “Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. In contrast to traditional marketing methods that aim to increase sales or awareness through interruption techniques, content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty better than traditional marketing techniques”

Junta 42 ( A content marketing focused company)  defines it this way “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

A new survey from Junta 42 reveals the key content marketing survey findings:

• According to the survey, content marketing spending comprises 33% of the total marketing budget (up 11% from 2008)
• Smaller companies spend more than 2x that of larger companies on content marketing
• Marketers are increasing their focus on mobile content solutions
• Only 7% of marketers are spending less on content in 2010

The top 7 content products that are being used and should be included in your marketing plans are

1. Social Media
2. e-Newsletters
3. Blogs
4. White Papers
5. Article Marketing
6. Case Studies
7. Online Videos

This shows that marketers are leveraging new media content products more than ever – nearly 3/4 are leveraging content through social media and a majority are tapping into blogs and enewsletters. White papers and case studies continue to be mainstays in the content marketing portfolio.

What is rather revealing is the continuing marketing importance of email marketing (e-Newsletters) in the marketing mix with a ranking at number two. This continues to affirm its importance that I highlighted in a previous post “Do Marketers Prefer Social Media or Email Marketing?”

The other content medium to watch is mobile content as the Smart Phone and faster mobile broadband speeds allow a more meanginful experience for mobile users as well as the emerging Gen Y users that consume more and more content on the move via their mobile phones.

So is content marketing in its different mediums and channels part of your marketing plans for 2010?

I have previously mentioned Gary Vaynerchuk’s story and how he grew his family wine business from $4 Million to $45 Million using  online video and social media. He started as the co-owner of a wine store in New Jersey. He gained fame as the host of Wine Library TV, a video blog on the subject of wine, built his wine store into a multi-million dollar business and established his personal brand with TV appearances and speaking engagements around the world.

We will look more extensively on some of the lessons he has learned on his adventure, that may inspire you and motivate you to take your company and brand to the next level, using social media and online video.

1. Blog about your passion: Focus on what you love to do. Find your passion and start blogging about it. By doing what you love, you will be more dedicated, more genuine and you will have more enthusiasm. Your readers, your viewers will notice this. Publishing great content will be easier. Sharing your knowledge and experience will be easier. Making the content unique, interesting and useful to your target group will be easier, as long as you do what you love. Then, find a way to monetise it.
   
2. Put your face in front of people: Gary V’s way “Answer every single email and every single comment on your blog for the rest of your freaking life”
3. Don’t be a faceless corporation: Show your face, show your personality. Make it easy for your audience to reach you. Have a Twitter account. Listen to what your readers say. Interact with your audience. Show your appreciation by answering comments / e-mails / tweets you get.
4. Spread the word: “Content is king but marketing is queen and the queen runs the household”Many bloggers just publish a post and wait for visitors and subscribers to be handed to them on a silver platter. That is too passive. You can’t sit around waiting for people to find your blog, you need to find them, help them out, show them the value you create and win them one by one.
5. Be different and eccentric: Do not be afraid to be seen as different, or even eccentric. Being different or eccentric in the crowded world of blogs is the strength. Gary Vaynerchuk is very hyperactive and has a very high energy level in his video blogs. He is very direct and doesn’t censor himself, which makes him very authentic and inspirational to follow.
6. Create a dedicated tribe following you: He says “With you and a little bit of me, we’re changing the wine world, whether they like it or not”
7. Be part of the conversation and connect and listen to your audience: You are a part of the dialog and you are making your customers part of a greater community. You build fans one by one. You show that you care, you give your customers someone they can trust and you lead your tribe towards a better place.
8. Go where competitors don’t go: Vaynerchuk leveraged modern technology to reach young wine audience. His video blog caught the attention of a demographic new to wine, at the time when none of competitors cared about Internet, video blogging or social media. To stand out and to differentiate yourself in a blogging world that is saturated with text, you can expand by using video and audio for content and message delivery.
9. Pump out content consistently: “Pump out content – if you don’t produce something every day you’ll be out hustled”Gary Vaynerchuk started his video blog and has remained dedicated and very consistent in producing content and recording multiple video blogs every week for several years now. Creating content regularly builds trust and dependability and gives readers a reason to subscribe and check back often and follow you. He puts out 5 video blogs a week. (John Chow puts out 4-5 blogs a day)
10. Relentlessly promote: He promotes himself and his Wine Library TV Vlog, where he “brings the thunder” to wine reviews, smashing the preconceived notions that wine appreciation has to be snooty. Watch enough episodes and you not only will you get to know wines, you’re liable to become a NY Jets fan.
11. Learn how to use online video: Immerse Yourself in The Online Video Platforms, Wine Library TV is almost a masterclass in vlogging. It’s lo-fi without feeling that way. It’s a direct reflection of Vaynerchuk’s high-energy, passion and sincerity. And Vaynerchuk is a master of social media, using blogs, Twitter, social networks — anything that invites users and keeps them active in the show and his world.
12. Have patience: Building a business, a brand is not a sprint it is a marathon, its not about building a landing page and making millions.
13. Work hard: He works 15 hour days If you really want it, 7 o’clock at night, to 2 in the morning is plenty of time to do damage after you have finished your day job.
14. Marketing is about the 2 C’s, content and community. Don’t forget about that second C – Community – and think of your audience as human beings, not nameless, faceless potential for ROI
15. Social media are just tools to help you engage with your community. They don’t make the difference, you make the difference. Use the tools to interact with your community. Word of mouth is incredible for building your brand, and social media amplifies your WOM reach.
16. Show you care: Big corporations “don’t get it” because they don’t care about their company. But be glad the mainstream “doesn’t get it” because this is your opportunity to get ahead of the game. Build your equity, build your brand, before they get here.
17. Don’t spend time controlling your message: You can’t control your message on the web, get clear and spend your time fixing your message so it makes sense.
18. Stop doing stuff you hate: You can lose just as much money being happy as hell.
19. You have to hustle and want it more than everyone else .
20. You need a business model: So look at all the different ways you can make some cash along the way. The book “Free”  by Chris Anderson, lists 50 different business models that may give you inspiration.
21. Keep in mind you are creating a “body of work”: Legacy is greater than currency – but you have to create it and the web as a big copying  machine, records and keeps it and spreads it.
22. The Gatekeepers are losing control. Befoore the Internet and Social Media you had to get past the gatekeepers the PA’s, agents and middlemen. Now you can get your video in front of them via “multiple social media channels” like Facebook,YouTube and Twitter
23. Believe in what you’re doing: whether it’s your personal brand, or the product you represent – or you need to get out now.
24. Everyone is going to be consuming content everywhere: So put your content into as many types of platforms and mediums as possible
    
25. Personal Brand Has become increasingly important: Create brand equity in yourself.
26. Get out and network: Online and Offline
27. Use As Many Tools as you can: Connect to your user base anyway you can, everywhere you can, as often as you can to multiply your effort.
28. Niches can go crazy: Find a niche you love. The web has made the ability to create micro niches extremely profitable as we now have a global village where you can sell online 24/7 worldwide.
29. Comment on blogs and video Blogs: Leave a solid response that shows you understand the space and put in the first comment then everone who reads the blog will see you first at the end of the blog.
30. Produce a show and own your niche: It’s a gold rush out there
31. Use Viddler instead of YouTube: You can add your own logo to Viddler
32. Uploading to YouTube is a huge mistake (says Gary): You’re promoting their brand, not yours.

These lessons aren’t an easy act to follow, but just applying some of them will get you well on the way. How are you planning to use social media and online video for your brand?

A blog does take effort, time and commitment and along with your website is the foundation or “HomeBase” for your content. The corporate blog should be the cornerstone to your social media strategy that will be read for years and will help establish you and your company as a thought leader that will get people coming back again and again to your website and blog.

A Blog is your homebase that you own and control and your company’s social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn  and Facebook are the outposts that you should place some of your core content as appropriate for that particular channel.

In this video we look at some of the reasons why a blog is  so important.

If you want more in depth comprehensive details go to my article “20 Reasons Why You Should Blog Before You Twitter”

So, do you prefer to Blog or Tweet?