Content Chat

#ContentChat is a weekly twitter chat that brings together content creators and content marketers to share their challenges and best practices for solving them.

I took over hosting duties from Lucy Rendler-Kaplan on June 13, 2016. The chat was originated by Jenise Stout Fryatt of Smarter Shift who built up the community over three years.

Check out these recaps from recent chats and join us on Mondays at 12 noon Pacific/ 3:00 p.m. Eastern to join in the conversation.

September 24, 2018 Content Chat Recap: Making Content More Personal with Custom Animated GIFs

September 29, 2018 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

This week’s #ContentChat was incredibly animated—literally. We were joined by Jeffrey “JMatt” Matthias (@JMattMke) to discuss everything related to custom animated GIFs—from how to make them and why you should (or should not) use them.

Just got off the air on @1037KISSFM, time to get on #ContentChat with @SFerika to talk about my favorite thing… GIFs! pic.twitter.com/CitKvS0EX3
— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) September 24, 2018

Q1: What’s the difference between an animated GIF and a Boomerang?

Sir King of GIFs himself joined us today, noting that a Boomerang plays forward then backward, whereas a GIF loops content.

A1 a boomerang plays forward then backwards and a gif is a straightforward shorter video. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/wBOMwlIXDz
— Annoyin’ Observer (@SirKingofGifs) September 24, 2018

A1: An animated GIF loops video content from start to finish on repeat. A Boomerang plays a quick video forward then backwards on repeat. #ContentChat
*This is a GIF. pic.twitter.com/ALqEbIVdrv
— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) September 24, 2018

Q1 Animated gif is a Frisbee. Boomerang is, well, a boomerang. #contentchat
— Joel Schwartzberg (@TheJoelTruth) September 24, 2018

September 17, 2018 Content Chat Recap: Aligning Content Marketing Goals to Business Goals

September 19, 2018 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

Content is crucial in helping you achieve business goals—whether it’s to increase sales, improve employee retention, expand your brand awareness, etc.—but aligning your content marketing goals to your business goals is often easier said than done. In this #ContentChat with special guest Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer), we dive into the goal alignment process and share tips to help you map your content marketing strategy to the business results that matter.

ICEBREAKER: As we gather for #ContentChat please introduce yourself and share if you have documented content marketing goals and business goals.
— Erika Heald | Consultant | Content Strategist (@SFerika) September 17, 2018

Q1: Does your business communicate business goals to the company? What are some of the common goals you are working toward?

Rebekah started us off with some quick tips: goals are necessary to keep employees moving in the same direction. It doesn’t matter if the goal is annual, quarterly, or even for individual campaigns.

A1a: Companies should share overall goals so that all of its employees are pulling in the same direction. Whether that’s one large annual goal broken down into quarters or individual campaigns, getting everyone together is key. ⁰#ContentChat
— Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer) September 17, 2018

Goals can range in focus, including sales, customer engagement, brand awareness and more. These can be set at a corporate level, then individual teams can be assigned their own goals that ladder up to the overarching goal(s).

A1b: Common broad company goals include things like building awareness, generating sales, and keeping current customers engaging with your company. These can break down into specific goals, such as gaining social media visibility or shortening the sales cycle. ⁰#ContentChat
— Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer) September 17, 2018

A1. We keep everyone in the loop on our important business goals throughout the year. Also, at the end of each year we have a strategy meeting to set a vision for the upcoming year. Recently, a main goal of ours is to work at increasing our overall company awareness. #ContentChat
— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) September 17, 2018

A1: We share, discuss, and update company-wide goals in quarterly meetings. We also have department and campaign goals that might be shared within and across teams in a similar style. #Contentchat
— Brafton (@Brafton) September 17, 2018

Well, we wait for approved goals and then the updated goals, and then more goals. So we make our own: improving our website experience, measured via survey tools, and increasing web traffic via specific content marketing to strategic site pages. #contentchat https://t.co/xOK4N1TdOI
— Jen Brass Jenkins (@chrliechaz) September 17, 2018

With those goals, teams can plan and prioritize upcoming content or activations to ensure they stay focused on the finish line. Sometimes, that means saying no to projects that do not tie back to your goals.

Priority is so key! Goals can often clash, so it’s not just enough to know what they are. Good decision making is all about deciding which ones to spend time/resources on, at what time! #ContentChat
— Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer) September 17, 2018

A1: We have a strategic plan that is well communicated to all employees so we understand the overarching goals of the organization as well as the priority areas during periods of time. We use that plan and goal hierarchy to prioritize work and content needs. #contentchat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) September 17, 2018

A1: Big yes. We look at revenue goals by quarter and target the personas who have the capacity to hire us. Not going to share the nitty gritties, but from there, we look at how much we need to have in the pipeline and what needs to be done to reach that number.#ContentChat pic.twitter.com/c2enSMPL6J
— Jesse Ghiorzi (@jesseghiorzi) September 17, 2018

With a clear set of goals, you can also say “no” with confidence, which is important! #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Consultant | Content Strategist (@SFerika) September 17, 2018

September 10, 2018 Content Chat Recap: Post CMworld Conference Catch-Up

September 16, 2018 by Alek Irvin Leave a Comment

Content Marketing World (#CMworld) is my favorite conference of the year. And this year, the #ContentChat community came out in full force to join in on the fun—our friend Carmen Hill even won the Community Champion Award! In this chat, we shared some of our favorite takeaways from the one-of-a-kind event and started the countdown for next year.

Do you have #FOMO after seeing how much fun I had with @ladonnajonze + @SuperDeluxeErin + @atxcopywriter at #CMworld last week? Then you'll want to join us for today's #ContentChat conversation at 12 noon Pacific / 3 p.m. Eastern to hear everyone's highlights from the event. pic.twitter.com/QHv0tjalyu
— Erika Heald | Consultant | Content Strategist (@SFerika) September 10, 2018

Last week at #CMworld, I ran into a number of #ContentChat peeps, including @PRisUs @atxcopywriter and @todcordill. Join us for today's #ContentChat at 12 noon Pacific / 3 p.m. Eastern to hear some of our favorite takeaways from this one-of-a-kind event. pic.twitter.com/6cDNGO9KAs
— Erika Heald | Consultant | Content Strategist (@SFerika) September 10, 2018

As we gather for #ContentChat please introduce yourself, let us know if you were at #CMworld last week, and share your favorite selfie fro th event if you have one!
— Erika Heald | Consultant | Content Strategist (@SFerika) September 10, 2018

Q1: What was your goal for attending CMworld and did you reach it?

Many of us attended to connect (and reconnect) with fellow marketers to network and share ideas.

A1: My goal was to make and solidify connections with other marketers. As many of you know, I definitely managed that! #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) September 10, 2018

A1: My goal was to dive back into the conference world (in a content marketing context) in order to gain some new perspectives and meet new people. Important when you primarily work from home. And you know what? Achievement unlocked! #ContentChat
— Erin Hryciw |air’•in – her’•shoe| (@SuperDeluxeErin) September 10, 2018

So many goals on behalf of my org…but for my personal & professional development, I was at #CMWorld for the #networking opptys #ContentChat And YES I met many amazing fellow marketers!
— LaDonna LaGuerre 🇯🇲 🏳️‍🌈 (@ellellellag) September 10, 2018

A1) To connect with some of my favorites in the content world (And I did) and to catch up on they most important trends (And I did) #contentchat
— Debbie Schwake (@SpiceDebbie) September 10, 2018

But the conference is also a great place to gain exposure for your company.

A1. We had a booth so based on the variety of people who attend we were going for brand awareness, esp since our rebrand is still relatively new. We had marketers, solutions, and sales folks avail to chat and give demos! #contentchat
— Amanda L (@AmandaJayeL) September 10, 2018

On behalf of our brand, the goal was to meet, connect with, and learn from some of content marketing's brightest minds! and duh, we totally reached that, basically the second I walked in. #contentchat
— Brafton (@Brafton) September 10, 2018

And for the presenters, there was a whole different set of goals for success.

A1: My #1 goal was to ensure that I didn't die or puke during either one of my sessions and I'm happy to report, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/3poUc129JF
— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) September 10, 2018

Regardless of what your goal was, it’s great that you came to the conference with a purpose. Continue setting goals for any conferences you attend to stay focused!

What I'm also excited about is seeing that all of you HAD goals for the event. I think too often people attend conferences without a specific goal in mind to just soak up all the htings. And while that has its benefits, I find a goal to be helpful. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Consultant | Content Strategist (@SFerika) September 10, 2018

Goals almost help you keep in line and not get distracted…#ContentChat…and of course it feels awesome to meet them!!
— Shruti Deshpande (@shruti12d) September 10, 2018

August 20, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Perils of Ghostwriting and How to Overcome Them—Freelance Writer Edition

August 27, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

In the second part of our #ContentChat series on ghostwriting, we talked with Brett Pucino (@BPucino) on the ins and outs of being a freelance ghostwriter. If you missed the first chat, check out the recap of the in-house ghostwriter edition.

Q1: For those not familiar with it, what is freelance ghostwriting? What kind of things are you writing, and for whom?

Freelance ghostwriting is when you write content that appears under a client’s name, typically for executives or public figures.

A1: Freelance ghostwriting is anytime you write for a client that puts their own name on the piece (or that of someone in the company). What you write depends on the client and how involved the named person is in content creation varies #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) August 20, 2018

A1: Freelance Ghostwriting is writing content for someone else, but working for yourself. I write anything from blog posts to memoirs. Clients vary. Web content clients are biz execs or entrepreneurs. Book clients are usually politicians, biz or spiritual leaders #ContentChat
— Brett Pucino (@BPucino) August 20, 2018

A1: There are many different intangibles, but essentially, someone doesn’t have time to write something really good (or detailed), so hires someone else to capture his or her voice and put it in print or online. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/Zrl46PwH0o
— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) August 20, 2018

A1. I personally freelance ghostwrite blogs and articles for several customers including an orthodontist, a business coach, someone in the wellness space, & a neurosurgeon (scary huh?) 🙂 #ContentChat
— Christina Hager (@ChristinaMHager) August 20, 2018

Freelance ghostwriting happens for pretty much every type of content you can think of.

A1: As a freelance ghostwriter, I’ve written blog posts, e-books, presentations, online courses and social media content for a range of execs and industries. #ContentChat https://t.co/n20Al05GXY
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 20, 2018

A1: Freelance ghostwriting is white-labeled content creation for blogs, websites, articles, white papers, and other content venues where your writing is attributed and credited to a different author. #ContentChat
— Jacques Bouchard (@jacquesbouchard) August 20, 2018

[Read more…] about August 20, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Perils of Ghostwriting and How to Overcome Them—Freelance Writer Edition

August 13, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Perils of Ghostwriting and How to Overcome Them—In-house Writer Edition

August 27, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

If you think all those executives whose names you see on OpEds and contributed articles across the web all actually wrote the pieces their bylines appear on, it’s time to introduce you to the in-house ghostwriter. In this week’s #ContentChat we talked about the challenges of being an in-house ghostwriter with Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman).

Q1: For those not familiar with it, what is ghostwriting in a company setting? What kind of things are you writing, and for whom?

Ghostwriting is helping a subject matter expert express their ideas by pairing them with a professional writer.

A1 Ghostwriting is, basically, translating execs’/SMEs’ expertise and POV, and our company messaging, into blog posts, white papers and other external-facing content. I do that, and also ghostwrite social media posts and internal emails for our senior leaders. #contentchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) August 13, 2018

A1: Internal ghostwriting often comes in the form of supporting internal thought leaders. It can range from white papers to social media updates to internal talks about the direction of the company. This can be for sales people, HR leaders or CEOs… really anyone. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) August 13, 2018

A1a: In a perfect world, being an in-house ghostwriter means you collaborate with company leaders to craft compelling content and communications. #ContentChat https://t.co/N926IP5uTv
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 13, 2018

A1b: In the less awesome cases, you are someone fielding requests such as “write me a blog post on Topic X and some Tweets” and crafting content from scratch that someone else’s name goes on. #ContentChat https://t.co/V3e000ywzG
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 13, 2018

A1 Yes, but I would add: writers “interpret” (give context) and/or “harmonize” thoughts of senior leaders (make them sound better). Not just in social media, but via speeches, etc. #contentchat https://t.co/CHOQWlWmQy
— Judy Gombita (@jgombita) August 13, 2018

August 6, 2018 Content Chat Recap: So You Want to Be a Freelance Content Creator

August 13, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

This week’s #ContentChat was all about the ins and outs of being a freelance content creator. We had 10 quick prepared questions, covering things I think every freelancer needs to know, and then opened up the conversation for a freelancer ask-me-anything. Have a question about freelance content marketing work that I didn’t cover here? Ask me your question in the comments! In addition to having been a freelance #B2C and #B2B content creator throughout my career, I’ve also hired and managed a number of freelancers throughout the years. So feel free to ask me questions from either perspective.

Freelance FAQs

Q1: I want to freelance in the same field as my current job. What do I need to know before I get started?

Take a look at your current employment contract.

A1: Make sure you understand your current work contract. Some employers prohibit you from moonlighting in the same role or industry, while others allow it but only if you receive prior written permission. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 6, 2018

As I understand it, this is the way it is for me. The problem I’ve had is never getting clearance to do any freelancing — even outside the industry. #ContentChat
— Jason Webb (@JasonLWebb) August 6, 2018

A1 Keep. Your. Job. In your free time, try to find a client or two, and then a few. Also: make sure that your manager is OK with you freelancing. #contentchat
— Ken Gordon (@quickmuse) August 6, 2018

A1: One thing I’d say is that sometimes you can convince your employer to hire you back as a freelancer. #contentchat pic.twitter.com/N328PXaKng
— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) August 6, 2018

Identify a content creation gap only you can fill. Do your homework!

A1: Where are the gaps in your field? Your freelancing should fill those soundly. That’s instant differentiation among the competition (those bums). #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/foGz7IFEgh
— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) August 6, 2018

A1. Commit to begin, and research the how’s and why’s of what opportunities and put a plan in place. Get busy! #ContentChat
— Dr. Dorrie Cooper (@sittingpretty61) August 6, 2018

Yes! Keep an eye on those job listings that linger or keep coming back up. What are those really hard-to-fill roles that you can help with? #ContentChat https://t.co/KdXucL5B5F
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 6, 2018

A1: Can you validate your services offering with anyone currently in your network? #ContentChat
— Holly Miller | Marketing & Content Strategy (@millertime_baby) August 6, 2018

Not everyone is cut out for the freelance life. Ask yourself these questions to assess your readiness.

A1: Ask yourself, is your there a need for your job? Can you work outside of an office? Do you have a strategy? #ContentChat
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) August 6, 2018