Why longer articles will rank better on Google than short articles in 2014

From Jayson DeMers at the Search Engine Journal:

Not long ago, you could publish a couple 500-word blog posts per week and gain measurable traffic and authority with Google. While short articles do still have value, there’s definitely a trend within Google toward favoring longer content. 

In the future, I expect that articles will need to be a minimum of 1,000 words in length to rank well in Google, and better yet if they’re over 2,000 words. Google’s new in-depth article section is a good indicator of where things are going. According to Google, “Users often turn to Google to answer a quick question, but research suggests that up to 10% of users’ daily information needs involve learning about a broad topic.”

Why social media are neither cheap nor easy

Hugh Stephens blogs at Ragan's PR Daily:

Social media requires a significant investment to start and sustain. That includes internal costs (resourcing, training) and often external costs (marketing to consumers, prizes for your communities and even a consultant or two). 

But the attitude that you can easily create a social media strategy for an organization with more than $10 million in turnover in a half-day workshop is ludicrous. Sure, it's doable for a tiny nonprofit, but not for a large brand in need of a strategy that will reach across many marketing channels for a vast range of products.

Similarly, the idea that no one department can own social media is nearsighted. Yes, you have a PR department that manages media inquiries, but does the PR department actually provide quotes to the media or complete interviews? Generally, no. The job of the PR department is to facilitate connections and liaise with a range of internal departments.

While some group has to own and be responsible for social media, that doesn't mean that a small, defined group controls the purview of social media.

Google+: How four B2B tech companies are embracing the platform

From Nicholette Beard at the Top Rank blog:

While sports teams, news outlets, car companies, universities, non-profits and the entertainment industry dominate the top 200 business pages on Google+, a growing number of B2B technology companies have embraced Google+ as well. 

As with any top consumer brand, consistent engagement is crucial to success. B2B technology brands are developing relationships with prospects just like on any other social platform. In the world of optimizing customer experience across the B2B sales cycle,  Google+ for businesses offers B2B  marketers an opportunity to connect with buyers in a meaningful way and provide relevant information. 

Thought leaders and subject matter experts increasingly serve as trusted sources to help business buyers determine the best solution to solve a business need. Knowledge and expertise combined with social media have trumped the peer influencers of the traditional buyer, giving rise to the “B2B Social Buyer”.

Let’s take a look at some well-known B2B technology brands taking advantage of this new type of buyer who sources information and networks on Google+

Learners, shoppers and buyers: Create content for all 3 audiences

Advice from Remington Begg at Hubspot:

Too often, marketers go "straight for the throat." Typically, they only include CTA's (calls-to-action) that are for prospects that are ready to buy now (i.e. “Buy Now,” “Request a Consultation,” or "Call Today"). By modifying your website to have a balance of content, CTAs, and lead generation opportunities for every step of the buying cycle, you will find a huge increase in engagement and conversions on your site. 

Inbound marketers often refer to the steps of the buying cycle as:Top of the Funnel, or TOFU Middle of the Funnel, or MOFU Bottom of the Funnel, or BOFU.
When talking to new clients we like to describe each of these buying cycles as Learners (TOFU), Shoppers (MOFU), and Buyers (BOFU). Call them whatever makes the most sense to you.

• An example of a Learner or (TOFU) prospect is someone searching Google for "best midsize family car."

• An example of a Shopper or (MOFU) prospect is someone searching Google for "crossover SUV reviews."

• An example of a Buyer or (BOFU) prospect is someone searching Google for "Ford Edge for sale."

Think about what content you've created on your website that helps the "Learner" learn about why there is a need for your product or service. Think about what pain points it addresses. Now, think about opportunities to nurture your prospect to the Shopper stage, and then the Buyer stage, and then rinse and repeat for each of your services. Each step of the way there are opportunities to convert leads, with tools from the inbound content toolbox: ebooks, whitepapers, webinars -- you name it.

How to use hashtags to tell your story

From Ohad Frankfurt at Social Media Today:

Recently I had the pleasure to spend almost a month in Berlin with my entire team over at Swayy, we wanted to post photos from our trip in a way that will help us tell our story in the form of a photo album, so what we did was create a hashtag: “#SwayyingBerlin” - and add it to each photo we upload. That way our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers could see a photo album of our trip once they clicked or searched for that hashtag. 

7 tips for writing your first Kindle book

From Copyblogger:

A Kindle book doesn’t have to be mega-long. 10,000 words is a good length; some books are even shorter. 

Writing a book is like creating a series of blog posts around one theme. Each blog post becomes a chapter that builds on the previous chapter. 

I can’t tell you that writing your first book is easy, but with some help just about any good content creator can do it. Here are my 7 most useful tips:

1. Write for one reader. When you know your ideal reader, you know how much she already knows. You can avoid boring her with obvious information; you can use a dash of the humor she appreciates; and you can provide exactly the information she’s looking for.
2. Choose a topic you know well. Having to do research will considerably slow you down.
3. Outline your book. I used old-fashioned index cards on which I wrote down the What, Why, and How for each chapter. It helped me stay on track.
4. Use a straightforward headline for the title, like 7 Days to Reaching a [Specific Goal]. My book describes a simple 6-step process for writing web copy.
5. Write the book’s sales page before you start writing. It helps you remember exactly what benefits you want to deliver to your readers.
6. Find a few friendly readers who match your ideal reader profile and give them your first draft. Not only will they help make your book better, it will also boost your confidence.
7. Find a writing buddy or a coach. Writing a book can feel scary, terrifying even. Talking to someone who understands will help you overcome fear.

4 common traits of great content

From B2B Digital Marketing:

Great content is:

• Educational (or entertaining). You come away wiser or with your cares temporarily melted away.

• Empowering. Great content is more than just actionable, it empowers you to do something you couldn’t have done before.

• Emotional. It makes you feel something, not just know something.

• Respectful of your time. It accomplishes the above without dragging on.

5 steps to using Instagram more efficiently

From Chelsea Hejny at Ragan's: 

Instagram is a lot like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, i.e., it can be a total time-suck.
It’s super easy to get distracted from doing things that are not work related, so I’m offering these tips for productively using the popular photo- and video-sharing platform. 

Ten minutes a day is all you need to manage your brand’s Instagram account. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of Instagram without wasting a minute ...

Advertising vs. content marketing: What do the numbers say?

From Marketo via PR Daily:

3 reasons why apps fail to work for content marketing -- and why web sites will survive

From Copyblogger:

There’s one thing that people turn to the Internet for en masse that apps are not better for, and that’s freely available content. When it comes to content marketing (as opposed to data like flight schedules), there’s no beating the open web. 

Most of the content we consume is not what we already subscribe to. We discover and search for new content daily, and we expect to be able to experience it without downloading an app. 

Luckily, cutting-edge mobile-responsive websites are faster, more user-friendly, and more powerful than ever. And with HTML5, a webpage can be built to perform any function an app can. 

On the other hand, putting your content in a traditional app means:

• Your content is invisible to search engines.
• Your content is blocked from seamless social sharing.
• You’re asking people to download an app before they’ve experienced your content, which will sharply diminish your audience-building efforts.

That’s a really bad idea.

VIDEO: What can we learn from the best Vines of 2013?

Really, I"m asking. If this compilation of 77 Vines drew more than 12 million viewers, what can we -- as content marketers and PR pros -- learn from them? What are the best practices, if any?

 

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