Over the past decade, consumers have dramatically changed the way they view content. With a smartphone in everybody’s pocket, statistics show that mobile searches have now surpassed desktop-based inquiries. Mobile is the new normal.
Read MoreWhat Brand Marketers Can Learn From The Best Online ‘About Us’ Pages
Eye-tracking research shows that audiences on average spend about 2.6 seconds scanning a website before focusing on a specific piece of copy. However, even in this content-crazed era where first impressions mean everything, many brand marketers have yet to utilise the full potential of their website content. It’s easier than you think to overlook ‘self-indulgent’ content, and focus on flashy web designs that promote friendly user experiences. This may be important, but to fully succeed at inbound marketing, brand marketers need to effectively communicate their company’s unique selling points – and this starts with the ‘About Us’ page.
Read MoreTopics Versus Keyword Search: The Changing Landscape of Search Engines
Over the past decade, Google search algorithms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data have had an increasingly huge impact on how digital content is viewed by different audiences. As technology and marketing content continue to evolve and intertwine over cyber space, these trends can no longer be passed off as digital buzz words. Content marketers must be aware of these digital trends and learn how to effectively implement them into their marketing strategies - or risk having their content fall on deaf ears, or in this case, an unread landing page.
Read More4 ways Journalism Is Evolving in the Digital Age
The average consumer processes 100,500 digital words every day, giving journalists ample opportunity to reach readers. However, advancements in technology have led to significant changes in news consumption, leaving traditional media channels on the backburner. With competition for consumer eyeballs at an all time high, how are journalists adapting to our increasingly connected world?
Read More5 Reasons Why You Should Integrate Virtual Reality Into Your Marketing Strategy
Estimates suggest that the virtual reality market will hit an astounding US$40.4 Billion in 2020, with the number of households owning a VR device to increase nine-fold. With numbers like this, it’s no wonder tech giants like Google, Samsung and Facebook are starting to invest heavily in virtual reality. Thanks to the continuously evolving digital landscape, content marketers should ensure that their companies are at the forefront of this enormous industry trend, and here’s why:
Read MoreHow Microsoft Set the Bar for Content Marketing
It’s a known fact that marketers plan to produce more content than ever in 2016. Why? Because engaging content costs 62% less than traditional marketing methods and generates about 3 times as many leads. With results like this it’s no surprise that big brands such as RedBull, Adobe, Hubspot, and IBM have massively increased their content marketing spend to produce strategic storytelling copy.
One brand that’s leading the way when it comes to curating content is cutting-edge software giant, Microsoft. Fueling its US$407 billion business, Simon J. Hughes, Business Planning Manager and Marketing Technologist at Microsoft, claims that creating a culture of content is critical to their success. Regardless of your organisation’s size or budget, content marketing has the potential to greatly increase customer loyalty and ultimately your ROI. Here are some of Microsoft’s key takeaways.
Read MoreA Step-by-step guide to Inbound Marketing For Startups
One of the biggest errors new entrepreneurs make is failing to incorporate a solid inbound marketing strategy into their startup. Startups are known for being typically strapped for resources, so why would they spend their hard earned cash on inbound content? Believe it or not, integrating this approach into your marketing strategy could prove to be the magic elixir that boosts customer acquisition and hacks massive growth. So ditch the pushy sales approach and become a thought leader in your industry by following Wordsmith’s step-by-step guide:
Read MoreWordsmith’s take on Content Marketing
Content marketing is more than just sharing content, it’s the strategic combination of producing, publishing and communicating content that promotes interactive discussions between consumers and companies.
Before the advent of the Internet, content marketing shared a colourful history with advertising and marketing, from industry reports to newspapers, conferences and client publications. Social media is now becoming a staple in the consumer digital diet, with over 1 million links shared on Facebook every 20 minutes and 9,100 tweets sent every second. Organisations that ignore content marketing do so at their own peril.
Read on for Wordsmith’s top tips to take your content marketing campaigns to the next level.
Read MoreMulticultural Marketing and What’s Lost in Translation
One of the challenges in opening your business to a global customer base is effectively marketing your products and services to consumers from different cultural backgrounds. In fact, multicultural marketing is fast becoming the norm and by 2042, no single group will have a majority – according to Carol Watson, Founder and President of cross-cultural talent consultancy Tangerine Watson, Inc. In order to remain relevant, online marketing content must address the needs of a growing worldwide audience.
Read MoreHow To Growth Hack Your Content For Millennials
By the year 2020, millennials will command more than US$1.4 trillion in spending power, and represent over one third of the population. Ignore them at your peril!
To attract millennials, marketers need to create concise, insightful campaigns that enhance the hectic lifestyles of this target audience. While trust, price and quality rank highly in the list of millennials’ priorities, there is a lot more work involved to reach this complicated niche than meets the eye. Maximize the effectiveness of your content marketing by employing these strategies:
Read More5 Content Marketing Trends That Are Here To Stay
What’s trending? That’s the question on every content marketer’s mind. It turns out utbound is out, and long-form, personalised content is in. One thing we all know is that customers are becoming increasingly disgruntled with one-sided content. They’re installing the latest adblocking software, fast-forwarding through marketing content and speed-reading articles to get to what they really want to know. Learn how to overcome these content hurdles with a few pointers from Wordsmith:
Read MoreChina’s consumers are changing the world
From 2000 to 2010, China's economy double in size, with consumption increasing from around US$650 billion to almost US$1.4 trillion. Despite China's recent cooling economic growth, depreciating currency and stock market volatility, resilient Chinese consumers are continuing to rock the boat of the global economy. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company study revealed that Chinese urban middle class families are changing the global economy on multiple fronts. So how can marketers better target the world's most lucrative consumers?
Read More5 Secrets to Writing with Flair
“At college most of us are encouraged to improve our vocabulary and to practice expressing complex ideas, but no one ever teaches us how to write with flair,” contends writing guru William Zinsser. The professor and literary critic tackles this subject with impeccable wit and insight in his book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide To Nonfiction, providing a wealth of timeless advice for writers. Here are Wordsmith’s top takeaways:
Read MoreHow to Write Short
We’ve all heard that “good things come in small packages”, but is this still the case when it comes to writing? Every 60 seconds, 4 million search inquiries are made on Google, 2.4 million users share content on Facebook and 277,000 tweets are tweeted. This explosion of information has resulted in decreasing attention spans and an increasing need for instant gratification – leading audiences to prefer short, clear content that provides value upfront.
Veteran writing guru Roy Peter Clark claims that truly great writers now speak volumes in a spatter of short sentences and ultra-specific acronyms. Is your short game up to scratch? Learn how to embrace brevity by following these 9 tips:
Read MoreHow To Gain The Trust of Ecommerce Consumers (and Keep It That Way)
Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular with today’s tech-savy, time-constrained and thrifty consumers because it offers unparalleled selection, convenience and competitive pricing. In fact, ecommerce is now the fastest growing online activity in China, currently reaching US$562 billion a year in sales.
While establishing an online store has never been easier, it gets a bit trickier when it comes to convincing consumers to part with their hard-earned cash. How can marketers overcome window shoppers’ fear of online transactions and convert them into loyal consumers?
Read More9 Unexpected Productivity Hacks To Keep You Motivated At Work
Maximising your productivity and sustaining it throughout the workday isn’t as hard as you’d think. Keep reading to see if one of our productivity hacks recharge your batteries.
Read MoreGray Matters: Writing and the Brain
Let’s get a bit meta and think about our brains for a moment.
The brain functions as the coordinating centre of sensation, nervous and intellectual activity. It is composed of approximately 100 billion neurons that constantly restructure themselves each time we learn new information. The organ is so strong that it can produce enough energy to power a light bulb.
But what exactly does this mean for writers? Neuroscientists, psychologists and writers are only scratching the surface on research into writing and the brain – so let’s take a closer look at what they’ve found so far.
Read MoreCreate Content That Sells: 5 Top Tips From A Conversion Copywriter
Your content may be the product of blood, sweat and tears, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s guaranteed to convert consumers. If all marketers were blissfully unaware of the tools and analytics needed to attract and keep consumers, we’d all be in big trouble.
Stimulating conversions through content marketing starts with increasing customer engagement, driving subscriptions, online traffic and encouraging brand loyalty. These are now the top priorities – or at least they should be – if you want to see your ROI skyrocket. Today, Kraft generates 4x more profit from content marketing than it does from targeted advertising, which definitely serves as food for thought. Check out our 5 top tips to master the art of conversion.
Read MoreHow Successful Brands Use User-Generated Content
Although living in an always-connected, digitally savy world has its perks, marketers must face the harsh realisation that traditional marketing techniques aren’t working as well as they used to. In the age of social media, the power lies in the hands of consumers.
Recent research shows that consumers trust User-Generated Content (UGC) more than all forms of media. However that’s not necessarily bad news. Active influencers who share your marketing messages through customer referrals and reviews are not only building brand loyalty, but also increasing your conversion rates. So how do we leverage user generated content?
Read More5 Ways To Increase Your Word-Of-Mouth Marketing
William Bernbach, creator of the groundbreaking Volkswagen “Lemon” campaign, claimed, “Word of mouth is the best medium of all.” And turns out he wasn’t far off. Nielsen research revealed that a whopping 92% of consumers trust referrals from family or friends more than any other type of advertising or referral. But if your reputation lies in the hands of consumer reviews, how can marketers get a word in edgewise? Luckily, new findings in lead generation and inbound marketing techniques are helping to eliminate the gap between corporate and consumer conversations. Interested in leveraging consumer goodwill and positive feedback? Read on…
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