Your marketing efforts are like a wind-up watch. On the surface, it looks like a simple mechanism, effortlessly ticking away. But open the back, and you see the dozens of tiny, intricate parts that work together to keep it running. If even one of those little gears doesn’t mesh, the whole watch can run too fast, too slow, or stop altogether.
Even if your marketing program runs like a fine Swiss watch, we can all benefit from periodic calibration.
We talk a lot about being a hybrid marketer on this blog, because we firmly believe it is the future of our profession. Hybrid marketing means you understand all of the interdependent parts that make a marketing campaign work. And that you can replace and refine pieces to make it work better.
This week’s roundup of top marketing content can help you become a master watchmaker. It includes a thorough guide to marketing on LinkedIn, bad Google AdWords habits to avoid, and counterintuitive (but solid) tips for getting more results with less content.
Read on to start making your marketing the precision instrument it needs to be.
1. Everything Should Not Be a Blog Post: Start Using Silos
“In general, linking from a blog to your website pages is like throwing a baseball from left field to right field before throwing it home — it doesn’t make sense. Ideally, you would go from left field to the shortstop and then to home plate, as that is the logical path.”
“Silo” has become a dirty word in the sales and marketing world. When it refers to different teams operating autonomously without communicating, silos are definitely on their way out. But when it refers to website structure, silos may make your site more SEO-friendly. That’s IBM SEO Specialist Patrick Stox’s perspective. He argues for most websites, the flat structure of a blog is less effective than a vertically-oriented structure. Check out the full article on Search Engine Land to see an explanation of the two structures, and why “silo” might be a word to reintroduce into your vocabulary.
2. Content and Social Tactics that Generate Leads for B2B Marketers
In this MarketingProfs article, ICW Content’s Ayaz Nanji presents results from a recent DemandWave survey of 284 B2B Marketers. Check the article to see which social media sites and content types generate the most leads (and revenue) for the respondents.
3. Google Kills off Side Ads: What You Need to Know
As with any major change in the tools we use each day (like Twitter’s disabling of share counts in November), Google’s announcement caused plenty of speculation and panic this week. Wordstream Founder Larry Kim cuts through the chatter with this level-headed analysis of what Google did, what it means, and what marketers should do next.
4. How to Advertise on LinkedIn
This Social Media Examiner guide from Kristi Hines is a useful 101-level resource for getting results with LinkedIn Marketing Solutions’ products. It walks you screen-by-screen through the process of creating an ad or update, targeting an audience, and setting a budget.
5. 10 Google AdWords Mistakes You Need to Avoid
This SlideShare presentation from Wishpond rounds up solid AdWords advice from ten marketing thought leaders. These aren’t one-liner sound bites, either: there’s plenty of actionable advice here.
6. LinkedIn Influences Highest Order Value for Ecommerce Purchases
This eMarketer article presents the results of an AddShoppers survey of social media channels and their impact on buying behavior. We won’t spoil which social media site has the highest value, because it is spoiled in the headline. Still, the results are intriguing. Click through to be surprised by what is, and isn’t, in the top 10.
7. Why You Need Two Types of Content Strategist
“You must coordinate strategies for both the front end and the back end if your enterprise aspires to a scalable approach to content – an approach that leads to content that performs well with customers and takes advantage of automation.”
I know what you’re thinking: Ten years ago we had never heard of a content strategist, and now we need two? But content expert Ann Rockley makes the case that there are two different kinds of content strategy, each with its own requirements, each essential to content marketing success.
8. 7 Tips for Writing Brilliant Blog Posts [Infographic]
Title notwithstanding, there are far more than seven tips in this article and accompanying infographic. The article focuses on style and editorial concerns, while the infographic has solid advice for the nuts-and-bolts of creation and amplification.
9. Top 16 Most Effective Search Engine Optimization Tips
This infographic from Smart Insights is practically a checklist for marketers who need to strengthen their SEO Kung Fu. Content creators should print out a copy to keep on the wall by their desks.
10. How to Increase Your Traffic by Deleting Your Content
There’s something inherently satisfying about a presentation that starts with an indefensible premise, then proceeds to show how right the premise is. This SlideShare from Social Media Examiner’s Leslie Samuel details how blogger Todd Tresidder increased his traffic threefold by deleting 33% of his content.
