#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Trends for 2017 with Dennis Shiao

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Trends for 2017 with Dennis Shiao

Are you up-to-date on all the latest content marketing trends? In this week’s #ContentWritingChat, we shared all the hottest tips and trends you need to know for a successful content marketing strategy.

Does that sound like just what your brand needs right now? Keep reading for the recap of our latest chat! It’s filled with some amazing advice that you’ll want to implement ASAP!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Trends for 2017 with Dennis Shiao


Our guest host this week was Dennis Shiao. Dennis handles content marketing at DNN Software. He shared some great tips with us throughout the chat, which you won’t want to miss! Let’s dive into the recap for everything you need to know on content marketing trends for 2017.

Q1: Why is it important to keep an eye on content marketing trends? How can it impact us as creators?

Not feeling convinced that you should be keeping up with the latest when it comes to content marketing trends? These tweets will show you why it’s important for all content creators:

Keeping an eye on the trends will help you plan your strategy. As Dennis mentioned, sometimes you ride the trend and sometimes you go the other way. When you understand the current content marketing trends, it can even give you ideas on how to start a new one.

His general advice is not to follow just just follow them. Dennis feels there’s value in being different, so make sure you embrace that.

Julia knows that knowing the latest trends is essential for content creators. You want to stay updated on the platforms, tools, and SEO to better serve your clients.

Content marketing is something that is constantly evolving and you need to keep up to appeal to your audience.

Being aware of trends also helps keep your content fresh and relevant.

As Lexie said, knowing the trends shows your clients that you stay on top of all the latest information. It’s going to help them see that you really know your stuff!

Maureen brought up a great point about testing. When you monitor and try out new trends, you can test to see how it works for you. You’ll know what’s the right fit for your brand and your audience.

As Ray said, part of reflecting and planning your future growth is looking at the past and present when it comes to content marketing. It’s important to reflect to see where things have been, where they’re going, and how you can adapt.

Q2: What have been the top content marketing trends to implement into your strategy so far this year?

Have there been any game-changing trends you implemented into your strategy this year? Our chat participants shared a few that were essential for them to incorporate:

For Dennis, he knows that high-quality content is a clear winner. He’s been focusing on publishing less, but striving to produce even better content.

The team at Netvantage is doing the same. Quality always beats quantity when it comes to the content you’re producing.

When you’re creating content, you also need to deliver what your audience wants. Bill is committed to focusing on his existing customers and learning what they need, instead of guessing on what he should be creating.

Kristen knows that recycling content is a big trend that is really paying off these days. It helps you make the most of what you’ve published in the past. She also said testing new content formats, such as podcasts, is also beneficial.

Even Dennis knows podcasting is a trend that’s still on the rise! Although he hasn’t started one of his own yet, he does listen to a lot.

For Shelly, it’s all about making sure the content she produces leads back to her bigger business objectives.

People are certainly getting more visual with their content this year, which is something that won’t be going away any time soon. Whether it’s graphics or video content, people are loving great visuals.

Interactive content is certainly a great way to engage your audience and get them to take action.

Q3: Many marketers have stepped up content production. What are your tips for managing the content planning and creation process?

With more people taking their content seriously, it can sometimes get tricky managing the content planning and creation process. If you need some help in this area, check out this advice:

Dennis knows the importance of having clear processes and software to help teams, both big and small. He also mentioned how crucial it is to have a great plan in place. It’s definitely going to help you stay on track in the long run.

Julia also recognizes the importance of great team members, as she’s managing a remote team that’s all across the world. When you have an amazing team behind you, you can really see major growth when it comes to your content.

Maureen suggests having a calendar coordinator or a content manager to help bring everything together. Having someone dedicated to this role will help everyone stay on track and meet deadlines.

However, you aren’t doomed if you don’t have a team behind you. As Brittany mentioned, there are plenty of experts out there that can provide information that’ll help you out.

Kristen encourages you to map your content back to your goals. She suggests planning quarterly goals and/or themes to guide your content.

And editorial calendar is certainly helpful when it comes to the planning process. You need to determine how often you want to publish and what topics you’ll be focusing on.

Megan is also a big fan of having an editorial calendar in place.

As Lori mentioned, it’s great to have a plan, but you also need to be flexible. Be open to making last minute changes to create content for the topics that are relevant in the moment.

Natasha outlined some key steps that are essential to success! It all goes back to listening to your audience and understanding their needs.

For Bryn, repurposing content is a must. It’s going to help you make the most of the older content you’ve already published. All you have to do is find ways to make it fresh again. She teams up with other departments to make this happen.

Q4: What should a content marketer do when they just aren’t seeing the results they hoped for?

If you aren’t seeing the results you hoped for, it’s important that you don’t just give up and quit. You need to figure out how to fix the situation. Here’s some great advice for you:

First, Dennis said you need to resist the urge to give up. As he pointed out, content marketing is a long-term endeavor. You have to hang in there and keep moving forward, despite any failures you may encounter. He suggests taking some time to reflect because you’ll return feeling refreshed and with new ideas.

Dennis also said to consider your distribution efforts. Could that be where you’re going wrong? You can’t just expect people to find your content. You have to be proactive about spreading the word. He also recommends talking to your readers, customers, and industry experts to receive feedback on the work you’ve done.

Lexie also agrees that seeking feedback is a good idea. It’s going to help you deliver the content your audience truly wants.

Varun’s advice is to stop, analyze, and restart. You can take inspiration from your niche and other industries, plus take feedback from your audience into consideration.

Lex said you need to ask yourself if you’re monitoring the right goals with the best metrics. You also need to know why those are your goals so you know that you’re working towards.

It’s also a smart idea to look at what IS working for you so you can focus on those platforms/formats/etc.

Going back to the advice Dennis shared, Danielle also recommends focusing on distribution. Find new ways to spread the word about your content so more people will check it out.

For Kristen, she’s found sharing her content via email has always been effective.

No matter what, you have to keep plugging away. You’ll see results in time if you don’t give up.

And finally, don’ forget to be patient!

Q5: How have you seen content marketing change in the past few years?

Wondering how the content marketing world has changed in recent times? Take a look at these responses from the chat:

As Dennis pointed out, there’s all kinds of content floating around these days. It’s not just about blogging because others are turning to live video, podcasting, and so many other formats.

The expectations of your readers have also never been higher. You have to make sure you’re delivering something that’s worth their time.

There’s no denying that we have to work harder to get our content noticed these days.

To stand out, Debi suggests focusing on expertise, authority, and trustworthiness in the content you publish.

Video continues to grow in popularity as the years go on. It’s something that won’t be going anywhere, whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.

Max also agrees that video has taken off in recent years, especially on social media. You want to have a winning strategy for creating and promoting the video content you produce.

Content creators are expected to do so much these days. They have to be skilled not just with writing, but also with SEO, marketing, social media, and video among other things.

For Ray, he’s seen more small businesses take content marketing seriously. He says it’s made it easier to educate them on it.

Q6: Where do you see content marketing going in the next year or two?

Do you have any predictions on the future of content marketing? Here’s what some of our chat participants had to say:

Dennis sees content moving to non-traditional platforms, such as smart watches. As he mentioned, your content needs to appear when and where your audience needs it.

Kristen predicts advanced personalization that provides a customer-centric approach will be the future of content marketing trends.

Bill predicts that people are going to focus more on their owned channels and use others to drive traffic back to their home base.

Lexie definitely sees video continuing to skyrocket. She thinks live videos that include customers or brand advocates will be the big thing.

As for Jeff, he predicts artificial intelligence will be used to deliver the right content to the exact target audience.

Virtual reality could also play a huge role in content marketing, as more companies are adopting it.

Julia sees even more brands appreciated the growth that content marketing can bring.

Q7: What are your favorite tools for managing your content marketing strategy?

Are you looking for some good tools to manage your content marketing strategy? Check these out:

Dennis relies on Google Analytics and Excel to manage his content marketing strategy. He also likes to get on the phone and chat with customers. It’s a great way to learn more about them.

Evernote is a fantastic tool for storing content ideas and keeping them organized.

Like me, Brittany is also an Evernote fan. She also likes to use Excel for creating an editorial calendar.

Julia relies on SEMrush for ranking and SEO tracking, Mangools for keyword discovery, and BuzzSumo for finding hot topics.

From Google Docs to Evernote and others, Ray has a plethora of tools he likes to use for content marketing. They’re all worth checking out!

BuzzSumo is a go-to for Shelly.

Keiana likes to use Google Analytics and Hootsuite.

For email marketing, Max sticks to MailChimp for sending content to his subscribers. He also likes that their analytics are easy to understand.

Jenn’s list of tools includes: Google Analytics, Moz, Asana, and Curata.

Q8: Do you have any top resources for learning the latest in content marketing trends?

If you want to learn more about the hottest content marketing trends, where should you go? Check out these amazing resources:

Dennis likes to read posts from Content Marketing Institute, Contently, and Orbiteers. He even mentioned Express Writers!

Social Media Today, Social Media Examiner, and the Jeff Bullas blog are all great sources.

Lexie is spot-on with this answer! We can learn so much from the Twitter chats we join.

For Jenn, she’s learned a lot from our own #ContentWritingChat and Content Marketing Institute’s #CMWorld.

As Zachary said, it’s not just about sharing your answers. You can also take in the responses people share and learn from them.

Cristy likes to use Digg to find new blogs and publications to check out.

Another great way to find new resources is to search Feedly or podcasts for information on content marketing.

Ready to join the fun? Follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat on Twitter and join #ContentWritingChat every Tuesday at 10 AM Central!

Enroll in a content strategy course

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy

Do you have a content marketing strategy in place for your brand? If not, it’s time you create one! However, you might be wondering how to get started and that’s where we come in. In this week’s #ContentWritingChat, we talked all about the basics of creating a content marketing strategy of your very own. Keep reading for the recap!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy

Our guest host this week was our very own CEO, Julia McCoy. As a content marketing expert herself, it’s no surprise that she had some amazing advice to share with everyone.

Q1: What is a content marketing strategy and why is it important for today’s brands?

To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share their own definitions of a content marketing strategy. We also wanted to find out how important they felt it was to have a strategy and why. Check out a few of the responses we received:

As Julia said, a strategy will drive the guidelines, creation, execution, and tracking of your content marketing. She knows it’s necessary if you want to achieve ROI and make goals happen with the content you create.

Kyle feels it’s all about crafting a consistent schedule of content to tell your brand’s story to win over your customers.

Annaliese said having a strategy in place gives you an established process for why you’re doing what you do, plus guidelines on how to do it.

As Maria pointed out, having a strategy is partly about knowing what you want to say, how to say it, where to say it, and who you’re saying it to. These are all essential things to figure out.

This is a great way to look at it! Jenn said your strategy is your road map from where you are to where you want to be. It’s important to set goals and create a plan of action to help you get there.

Q2: Before you can begin creating content and planning your strategy, what do you need to figure out?

Now that you know what a content marketing strategy is, you’re probably feeling ready and inspired to create one of your own. But before you can get started, there are a few essential things you need to figure out. Take a look at these tips:

Julia’s first tip is to figure out what makes you different from everyone else. When you know what your Content Differentiation Factor (CDF) is, you can embrace that and stand out from the crowd. (Read her Search Engine Journal article she linked to if you want to learn more!)

Next, she encourages you to discover who your audience is. She shares four key tips in the graphic she included with her post. You can learn about this more in-depth in the content course she’s creating.

Sarah knows it’s important to know key information about your audience. Who is your target audience and what do they need? Where do they hang out? What will make them convert? This is all important to figure out so you can create content accordingly.

Lexie agrees that it’s crucial to know your audience first. Once you know who they are, you can create the type of content they need in their lives.

Don’t forget to figure out what your goals are. When you know what you want to achieve, it’s going to dictate the end result of your content.

Kyle also agrees that it’s important to know what your goals are ahead of time. Are you trying to increase brand awareness or land conversions? Is it something else? Figure that out beforehand so you can create the content that will help you get there.

Jonathan chimed in about the importance of setting goals as well. Figure out what a successful piece of content looks like to you and what that means before moving forward.

This is a great answer from Jason. He said you want to determine who your audience is, including their demographics. You also need to establish your brand’s voice, the types of content you’ll be producing, and how everything will work together.

Gaby shared an impressive list of things you should figure out before creating content. She said you should understand: brand/content purpose, message, objectives, audience/target, content topic, industry, and brand voice.

Q3: What steps are required to develop a content marketing strategy for your own brand?

Now it’s time to get into the actual steps of creating a strategy that works. Here’s some helpful advice that will get you started on the right foot:

Julia recommends figuring out who your audience is, keywords, and your defined content types/costs. She also suggests having an editorial calendar, creating a content promotions strategy, and knowing how you’ll perform tracking and maintenance.

Know who you’re writing for, which content types you’ll create, and put together a calendar to keep you organized.

Brittany outlined her recommended steps and made it easy to follow along. She says to: gather your insights, outline your business goals, determine your budget and timeline, create personas, establish a process, create calendars, write and edit, and measure.

Roslyn’s advice is to know the demographics of your audience and the best way to cater to them. This is essential in creating content that gets results online.

You need to know who your audience is and where they hang out online so you can reach them. It’s also helpful to identify your brand’s voice as well.

It’s also helpful to know how you’re going to differentiate yourself from everyone else around. With so many people talking about the same things online, you have to spin that content in a way that will stand out and attract your audience.

Q4: What content types are crucial to help your brand become an authority online?

If you ask any brand, most of them would say they’re on the path to establishing themselves as an authority online. They all want to become the go-to resource for their target audience. But what kind of content can you create to help make that happen? Check out these responses:

Julia encourages you to focus on your own website first. Create amazing content for your blog and then build content for other platforms. Other channels to direct your attention include guest blogging and building a presence on social media.

There are a variety of things that will dictate the types of content you produce. It can depend on your brand, objectives, messaging, your industry, your market, your audience, and also the resources you have.

Annaliese agrees there are a few factors that will dictate the types of content you produce. One thing to consider is what your audience prefers. Do they enjoy videos or are they bigger fans of written content? Figure that out because it’s going to play a factor for your brand.

Tony knows that visuals and written content go hand-in-hand and are essential elements for any brand to create.

Cheval’s tip is to start doing live video broadcasts. It’s a great way to humanize your brand and connect with your audience in real-time.

Brittany said she would direct her focus to video content, guest posting, and creating other visuals.

Ultimately, what matters is that you create valuable content that addresses the questions your audience has. When you can deliver what they want and need, they’ll begin to see you as an authority in your field.

It all comes down to sharing relevant content and taking the time to engage with your audience. That’s how you start making an impact in your industry.

Q5: How do you measure the effectiveness of your content? If you aren’t seeing results, how do you make improvements?

In order to know if your content is helping you achieve the results you want, you’re going to have to measure how well it’s performing. Even more important, you’ll need to know how to make tweaks if you aren’t seeing the results you’d hoped for. Here’s some helpful advice:

Julia’s advice is to set up a tracking project in SEMrush. It’ll allow you to analyze rankings, which can be very helpful.

Eddie’s advice is to set S.M.A.R.T. goals and objectives beforehand. This will allow you to see what you hope to achieve and which data you’ll need to track closely.

Mallie also agrees it’s important to know your goals ahead of time.

Again it all goes back to the goal you set, whether that’s reach, conversions, or something else.

If you find you need to make changes, Annaliese suggests making simple changes. Tweak one thing at a time through A/B testing to see what’s working and what’s not.

Kyle also sees the value in running A/B tests to see which images and copy are the most effective.

Q6: What are the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to developing their content marketing strategy?

If you want to set up a strategy that’s successful, you’ll want to avoid some of the common mistakes that can be disastrous. Here are a few examples so you’ll know what to avoid:

You don’t want to be one of those brands without a content marketing strategy, do you? Julia knows it would be a mistake to not have one in place.

Not having a strategy at all is certainly one huge mistake.

Justing winging it and posting on a whim might sound like a fun idea, but it can set you up for disaster.

Don’t be so focused on the money that you immediately start pushing the sale. You need to build trust with your audience first if you want them to convert.

You should be all sales all the time. Instead, focus on building a community with your audience.

It’s more important that you focus on your customers, as opposed to talking about yourself in a self-serving way all the time. Talk to your audience and listen to what they have to say. Learn from them.

Q7: Which tools, calendars, and other resources do you rely on when developing a maintaining a content marketing strategy?

With so many tools and resources available, you’re sure to finding something that will make creating and sticking to a strategy even easier. Take a look at these tools:

Julia’s favorite tools include SEMrush, as well as a few others. They’re worth checking out if you haven’t already!

The Netvantage Marketing team relies on Google Docs as well as a few other tools to get their work done. It’s clear they know what works best for them.

Google Drive tools, Google Analytics, Keyword Planner, Twitter, WordPress, and Yoast are all great options.

Elizabeth’s go-to tools include Evernote, CoSchedule, and Google Sheets.

Sarah is a big fan of HubSpot.

Feedly, Canva, Piktochart, and Buffer are all helpful tools to rely on.

Mallie keeps it simple with an Excel spreadsheet plus a pen and her paper planner.

Danielle said her previously job relied on Google Docs. As she said, it’s not fancy, but it works. All that matters is that you use tools that are efficient and get the job done.

Q8: Which brands do you think are killing it with their content lately?

Which brands are doing an incredible job with the content they publish? Check out these:

Julia loves SmartBlogger, Content Marketing Institute, NewsCred, and CoSchedule.

Lori is a fan of Sue B. Zimmerman’s work.

The Rising Tide Society is one brand that consistently puts out great content.

Be sure to join us on Twitter every Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for #ContentWritingChat! Follow our accounts for all the latest: @ExpWriters and @writingchat!
#Contentwritingchat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Internal Communications Tactics for World-Class Content Marketing with Pam Didner

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Internal Communications Tactics for World-Class Content Marketing with Pam Didner

Did you catch the latest #ContentWritingChat? We had a great discussion all about internal communications tactics. This is one chat you’ll definitely want to check out if you manage or are part of a team so you all can work together effectively. Keep reading for the recap!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Internal Communications Tactics for World-Class Content Marketing with Pam Didner

Our guest host for this chat was Pam Didner. Pam is a marketing strategist, speaker, and author. The topic of internal communications tactics was inspired by her book, Global Content Marketing.

Q1: Why is internal communication so important for successful content marketing?

To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share why they felt internal communications was important when it comes to content marketing. We received some great responses and here’s what some of the chat participants had to say:

Pam knows that internal communication can help keep everyone on the team aligned. When everyone is on the same page and they’re all working together, amazing things can happen.

As Julia said, great internal communication is so important when it comes to content marketing planning and executing. It’s crucial for all of us here at Express Writers, especially as a remote team.

Varun said communication is key for clear and effective messaging, which is a must for content marketing.

Mallie knows it’s important to keep your content strategy cohesive, which is why it’s essential that you and your team communicate regularly.

As Iva said, if you aren’t able to communicate well with your own team, how can you effectively communicate with your clients and your audience?

Q2: How would you define internal communication(s) in content marketing?

We know why internal communications plays such an important role within content marketing, but what does it all actually mean? Take a look at these responses from Tuesday’s chat:

Pam’s definition of internal communications in content marketing is: coming together through strategy and working together via processes and tools. She also states that it’s about following the workflows you have in place.

Maureen said it’s the art of communicating ideas, value, and relevancy of content to those across the organization.

When it comes to the Express Writers team, Julia loves to have frequent meetings to brain dump ideas and curate ideas as a team. It allows everyone to co-create.

For Elizabeth, it’s all about having a system that allows every team member to be aligned and on the same page. After all, it’s so important that everyone on a team is on the right track.

Providing clear direction to your team and stepping back to allow them to shine is all part of internal communications for Cheval. It’s great to collaborate as a team, but you also want to give everyone room to do what they do best.

Q3: What are some key steps in creating internal communication tactics?

To create internal communication tactics for your team, you’ll want to read through this helpful advice from the chat:

Pam’s key steps include: align on the objective, agree on a strategy and tactics, execute tactics, and host regular meetings to follow-up.

Elizabeth’s advice is to find the right tools for your team to use. What works for one team might not be ideal for yours, so choose the tools that are going to be the most useful to the work you do. Then, take the time to train your team on how to use it so everyone can get the most from the tool.

Jason suggests having a method of communication that everyone on the team can use. You want to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Make sure you’re approachable with all members of the team. Create an environment where they feel comfortable opening up with questions and problems they might have by encouraging them to share.

Don’t forget to bring every team member on for meetings because you never know who could have the next big idea.

Jeremy suggests setting expectations for meetings when it comes to their frequency, how long they’ll list, and creative flexibility.

Q4: How can different businesses apply those general steps to their specific content marketing needs?

These steps can be applied to a variety of businesses. You just need to know how to make it all work for your unique team. Here’s some advice:

Pam’s advice is to apply those steps by knowing your business objectives, your products, and your team’s communication challenges. You can work together to create a process that’s ideal for your team.

Know your goals and what you and your team need to achieve. Encourage them all to get involved and share thoughts, ideas, and opinions. You want your team to feel comfortable engaging with you.

Julia suggests asking everyone on your team to contribute content ideas. Everyone has different ideas that are worth being shared.

As Jeremy said, you want to build excitement around your brand and your team can help you do that when you co-create on content.

Maureen’s advice is to set up a communication schedule. You can answer questions and provide your team with actionable steps for them to take next.

Set goals, define content need, divide the work, and discuss any problems that have come up.

And remember, the fundamentals of communication can be applied regardless of business type. Stay in touch with your team and allow everyone the opportunity to let their voice be heard.

Q5: In your experience, what are some of the most efficient tactics?

What are some of the most efficient tactics for internal communications? Check out these responses from the chat:

Pam encourages face-to-face conversation. She feels this makes it easier to communicate with other members on your team. If you’re a remote team, you can always try video chatting to make it feel more like you’re with the other people.

Here at Express Writers, we rely on shared Google spreadsheets for topic ideas and Google Docs for co-creating.

Mallie suggests planning regular updates to check in with your team. You can see where everyone is at with their work, answer questions, etc.

Elizabeth agrees that having scheduled check-ins is the way to go. Set a date and time frame for your meetings and check up on your team.

Great advice from Jim! Encourage open communication from the start if you want to see the best results within your team.

Q6: What are some of the most useful tools/procedures to use for internal content marketing communication?

Which tools are procedures do our chat participants rely on for internal communication? Here’s what they had to say:

Pam’s advice is to select content creation and management tools to aid communications. You then want to create a workflow and define the roles and responsibilities of your team members.

Sarah’s tool suggestions include: a messaging platform, email, team meetings, and a content calendar. She also recommends being honest, open, and accessible.

For Maureen and her teammates, they’ve relied on face-to-face communication. Since they do often work from home, she said they’re going to start using Slack to stay in touch outside of the office.

The team at HeyOrca! relies on Slack, Trello, Canva, Grammarly, and Google Docs.

Elizabeth recommends Slack, Google Suite, Asana, and CoSchedule.

Iva recommends using the cloud, chat softwares, and a unified file system. She also encourages people to avoid email overload. After all, no one likes an out of control inbox.

Zachary loves using Google Drive for collaborating.

Varun said the tools you use should depend on the size of your team and the complexity of communication, which is great advice. What works for one team might not work out so well for yours. He does, however, suggest checking out Slack, Trello, WhatsApp, and even Facebook for Business.

Here at Express Writers, we recently invested in Zoho for our email, which has been proving to work out well for us.

Q7: How can you connect tactics with content marketing goals?

To connect your internal communication tactics with your content marketing goals, follow these tips:

This is helpful advice from Pam and something everyone should keep in mind!

Be sure to start by setting your goals, then work backwards from there to figure out how you’re going to achieve them. This will help you get where you want to be.

Maureen suggests making a flexible plan that aligns to your objectives.

Julia said to set realistic deadlines for your team and make sure everyone is aware of those deadlines and prepared to meet them.

Q8: What are some important metrics that will help us optimize and track our success?

Which metrics should you keep an eye on? This is what you’ll want to watch:

As Pam said, the metrics you track the closest will depend on your marketing goals and objectives. Your might track shares, impressions, discount offers, and many others.

Maureen and her teammates track placements, traffic, conversions, and closed deals.

Jeremy likes to track engagement and also what led to people taking the next step with your brand.

Remember that there’s no catch-all success metric, as Mallie said. You have to figure out what’s most important to your unique goals.

#Contentwritingchat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Project Management & Content Marketing with Brittany Berger

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Project Management & Content Marketing with Brittany Berger

In the latest #ContentWritingChat, we talked all about project management and content marketing. If you want to learn some tips that will take your project management workflow to the next level, this chat is sure to help you out. Keep reading for the recap!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Project Management & Content Marketing: How to Have a Fluid Content Project Management Workflow with Brittany Berger


Our guest host this week was Brittany Berger. Brittany is a PR and Content Marketing Manager for Mention. She shared a ton of great advice with us, so be prepared to take some notes!

Q1: Why is project management important for content marketing?

To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share their thoughts on why they though project management played an important role in content marketing. Here are some of the answers we received during the chat:


Brittany acknowledges there are many different moving parts when it comes to content marketing. For this reason, there’s always the possibility something could fall through the cracks or your content could become misaligned with the goal. With a project management strategy in place, you can keep everything working as it should be.


As Sarah said, project management helps to keep everyone aligned when it comes to timing. You want to ensure everything gets done on time and that people are meeting deadlines. Having a strategy in place will help you make that happen!


Mallorie agrees that it’s essential for consistently meeting deadlines. It gives you the opportunity to set goals and create plans to help you achieve what needs to be done.


Benefits of project management: it keeps your content aligned, keeps you on or under budget, and keeps overwhelm at bay.


As if you needed more reason to create a strong content project management workflow for your brand… Julia mentioned it’s key to success.


Without project management, Cassandra said content marketing becomes chaos. And you don’t want that, do you?

Q2: What does content project management entail?

Now that you know what project management is important to your content marketing, what exactly does it entail? Check out these responses from the chat:


Brittany said content project management entails planning, organizing, and executing.


Structuring calendars, setting quantity, and deadline structure all are important aspects of project management. Julia also said you need to stay on top of the creation process and everyone involved.


Sarah said you need to have a goal, figure out your timeline, schedule and plan with your calendar, execute, and make sure you keep all team members on track.


You need to organized the who, what, and when of each of the content pieces you create.


Varun said you need to create your content calendar, know who will be contributing, important dates and events, deadlines you need to meet, as well as targeting and monitoring.


Know your budget, plan out your campaign, delegate tasks based on the strengths of your team members, and get started! Great advice!


Brittany brought up a solid point for those of who are working solo. Just because you don’t have a team behind you, it doesn’t mean you can take advantage of project management. You should still have a great editorial calendar and assign deadlines to hold yourself accountable.

Q3: What tools are the best for content teams to stay organized?

The great news is, there are a ton of tools out there that can make project management a lot easier. We received some great suggestions in response to this question, so be sure to check these out if you haven’t already!


Brittany recommends using tools that will help you communicate, store assets, and organize processes. There are many tools you can choose from to make each of these tasks easier!
She also shared that the team at Mention loves using CoSchedule, which is an amazing tool for planning out your content.


Evernote and Asana are two go-to tools for me. I use Evernote to store ideas and draft content, plus Asana keeps me organized when outlining larger projects and editorial calendars.


Bill is also a fan of Evernote and he flies on Google Docs and Sheets to stay organized when it comes to project management.


The HeyOrca! team loves using Trello, which is a handy app for planning projects and creating to-do lists. They also rely on Slack to communicate with one another.


The Digital Natives team recommends Google Drive, Slack, Glip, and Group Me.


The team at Netvantage relies on Google Drive and Basecamp to get things done.


For Shereese, she switches tools based on the work she’s doing. When handling client projects, she uses Wrike. However, Evernote is a go-to for her personal work.

Q4: How can content writers help prevent overwhelm when working on several projects at once?

The reality is, we often find ourselves juggling multiple projects at the same time. It can be a lot to manage, often resulting in feelings of overwhelm. To prevent that from happening, check out this advice:


Brittany’s advice is to look at each step in the process as its own thing. You want to break larger tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks. Not only is this less overwhelming, but it makes it easier for you to tackle the things on your to-do list.


Prioritize each of your projects and list them in order of importance. Start with what needs to be tackled first and focus on getting it done before moving onto the next.


Beki suggests dividing your time into manageable chunks for different projects. You can use a timer to keep you on track.


Breonna also agrees with blocking out time on your calendar. This ensures you dedicate ample time to each task so you can stay on track and make progress. She also recommends focusing on just one project at a time.


When you’re blocking out time for your work tasks, Bill said to make sure you block off some time for yourself as well.


Chris suggests setting realistic targets and goals, defined steps, and micro-achievements.


Sarah said to be up front when it comes to your schedule and let your boss or team know if you get behind on tasks that need to be completed.


Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Tony also suggests using plenty of Post-It notes!


Don’t take on more than you can handle. If you stretch yourself too thin, you become overwhelmed and the quality of your work will suffer.

Q5: How can teams maximize the amount of content they’re creating without burning out?

We all want to avoid burning out, especially when it come to content creation. So, how can we create plenty of content without crashing and burning? These tips will help you out:


Brittany shared some great advice with us. She said she separates the creative versus logistical parts of content creation. Collecting links, conducting research, getting screenshots and other similar tasks are separate from writing time.


Julia knows it helps to have a supportive team by your side, as well as a strong project management workflow.


Plan out your content in advance and then batch write blog posts, newsletters, etc. Once you get into that writing groove from writing one post, it’s much easier to keep going and write another. It’s a lot more productive to write three posts back to back then it is to write a blog post, complete another task, and then go back to writing blog posts.


Don’t forget to take advantage of the content you’ve already created. Michelle said you can repurpose and scale your current content, which will help you get more eyes on the stuff you’ve published in the past.


Kristen agrees that repurposing is essential. She said to take top-performing content and recycle it for multiple channels.


Cheval recommends writing in a notebook every day to prevent writer’s block. This is a great way to strengthen your writing skills as well.


Never stop creating! Zala said you should always collect ideas and brainstorm. She also knows it helps to create content in advance and repurpose what you already have.


While some audiences love long-form content, others don’t resonate with it as much. If that applies to your audience, you can break up longer content pieces into multiples to create a series. It’s also a great way to keep your audience coming back to your website.


Varun knows collaboration is one key to success when it comes to content creation. He also recommends setting priorities and being open to discussions with your team.


Jeremy’s advice is that you shouldn’t promise more than you can actually deliver. It’s better to under-promise and over-deliver on the content you create.

Q6: What’s the biggest mistake a content team can make when juggling multiple channels and formats?

There are a lot of mistakes a content team can make and we asked people in this week’s chat to share which ones they thought were the worst. Keep these in mind so you can avoid them!


Brittany said it’s a mistake to think of each thing as a separate project. She suggests looking at how everything works and interacts with each other.


If you aren’t communicating with your team, you’re setting yourself up for failure. You need to be open to working together and sharing ideas.


If you don’t stay in contact with your team, it can be chaos.


As Jason said, you shouldn’t assume someone has a task covered. This is where open communication comes into place. Keep in touch with your team to make sure everyone is on track.


Kim said it would be a mistake to not plan or have a strategy in place.


Not communicating with your team, failing to proofread, and not thinking through your content are all big mistakes in Sara’s book.


Jim suggests designating tasks to the specialists and letting them do their thing.


Don’t sign up for a platform and then fail to commit to it. If you join a platform, you need to post consistently and be present.


Don’t underestimate the size of your workload.


Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged because you can’t do it all.


Quit pushing quantity over quality. Quality is always more important in the end.

Q7: As a content writer, how can you keep ideas straight when working on multiple, but similar, projects?

It can be tough to keep ideas straight when you’re working on multiple projects. Here’s some advice to help you out:


Brittany likes to get her ideas out on paper as soon as possible. This is great for ensuring you don’t forget anything and allows you to map everything out later. She also recommends not switching back and forth between projects too much. Chunk your schedule to work on similar tasks back to back.


Jason also agrees that chunking your schedule is helpful. He suggests scheduling blocks when you work on just one project, instead of jumping between different things.


Mallie is a fan of blocking off time on your schedule as well. She even thinks it’s a good idea to give each project its own folder to keep things separate.


Julia relies on multiple to-do lists, content calendars, and Google Sheets to keep things organized. And you can’t forget a cup of coffee (or two)!


Kristen makes a new to-do list every day as well. She also uses project management tools like Trello to help.


Jeremy likes to outline and save drafts in his blog and in Evernote. This makes it easy for him to work on content whenever he wants.

Q8: What other content marketers are great at project management?

Who else is amazing at project management? You can get some inspiration from these content marketers:


Brittany has learned a lot from Nathan Ellering, Benjamin Brandall, and Jess Ostroff.


Julia is impressed with how Content Marketing Institute manages their workflow and editorial structure.


Cheval was too kind and including Julia and I in his list, along with Ann Handley.


Jeremy shared a bunch of great people with us. You’ll want to check them out if you aren’t already!
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Doug Kessler

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Doug Kessler

It’s no secret that every brand needs to have an effective content marketing strategy if they want to see results within their business. However, many brands feel unsure of how to get started when creating a strategy of their own. This week’s #ContentWritingChat was all about the basics of creating a content marketing strategy, so there’s no more excuses. You can get started on yours today!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Doug Kessler

For this Tuesday’s #ContentWritingChat, our guest host was Doug Kessler. Doug is the is Co-Founder and Creative Director of Velocity. He shared some great insights with our audience about content marketing, so you’ll want to read through these tips and start implementing them.

Q1: Discuss the importance of content marketing for brands in 2017.

So, how important is it for a brand to develop their own content marketing strategy? And what kind of results will it provide once they have? Check out these tips from Tuesday’s chat:

Doug said that content marketing has turned into a mainstream strategy.

Julia knows just how important your content marketing strategy is when it comes to marketing. The stats she shared are pretty impressive!

As Annaliese said, content marketing has become expected of brands. She feels it helps you to build an interested audience and can establish you as a thought leader in your industry.

Content marketing can help you build relationships with your customers, which can ultimately lead to more brand loyalty. You’ll see these kinds of results when you do your content marketing strategy the right way.

The Digital Natives team said it’s key for establishing trust and adding value for your clients.

Q2: What’s the first major step(s) of a solid content marketing strategy for any business/industry?

When creating a content marketing strategy for your brand, there are a few steps you’ll have to take in the early phases. Here’s what you need to know in order to get started:

Doug said that the first step to creating a content marketing strategy is getting to know your audience. If you don’t know who your audience is, you can’t create the right kind of content to attract them.

To get to know your audience, you’ll need to do some research. It may be time-consuming, but it’s a must before you can get started with anything.

Know your goals and who your audience is. Once you’ve figured out those two things, you can start planning how you’ll connect with them and what kind of content you’ll create.

Annaliese agrees that it’s important to set goals before you begin creating your strategy.

Take the time to map out the journey you expect a customer to take. This is very beneficial to your success!

Bill’s advice is to list out your business objectives and the needs of your audience. This will help you start planning.

Tony recommends finding ways your audience likes to read and access content. Once you’ve figured that out, you can create exactly the type of content they’re looking for.

Q3: Content marketing vs. traditional marketing (i.e., TV spot): Your thoughts? Is one higher ROI?

Today’s brands still invest in traditional marketing as part of their content marketing strategy. There’s no shortage of ads on television. But is it really the most effective tactic or is content marketing the way to go? Here’s what our chat participants had to say:

Julia shared a link to her post that showed just how effective content marketing can be when compared to a Super Bowl ad.

Kevin’s advice is to figure out who your audience is and where they’re spending their time. Once you know that, you’ll be able to create content and put it directly in front of them on the platforms they’re using.

Keira brought up a great point about how consumers now crave relationships with brands. Those relationships are what help to build trust, which ultimately turns a follower into a customer. Conversations are key to building relationships with your target audience.

As Roslyn said, it’s also easier to track the success of content marketing than traditional marketing. This will help you to really see the results you’re getting from your investment.

Q4: Discuss a few favorite channels/content types that work for you (live streaming, guest blogging, etc.).

The channels and content types that work best for one brand won’t necessarily be what works best for another. It’s important to experiment so you can see what works for you, then make it part of your content marketing strategy. Here’s what seems to be working well for our chat participants:

Doug is a big fan of SlideShade, which we’ve also used here at Express Writers. If you haven’t tried it for yourself, give it a shot and see how your audience responds.

He also mentioned video, which is still very powerful today. Whether you’re uploading videos to YouTube or doing live videos on a platform like Facebook Live, it’s great for your brand.

As Julia said, she sees results from writing guest blogs for other sites and here on Express Writers. This Twitter chat and her book have also worked out well.

When blogging on your own site, make sure you do so consistently if you want to see results.

Annaliese has seen great results with guest blogging. It’s a fantastic way to increase your exposure since you’re able to get in front of a whole new audience. Social media engagement is also great!

For Sarah and the ThinkSEM team, they get the best results from blogging and sharing on Twitter.

Andrea is also a fan of Twitter, as are we here at Express Writers. Infographics are a great one as well!

If your audience is on Pinterest, it’s worthwhile to pin your content there to increase traffic back to your website.

Michelle loves joining Twitter chats. They’re actually a great way to connect with new people and to share your expertise. She also enjoys using the story features on both Instagram and Snapchat.

Meg mentioned email has been very effective for the team at Brandfolder.

Cheval knows that podcasting is great for building his authority within his industry. Even if you don’t see a return on your investment right away, it can happen over time.

Another point for podcasting!

This is great advice from Bill!

Q5: Share some ways to stand out in a sea of content. How do you find and showcase your brand voice?

With so much noise online these days, it can be hard to stand out. How do you do it? Check out these tips:

Infuse everything you create with your brand’s voice. Doug said Slack and MailChimp do a great job with this. Honesty is also important!

Great answer from Michelle, especially her point about authenticity and transparency.

Don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. If something doesn’t work out for you, don’t get discouraged. Learn from it and move on.

Jeremy said it’s important to test the content you create. This allows you to see what’s working and what’s not. Make sure you’re also being helpful and serving others.

Make sure you’re also expanding your reach by utilizing SEO.

Don’t forget to engage with your audience regularly. It shows them that you’re human and helps to build a connection.

Q6: How can you identify if your content marketing strategy is actually working and generating results?

Once you’ve developed and implemented your content marketing strategy, how do you know if it’s working for you? These tips will show you what you need to track:

Doug’s advice is to measure everything. You can learn a lot by seeing the areas in which you’re growing.

As Kristi said, this is where your goals come in. You need to set goals for the content you create so you can see if it was actually effective. If it is, great! If not, you need to make some changes.

Make success specific and measurable from the get-go. This is great advice from Mallie!

Jacob is spot on with his answer. You don’t want to get lost in a sea of data, so know what you want to measure first.

Be sure to give yourself ample time to reach your goals. Don’t expect results overnight.

Julia knows it’s important to track leads. Your content brings in leads, which ultimately leads to more clients and revenue for your business.

As Sabjan said, it’s all about those conversions.

If people are engaging with your content, sharing it, and eventually becoming customers… You’re doing something right.

Q7: Share some favorite tools you rely on consistently for your content marketing.

If you’re looking for new tools to help with your content marketing, you’ll want to check out this list.

Doug loves using SlideShare and Evernote.

Like Annaliese, we also rely on Yoast here at Express Writers. It’s great for SEO and readability.

Evernote is great for storing ideas and writing drafts. Asana is awesome for project management. And we can’t forget about Yoast and Buffer!

These tools are all worth checking out!

Cheval relies on Post Planner and Buffer on daily basis to put content out for his audience.

Buffer, Trello, and Google Docs are key for Amanda when it comes to her content marketing strategy.

CoSchedule is great for planning out your content!

Q8: Share some predictions or observations on the state of content marketing for 2017 and beyond.

What do you think is in store for content marketing in the future? Check out these predictions:

Those who commit to content marketing will win, while those who dabble won’t.

Julia is predicting new platforms, tools, and smarter systems.

Sarah thinks it’ll become more important to hone in on your audience’s desires, as well as timing and placement of your content.

Now is the time to start committing to video content, as its popularity will only continue to grow.

Tony also agrees that video content is important.

Great visuals for your content will always be important!

Javier predicts that augmented reality will become a lot more common.

Work smarter, not harder with strategic content.

We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!