Content Conversations

Conversations and resources for small business, startup, and solopreneur content marketing and social media.

How to Use Content Marketing to Ignite Your Business Potential

November 18, 2021 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

We’re now two years into the pandemic, and it’s more apparent than ever that content marketing is still an important way—if not the best way—to meet the ever-growing needs and expectations of brand customers. But don’t just take my word for it.

The 12th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report from MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute found that content marketing will take center stage for many marketing teams in 2022:

66% of B2B marketing teams will increase their content marketing budgets in 2022
21% of teams will invest at least half of their entire marketing budget on content marketing alone

I’ve seen first-hand how content marketing can build brand awareness, strengthen customer loyalty, build an engaged community of raving brand fans, enhance executives’ thought leadership profiles, and drive a consistent lead pipeline.

To explore how brands can best engage in content marketing, I joined Anthony Gaenzle and the #AGMarketingChats community to discuss what content marketing is and how brands can create the right content marketing strategy for them.

Check out the chat highlights below for an overview of content marketing, and read the entire conversation here to learn how to find the right content marketing distribution channels for your brand, create and utilize visual content, and more.

P.S. Don’t miss #AGMarketingChats Thursdays on Twitter at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern.

What is Content Marketing?

At the highest level, content marketing involves helping a brand’s prospective and current customers throughout their buyer and customer journey.

The goal of content marketing is to empower your audience with content in their preferred format. These formats can include blog posts, video, social media content, email newsletters, and more to help them overcome their challenges.

Content marketing usually sits within a brand’s overarching marketing team and overlaps with many business units, including public relations, customer success, and sales teams. The best content marketing teams directly engage with each of those business units to partner on content creation.

How Can Brands Get Started with Content Marketing?

Successful content marketing involves a cycle of gathering audience intelligence, creating content, testing new content types, reviewing your results, and optimizing your future content with these learnings.

The most important thing to keep in mind when creating your content strategy is it has to be executable. That means being realistic about the resources you have to create and distribute content across your chosen channels.

To get started, you will want to look internally and externally to understand your audience’s content needs and preferences.

On the internal side:

Conduct a content audit (we provide a detailed walkthrough and template here)
Map your analytics to your audit sheet
Use multi-touch attribution to understand what content and channels deliver consistent results

On the external side:

Hold 1:1 meetings with your best customers
Survey your email database to validate what you heard in 1:1 meetings
Read industry research
Conduct a keyword gap analysis with a tool like Semrush

With this data in hand, you can begin mapping your content marketing priorities for the coming months.

Community Is The Heart of Content Marketing

It’s important to remember that content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Your program growth will likely be slow, and that is OK. The value of an opted-in, engaged community that reflects your ideal customer is much more valuable than a big mailing list. Stay dedicated and remain consistent in your activities because every interaction will strengthen your brand’s connection with its community.

This concept of community should drive every piece of content you create. Every word you write, visual you create, or concept you discuss should strive to help a person. I think the future of content marketing is going to center around building community. And that’s not just because I’ve been an active part of the #CMworld and #ContentChat content marketing communities for years!

To hear more of my thoughts on content marketing, including how visual content should fit in your content marketing strategy, how to find the right content distribution channels, and the pros and cons of long-form and short-form content, check out the entire #AGMarketingChats conversation.

5 Types of Video Content for a More Effective Content Marketing Strategy

November 12, 2021 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

Is your marketing team using video content to its fullest potential?

Wyzowl’s 2021 State of Video Marketing report found that businesses increasingly use video marketing, with an estimated 86% of teams creating video content today. Some teams have achieved a notable return on investment (ROI) through video, including boosts to website traffic, the average time users spend on a web page, and even direct sales, plus a decrease in support calls.

However, the report found that not all teams are prepared for success with video. Nearly 20% of non-video marketers don’t know where to start with video, and 30% of teams have a decreased video budget because of the pandemic.

To help teams understand how to create and distribute effective video content, let’s explore what equipment you need, the common ways you can use video in marketing, and examples of brands that exemplify the best practices of video.

5 Types of Video to Include in Your Content Marketing Plan

Knowing that you can create video content with just a smartphone or laptop, the next question to tackle is what type of video content is relevant for brand audiences?

Remember that the purpose of any content you create is to help solve problems for your customers or community and strengthen your relationship with them. Remember, too, that some members of your audience prefer video content over other types of content.

Here are a few essential ways that teams can use video as part of their content marketing strategy:

Product demos

Product demo videos are invaluable for helping your prospective customers understand the potential benefits of your product and how it can help them in their day-to-day work. These videos showcase your product and detail its features or capabilities. These videos can range from a quick 2-minute promo video or a 20-minute, in-depth walkthrough.

Consumer product companies can look toward brands like Apple, with its consistently striking product advertisements and demos (see here for all of its iPhone 12 videos), for inspiration on product demo videos. Software brands will often create more in-depth demos focused on helping customers gain the product’s full value and understand lesser-known features, like in this product demo from MeetEdgar (which we use to help manage our social media accounts).

Branding videos

Marketing teams need to demonstrate and reinforce the company’s branding, and video is a great medium to do so. These branding videos can explore elements like your company’s culture or mission. Or they can simply position your brand within the larger community that it serves. Video can be especially effective for branding because it has better potential to evoke emotion and capture attention.

The Shakr team shares eight example brand videos you can be inspired by, and personal branding expert Christine Gritmon was previously on #ContentChat to share her tips on how to use video for personal branding.

Customer case studies and testimonials

Your customer testimonials will shine through on video. For customers who can tell compelling transformation stories, create a video case study where the customer explains the challenges they faced, how they used your product or service, and their results.

Salesforce has a range of great customer case study videos you can review for inspiration. In addition, our consultancy founder Erika provides a detailed walkthrough of how to create customer case studies in this post.

Fireside chats or Q&As

Think about the topics of interest to your community and the challenges they often face. Curate fireside chat conversations or Q&A opportunities on social media to dive into these topics and garner real-time engagement.

Remember that a casual, candid conversation can go a long way for your community, so do not obsess over creating a detailed script ahead of your chats. Instead, start small and casual, and refine your strategy as you go.

Our community member Shane Shaps hosts Let’s Get Real, a weekly conversation about having an authentic voice on social media, which is an excellent example of how you can approach a Q&A or fireside chat-type topic. The Vimeo team also has this detailed walkthrough on how to host a successful fireside chat.

Event sizzle reels

In the absence of in-person event experiences, many teams have created all-virtual or hybrid event experiences to keep connected with their communities. We recommend you create videos to promote these events, highlight the benefits of each attendance type, and share learnings from the sessions.

We’re huge fans of the Content Marketing Institute, and we recommend you check out their #CMWorld playlists on YouTube to see how you can extend the value of your event using video.

Best Practices for Video Content

After creating your first video, work to refine your approach to ensure that everyone can access and consume your video without detracting from the rest of their content experience.

In general, follow these best practices with your video content:

Upload your video to YouTube or a similar video-hosting site. Then embed the video to your site page or blog post as relevant. This will help with load times, which could boost the SEO value of your content. Additionally, most video-hosting sites have robust search functions and features that enable you to organize, tag, and provide a description of your videos, increasing the likelihood of people watching your videos.
Include captions, but be wary of auto-generated ones. We recommend you manually add captions to your videos to ensure they are accurate. Review where the captions are placed, factoring for any channel-specific logos, other on-screen text, or video frames as your captions could hide those.
Post transcripts to boost your SEO. When possible, include a transcript of your video. This is most natural if you do a blog post that consists of the video and a full transcript. This will make finding the video easier for your community, especially if you optimize the transcript with SEO keywords.
Repurpose your video content. Create GIFs or snippets from your video to amplify that content on social media or across channels. Take a small segment of the video to highlight a specific point. Then use its call to action to encourage watching the full video to learn more.

Video is One Part of A Complete Content Ecosystem

We recommend you experiment with different video styles, formats, and lengths to see what resonates best with your community. Then, regularly assess the views, comments, shares, and other KPIs to ensure that your videos meet the intended results.

One way to get started: Revisit your highest-performing content from the past year and see if there is a natural video element you can introduce. Use this video to re-promote your piece on social media and through other channels. For all future content, plan for any video components from the earliest planning phases. This way, you can efficiently create video content to provide value to your community.

If you’d like to learn more about how to integrate video content into your content marketing strategy, send us a message.

Virtual Presentation Guide: How To Deliver An Outstanding Online Session

November 5, 2021 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

Let’s face it: we’ve all attended a lot of meh formerly live now virtual-only events over the past 18 months. But we mostly cut everyone some slack, because, after all, the world was catapulted into the world of digital-only experiences in 2020 with very little warning.

But thanks to inventive event professionals and the rise of new virtual event technologies, online and hybrid event experiences have significantly improved this year and can now easily replicate—or even improve upon—many of the most beloved aspects of in-person events. Combined with the notable benefits of virtual events and continued uncertainties around the future of work, experts agree that virtual and hybrid events will remain popular throughout 2022 and beyond.

While many event planners have focused on enhancing the virtual event attendee experience, one area that could use some work is the quality of support they provide to their event speakers. Even the most seasoned in-person conference speakers will encounter new challenges with virtual or hybrid presentations. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get ahead of these obstacles and deliver an outstanding online presentation.

In this blog post, let’s explore how virtual event speakers should prepare for their sessions, including our tips for success based on expertise from the #ContentChat community and my recent virtual event speaking engagements for MarketingProfs, CMSwire, and more.

The Key Differences Between Virtual and Live Event Audiences

While no two event audiences are alike, it’s crucial to remember that all virtual audiences are often more distracted than in-person attendees. This means online event speakers need to take extra steps to actively engage their virtual attendees throughout their session.

In my most recent online and hybrid speaking engagements, I’ve noticed three main differences between virtual attendees and in-person attendees:

Low crowd energy: An in-person audience has a natural energy and excitement that the speaker and attendees alike feed on. Virtual audiences, however, are harder to read. At best, as a virtual speaker you are looking at a sea of webcam streams without audio or the ability to readily parse any non-verbal reactions from those attendees. But more often than not, you are literally talking to an image of yourself and your slides on your screen.
More distractions: Online attendees are more responsive to digital interruptions on their phones or laptops during your session. At a live event, attendees still have these devices in-hand, but they are more likely to just use these devices to take notes and share Tweetable moments during your session.
Less patience: Virtual attendees are a little bit more impatient than in-person attendees. After all, they haven’t re-arranged their schedules and hopped on an airplane to focus on their professional development for a few days. They are in their usual work environment with many competing priorities. These attendees are more likely to click out of a session than an in-person attendee is likely to walk out of an in-person presentation.

Our friend and marketer Maureen Jann, co-founder of NeoLuxe Marketing, says that speaking to a virtual audience can feel a lot like talking to yourself, so “you need to be super comfortable with telling an invisible person a great story, and that’s tough.”

A1: Speaking to a virtual audience feels a lot like talking to yourself. You need to be super comfortable with telling an invisible person a great story and that’s tough. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (she/her) (@NeoLuxeMo) October 18, 2021

Don’t view these audience differences as a major hurdle in delivering an engaging online presentation, though. They are simply elements that you should be aware of—and we explain how to overcome these challenges next.

6 Details To Confirm Ahead of Your Online Speaking Slot

Thorough preparation is key for a successful virtual event speaking session. The virtual event technology landscape is diverse, and each event platform or setup will carry different considerations for speakers.

Your goal will be to use the features and functionality at your disposal to engage your audience throughout your session. It’s important, as you draft your script and presentation deck, to design each element of your presentation to maximize its value, accessibility, and enable attendees to engage with the content.

To do so, ask each of these questions as you start to work on your presentation, so you maximize the engagement tools at your disposal:

Are sessions live or pre-recorded?

Will you present live-streamed to an audience, or will you pre-record your session? If you are presenting live, you will need to thoroughly practice your presentation to avoid potential day-of issues with your slides and to make sure you leave enough time for audience Q&A. If your session is pre-recorded, you can plan to spend your session slot engaging directly with your session attendees through the event platform’s chat capabilities as your recording plays.

What is scheduled before your session?

Does your session follow a short break, a long networking lunch, or a prolonged set of back-to-back break out sessions? This context can help you understand what mindset your attendees enter your session with. If your audience has been sitting for a while, you will have to work harder to get their attention, so it’s great to start off with audience participation like a poll or short activity. If they’ve been in social mode before your session, start off with a startling piece of data or other Tweetable insight, to seamlessly meld into their social activities while shifting their focus to your session.

Is there dedicated audience Q&A time?

How much time from your session is designed to be saved for answering questions from attendees? This will help you effectively time your presentation. When you have an engaging session, and introduce numerous new ideas to your audience, it’s only natural they will want to ask follow-up questions. If the schedule doesn’t allow time for live Q&A, offer up your preferred social handle or method of content as a way to keep the conversation flowing.

What are the participant-to-speaker chat capabilities?

How can session attendees engage with you and session attendees? Does the event platform have a built-in direct messaging feature? These details can help you understand how you can directly engage with session attendees during the flow of the presentation.

Is there a moderator?

Will a moderator from the event team join your session to help coordinate audience Q&A? Or, are you expected to keep an eye on text chat and answer questions throughout the session? It’s also important to know if attendees are able to ask questions live via voice, which usually works best at the end of the session.

Will the session be available for replay, and when?

Will session replays be available for all attendees? If so, when will they be available and where are they posted? This can help you set attendee expectations for when they can review the content, and give you a timeline for your post-event promotion strategy.

Once you know the answer to each of the above questions and have reviewed any speaker prep resources from the event hosts, you are ready to start building your presentation.

How to Engage a Virtual Presentation Audience

Once you confirm the core details for your session, you can begin to build a presentation that fits within those time requirements and within the event platform’s technical capabilities. While there’s no denying the innate challenges of presenting to a virtual audience, the #ContentChat community has shared a number of ways to effectively engage virtual audiences. Here are a few of the most-mentioned activities designed to drive engagement during your virtual presentation:

Add polls and audience questions. Include polls and questions in your presentation. If presenting live, wait for answers in your live chat before moving on. If your session is pre-recorded, schedule a Tweet with poll functionality to go live roughly when you will get to that part of your presentation.
Be available for live Q&A. If your session is pre-recorded, be available for live chat questions on the event platform or via social media to engage with questions both during and after your session. If you are presenting live, time your session to leave 10 minutes at the end for Q&A, and provide alternative methods of continuing the conversation with you after the event. For example, I always share my Twitter handle, and invite attendees to join a future #ContentChat Twitter chat.
Create a collaborative doc. If your event platform provides basic capabilities for messaging and attendee collaboration, consider creating a shared document that everyone can access and brainstorm on. If it doesn’t have those capabilities, create a Google doc and share the link in your presentation deck.
Offer post-session meetings. Maureen Jann recommends you offer a 30-minute meeting with attendees to answer any questions they have. Share a Calendly link for attendees to easily schedule time to meet with you.
Use personal or “fun” images and examples. We do not recommend you include gratuitous pictures of puppies and kittens to keep your attendees engaged, but strategic and relevant use of cute or fun images or pop culture examples can keep your audience engaged. For example, when I talk about working-from-home, I often share a photo of my home office mates—who just happen to be adorable bulldogs.

P.S. Here’s that slide with Kupo from #MPb2B for reference. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/xi6cbrvzKU
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 18, 2021

Provide a session roadmap. As simple as it may sound, you want to tell your audience what they will learn right up front, including what resources you plan to share. Then, provide waypoints as you go so they know you will deliver on your promise. This can help alleviate attendee anxiety and enable them to fully focus on the presentation. Otherwise, you may have a flurry of questions throughout the session about things you haven’t gotten to quite yet in your presentation flow.
Use unique visuals or props. Most virtual presentations are just the speaker talking to their webcam with an accompanying slide deck, which is perfectly OK. However, anything that deviates from this standard will naturally grab your audience’s attention. Consider using custom visuals for your slides, or use props that complement your session content. I still remember the surprise and joy of seeing Ann Handley present virtually using a set of hand-drawn slides.

The above are just a few key ways to engage your virtual audience, but there are so many other ideas you can explore. What engages you as an online event attendee? Do you have examples you can share? Let us know in the comments or Tweet us @ErikaHeald.

A Day-of Speaking Checklist for Hitting Your Online Presentation Out of the Park

Regardless of if your virtual speaking session is pre-recorded or live-streamed, there are several steps you want to take on the day of your session to maximize its success (and limit the potential for last-minute hiccups).

Be sure to check off each of these steps on the day of your presentation:

Update your computer so it does not update and restart during your presentation.
Sign in to your event’s video conferencing software and double-check your surroundings. Declutter anything that is in view of your webcam that doesn’t make a positive impact.
Run through your presentation one last time, ideally with a trusted colleague or team member that can provide feedback. This is especially important if you had someone help you build your deck or write your script.
If you consistently run over the allotted time for your session, remove a portion of your presentation and include it as a bonus resource for download.
Pre-schedule social media posts that promote your session. Create posts for the morning of your event, 15 minutes before your session starts, and the start of your session. And don’t forget to add some Tweetable moments to go out during your session, too!
Verify the event hashtag and any associated social media communities that you should monitor.
Double-check the links to and permission settings of any resources you plan to share with attendees.
Breathe. You’re going to do great.

How to Extend the Value of Your Digital Session

It takes a lot of time to prepare and present at an online event. And you don’t want your efforts to be one-and-done with your return on investment.

Once your session is over, repurpose your slides and script to create a series of social media posts that spotlight actionable tips from your presentation. If you created any attendee downloads, be sure to re-share those on social media, too.

If you were unable to answer all of your attendee questions, or if attendees seemed especially interested in specific parts of your presentation, create new content that explores those areas. This can include a detailed blog post, an e-book or workbook, or a conversation on social media.

If the event hosts allow it, you can even share your session transcript as a blog post so that anyone can find and access your presentation’s insights.

Practice Makes Perfect With Virtual Presentations

Although this may sound cliché, virtual presentations truly get easier with practice. It can feel awkward or uncomfortable to see yourself on camera at first, but I promise this gets easier with time.

By following the steps we detailed above, you’ll have all the preparation you need to confidently present your virtual session and extend its value well after the event is over.

If you have more questions about how to prepare for a virtual presentation, or if you’d like to explore how virtual speaking opportunities can support your thought leadership efforts, send me and my team a message. We’re here to help!

P.S. For even more tips + tricks for creating an engaging virtual presentation, head over to Twitter and check out Tweets from our recent conversation on the topic.

How To Enable Two-Factor Authentication For Your Facebook Account

October 24, 2021 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

This Summer, after being added to a client’s Facebook Business account, so I could access their analytics as part of a social media audit, I found myself locked out of Facebook messenger. I kept getting notifications that I had messages to read, but I couldn’t actually read any of them.

Eventually, after I attempted to use Facebook to sign in to another app, I found out what was going on—Facebook had flagged me as a business user, and was requiring two-factor authentication on my account.

While I voluntarily have this level of security on other online accounts, it’s not something I opted into for Facebook. But, nevertheless, it’s now something I have to do every time I use my Facebook login anywhere.

You see, this change in Facebook’s functionality—requiring anyone using Facebook’s Business Manager or advertising on Facebook—started around the same time that Apple updated its iOS privacy settings, making it easier to manage—and block—the data that you share with sites like Facebook.

Now, if you don’t allow Facebook to recognize and track your browser, you have to enter an authentication code every time you log in to Facebook or use your Facebook login on another site. Here’s how Facebook positions it:

“We need to be able to remember your computer and browser information so we can recognize it the next time you log in. Some browser features block this. If you’ve turned on private browsing or set up your browser to clear your history every time it closes, you might have to enter a code every time you log in.”

Facebook has pushed out the two-factor authentication requirement to many Facebook page owners, after classifying their pages as business pages. Often, the page owners have no idea what’s going on, and many even consider abandoning their pages and Facebook altogether when they stop being able to access their messages. It was seeing one of my favorite page admins struggling with this process that inspired me to write this post.

Right now, if this happens to you, you have two choices: ditch Facebook or turn on their two-factor authentication. So, if Facebook is an important part of your business, and you need some assistance with figuring out what to do, read on!

What is two-factor authentication?

Given that we live in a primarily digital-first world, having good online security is crucial to protect your data. Two-factor authentication is an incredibly useful line of defense against potential wrongdoers online.

Two-factor authentication is sometimes called two-step verification or dual-factor authentication. These all mean the same thing. Two-factor authentication relies on two elements to confirm your identity when you attempt to access your online accounts from an unrecognized device. Your password is commonly the first factor, and the second factor can be something like a text message with a code to a trusted device, an application that confirms your identity, or something like a fingerprint or face scan.

If someone were to gain access to your account passwords, your two-factor authentication setup can help to stop this person from actually accessing your account. After they use your password to attempt to log in to your account, they will be asked for the second form of verification.

Facebook provides more background on its two-factor authentication here.

How to Enable Your Required Two-Factor Authentication on Facebook

Facebook’s new verification process will first impact Pages with “large followings” in the US, with similar features headed to Instagram soon. We anticipate that two-factor authentication will soon become a standard for all pages on the site.

Setting up two-factor authentication on Facebook can be done in just a few clicks on either the mobile app or through the desktop site. It can be difficult to know where to go, though, so we’ve broken the process down into steps below.

If video is your preferred learning method, you can watch this video Alek on our team recorded to provide a walkthrough of the steps to enable Facebook two-factor authentication on your desktop computer.

How to Enable Facebook Two-Factor Authentication on Your Desktop Computer: Method 1

On the desktop browser, follow these steps to enable two-factor authentication for your Facebook account:

Go to “Settings.” This link should take you there directly.
- Click the dropdown box in the top right menu.
- Select “Setting & Privacy” from the dropdown.
- Select “Settings” from the new menu options.
From the “Settings” menu, select “Security and Login” from the left side (directly below “General”).
From the “Security and Login” menu, scroll down to the “Two-Factor Authentication” section and select “Use two-factor authentication.”
Select your preferred two-factor authentication method:
- Authentication App: If you select this option, you will scan a QR code or enter a code into your preferred third-party authenticator app.
- Text message (SMS): Choose this option to receive a text message (SMS) to receive a verification code.
- Security key: In place of a code, select this option to use a physical security key that you insert into your computer to verify your identity. I use this Yubico security key (Amazon affiliate link) for some of my enterprise client applications.

How to Enable Facebook Two-Factor Authentication on Your Desktop: Method 2

You can also follow these steps to access the two-factor authentication settings on desktop:

Go to “Privacy Shortcuts”
- Click the dropdown box in the top right menu.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown.
- Select “Privacy shortcuts” from the menu.
Select “Use two-factor authentication” from the “Account Security” header
Select your preferred two-factor authentication method (see below for options)

How to Enable Facebook Two-Factor Authentication on Your Mobile Device

You can enable two-factor authentication for Facebook on your mobile device following these steps:

Select “Menu” in the bottom right corner.
Scroll down to and click the “Settings and Privacy” menu.
Select “Settings” from the dropdown.
Click “Password and Security” from the new menu.
Select “Use two-factor authentication” from the “Two-Factor Authentication” section.
Select your preferred two-factor authentication method (see below for options).

Authentication App Options for Facebook’s Two-factor Authentication

If you choose to use an authentication app for two-factor authentication, Facebook recommends two applications: Google Authenticator and Duo Mobile. We recommend you look into other options, too, so that you feel fully secure with your online identity.

As noted by PCMag, you want an authenticator app that will back up the account information in case you lose or replace the phone that you set everything up on. Google Authenticator does not enable this.

While I use Duo Mobile and it generally receives positive reviews, reputable media outlets like The New York Times, Gizmodo, and PCMag all praise Twilio’s Authy as a great authentication option. Microsoft Authenticator and LastPass Authenticator are also strong options depending on your exact needs.

How to Get the Most Value from Attending Content Marketing World 2021

August 1, 2021 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that Content Marketing World is one of our favorite annual marketing conferences. The event is a highlight of our year, and we’re thrilled that even more marketers can join through the channel of their choice, given the new, hybrid event experience from September 28 to October 1, 2021.

Whether you plan to attend in-person or online, we know how hard it can be to book your tickets with excitement and then… wait. Wishing you can fast forward to September. However, there are plenty of ways to start planning your event experience today to maximize the potential value you can gain.

Based on the #ContentChat community’s attendance at CMworld since its inception, here is how you can best prepare for CMworld 2021 and our must-attend sessions.

How To Prepare for Content Marketing World 2021

You want to walk into the conference halls or log into your virtual event experience with more than just a smile and eagerness to learn (although those are certainly encouraged).

The conference will go by incredibly fast, and it can be easy to get lost in all the excitement. You need to prepare for the event so that you can best plan your sessions, meet up with friends or new acquaintances, and ultimately leave the event with a notebook full of new ideas and ways to improve your marketing results.

Our top tips to prepare for CMworld 2021 are:

Plan Your Agenda Ahead of Time

You will have access to a specific set of sessions depending on the type of pass you get. Review the 2021 Content Marketing World agenda and filter by your pass type to see what sessions will be available to you. If you’re attending in-person, it’s best to prioritize those in-person sessions and experiences because you can later review sessions virtually after the show or when you have a gap in your schedule. If you’re unsure which sessions you should prioritize, we share a few of our recommendations later on in this post.

Arrange Group and 1:1 Meetups Before, During, and After The Event

One of the best things about CMworld is that it feels like one giant group hug. It’s one of the most-attended content marketing conferences each year, and there are countless friends, colleagues, prospective business partners, and other marketing idols that you’ll want to meet with. So start reaching out to folks today to schedule meetings before, during, or after the event. If possible, we recommend you arrive in Cleveland two days early and leave a day late to maximize your potential for in-person meetups.

Bring Snacks and Supplies

Come prepared with multiple ways to take notes and pictures or videos. We love using Evernote at CMworld so everything stays organized and we can easily share notes with our full team. We also recommend bringing snacks and beverages, especially if you have any dietary restrictions that will limit your on-site options.

Follow and Join Conversations on Social Media

Follow #CMworld across social media channels and join in on conversations as they happen. There is also a Content Marketing World 2021 Facebook group to join. The #CMworld community is active all year, and you can start familiarizing yourself with some of the members well ahead of the event. TweetDeck is a great way to follow the conversations on Twitter, or use Hootsuite for cross-channel hashtag monitoring.

Alert Your Clients And/Or Colleagues

If you pay to attend a conference, it is in your best interest to focus solely on that event. Sure, you could take a quick call between sessions or skip out on the Wednesday night happy hour to finish up some client work, but why would you do that? Alert your team and clients that you will attend CMworld, and set clear expectations around roles and responsibilities and communication while you are at the event. By getting this on your team’s radar sooner rather than later, you’re better prepared to avoid any last-minute fire drills or unnecessary juggling while you’re at the event.

16 Must-See Sessions At CMWorld 2021 by Friends Of #ContentChat

The #ContentChat community will see a lot of familiar faces at CMworld 2021, as many of our longtime community members and rockstar guests will speak at this year’s event! As you’re planning your schedule, we highly recommend you try to catch these sessions from friends of #ContentChat either live or via replay after the event is over.

You can also stay in touch with several of these incredible marketers throughout the year through their value-packed email newsletters.

Ruth Carter

Are you looking to sharpen your understanding of the legal considerations facing marketers and how to create content that is inclusive of trans and non-binary audiences? Ruth is an internet, IP, and business attorney who is one of our favorite legal experts in the world of marketing. They’re presenting a breakout session on Guys, Gals, and Non-Binary Pals! Don’t Inadvertently Exclude Your Trans and Non-Binary Audience. For more from Ruth, you can read the recap of their 2021 legal considerations for marketers #ContentChat.

Chris Craft

Chris is the co-founder of NeoLuxe Marketing with Maureen Jann (we rave about her below), as well as the editor-in-chief of Inspire First. He’s an expert wordsmith and we’re constantly learning something new from him. Don’t miss his breakout session on Ideas to SEO: How to Turn Blog Topic Ideas into Juicy Keywords, and you can learn more from him in this #ContentChat recap on long-form writing tips and best practices.

Andy Crestodina

What can’t Andy do? He literally wrote the book on the most important and effective content marketing lessons, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a marketer who is not at least familiar with Andy, if not quoting something they’ve learned from one of his past CMworld sessions. You don’t want to miss his SEO workshop for hands-on marketers.

Jonathan Crossfield

Jonathan is an expert storyteller, having spent the past decades as a freelance writer and editor, content marketer, journalist, copywriter, and consultant. He was previously an editor of Content Marketing Institute’s Chief Content Officer magazine, and his breakout session B2B Content: The B Doesn’t Have to Mean “Boring” will teach you how to find a compelling angle on a potentially boring topic, and other ways to use humor and creativity in your content. We had him on #ContentChat to discuss how to conduct and edit compelling interviews—check out the recap to see his incredible tips and tricks!

Melanie Deziel

Melanie is a keynote speaker at CMworld 2021, presenting on Prove It: Using Content as Evidence of Your Most Important Claims. Her Content Fuel Framework has helped countless marketers brainstorm endless quality content ideas. Learn how you can apply the Content Fuel Framework to boost your content creation in this #ContentChat recap.

Pam Didner

Pam is a trusted B2B marketing consultant and host of the wildly popular B2B Marketing and More podcast, where she speaks with some of the greatest marketers to hear their tips, lessons learned, and secrets to success. Her workshop will help you Create a Scalable Global Content Marketing Strategy in 7 Steps, and she check out this #ContentChat recap for her guidance on how to enable your sales team with content.

Ann Handley

Any time you see Ann on a conference agenda, get to that session early. It will almost certainly fill to max capacity, because Ann is simply that amazing. She’ll keynote CMworld and teach you all about The Art of Storytelling: Telling True Stories Well.

Nancy Harhut

Nancy is an email marketing rockstar, and she’ll share 15 Email Mistakes You Don’t Even Know You Make – And How to Fix Them Fast in her breakout session. To get a sneak peek at some of Nancy’s incredible tips for email marketing, check out the recap of her Content Chat session on email marketing hacks that drive results,

Erika Heald

If you’ve been to a previous CMworld, you’ve more than likely seen Erika (probably sitting in the front row). This will be her ninth consecutive year attending the event, and she even received the 2016 Community Champion award. Erika’s breakout session will teach you How To Conduct a Social Media Audit That Helps Your Community Thrive.

Carmen Hill

Carmen was named the 2018 Community Champion at CMworld, and her breakout session this year will help you understand Content Modeling For Marketers: Making Your Content Work Harder, So You Don’t Have To. Check out her tips from this #ContentChat on how to conduct a content audit.

Maureen Jann

Maureen is a close friend of our community and she’s an all-around marketing agency founder extraordinaire. She’ll lead a workshop about Leveraging Content to Build Connections (and Gain New Clients), and you can get a glimpse of her personality in this chat recap on how to get started with marketing automation for small business.

Ahava Leibtag

Ahava founded the Aha Media group, which creates content for healthcare companies—which can involve a significant amount of regulation and a unique set of challenges. You’ll learn how to build a framework for trustworthy content marketing in her breakout session on Authenticity Is Not A Tactic: Building Trust In A Post-Pandemic World. We had her on #ContentChat back in early 2020 to discuss how to make content marketing work in highly regulated industries.

Mariah Obiedzinski

Mariah’s work at Stamats is all about crafting content for colleges and universities, so she is an expert on marketing to the next generation of professionals. Her breakout will help your brand communicate with Gen Z, and you can also learn her tips for how to align your content marketing and public relations teams in this #ContentChat recap.

Joe Pulizzi

Joe is commonly referred to as the Godfather of Content Marketing (Google “godfather of content marketing” to see for yourself!), as the founder of the Content Marketing Institute. He’ll keynote this year’s event to discuss Why the Mom and Pops are Crushing Corporate Content Creators, and you should check out the second edition of his bestselling book Content Inc. to learn how you can diversify your content revenue sources (this chat recap gives a sneak peek at what to expect from the book).

Shane Shaps

Shane is a beloved part of the #ContentChat community, and she is making waves with her Let’s Get Real livestreams about how to have a real voice on social media. You’ll learn How Employee Engagement Can Tell A Better Story in her breakout session, and she shares how to measure and define your content marketing engagement in this #ContentChat recap.

Dennis Shiao

Dennis is a leader in community building, and he and Erika held a Community Rx breakout during the 2019 event, a topic the two previously partnered on when Dennis was Erika’s client at DNN. Dennis was recognized as the 2020 CMworld Community Champion, and his breakout session this year will explore How to Take a Content Marketing Approach With Your Email Newsletters.

Will We See You In Cleveland?

Did we forget your top advice for making the most of your CMworld attendance? Or are there other sessions you can’t wait to see? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re planning to attend CMworld this year, we’d love to meet with you! Reach out and we can find a time to connect 1:1 or at a Twitter chat meetup.

5 Essential Content Structure Elements To Boost Your Content SEO

August 1, 2021 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

When it comes to content marketing, there is no question that search engine optimization (SEO) is a vital tactic for teams.

Our friends at Semrush found that SEO was the most efficient content marketing tactic in 2020 (according to 75% of marketers surveyed), followed by updating or repurposing existing content (61%).

However, the trouble is that Semrush also found that 44% of content marketing professionals are challenged with improving their content’s SEO performance.

To unlock the full potential of your content performance, let’s explore the ideal blog content structure for SEO. If you’re just getting started with SEO, check out our SEO basics for content marketing first to learn about the importance of keywords, headlines, backlinks, and meta descriptions.

SEO Elevates Great Content

A quick disclaimer on SEO and content marketing: SEO should never be the focus of your content creation. Instead, SEO practices provide an invaluable way to understand your ideal community members, how they search for and consume content, and how to package your resources to fulfill these audience expectations and get in front of your readers.

Your content should always involve some original idea tied to a topic of importance for your audience. This means your team must define its content keyword priorities before you can effectively create content for your community. The Yoast team has an excellent guide that can walk you through how to define your team’s SEO keyword priorities.

Elements Of An Ideal SEO Content Structure

There are a lot of factors that impact how well your content performs from an SEO standpoint. For most day-to-day content marketing needs, though, there are just a few key areas you will want to familiarize yourself with.

These core content structure elements affect how well your content will rank in search engine results. These are also crucial elements to help improve the content experience for your audience.

By creating content that addresses these SEO content structure elements, more people can access your content, explore the additional links and resources you provide within the content, and ultimately share that content on social media.

Accessible Links

Links to high-domain, valuable content within your content will help boost your content SEO. The idea is that including links to third-party resources signals that you’ve done your research, and your readers should visit these resources for more details.

However, your community needs more descriptive links than “read here” or “learn more” to understand what value they will gain from the other content you link to within your post.

Provide a clear explanation of where your link will take the reader, ideally including a priority keyword for that audience. These information-rich links can include “learn more about the challenges marketers face with SEO,” “read about our newest sustainability initiative to reduce water waste,” or “check out these top tips for creating high-value blog content.”

Watch this short video from Melissa Eggleston, a user experience instructor at Birdcall UX, and past #ContentChat guest on how to create accessible content, to learn more best practices for links on websites.

Content Length

How long should content be to benefit SEO? HubSpot data suggests the ideal blog post length is 2,100-2,400 words, but that will depend on the type of post and its purpose (how to, what is, etc.). Yoast recommends your content be at least 300 words, but you should strive for at least 1,000 words for a better chance at ranking.

Your content length is important because longer posts can fully explore a topic and address the variety of questions that your readers may have. Search engines will also find longer pieces of content to be more valuable, especially if they are well-structured and include a few well-placed and relevant keywords.

Content Tags

Content tags are not as directly influential in the SEO ranking of a piece of content as some of the other elements (like headings and subheads) are. That said, your blog post tags do play a role in helping search engines understand your overarching site structure and the type of topics you regularly explore.

Much like your keywords, your team should determine its content tag strategy. Keep in mind that it is better to have just a few main recurring tags for your content instead of including every possibly relevant keyword tag.

Headings and Subheads

Have you ever clicked on a blog post to find that it is just one long, uniform block of text? This type of content forces readers to start from the beginning and read through the end—if they even last that long—without any indication of what topics the post covers along the way.

Headings and subheads (or header tags) are an essential way for search engines to “read” your content and help readers skim for the most relevant sections to their needs. Tag your main headline or title for the content as ‘H1’, and ensure it is the only part of your content labeled as such.

Organize the rest of your content using ‘H2’ and ‘H3’ subheads, to create a hierarchy of information. Think like a journalist and include your most important details and keywords toward the start of your article, and delve into more granular details as the piece continues.

Images And Alt Text

There are a few SEO considerations for images in your content. Mainly, you want to focus on how images affect your page load time and set up these images for accessibility.

Unoptimized images, including GIFs, can slow down your web page load times. With this in mind, it is best to upload the smallest acceptable file size that does not detract from the reader experience. For all web pages, upload images that are screen resolution (72 PPI), and use a JPEG file format when possible.

Alternative text is required for all images, especially if you want to model best practices of web accessibility. For example, the alt text should describe your image so that people can understand what the image depicts if it does not load properly or if they use a tool to read web content (which is common for people who experience visual impairment).

Google explains more about how to optimize your images for SEO in this guide.

Refine Your SEO Strategy To Adapt To Changing Audience Needs

The only way to stay in front of your audience is to consistently provide high-quality content structured for SEO optimization to ensure it will appear high in your audiences’ search results.

Regularly revisit your team’s keyword priorities to ensure they reflect how your community searches for and consumes content. Look at content KPIs like click-throughs, time spent on a page, and social shares to understand whether your content resonates with your audience.

The best way to start optimizing your team’s SEO strategy is to audit and refresh your existing blog content and retire any blog posts that are no longer valuable for your audience.

Are you looking for answers to more of your SEO questions? Let us know in the comments, and we’re happy to help!