I set up my new domain name and was working on moving emails from one IMAP folder (set up via Google Apps) to another (in different accounts).  It looked like it was working well, then an error popped up and said that the command had an error.  No problem, right?  Errors occur all the time.

Unfortunately, this was MAJOR. The client folder in the source account was missing … vanished … disappared.  All the mail was gone!

The destination account had the folder name created, but no messages in it.

I figured that this was an Outlook sync issue and that when I logged onto the web based email I would see the folder.  No luck.  The entire folder was completely gone!

I called Google Apps support and, after some checking on their side, they said that the folder had disappeared, but the messages were still around.  They told me to check the ‘all mail’ folder and do a search for some of the messages (if I knew some identifying factor).  I did that, and the messages were there!  Whew!

So, if you ever think that your IMAP folder has vanished, check the ‘all mail’ folder (in Gmail) and see if your messages are there.

The RSS feed of a Facebook page looks like this:

http://www.facebook.com/feeds/page.php?id=150270708412973&format=rss20

This is how to get the RSS feed from your Facebook page to automatically feed and post to your WordPress blog.

Getting the RSS Profile ID of your Facebook Page

• Go to your FB page
• Right click on your profile picture
• Copy the link URL/address (not the image URL) (it will look like this: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=197974766975900&set=a.150270895079621.26222.150270708412973&type=1 )
• Paste that into a Notepad document
• Copy the section of the link that follows the third period after the “set=a” section of the URL up until the “&” sign: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=197974766975900&set=a.150270895079621.26222.150270708412973&type=1
• In the example above, it would be 150270708412973
• Paste that number into the RSS feed URL after the “id=” and before the “&”:  http://www.facebook.com/feeds/page.php?id=150270708412973&format=rss20

Save that RSS feed URL, as that is the RSS feed URL of your Facebook page.

Setting up the Facebook RSS Feed as an Automatic WordPress Blog Post

You could try using an RSS feed plugin to feed the Facebook RSS feed into your blog.  I have found that many of them aren’t quite as successful as using SocialOomph (and SocialOomph has a TON more features that make it great).  So, use SocialOomph to set up an RSS feed to your blog.

• Set up your blog in the system (Blog – Add New Blog)
• After setting up the blog, set up your RSS feed
  • Blogs – Add RSS Feed
  • When adding the RSS feed, post the feed URL that you created
  • Have it post to the blog that you just set up in the system
  • Have it post ‘Full Feed Entry’ so you get all the content and photos
• You have now set up the system to be able to grab your Facebook Wall Posts and feed them via RSS to your Blog

Making the Automatic Post Look Nice

With many of my themes, I have ‘recent posts’ widgets that I use to show what I’ve been posting.  Many times, the theme does not automatically create ‘featured images’ of the auto-posts that I do, so I started using the Auto Post Thumbnail WordPress plugin.  It seamlessly grabs the first image out of my auto-blog post and makes that the Featured Image so that my Recent Posts widget looks great.

If you would like to see an example of this working in the real world, take a look at a site that I created for my friend: http://ryanthebugman.com/

As a side note, I also used the iSlidex plugin to create the slider on the home page that shows his most recent posts, so he not only gets the images of his most recent Facebook posts fed into his site and auto-thumbnailed, but he gets them automatically added to the slider on his front page.

If this post helped you in your WordPress endeavors, please leave me a quick comment and let me know.  Thanks.

As an overall, what I’m doing is changing the Dribbble icon to a Pinterest icon and then working with that.  If you use Dribbble and don’t want to swap out that icon, you can apply these concepts to any other icon.

First, you need to create a Pinterest icon that matches the Aphrodite Theme.  Luckily, I have done that and you can download that by right clicking and ‘file save as …’ here.  This is named ‘dribbble.png’ so you shouldn’t have to adjust anything.  When you save it, it should save as ‘dribbble.png’.

Now, if you stop here, you will have a Pinterest icon showing in the header of your theme, but when you hover over the icon it will show “Dribbble”.  I’m a little OCD, so that bugs me, so I had to figure out where to change that.Second, you need to swap out the dribbble.png file in the Aphrodite directory on your serve (best done via FTP).  The dribbble.png file sits in the /wp-content/themes/aphrodite/images/social_dark/ folder.  Log into your FTP account, then rename the dribbble.png image that is on the server to dribbble-old.png (just in case you ever need it again).  Upload your new dribbble.png (aka Pinterest  icon) to that folder.

Via FTP, go to your main /wp-content/themes/aphrodite directory.  Download the header.php file.  Rename the existing header.php file to header-old.php (again – always good to keep the original).  Open the header.php file with an HTML editor (or notepad).  If in an HTML editor, go to lines 418 (see image) and notice that on line 424 it references the “title” and the “href”.

Change the “title” to “Pinterest” and the href (which used to be http://dribbble.com/) to “http://pinterest.com/” — this will allow you to just enter your Pinterest username and it will link correctly.

Now, go into the Aphrodite Theme settings in your site, go to the social icons, and in the Dribbble section, enter your Pinterest userid.  That should create a Pinterest icon in the header of the Aphrodite Theme and link over to your Pinterest account.

Hopefully this was helpful to everyone.  Please comment and let me know if it was helpful.

It’s Christmas Even, and Santa Claus is on his annual trip delivering presents to all the good little boys and girls around the world. This year, not just one but two major organizations are offering ways to track Jolly St. Nick on his flight. Below, our annual review of how to track him by the web, by app or even through a telephone call.

In the first corner, we have NORAD — the joint US-Canadian missile-tracking organization that has also been watching for Santa since 1955, after a mistaken phone number was placed in a newspaper ad, inviting children to call to find Santa’s whereabouts. NORAD took up the challenge and has been doing it for nearly 60 years now.

In the second corner, we have Google. The search engine giant has partnered with NORAD on Santa tracking since 2007, but this year, the two parted ways. NORAD partnered with Microsoft and its Google-rival search engine, Bing. Meanwhile, Google launched its own Santa Tracker for the first time.

Both are currently live now, simultaneously tracking Santa, as the screenshot shows above. Taken at exactly the same moment, it shows Santa in two different locations at the same time! He’s clearly that fast, kids, and the different technologies each organization uses locks on to him in different ways.

NORAD explains that it uses everything from radar to jets to track Santa. Google doesn’t explain its technology, but I suspect it tries to triangulate Santa using his cell signal or use of wifi hotspots. That means his location is likely more an estimate than what NORAD has.

As for why NORAD shows him delivering three-times the number of gifts that Google is listing, remember that Google is only showing an estimate. Like its estimates on the number of search results you get, it can vary widely.

Also see our more detailed explaination about all this, Santa Tracking Explained: Why NORAD Google Show Different Locations Gifts Delivered.

The Santa Tracking Sites

Enough preamble. If you’re looking for either site, you’ll find them here:

• NORAD Tracks Santa
• Google Santa Tracker

If I see other unique or significant sites, I’ll add them to the list above. However, most of the others, I’ve found in doing reviews over the years, offer little beyond what NORAD does and does well. They’re often also slow and unstable.

Below, more about using both of the sites above, in various ways.

Santa By Map

When you go to both of the sites above, by default, you’ll see the location of St. Nicholas on a map. I like the NORAD map better than Google’s, because Santa’s location on the map is constantly moving, with a topographical view of the area he’s flying over displayed:

Sure, Google’s icon for Santa also moves, but much more slowly. There’s no sense of FAST! And the maps doesn’t have a topographical look:

Each map also says where Santa was last spotted by the particular service, where he’s estimated to be headed toward and arrival time, along with number of estimated gifts delivered. Google also reports total distance traveled and the status of Santa’s attitude (“Mmmm, those cookies were delicious!).

Google does have a 3D view similar to the one that NORAD shows by default. You just have to enable it by clicking on the “Earth” link above the compass in the map. If you do that, you’ll give a much more animated view similar to NORAD’s, seen through what looks very much like a Google Nexus 10 tablet:

Where Santa’s Been

By the way, when you’re in Google’s default 2D view, if you click on the little X on the circle around Santa, you’ll see all the places he’s been spotted:

You can click on the icon for a particular place, you’ll learn when he arrived and have access to Wikipedia information and general pictures of the location:

NORAD also shows past locations. To see this, click on the 2D button within the map. That will change it over for you, and you’ll see Santa’s current location plus all the places that he’s been:

If you click on any of the presents, you’ll get information from Wikipedia about the place St. Nick has visited. If you click on one of the green circles, you’ll see Santa Cam footage of his flyover. That leads to…

Video Of Santa In Flight

Only NORAD offers Santa Cam video of Father Christmas in flight. You’ll find the latest video listed on the NORAD Tracks Santa video page:

Oddly, only the last three videos are listed. Annoyingly, the NORAD Tracks Santa YouTube page doesn’t list any at all. They’ve been hidden there, and so far, NORAD doesn’t appear to be unhiding those that are published.

So, if you need to check for video from a particular area, go to the 2D map view and look for those aforementioned green circles. And do watch the videos. They’re cool. Here’s one showing Santa Claus flying over China and the Great Wall:

Tracking By App

As we’re constantly on the move, it can be useful to also track Santa when we’re away from our computers. Both sites make this possible, though it’s hard to location these options on the NORAD site.

Before Christmas Eve, NORAD’s app tracking options were easily spotted at the bottom the main page:

I fear something has gone wrong with the site, because none of those links now show. But the apps do work, so here are the links again:

• Windows Phone
• Google Play
• iPhone/iPad/iOS
• Windows 8 app

I’ll be taking a closer look at these with some screenshots when I do an update of this story later today. Meanwhile, Google also has apps with links that I think are also hard to find. I’ve listed them below. Sorry iPhone and Windows Phone users — only Android is supported:

• Google Santa Tracker Android app
• Google Santa Tracker for Google Chrome

Tracking Santa Via Social Media

Both NORAD and Google are offering ways to keep up with Santa’s location through social media. From NORAD:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+

And from Google:

• Google Santa Tracker on Google+
• Google Maps on Facebook
• Google Maps on Twitter

Santa Tracking By Real Phone

Finally, my favorite feature of all the Santa tracking services is that you can actually call NORAD and have a human being give you an update. The number is 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). You’ll likely get a recorded update at first, as the lines get busy, but within a short time (I only waited a minute), a you’ll get an update from a volunteer, usually a military volunteer spending their Christmas Eve in a different type of service, that of helping kids around the world continue to believe.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Search Engine Land!

Related Articles

• Google Challenges NORAD In Tracking Santa, Launches Google Santa Tracker
• This Year, NORAD Tracks Santa With Microsoft Bing, Not Google
• Google’s Festive Happy Holidays Logo For 2012
• Santa Tracking Explained: Why NORAD Google Show Different Locations Gifts Delivered

Related Topics: Google: Santa Tracker | NORAD Tracks Santa | Search Engines: Santa Tracker | Top News

About The Author: Danny Sullivan is editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land. He’s a widely cited authority on search engines and search marketing issues who has covered the space since 1996. Danny also oversees Search Engine Land’s SMX: Search Marketing Expo conference series. He maintains a personal blog called Daggle (and maintains his disclosures page there). He can be found on Facebook, Google + and microblogs on Twitter as @dannysullivan. See more articles by Danny Sullivan

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December 24, 2012

EBay to stop placing ads in its apps

With users displaying a big appetite for mobile applications, marketers have taken notice and are increasingly looking for ways to reach audiences. However, two recent developments suggest that in-app ads may not be working in all instances.

Last week, Facebook said it would end a test launched earlier this year to place its own ads in other developers mobile apps while eBay said that it will stop running ads inside its mobile apps. The news points to the ongoing difficulties driving revenue via mobile ads, which typically are priced lower than desktop ads.

If ad performance-driven companies like eBay and Facebook are stepping back from in-app advertising, yes, its likely that they are not getting the degree of response they expect from such placements, said Darus Zahm, vice president and account director at TargetCast, New York.

That said, I think it raises the bar for mobile marketers to build a better solution for in-app advertising that more effectively connects with consumers and provides them with incentive to interact with the brands advertising through those channels, he said.

Just because eBay and Facebook are backing out of the space doesnt mean there isnt room for other brands to succeed where eBay and Facebook have not.

Native ad experiences
These developments highlight two of the key issues facing mobile advertising the relatively low cost of mobile ads and the challenges delivering ads on small smartphone screens without negatively impacting the user experience.

Facebook announced plans in September to run ads in third-party apps. However, the social network has decided to pause the test so it can focus on scaling ads in the mobile newsfeed of users, which initial results suggest are successful.

The more native experience offered by mobile newsfeed ads appears to be working for Facebook, with the social media giant is expected to generate $339 million in mobile ad revenue this year, mostly driven by the success of Facebook has had integrating ad products into the core user experience, according to eMarketer.

User experience played a role in eBays decision to step back from in-app ads, with the company saying ads appearing in its smartphone apps cluttered up the screen and result in a poor user experience.

Marketers need to think through the user experience, said Sloane Kelley, director of interactive strategy at BFG Communications, Bluffton, SC. Using a mobile device is a very personal experience much more personal than TV or print.

With that in mind, an in-app ad can feel highly interruptive and even annoying, she said. Its important for marketers to address that by making the ad relevant through location or demographic targeting.

Take advantage of the beautiful display available on many devices or integrate rich video. The best apps are engaging – in-app advertising should be too.

In-app rewards
What these developments suggest is that taking traditional desktop ad units such as banner ads and moving them to mobile apps may not be the most effective way to reach mobile users.

Instead, marketers need to think about how to leverage the unique characteristics of the mobile platform and mobile users to create marketing strategies that drive engagements.

For example, given that app users tend to be very interested in the content they are engaging with in an app, it may make sense to create more embedded marketing messages.

Done right, in-app marketing can really deliver, Ms. Kelley said. There are ways to increase engagement by going beyond a typical ad.

Within some types of applications, its possible for marketers to become embedded within a game or content, making the message feel seamless and less interruptive, she said.

Another strategy that is working for some brands is to sponsor rewards inside freemium apps that users can download for free but need to pay to access additional content.

Offering a reward for engaging with an in-app ad is another tactic worth exploring, Ms. Kelley said. Depending on the app, this reward could be in the form of in-game currency that delivers instant gratification.

Driving social interactions
Going forward, marketers are likely to continue to look for ways to improve in-app advertising as apps deliver an overall higher quality advertising platform than the mobile Web.

The key will be keeping the user experience at the core of development plans and insuring that ad units add value to the user.

Leveraging that technology and rich-media environment delivered by the in-app experience, brands might consider enabling a branded social/sharing functionality in place of typical advertising to better incite consumer interaction, shifting the KPI from a return on investment (CTR/CPA) to a return on user involvement (CPI), TargetCasts Mr. Zahm said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York

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Article source: http://feeds.mobilemarketer.com/~r/homepage-news/~3/hQM6kVF0YO0/14467.html

Tags: Messaging, mobile, SMS, text

This entry was posted
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Article source: http://www.pocket-promo.com/is-in-app-advertising-broken/

Mobile ad exchange MoPub earlier this week suggested a large contingent of Apple iPhone owners who hadn’t yet upgraded from iOS 5 to iOS 6 were prompted to do so by the release of the new Google Maps app. That story seemed to fit with the immense anticipation and interest, among tech writers, in Google’s native maps app.

The story also seemed to be confirmed by Google’s Jeff Huber’s statement that the new Google Maps app had been downloaded more than 10 million times in the first 48 hours following its launch. Indeed the Google Maps app is hugely popular.

Chitika’s data show that iOS 6 adoption in the US was essentially flat in the two days following the launch of Google Maps for iOS:

Upon the release of iOS 6 last quarter there was a surge of immediate upgrades. Chitika said at the time that roughly 61 percent of Apple device owners upgraded their operating systems within just a couple weeks. Chitika reports that iOS 6 adoption currently stands at about 73 percent.

What’s also interesting about this story is that it reflects the way in which tech bloggers and journalists often believe their obsessions are shared by the public at large. However there’s very much a metaphorical “beltway” phenomenon in the tech industry. We scrutinize obsess, covet and complain about things to which “ordinary people” in the “real world” pay far less attention.

Postscript: Chitika has updated its graph to include additional days since the launch of Google Maps’ iOS app and says North American iOS 6 traffic remains the same as before the mapping app’s release.

Related Topics: Apple | Google: Maps Local | Google: Mobile

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling

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Happy Holidays From TopRank Online Marketing

We celebrate and appreciate the opportunity to have you as party of our online community, and look forward to our mutual success in 2013 and beyond.  You can now “Optimize” your own holiday card!  The first 5 people to comment on this post or share a tweet of their TopRank holiday card will win a free copy of Optimize by Lee Odden.

Make Your Own Holiday Card!

Google Facebook Take on Patent Trolls
Google recently joined forces with Facebook, Dell, and Intuit to try and restrict the validity of certain patents issued by the United States.  This filing is meant to determine if a company should be able to secure a patent for an “abstract idea” concerning financial intermediation implemented with a computer.  Via Inc.

21 Hilarious Tweets for the End of the World
Hopefully the world has not already ended by the time this post is published!  Many people have taken to the Twitterspehere and shared their comedic take on the impending Mayan apocalypse.  Via Mashable.

Mobile Web, Apps Driving US Social Media Growth
According to a recent study from NM Incite and Nielsen consumers are spending roughly 20% of their total time online via personal computer and 30% of their time via mobile.  Apparently, social media use on these devices increased by 37% year over year.  Via MarketingProfs.

New Google+ Social Sharing Bar Spotted on the Web
Google’s purchase of Meebo has enabled them to begin testing a Meebo-inspired bar to increase user engagement on Google+.  This new functionality will allow users to chat using Google+ even if they are not on the actual web page.  Via The Next Web.

How to Keep Your Compelling Content Engine Fueled Running Smoothly
This interview with Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Manager of Content Amanda Nelson sheds light on what drives Salesforce’s content machine.  The interview includes insight into tactics, results, and challenges of content marketing.  Via Content Marketing Institute.

TopRank Team News

Miranda Miller – Lessons From Facebook’s Instagram Photo Flap
Instagram pulled an incredibly naughty stunt that may leave a lasting impression on their userbase. There were lumps of coal all around for Instagram staffers, after the social image sharing company infuriated users with a very Facebook-esque privacy policy. In fact, the new policy allowed the sharing of Instagram user data with Facebook, who acquired the company last year, as well as unnamed affiliates and third-parties. Instagram was forced to repeal the new policy as quickly as it was sprung on their users, who until this point, had been almost rabidly loyal to the brand.  Via Time.

Jolina Pettice – Facebook Gets Into Local Search With “Facebook Nearby” For iOS Android
Facebook taps into Local Search; here’s what it means for consumers and businesses: (Via Search Engine Land)

• Consumers – you will be able to search to find local businesses by name or category. Results will be ranked by criteria such as ratings, check-ins, likes and recommendations with your network playing a role.
• Businesses – if you don’t have a page, you won’t show up. Time to think about creating a page and/or updating the one you have to ensure it’s optimized.

Evan Prokop – Preparing For the New LinkedIn Design: How to Optimize Your Page Profile
Are you ready for the new LinkedIn profile design? Optimize your personal and business profiles to get the best results from LinkedIn with this helpful guide.  Via Social Media Examiner.

Mike Odden – Chrome Backlink Analyzer
Majestic SEO has created pretty cool and free Chrome Extension, that allows you to see back link data from the page you are looking at.  It also has a number of tools available including their Flow metrics data.  No account is needed to use this extension. It can be downloaded from the Chrome Store.  Via Majestic SEO.

Mike Yanke – There Was A Big Google Update This Week!…Wait – No There Wasn’t
A combination of chatter and weirdly fluctuating search results this week led many to believe that a big Google Panda update pushed live sometime around the 13. A Google spokesperson speaking to Search Engine Land, however, indicated that there was no update that they at Google ‘were aware of.’  Read more about this potentially conspiratorial non-update / update in this Search Engine Land coverage.

Rob Bayne – Estimating the Impact of iOS 6 Organic Search Data Loss Relabeling
This article highlights how users can better understand the traffic coming from newer Apple devices running iOS 6, specifically highlighting how search from Safari is now secure.  Also included is a description of this issue in some technical depth, and includes a segment on how to generate traffic estimates. Via Search Engine Watch.

Brian Larson – Google Ramps Up User Feedback Testing
There are MANY factors that influence Google’s search algorithm that will never be known, but one factor that is known as user feedback. That is, how an actual person experiences and rates content. Well, Google is now developing additional user feedback tests (user tests have been in-place for some time) to better understand which pages visitors prefer. Learn more about this new test in this post from Search Engine Land.

Time to Weigh In: Do you think that a company should be able to secure a patent for an abstract idea?  If you could only share one more tweet before the world ended what would it be?  Does the clear rise in consumers use of mobile devices for social media impact your online marketing strategy?

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Google Aura:

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Google Scooter:

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Wooden Google+ Pen:

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Google Water Bottles:

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GooglePlex Menorah:

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One of the most common issues companies seem to grapple with as they get pulled, kicking and screaming, into a content focused world of digital marketing is content creation.

Of course, anyone with half a brain can create information, but “content” implies usefulness or utility. Content has purpose and content marketing is meaningful information designed to be useful for a certain audience with the intention of inspiring an outcome or action. A lot of companies are creating information, not content, under the label of “content marketing”.

Giselle Abramovich recently posted an interesting article in Digiday, Why Brands Struggle With Content Creation, that really represents some of the most common issues brands like Nestle, AARP, Kellog, Cisco and Capri Sun have with content creation. This post will outline those common challenges and share tips on how to fix.

Challenge 1: “Quality content at a pace that “feeds the beast” of socially relevant content is challenging.”

Sustained content of quality is one of the most common challenges companies encounter with a “brand as publisher” approach to digital marketing. In fact, many companies resist initiating more robust content creation efforts due to the fear that content quality cannot be maintained.

The reasons for not being able to sustain high quality content range from lack of resources for creation to issues with planning, internal approval and not tapping into readily available content sources.

Solution for Sustained Content Quality: Companies that lead their content creation efforts with the brand agenda will inevitably run out of interesting things to say. Customer and community focused content marketers tap into customer insight and develop a content strategy that is not only designed to provide segmented customer groups with useful information throughout the sales cycle, but continues to engage in the community to mine topics, measure content impact and “optimize” content marketing tactics and topical themes.

Front line staff like Customer Service and Sales are consulted for the most common or difficult questions which can inspire editorial. As long as the brand is connected to the feet on the ground of their community, they will never run out of useful, interesting and impactful things to say. That is the way to sustain content quality.

Challenge 2: ”Blurring of the line between content creation and journalism - workflow, marketing and job descriptions.”

It’s a new world for companies to hire Corporate Journalists and Brand Editors. Companies are hiring journalists as fast as they can find them and many marketing , PR and communications departments are challenged in finding the right processes and staffing.

Solution for Corporate Editorial Marketing Workflow:  This is a tall order, but one of the first things I would recommend is to pick up Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose’s book, “Managing Content Marketing“. It’s literally a whole book that answers this question.  Another book to check out from a strategic content perspective would be “Content Strategy for the Web” by Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach, which will help you audit, plan and design workflow.

Challenge 3: ”Being able to create breakthrough content and still have the budget to fund distributing that content.”

As I like to say, great content isn’t great unless people can find and share it. A lot of brands run into the budget issue because they rely so heavily on advertising or paid inclusion/advertorial to get content exposure. Leaving SEO best practices and not incorporating social media networks as part of content sourcing and amplification is literally creating a disadvantage to the competition that is employing those practices.

The focus on campaigns and making a splash with a specified start and stop for content marketing efforts results in high initial promotional costs for advertising content and leaves a lot of value that can come from the long term, unrealized.

Solution for Content Creation AND Promotion Within Budget:  Content promotion must be “baked in” to the content creation process.  It’s simply naive to think creating great content and paying for traffic alone will achieve marketing and business objectives. At least not within budget. Community development, social networking and media as well as industry and public relations are essential for companies that want to improve the reach of their content investments.

Understanding the dynamics of influential communities, individual centers of influence and end consumer information consumption preferences can help brands make smarter choices about content formats and media types. Advertising, PR, social media, email, SEO and other means can be employed appropriately to introduce, promote and amplify brand content investments.   Tactics like sequenced content leaves communities in anticipation of what the brand will publish next, inspiring social shares and organic, earned amplification that costs nothing and pays huge dividends.

Check out books by: Ann Handley and C.C. Chapan “Content Rules” and of course “Optimize” for step by step guides on planning, implementing and measuring high impact, efficient cost content marketing.

Challenge 4: ”Balancing adding value to the consumer and communicating your brand message. Creating both consumer-relevant and brand-building content.”

How to sell without selling is another common concern with companies that want to use content more effectively to reach customer acquisition and revenue goals.  Increased investment in content creation brings higher expectations of performance, so there’s pressure for content marketing efforts to result in immediate conversions or other business outcomes.

Solution for Brand Content Customers Will Love:  Start by figuring out what customers and influencers care about. What are their goals and pain points? What are the information trends? Then figure out what stories you can tell that illustrate consumer-centric value while including brand messaging at the same time. Understanding customer interests and storytelling are the key to creating brand content customers will love.

Give customers and influencers what they want and the brand will get the business outcomes they’re being held accountable for. Brands that create value around the reasons why customers would buy vs. focusing on trying to covertly “sell” within content will build goodwill, brand awareness and brand preference.

Challenge 5:  ”Getting buy-in to our approach to content creation from our peers.”

Introducing a content centric approach that focuses on storytelling and creating value before expecting sales from consumers is a pretty big minshift for a lot of corporate marketers. Not being able to see immediate returns or a cause and effect ROI as you would with advertising or direct marketing can leave peers feeling unconvinced of the value increased content creation will bring.

Solution For Converting Legacy Mindsets to a Content Focused Perspective: Legacy mindsets about content’s role in marketing is an obstacle that can be overcome through education, showing value and making meaningful connections between the outcomes of content and goals for the overall business. This is easier said than done, of course, but it’s  important to know that organizational change is a long term commitment.  Also, that commitment means understanding what those peers value and communicating how your content creation approach will help them achieve those goals.

For example, if you can show how mining customer service questions into a keyword optimized and socially sharable FAQ leads to an increase web traffic for that content and a reduction in customer support calls and customer service web requests, you can probably get more Customer Service department support.

These are all reasonable struggles that top brands are having with content creation. I doubt they are much different than the challenges most companies face with increased demand for content creation.

What are some of the top challenges with content creation that you’ve faced? Are they industry specific? What about variances with media, such as the increased popularity of visual content?

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