Berkeley in May 2012: Where Content Strategy and Content Marketing Meet

Content marketing. It’s a hot topic. It seems that everywhere you look, marketers are chatting up a storm about it. Content marketing this, content marketing strategy that. But, repeating the words over and over doesn’t make one a content marketing master. In this interview with Bill Flitter, CEO of dlvr.it, we chat about content marketing, content strategy, and the upcoming Content Marketing Strategies Conference. TCW: Tell us a little about yourself and what you do for a living. BF: Thanks, Scott. I’m Bill Flitter, CEO and Co-founder of dlvr.it. dlvr.it Read the full article…

[Marketoon] PowerPoint It To Death

“Rapid prototyping is a key principle of successful innovation,” self-declared ‘marketoonist’ Tom Fishburne, Marketoon Studios says. “The sooner we make prototypes, the sooner we figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what to make in the next prototype.” “Yet,” Fishburne writes in his popular blog filled with comical ‘marketoons’, “marketers are quicker to PowerPoint than to prototype. We spend more time on two-by-two matrixes and venn diagrams talking about ideas than actually making ideas happen.” Read the entire post and then check out Fishburne’s Marketoon Studios. You might find marketoons Read the full article…

Content Strategy Falls Short Of Addressing The Real Problems: An Interview With Barbara Saunders

In our latest installment of The Content Wrangler Interviews we chat with freelance writer Barbara Saunders about content strategy, content “screen shots”, and why she has some problems with the idea that content assets can be improved by better management. As usual, we’d love to know what you think. Give it a quick read, then share your views in the comments section. TCW: Hey, Barbara. Thanks for spending some time with us today. Tell us a little about yourself and what you do for a living. BS: I’m a creative Read the full article…

Are Marketers Walking the Content Marketing Talk?

At times I think marketers live in a vacuum. We spend a lot of time talking shop to each other on social media … it’s fun; it’s comfortable; it’s edifying; but is it useful? I know one thing: When I retreat to the safety of my marketing communication bubble, I violate my own advice to clients, which is – Get out of the ivory tower Don’t be inwardly focused Listen to customers Talk their language Write from their point of view Put a profitable purpose into every marketing activity I Read the full article…

Understanding Word of Mouth Marketing

Straight from the horse’s mouth? Sorry, we could’t resist. This video from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), does a great job of demystifying word of mouth marketing. WOMMA is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing and advocating the discipline of credible word of mouth marketing and promoting word of mouth as a solution to business challenges.

[Great Ideas Gone Wrong] Unlisted Video: Adobe Photoshop Evangelist Campaign Makes Finding “Hidden Gems” Challenging

Here at The Content Wrangler, we love social marketing techniques that engage users and create a desire for interaction with the brand. The Adobe Photoshop “hidden gems” campaign illustrates this point nicely. It’s brief, focused on learning from the customer by asking them what they think in a way that encourages their active participation, and its transparent — everyone will get to see all the entries and judge for themselves the value of the ideas submitted. Adobe offers recognition and real-world rewards for the winner. It’s a win-win for all Read the full article…

[Webinar] The Trifecta of Findability: Content Marketing, Socially-Enabled Content, and Search-Ready Writing

If your customers can’t find it, they can’t buy it, use it, or recommend it to others. Seems like common sense, right. Then why is content so difficult to find when we need it? There are a variety of reasons, of course, some easier to overcome than others. In this one-hour web discussion, Friday, December 9, 2011, Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, will explore the “trifecta of findability” — content marketing, socially-enabled content, and search-ready writing — with a panel of experts. The Wrangler will help you understand how each Read the full article…

[Webinar] Kristina Halvorson: Don’t Overlook Governance! Understanding The Need For Control In A Web Content Strategy

Friday, August 19, 2011 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT — Register today! In an agile world, the need for speed is critical, especially in highly competitive markets. The web allows us to publish information quickly — in near real-time, from an increasing array of mobile devices — and to make changes to our content on demand. While streamlining content production processes and being able to react quickly to threats from the competition is a good thing, the lack of control — or more specifically, governance — is troublesome. Far Read the full article…

The Best Minds In The Business Join The Content Wrangler For Content Strategy Day at tcworld 2011

by Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler There’s been a lot of talk about content strategy, but few people truly understand what a content strategy is and what’s involved in creating one. That’s because content strategy is a relatively new discipline and its practitioners don’t all use a universal set of practices. Nor do they follow the same standards or collect the same metrics. They don’t share a common vocabulary. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds, each with a different focus. The end result is confusion. That’s why The Read the full article…

Where Old School Marketing Campaigns Fail, Variable Data Cross-Media Marketing Shines

by Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler It’s a fact. Most corporate marketing dollars are wasted on outdated approaches that yield astoundingly unimpressive results. Today’s marketers are spending buckets of money producing old school campaigns distributed via new school delivery channels. Newsletters now arrive via email. Special offers via Facebook. Twitter has become the new fax machine. These ‘spray-and-pray’ approaches to marketing are not impressive. Let’s look at the math. In many industries a 2-3% response to a traditional direct marketing campaign is viewed as a success. This means that 98% Read the full article…

You Are Never Too Small For Big Marketing

At ifridge many of my clients would be classified as the smaller to mid-sized companies who are quickly growing in their respective markets. This type of environment for a marketer while often chaotic is also very inspiring. The teams are full of energy, new ideas are introduced often, and everyone does what it takes to get the job done. What we also see quite often is that these types of companies are used to moving quickly with little resources and they think that is just the way it needs to Read the full article…

Here Comes Socially-Enabled Everything – Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler @ Web Content 2010 Chicago

Your Color Almost, But Different: Why Localizing Content Without Personalizing It Is A Bad Idea

Localization is a hot topic among software manufacturers who make tools that they claim can help you provide your customers with relevant, laser-targeted content. More than ever, it seems, these firms are hyper-busy trying to get your attention. From webinars to white papers, from free trial software to conference presentations, from text messages to Twitter tweets, localization software vendors are vying for your attention in hopes you’ll finally make the move to localized content. Localization software and services vendors usually hail from the translation industry. Some claim to have created Read the full article…

Ending The Twitter Mystery: What People Think About Twitter—And How They Use It

By Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler and The Content Wrangler Community