Erika Heald Marketing Consulting

Content marketing that drives business results

Alek Irvin

June 1, 2020 Content Chat Recap: Are Infographics Still A Successful Visual Content Strategy Element?

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Most marketers know the value and importance of including imagery with their content, but how do infographics fit into a successful visual content strategy?

In this #ContentChat, we were joined by Chloe West (@ChloeWest28), content marketing manager at Visme, to explore whether infographics are still relevant (spoiler: yes, they are) and how marketers can create them. Read the full recap below, which includes tools we use to make infographics, tips for keeping your infographics engaging, and examples of high performing infographics that serve as inspiration for your next creation.

Q1: Have you created an infographic in the past 6 months?

More than half of our poll respondents (54.5%) have created an infographic in the past six months, with another 6.8% working on one now.

Remember that infographics come in all shapes and sizes—there are more options than just the long and skinny rectangle.

Infographics can be used on any site that accepts images (most commonly blogs or social media channels), as well as for visualizing internal processes or chains of command.

Some teams are infographic-making machines, leveraging templates to streamline work.

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May 18, 2020 Content Chat Recap: Making Time For Reflection And Q3 Content Marketing Priority Setting

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Although most businesses are still adjusting to the new terms of our world, we now have a better understanding of how to operate in this virtual-first society and the ways that marketers can keep providing value to their audiences. For this #ContentChat, Erika led the community through an exercise to reflect on this turbulent first half of 2020, prioritize Q3 goals, and draft an action plan to kickstart our content marketing for the remainder of 2020. Read through the conversation below and use the questions to guide you in developing your plan for the rest of 2020.

Q1: What has been the most memorable moment, from a content marketing perspective, since the start of this year?

To say the least, 2020 has given marketers a lot to talk about. Some highlights for our community include the increased focus toward employees in company content…

The abundance of free content and tools released to help people and companies navigate our new reality…

The surge in high-quality content from a diverse range of creatives and mediums…

The growing focus on the “social” part of social media…

The sheer resilience of our communities and workplaces and their ability to adapt at rapid speed, and the potential rise of more sustainable business models…

And personal achievements like newsletter launches and increased interest in paid services.

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May 11, 2020 Content Chat Recap: When You Have To Read The Comments: Empathetically Managing Customer Feedback

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Marketers try to have faith that their audience will behave properly online, but the hard truth is that not everyone knows how to be a respectful e-community member. Instead of comment sections solely filled with insightful thoughts and genuine collaboration, we often see trolls, blatant self-promotion, unnecessarily heated and inappropriate disagreement, and a lot of spam. So how can marketers and online community managers best handle inappropriate posts from customers and audience members online?

For this #ContentChat we trade tips on how to effectively manage comments from your online community. Read below for the full recap, where we weigh the pros and cons of enabling or disabling comments, discuss whether online community comment guidelines are necessary, and explain how to be respectful when deleting comments on your channels.

Q1: Love them or hate them, everyone has an opinion about enabling comments on their blog or website. Do you allow visitors to leave comments on your blog or website? If so, how do you feel about them? And if not, what was your reason not to enable them?

Our community has taken all three approaches to comments on blogs or websites. One group prefers to keep comments open, noting that this offers a chance for readers to further engage with the content by asking questions or making observations (which can then be used to fuel future content). This approach is also seen as safe to many because their blog audience is not highly active with commenting.

The opposite approach⁠—completely disabling comments⁠—is taken by others who feel their comment sections have been spammed by bots or self-promotional marketers. Some company leadership may also prefer comments to be disabled out of fear of negative posts, but these clients may just need to be educated on best practices in handling negative posts (versus completely cutting off all commenting functions).

In general, our recommended approach is to enable comments but require them to be approved by a moderator before publishing. This blends considerations from both of the above approaches, allowing users to further engage with your content and providing an area for discussion, but adding a safety net against bots, trolls, or spammers.

Keep in mind that comments may not make sense for all audiences or company types.

And some marketers prefer to drive their audience to social media to collaborate.

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May 4, 2020 Content Chat Recap: How Will You Refine Your Content Marketing Strategy For The Rest Of 2020?

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As communicators, it’s vital for us to stay agile and pivot when necessary to best serve our audiences, and the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us to drastically overhaul our 2020 marketing plans. So, where do we go from here with so much uncertainty ahead?

This week on #ContentChat, the community discussed how we are shifting our marketing plans in response to the crisis. Read below for the full conversation, including the KPIs we’re using to define success, what we’re doing about our in-person event strategy, and how we are continuing to provide value for our audiences.

Q1: How has COVID-19 and the resulting shelter-in-place mandates changed your business/industry? And how has it affected your content marketing to date?

The full effects of COVID-19 continue to unfold, but in these first months, we’ve seen an understandable shift toward digital platforms and content types. Social media, in particular, has become a focus for companies of all sizes, especially given that the news media landscape has faced significant turbulence during the pandemic.

Industries and individual businesses are facing varying degrees of disruption because of the pandemic, and we have seen an increased interest in freelance communications support.

Most, if not all, content is now approached through the remote work lens. It is best to provide content that helps your audience navigate this situation, preferably in a positive and uplifting way.

Sensitivities are heightened and there are new considerations for content creators. Consider using visuals that complement the principles of social distancing.

At a minimum, review your content KPIs to see what is responding best with your audience during this time. If possible, consider surveying your audience so you can even further understand their needs.

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April 27, 2020 Content Chat Recap: Creative Content Reuse As A Core Part Of Your Content Marketing Strategy

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When planning your content marketing strategy, do you think through multiple ways you can use any single piece of content? If not, you should. By repurposing your content for multiple channels or formats, you can more effectively meet the needs of your audience while also balancing your team’s resource constraints, making it a winning strategy for any content marketer—if approached the right way.

This week, the #ContentChat community discussed the value of reusing content and traded tips on how to effectively recycle content without seeming stale. Read the recap below, and use #ContentChat on Twitter if there is a piece of content you’re trying to repurpose and would like the community to share ideas.

Q1: Is upcycling, recycling, or repurposing content a consistent component of your content strategy? If not, why not—what has been holding you back?

Let’s kick things off with some clarification. For today’s chat, upcycling/recycling/repurposing means taking a piece of content in its original form and then turning it into something else.

The vast majority (93%) of our poll respondents are content recyclers, with only a handful of folks using a one-and-done method.

Repurposing content is an efficient use of your team’s time (especially if you’re a small team with limited resources), and you’ll likely see greater traction from your content if you are presenting it multiple ways.

Despite the inherent benefits of content recycling, there are several potential hurdles in the process. For example, you may not have access to the design resources needed, or your content may be spread across too many topics (making repurposing difficult as you are always moving on to a new topic).

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April 20, 2020 Content Chat Recap: The PESO Model 2.0 And What It Means For Content Marketers

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“If you aren’t using the PESO model for your communications work, and measuring the meaningful metrics that help an organization grow, you will not have a job in 10 years.” – Gini Dietrich

This week, #ContentChat was joined by Gini Dietrich (@GiniDietrich), founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, to explore PESO model 2.0, a strategy for executing integrated marketing programs that streamlines your team’s efforts, amplifies your results, and helps you to better connect with your audiences.

Read the full conversation below, including how marketing and communications pros can use the model to break down siloes and more effectively communicate the ROI of their efforts. If you’re hoping to learn more about the PESO model, Gini explains how to implement the PESO model, no matter your team’s size, in this post.

Q1: First things first @ginidietrich: What is the PESO model, and why did you initially create it?

Gini created the PESO model (paid, earned, shared, and owned media) to help explain the work her agency does. After being published in her book Spin Sucks, the model gained popularity in the field.

Half of our poll respondents are familiar with the model, but it is new for the other half.

Some points of clarity: The order is “PESO” simply because it is easier to remember. A company can prioritize any of the letters first.

Shared media includes promotion, distribution, and content curation.

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