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5 Top Collaborative Tools for Content Marketing Efficiency

May 11, 2017 by Guest Author 1 Comment

By Jessica Davis

 

Content creation has been identified as one of the biggest challenges that marketers face. Some companies work with in house teams, while others work remotely with freelancers or agencies to create their content. Regardless, managing everything from planning to approval requires some coordination, and the process can be frustrating. Low content productivity can affect your company’s content output and slow down your content marketing efforts.

Check out these collaborative tools that can streamline the process and boost your content productivity.

Trello

As a content strategist, you have to oversee content production from start to finish. Managing that job is a nightmare, with dozens of files for different clients being passed between writers, reviewers and SEO analysts. A hangup in any stage can cause a drop in content productivity. You can use a collaborative content management system to add some structure to that chaos. That is where Trello comes in.

Trello screenshot

Creating projects

You can add a new project by creating a card and labelling it. Once you have invited team members to join your project board, you can assign projects to them by tagging them on cards.

Managing projects

You can set a deadline for each project and hold that person accountable by commenting on his/her card, when the project is overdue. You can move a project between phases (say topic – in process – to be reviewed – to be posted).

Reviewing content

People working on projects can upload files on their cards on completion. You can view files on cards and share suggestions via comments or make changes to the files and upload them again.

You can create an account for anyone and invite them to your project board for collaboration. By shifting your team to the app, you can oversee all your projects, virtually, in one place.

DrumUp

As a social media manager, you have to work with copywriters, graphic designers and brand strategists to create your content. Even if you manage your brand’s social networks by yourself, doing it on more than one social media page can be tough.

With an app, you can manage multiple social media accounts with ease.

DrumUp screenshot

Collaborative social media management

You can add team members and give them different levels of access to the content stored on your app dashboard. You can provide them with access without having to giveaway your social media account passwords and review all the content they create before it gets posted.

Managing original content

You can store your content online where it is easily accessible in a content library and schedule content from there, to be posted on your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts when needed.

You can also view the queue of your scheduled content in calendar form to get a sense of how many posts you have set for each day and what the overview or general theme seems to be.

Curating content

Your industry probably has great publications and experts who create brilliant content on a regular basis. You could curate that content for your social media audience, to show them that they can trust you with content in your niche.

You can also use the @mentions and #tags that the app recommends with suggestions to build powerful relationships with influencers in the industry, so you can collaborate with them for content.

GetResponse

As a content marketer, email marketing is probably an important responsibility. If you are working with a large team for multiple clients, or working for a large organization globally, you need to collaborate on concept, content and execution.

That’s where GetResponse can be used, to make collaboration effective.

GetResponse screenshot

Collaborative email marketing

You can provide users different levels of access to the company account and overview all of their content before it gets delivered to your client base. You can also give read-only access to certain people of required (reviewers or clients).

Creating newsletters

If creating newsletters is only a part of your responsibility, you can streamline the process by using built-in templates and stock images.

Optimizing newsletters

If mobile view is a priority (and it should be), you can preview your designs in mobile view before scheduling it to be sent to your email database.

You can also personalize emails by inserting the custom name field wherever necessary in your email text.

If needed, you can also automate the responders to ensure that your email recipients don’t feel ignored when they write back to you.

Finally, if your email database is diverse, you can target your content better by segmenting your email lists by custom data, geographical location, subscriber engagement, date and more.

You can also provide teammates access to analytics so they can stay in the loop about email marketing performance.

WorkflowMax

If you work for multiple clients and collaborate with a team of people responsible for the content production, managing trivial but crucial tasks like proposing quotes and tracking payments can be a hassle that takes focus away from the content.

WorkflowMax is an interesting means to solving that problem and streamlining client communication.

WorkFlowMax screenshot

Customizing client interaction

Your brand is a promise of the content you intend to deliver. You can make your brand a part of all the communication between you and your clients by enabling automated insertion of brand insignia on quotes and invoices.

Storing project details

Manually forwarding data between teams can be a cumbersome task to manage each time a client comes on board.

You can use the app to store and share account details like emails, documents and other information where your team can access them.

Assigning and tracking projects

You can assign projects from the main dashboard, set deadlines and track them. You can also automate reminders so your teammates receive emails to notify them of projects that are past their deadlines.

The tool helps you see who’s working on what, so you can allocate your resources better. You can also monitor the budget being spent on each project and analyze which projects earn you most revenue.

The dashboard can be accessed from anywhere, making it easy to work on the move.

You can also provide clients access so they can follow progress and add their comments on the work that is taking shape.

MailShake

As a content marketer, emails sent to clients aren’t the only ones you have to worry about. You probably also send emails for guest post pitches, content promotion, link-building, co-marketing partnerships, lead generation and PR pitches.

Managing email campaigns can be a challenging task. That’s where MailShake can make a difference.

MailShake screenshot

Collaborative email management

You can create an email management team and provide certain people access to edit, pause or stop your campaigns.

You can also set long-term campaigns on an automated loop to avoid doing it manually every single time.

Creating email copy

You can enter your deliverables into the app to generate copy for your emails. Further, you can store drafts for each type of email that you intend to send out.

Following up with emails

Sending an email is just the first step – you have to follow-up when needed and ensure that you get through to the person you’re trying to reach.

You can set up reminders to follow-up with certain people based on triggers. Set up alerts to be notified when someone clicks on a link, or no reply is received to an email within a previously decided interval of time. You can rely on those reminders and relieve yourself of the burden of remembering too much.

 

Author bio

Jessica Davis is a Content Writer at Godot Media, a leading content agency. represents Godot Media. Her areas of interest include social media and content marketing, science and fashion.

 

Featured image via Pexels.com

Filed Under: Content Tagged With: content marketing

How to Use Content Marketing to Retain Existing Customers

May 5, 2016 by Rosemary Leave a Comment

When my twins were born, it was around-the-clock, crazy, unstoppable madness. For the two and a half months they spent in the NICU, we commuted every day to spend time with them, feed them, and learn how to take care of them.

It could have completely consumed our attention, to the exclusion of everything.

Except…

The twins had a brother who was 20 months old at the time.

One of the most important things we did was to make sure he was included, cared for, loved, and given his own personal time with us. Ten years later, he still talks about the special time he spent in the park with his dad while I was at the hospital.

Why am I sharing this?

Because most of the focus right now is on cranking out a steady stream of content that will attract leads. Content marketing can be a useful tool in the marketer’s toolbox, but don’t forget to share the love with your existing customers.

How to Use Content Marketing to Retain Existing Customers

Blog posts – Yes, you want to use your blog for outreach, thought leadership, and lead generation. Why not sprinkle in the occasional post that specifically addresses a need for your existing customers? It could be a how-to, could be an inspirational case study (two birds with one stone), or it could be corporate news.

Training/tutorials – Create visual content that helps your customers do their jobs better. Listen to their most frequent questions, and create training materials that speak directly to those questions.

Knowledge base or FAQ – Your knowledge base can be a place to apply content marketing skills. Concise writing, engaging visuals, and use of keywords will get your expert content found by both existing customers and potential customers.

External guest posts and articles – Typically you would think of a guest post as an opportunity to get “new eyeballs.” What if you focused your next article on the needs of your current customers? Provide insights that make your product or service more valuable in their eyes; make them feel smart for choosing you.

In-person events – If you have on-site events for your customers, are you offering them anything of tangible value? Think about collaborating with them during the event to create content they can use themselves. (Because they’re probably trying to create content the same way you are.)

Chat events, Blabs, Periscopes, etc. – Streaming video or text-based chat is being heavily used to demonstrate expertise, as a way to get brand awareness and leads. I’d suggest experimenting with these formats for customer communication as well. What if you invited your best customers to participate in a streaming event to discuss your product roadmap?

 

 

Are you using content marketing techniques to retain your existing customers? Please share your ideas with us!

 

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Featured image via Flickr CC: rachaelvoorhees

Filed Under: Content Tagged With: content marketing

How to incorporate audio into your marketing content

March 17, 2016 by Rosemary Leave a Comment

Periscope, Blab, Snapchat, Vine, and other apps are making it easy to create and share video clips.

But if you try watching a Blab while you’re jogging, you might end up eating pavement.

Allow me to propose audio as a great addition to your marketing content tool kit.

Audio clips and podcasts have some advantages over video:

  • Multi-taskers love to listen to audio (think treadmill, commute)
  • You don’t have to be “camera ready” to record audio
  • People learn well by listening, reinforces message
  • Intimacy, being in someone’s ear is a very distinct connection-builder

Audio also has a few drawbacks:

  • Can be harder to find via search (make sure you post a transcript to alleviate this issue)
  • More difficult to repurpose
  • Works best with special equipment (sound leveling, microphone)
  • Might be hard to monetize, need sponsorships
  • Some audio platforms don’t provide embed code for easy sharing

If you’re ready to give audio a try, here are some tools that will help you record and share.

Anchor

Anchor is like an audio social network, where members can post audio messages and receive audio replies from others. Consuming the content is like listening to a never-ending interactive talk show that covers a lot of random topics. The platform is still fairly new, so there’s lots of opportunity to get creative and become an “Anchor star.”

Once you’ve recorded a clip, you can share it to Facebook or email a link to yourself, but there’s no embed code as of this writing (which makes it harder to incorporate Anchor clips into a blog post or other content).

AudioBoom

AudioBoom is a global, streaming audio platform with a wide variety of content, from small local podcasters to big brands like the BBC. It’s mostly geared toward those big podcasters, but with a free account, you can still upload audio files and share them to Twitter and Facebook. If you upgrade to a paid account, you get access to all of the bells and whistles of a professional recording platform, with ad support, distribution, and social sharing tools.

Clyp

Clyp is a very lightweight, intuitive way to upload and share audio files. There are some social networking aspects, like voting up other members’ clips, but the thing I like the most is the ability to just drag an audio file onto their home page and instantly get a shareable link. Warning, since it’s free to upload, the list of popular clyps can be NSFW.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is the granddaddy of audio sharing sites, and has more recently skewed toward musician uploads, but still has great tools for uploading and sharing other audio files. What I like the most about SoundCloud is the nice embed code you get for each clip, making it super easy to incorporate sound clips into your blog or other web content.

You get up to three hours of free space to store your audio files, as well as the ability to engage with comments on your audio. Upgrading to a paid plan gives you more pro tools including analytics and unlimited space.

Next steps

  • You don’t have to launch a major new podcast in order to take advantage of audio options. With some of the tools I mentioned, you can just record a quick 10 minute audio note and include a link in your next newsletter. You can start engaging and interacting via audio on some of the social tools, to get used to the idea.
  • Remember that you still need to pay attention to your tone of voice, your enunciation, and make a good impression. It’s OK to use the microphone from your earbuds for those short, casual clips, but if you plan to routinely record audio, invest in an external microphone. They’re not that expensive, and will sound much more professional. Here’s a fantastic episode from the Content Pros podcast that will help you get started.
  • If you’re recording for business, try to find a space where there will be minimal ambient noise. Hearing your dog bark or your phone ring in the background will undercut your message.

Are you currently incorporating audio into your marketing outreach?

Feel free to share your handle or podcast name in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Featured image via Flickr CC: Patrick Breitenbach

Filed Under: Content Tagged With: audio, content marketing

Use this one simple tip to improve your content marketing

February 25, 2016 by Rosemary 2 Comments

There’s a behavioral phenomenon called “mirroring,” in which you subconsciously mimic your conversation partner’s body language, establishing rapport and making them feel more at ease.

He leans forward, you lean forward.

She steeples her fingers, you steeple your fingers.

Subconsciously, it connects the two of you, and makes you feel “in sync.”

That “in sync” feeling can lead to business relationships where you are a trusted resource, rather than an adversarial “salesperson.”

Today’s tip is the written version of mirroring.

Mirror Your Prospects’ Language to Improve Your Content Marketing

  • Write down precisely what your new client tells you when you open the conversation with “tell me about your project and how I might help.” Let her talk until she’s done, and take note of the exact words she uses to describe herself and her pain points. Important—don’t paraphrase, just write down exactly what she said, in her own words.
  • If you use a formalized support system or live chat, perform a monthly review to extract phrases that customers use to describe their problems, their situations, and themselves.
  • Tap into the words and phrases your prospects and customers use whenever you’re writing web content, social updates, and email newsletters. Use that same language when you’re talking with potential clients face to face as well!

That’s it. Simple and effective.

Are you mirroring your customers?

 

 

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

 

Filed Under: Marketing, SEO Tagged With: content marketing

Know the Merits of Guest Posting

November 25, 2015 by Thomas Leave a Comment

Brand Branding Marketing Product Copyright ConceptWhat takes up the majority of your time running a business?

Some business owners will point out the task of keeping customers happy. Others will note overseeing employees takes up a fair amount of their work week. Meantime, some will state that marketing and advertising their brand constitutes countless hours weekly.

One of those aspects of marketing is content marketing. More specifically; having an authoritative and popular blog on your website grows by the importance each day.

So, what happens when you don’t have the time and/or resources to field a noteworthy blog? What happens when you’d like to contribute to other relevant blogs, yet time and resources are again issues?

Is it too late to change course or can you make your blog worthwhile, along with contributing to others in order to drive more business and revenue your way?

Your Content is Critical

With 2016 knocking on the door, it is more important than ever that you don’t lose focus on the importance of content marketing for your brand, material that oftentimes will be displayed on your website.

Among the ways to make your content marketing stand out:

  • Hiring the right talent to write copy – If you find that you’re too busy yourself (and also your staff) to do the content marketing writing, look to guest posting services. By using such a service, you eliminate the need for you and/or your staff to research and write the copy. As long as you hire a service provider that knows their stuff, has a feel for your industry and can provide that necessary voice (see more below), and promotes your brand in a variety of ways, you can stand out in the content marketing arena, By doing so, you increase the odds of landing more business;
  • Talk to your audience – All too often, companies will try and tell the consumer what the business owner wants them to hear, something that is not necessarily always what the consumer in turns wants to hear. When using a guest posting service, make sure they properly represent your brand, something which will receive a better response from many consumers. The copy should be informative, yet not too heavy on the sales side. If the voice is one of simply a salesperson, you may very well push the consumer/s in the direction of your competitors. Talking to your audience also means being a social butterfly (see more below), so don’t be shy about talking-up your brand;
  • Socializing is where it is at – Finally, properly using social media to promote your content marketing initiatives is very important. You can have the best content/writers in the world, but what if no one or few people are reading it? Use various social media vehicles (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc.) to promote your brand. Yes, YouTube has become more and more popular with companies looking to market their products and services. Having a small amount of worthwhile content with the video/slides etc. you want to show can go a long way in converting a potential client into a delivered client.

If you’re finding that you don’t have the time and/or expertise for properly doing content marketing now and down the road, a guest posting service could be just the right call.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers marketing topics on the web.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: brand, business, content marketing, guest posting services

Are Your SEO Needs Being Met?

October 14, 2015 by Thomas Leave a Comment

handshake isolated on business backgroundIf running a business has you coming and going, what are you doing to make things a little easier on yourself?

For many business owners, the focus is oftentimes lost on how important content marketing is to their success. While there is no doubt hiring the right talent and providing stellar customer service are both critical, so too is properly promoting your brand.

One of the best ways to get your brand front and center in front of countless eyes is by having a content marketing program that properly promotes your brand, leaving no doubt amongst consumers why they should be doing business with you.

With that said, do you do the content marketing or should you farm it out to the pros?

Research Your Options

For those business owners who decided that handling content marketing may be a little beyond their grasp, there is always the option of turning to an outside agency. That agency should not only be able to write eye-catching copy, but they also need to place it in front of as many eyes as possible.

Through search engine optimization (SEO), business owners can get their brand front and center.

But what about finding the right SEO provider to do just that? Can you really afford to just call-out any SEO company to do the work for you? Or do you need to invest time and effort in finding the best SEO agency?

The answer should be obvious, though some business owners oftentimes will simply hope for the best when hiring.

In order for your brand to get the best attention, remember to follow these tidbits in searching for the best SEO provider:

  • Track record – What kind of history does each SEO provider you are reviewing have? Are they all but free of customer complaints? Are they quick to respond to client inquiries or do they leave people on hold? What kind of social network (Twitter, Facebook etc.) do they have? If they have little or no social following, how can they be expected to use social media to help publicize your brand?
  • Read the fine print – Anytime you have someone do work for you; make sure you read the written deal (typically a contract) from start to finish. Those nasty little “hidden fees” can crop up from time to time, leaving you a little lighter in the wallet or purse and a little bit dissatisfied. Some business owners are too busy to read the fine details, meaning they ultimately pay for it in the end.
  • Too many promises? – Another red flag is if an SEO provider promises you the moon. Remember, just as you only promise your customers what you can ultimately deliver, the same should hold true for those doing work for you. Make sure the expectations are clearly defined for both parties. Solid SEO doesn’t happen overnight or at the flick of a switch, so set a clear understanding between your company and your SEO provider of what is needed and expected.
  • Reviews are needed – Finally, it is important that you and your SEO provider sit down and talk about the progress of your site, especially as it relates to link-building, content marketing and social media. What is working? Are there some strategies that seem to be stuck in neutral or even maybe setting your site back as it pertains to Google rankings? Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion; it is your site and money, so speak up when necessary.

In the end, your goal and that of your SEO provider should be to increase your websites traffic and your company’s sales.

When those two come together, your SEO needs can certainly be met.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers a variety of business topics on the web.

Filed Under: Business Life, SEO Tagged With: business, content marketing, SEO, social-media

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