Content Marketing Tools to Boost Your Strategy

Content marketing is becoming more important to everyone’s marketing strategies than ever before, but it can be hard to keep up with for many, with both time and creative needs to manage, especially for those without dedicated content teams. Use these tools to create, curate, manage and schedule all of your content for maximum effectiveness.

Feedly

Streamline your searching and content curation by using this tool to find articles and posts that match your interests. Choose sites to follow, verticals to focus on and mark the things you’ve already read. Feedly also has the option to integrate with your workflow with IFTTT automation. See how IFTTT recipes work here.

Canva

Create everything from business cards to logos and resumes that are built to impress, even if you aren’t a professional designer. With Canva you can use one of the many provided templates, or you can create your own design from scratch.

Airtable

Create a content database that will link similar content, share with your team, filter and sort your content in multiple arrangements and at the same time make a more visually streamlined content calendar and pipeline for ease of access. Airtable also allows you to create IFTTT recipes and integrate this database with many of the apps you might already be using including MailChimp, Evernote, Facebook, LinkedIn and more.

Contently

Master your content strategy with the Contently platform. If you’re looking for a one-stop shop, then this is your best bet. From content generation and scaling to insights and strategy, Contently allows you to create a strategy that will have visible and transparent results, with built-in analytics and a holistic approach to digital content. See how it works here.

Buffer

Manage your social media quickly from one simple hub. Buffer allows you to create and schedule your social media content while measuring key metrics and performance analytics. By allowing all of your social content to flow from one dashboard, you have complete control of your posts and how they look and sound without having to move from platform to platform.

Visual.ly

If content development is not your thing and you need a team that can handle that for you, visually can help you achieve great content without needing an in-house team. Simply discuss what you need for your project with a Visually representative for a quote, talk about the goals you hope to achieve with the content and get matched with a team of creatives that will develop everything you need. Learn more about the Visually process here.

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Holiday Ads of 2017

The holidays are right around the corner and the commercials that are airing right now are becoming more festive, heartwarming and gift focused. So far, these are some of the best ads from around the world this holiday season.  

Waitrose: “#ChristmasTogether”

John Lewis “Moz the Monster”

Marks and Spencer “Paddington & The Christmas Visitor #LoveTheBear”

Cost Plus World Market “The Performance”

Heathrow Airport “#HeathrowBears”

Apple “Sway”

Audi USA “Parking Lot”

Amazon “Give”

Old Spice “Ye Olde Exploding Yule Log”

Spanish Lottery “#DANIELLE”

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Marketing Trend: Interactive Content

Content marketing is the bread and butter of any marketing strategy today, but with a huge influx of content, audiences are getting overwhelmed, with the average adult coming to an average of about 8 hours of screen time a day.

For successful content marketing you must break through the clutter of too much content so you can reach your target audience, but how? The answer comes in a not-so-simple answer: multiple types of content. In a recent post about User Generated Content (UGC), you learned about one form of content you can add to your arsenal, interactive content will be yet another added.

Defining Interactive Content

Interactive content is a cut and dry name for this trend, as it is defined as any type of content that the audience can interact with. This can be in any number of ways, but the key is that it forces the audience to do more than simply look at the content. These are some examples of interactive content that you can use for upcoming marketing campaigns.

Quizzes

One look at Buzzfeed and it is clear that there is a difference between the way that this “jack of all trades” site functions and similar sites like Mashable and Upworthy. Buzzfeed’s content ranges from pop culture to serious political news, but one of the top categories they have become renowned for is quizzes. A quiz can be funny, serious, or even an advertisement for a line of products. See an example of this here.

Video

Video might be already the considered the most engaging form of content, but interactive video can put your video engagement on a different level. Think of interactive video as a “choose your own adventure” type of content. Check out this post for more about interactive video and other types of video to use in social media posts, and this post to see some examples of interactive videos for marketing.

Games

Gamification in marketing has taken off in the last few years with huge companies taking note of successful campaigns and releasing their own gamified campaigns to promote their products. From offering “free” services for social shares, to actually creating a game; for example, Chipotle did this with the memory game launched with their “A Love Story” short film advertisement for real, healthy ingredients.

Content is key, so how will you break through the noise? Share your favorite content marketing techniques in a comment, on Twitter or on Facebook.

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Twitter is Dying, and Other Social Media Rumors

Social media gets a bad reputation for promoting the spread of fake news, but even the sites themselves get rumors spread about them. “Twitter is dying” has been a phrase that has been tossed around for years. The social media superpower has over 300 million active users, and more than 30 offices, so it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s dead. Find out what’s true and what’s false in the list ahead.

TWITTER

Twitter boasts a huge global reach and influence, but the reason people say it’s dying is because there have been numerous problems that have come up over the last few years. From issues with abusive users to leadership that makes decisions users dislike there seems to be a large disconnect between corporate decision makers and the users on the site. From a move to an algorithmic timeline (which introduced #RIPTwitter) to the potential introduction of a 10,000 character limit from the original 140 characters, taking away the core of what Twitter started out as, there is a general agreement that there is an inherent issue with how the platform works with those using it.  Twitter isn’t dead yet, but there have definitely been moves made that could cause a decline in use and eventual exodus from the microblogging platform.

VINE

The 6 second video sharing app and twitter go hand in hand. Twitter purchased Vine in October of 2012.  The short videos matched the short text posts perfectly, and the creativity began almost instantly. But the magic couldn’t last forever. In October of 2016, Vine announced that it would be phasing out its mobile app. This decision made users not only question Vine, but the longevity of Twitter as well.

FACEBOOK

No stranger to the rumor mill, Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are under constant scrutiny.  There have been numerous claims that the platform will start charging for having a profile (untrue, but continues to come up), or that privacy and ownership of content rules will be changing (the site released a statement in 2012 saying that their policies have been and will continue to remain the same as they have always been), and most recently the rumor that Zuckerberg will run for president in the next election (which he denies).

SNAPCHAT

Snapchat is one of the most popular photo sharing apps, and as such has been in the news for all sorts of reasons, good and bad. New features, the whispers that the introduction of Instagram Stories has hurt the quick sharing app, an IPO which many are calling a flop, and the rumor that the apartment spaces the company was using as offices in LA were not being lived in, not complying with regulations. Snapchat is known for secrecy, but when the entire world is online, no one is immune from rumors.

What social media rumors have you heard over the last year?

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Video for Social Media

Video is heralded as one of the top types of content you can post on social media. Video, when done right, increases engagement, reach and has a higher chance of going viral because of that. Video can say more than a single image or text post, so it’s no wonder that it is becoming more and more important to the everyday marketer’s strategy.

Types of Video

Interactive

Interactive video gives users the chance to participate in the narrative. With clickthrough options that give you as the viewer the option to choose your own path (think build-your-own adventure novels) these gamified videos are highly engaging, actionable, and great for demonstrating products, services, or events. Deloitte’s “Will You Fit Into Deloitte” video is a broad recruitment video that helps a viewer understand if they are suited to the company, and is an example of how interactive video can be used.

360 Degree

360 degree videos are getting their own type of fame on Facebook right now. These videos allow users to click around and explore a 360 degree view of whatever the video is about. From exploring the ocean to promote preserving coral reefs, to realtors hosting 360 degree tours of different available properties, 360 degree video can do more with less time than video has previously allowed. A great example is The Economist’s 360 degree tour of the Palau coral reefs.

Product Demo

If your business has a tangible product to sell, product demos can not only function as another type of user manual, but can also make the product more attractive to a larger audience when the viewers see it in use. This IKEA video demonstrates how to install and assemble their Maskros lamp.

Narrative

Narrative video tells a story, and usually tries to trigger an emotional response. This type of video is usually seen in commercials, used to persuade customers that a certain product or service can do what the commercial shows, for example this love story told by an Extra Gum commercial:

Live

Periscope, Facebook Live, SnapStories, Instagram Live; the list goes on and on. Live video is becoming a standard for content creation. One of the most enticing parts of live video for social media is that it is inherently social. Rather than crafting a video to perfection you are inviting the audience to see a firsthand look into what you are doing. Great from streaming events, speeches, announcements and more, live video is what many are calling the biggest content marketing trend of 2017.

Bonus: Viral Video

Going viral is a goal for any brand looking to make a splash with their content, but there is no way to predict what the next big viral sensation will be. In 2016 there were the Apple music ads with Taylor Swift and Drake, Pokemon Go and the Chewbacca Mom video. Each of these is vastly different than the others, so how can you guarantee your content will go viral? The short answer is that you can’t, but you can work to create unique and engaging content that will connect with a larger audience and increase the reach of your post. So how will your business use video for social media?

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Great Super Bowl Ads of the Past (And What We Can Expect To See This Year)

For Americans the Super Bowl means many things. Football, food, parties, and to many in marketing: the release of commercials. Super Bowl ads are one of the top spending categories for many businesses, and this year is topping the charts with one 30-second commercial costing $5 million USD. So before the big game on Sunday, let’s take a look back at the best commercials of Super Bowls past, and make some predictions for what ads to look for this year.

Coca Cola: “Hey Kid, Catch” (1980)

McDonald’s: The Showdown (1993)

Volkswagen: The Force (2011)

Mac: 1984 (1984)

Xerox: Brother Dominic (1977)

UPDATE: Xerox has aired a recreation of the brother Dominic commercial to showcase the company’s growth from where it began. It is not a Super Bowl ad, but seeing as the original is heralded as one of the first viral videos, it is an advertising move that is sure to strike a chord with those who remember the original 1977 ad. Watch it below.

Wendy’s: “Where’s the Beef?” (1984)

Dorito’s: “Magic Ball” (2009)

Mountain Dew Kickstart: Puppymonkeybaby (2016)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR THIS YEAR

Teasers for this year’s commercials have been released and have been generating a lot of buzz. These are some of the most anticipated.

Wix.com

The web company was the first to ever introduce ad creative over Facebook Live. This  will be the third Super Bowl commercial for Wix. If this clip starring Jason Statham and Gal Gadot is any indication, this is one ad that is sure to make an impression.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s hasn’t aired a Super Bowl commercial in 50 years, but their commitment to the fact that they only use fresh, never frozen beef is worth the $5 million dollar investment for an ad this year. But will this commercial be as transformative as “Where’s the Beef” was in the ‘80s?

Intel

One of the first brands to tease their ad for the game; Intel’s ad stars Tom Brady doing regular tasks, but in a very incredible way. The ad shows new 360 video technology that will also be used during the game itself. The teaser is exciting, seeing the full commercial is going to be even more so.

Snickers

Speculation over this ad continues the use of Snickers’ popular tagline “You’re not you when you’re hungry”. 2017’s ad will star Adam Driver of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and HBO’s “Girls”. This ad is planned to film and air live during the Super Bowl.

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15 Blogs for the Tech Enthusiast

Some blogs educate, help people collaborate, spark ideas and just plain expand our thought universe. Others stir emotions or anger us or make us laugh. Here, I’ve listed 15 technology blog sites based on breadth of information, newsworthiness, design, frequency of updates and entertainment value.

Sure, the list is subjective, but I think this is one of the best catalogs of blogs that has ever been published. The entries ran the gamut, from serious technology news and reviews to commentary on games and the latest tech gadgets. I also included some honorable mentions at the end because the competition was so close.

1. Lifehacker

Lifehackers’ motto says it all: “Don’t live to geek, geek to live.” This blog offers timesavers of just about every stripe, from Firefox shortcuts to tips from the “Getting things done” faithful.

2. IT Toolbox Blogs

IT Toolbox has a number of “in the trenches” IT pros who talk about technology and management issues. There are specialist blogs dealing with security, databases and project management, among other subjects. It’s a very versatile site.

3. Valleywag

Bring in the noise, bring in the snark. Valleywag is for those who believe that the tech industry lives or dies by the scuttlebutt pinging around Silicon Valley. And it’s amusing for those of us who prefer that the lotus-eaters of Northern California stick with the dishing and tongue-wagging, leaving the rest of us to get the real work done.

4. Kotaku

Kotaku is the snarky, gamer uber-blog. It has everything from reviews and gossip to cheat tips. Just about anything you’ll ever need, including which game to buy and how to play it.

5. 5. Danger Room

Wired’s military and defense blog writes about some of the coolest and scariest military technologies; not to mention scandals, debates and other military news. Lots of video and imagery are included.

6. Gizmodo

Gizmodo’s got the scoop on all the latest toys and cool and wacky inventions. From high-def TVs and coffee makers to booze belts and USB drives—you’ve got to love a site that publishes photos of a solar-powered bathing suit. They also blog about serious technology news too.

7. O’Reilly Radar

This is where you can read Tim O’Reilly (founder of O’Reilly Publishing) and others discuss networking, programming, open source, intellectual property, politics, Web 2.0 and emerging technology.

8. Techdirt

Techdirt is a newsy, “tell it like it is” blog that frequently features debates on the hot issues in the Internet and computer fields. Scandals are a specialty. Simplicity is its hallmark.

9. Groklaw

Groklaw’s raison d’etre is needling SCO in its long-running legal fights against IBM and Novell, but the discussion sometimes veers toward other issues that involve technology, intellectual property, and government regulations.

10. Hack a Day

Want to learn how to add USB to a cheap Linux router? Create a snake robot? How about an XBox 360 laptop? Hack a Day has these basement projects and many more. This site is for the serious techie. At the same time, it’s good for a laugh or a new hobby.

11. Engadget

As Coke is to Pepsi, so Engadget is to Gizmodo. It’s all about gear, gossip, techish issues and the occasional rant. It’s got great product photos, and the editors have access to pre- and early-release gadgetry. Also, it hosts some really funny homemade junk.

12. Feedster

This Web page brings together blog sites about technology, sports, celebrity gossip, food, personal experiences, you name it. It also offers a blog search feature that allows you to input words or phrases, and it has a very cool RSS aggregator for news feeds. It also injects some great humor into technology news. An all-around great site.

13. Forever Geek

Forever Geek is a great site with a myriad of blogs on diverse topics, from technology and general interest news to movie and game reviews. Definitely a tech paradise. If you want to learn about the upcoming Iron Man movie or read a review of Photoshop CS3, this is the place to go.

14. Rough Type

Nick Carr of “Does IT Matter?” has a sharp-minded blog that discusses all manner of issues and trends relating to technology. Always an entertaining read, Rough Type often locks horns with companies, people, technologies and policies that rub Carr the wrong way.

15. Smorgasbord

Billed as a site for gadget and game-loving geeks, this blog also serves up articles that cross over into the political and celebrity news of the day. The combination of entertainment value and tech news make Smorgasbord a top contender.

Honorable mentions:

1. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

TUAW offers collection of independent bloggers, that is independent but not undecided or uninformed. It’s a good source for Apple-related news. The only reason it didn’t make the top 15 was its singular topic focus.

2. Elliot Back’s blog

A self-professed computer scientist, Elliot posts everything from his opinions on why XML sucks, to the Titanic’s passenger list and reviews of movies like 300. This site is diverse and well composed, offering great tips on topics such as increasing system performance and blocking spam.

3. Ed Foster’s Gripelog

There is a new crop of blogs that highlight poor customer service for consumer electronics, bad UIs and outright rip-offs, but Ed Foster has been doing it longer than anyone else.

4. Gadgetell

This is a great site if you want to get the latest gadget and game news along with some topical opinion pieces.

5. 4sysops

This is a very useful with well-written tips and how-to’s for Windows admins.

Of course, not everyone will agree with my selections. If you think a blog site that’s not on our list deserved a top 15 spot, share it with me in the comments section!

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Why Your Business Needs an Animated Explainer Video

Animated explainer videos are a perfect tool for attracting visitors to your site and telling them about the key benefits and features of your product. According to Nielsen Research, Training and Consulting Group, the average user spends about 10-20 seconds on a site if there is no compelling reason to stay longer. And the first ten seconds are critical for giving the user this reason to stay by clearly setting out your value proposition. Having such a short period of time, you cannot rely only on text and graphic ways to attract their attention.

If you do differ from your competitors, have a distinct advantage, or offer a unique service/product, you have to show this to the users, who often have neither time, nor desire to investigate why they should take your offer.

Why Does Video Work Better?

Let’s delve into the realm of psychology. Only 20% of people remember the information they read and only 10% remember what they heard. At the same time, 80% of people remember what they saw and what they did, and for another thing, visual information is processed 60,000 times faster than text. Based on these stats, we should accept that text and audio is less effective compared to non-verbal communication, and can influence a rather small percentage of your audience.

Animated explainer videos are able to clearly articulate your service or product in less than a minute or two. And since video allows people to acquire more information in less time compared to reading, you get a great chance to win these critical 10 seconds and capture the users’ attention.

Plus, animated explainer videos involve both visual communication and audio that significantly enhance the perception.Do these little psychological theories work when applied to online marketing? Recent facts show that they really do.

The Latest Video Trends

Cisco in its VNI Global IP Traffic and Service Adoption Forecasts for 2016-2019, states that by 2019 video will make up to 80% of all traffic compared to 67% in 2016.

So, according to “The Top 7 SEO Trends That Will Dominate 2016” by Forbes, it’s time to stop taking video and multimedia as an additional tool of online marketing, which only supplements textual information. Forbes predicts that B2C companies will try and use more video due to its higher reach, engagement, effectiveness and overall ROI compared to text content. It looks like B2B brands will follow the trend in the near future.

These predictions are based on statistics proving that both customers and businesses love video. Let’s turn to figures collected in an Invodo report on the results of 2015-2016:

• Video viewers are 1.6x more likely to buy
• 96% of customers believe that video helps them make purchase decisions
• 73% of shoppers are more likely to buy a product after watching an explainer video about it
• 58% of consumers are ready to trust the companies providing videos about their products
• 74% of B2C marketers and 92% of B2B marketers use video in their marketing strategies
• 52% of marketing experts chose video among other types of content as having the best ROI
• Social videos are shared more often than text and images combined by 1200%

But Why Animation?

Yes, animated explainer videos are just one way of visualization, and there is no one big reason for you to choose exactly this type of video content for every occasion. In some cases, staged video with real actors and props is more effective and reasonable. Still, there are a few important advantages animated explainer video has over other visuals:

Animation explainer video is perfect for those areas of business where it is difficult to present and to sell a product through other types of video or promotional methods. For example, you develop websites or you’re engaged in contextual advertising. Your explainer video should include information on target customers’ problems, benefits of the company and its workflow, several cases with figures and so on. You have to admit that it’s rather difficult to show traffic growth in video unless it’s animated. Virtually any information can be visualized with the help of animated explainer videos and this is its main advantage over real video.

Lively animated characters along with eye-catching cartoons, trigger strong emotions and create a very special atmosphere that engages an audience and captures their attention. This adds an emotional component to rational arguments, enhancing the desired effect. It’s easier and more interesting for the audience to keep up with a story line, when positive feelings are involved and the information presented in the video is more likely to stick in the memory. Plus, animated explainer videos are associated to a marketing tool in a less degree than staged video and that’s why it doesn’t come off as irritating or obtrusive advertising.

Animated explainer video is not limited to scripts. The characters can fly, dance, sing and wear any costumes, while the action may take place at any historical period and in any geographical location. This makes it possible to create an inventive storyline for better presentation of a product.

Summing up, by using animated explainer video it’s easy to communicate about complicated things, create memorable images and appeal to an audiences emotions. However, animated explainer videos can successfully solve real-world problems, improve search engines results and provide an increase in leads, conversions and sales.

Tried-and-True

One of the most striking case stories illustrating rapid success made by a startup using animated explainer video is Dropbox. Founded in 2010, Dropbox grew from zero to 100 million users in 5 years, using an effective viral campaign and the simplest web design, their landing page had only an animated explainer video and a download button.

The video campaign had its affect, increasing conversions by 10%. Considering the fact that it was viewed about 750,000 times in a month, it converted nearly 1 million of the visitors into registered users yearly.

So, what goals can you reach using an animated video?

• Increased conversions
• More sales
• Increased click-through
• Higher rankings in search engines
• Easy-to-remember marketing messages
• Customers’ engagement
• Reducing the number of consultations

An animated explainer video makes complex things simple by both explaining your product features to customers, and boosting your business in multiple ways. At Acesse we help clients boost their business in creative ways with animated explainer videos.

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