Sword Flame Media: content marketing

Showing posts with label content marketing. Show all posts

Jun 21, 2018

music ownership: what gives?

The CD business continues to plummet.

CD sales have fallen a whopping 80 percent in the last decade. Sales are about 89 million copies, compared with 450 million 10 years ago.

What about downloads?

Well, they've gone down by 58 million since peaking in 2012. Bruce Springsteen releases his current boxed set exclusively on vinyl. We're looking at two formats: streaming and vinyl. CD sales are still robust in the country music format.

Chris Stapleton

Older customers are driving the CD format. Will they still? Well, to a point. As older music enthusiasts build their libraries, will they keep adding to their collections? Artists, labels, and record stores have been preparing for the CD's demise for years. That's may be difficult for you to comprehend. It is for me.

Tech is driving music distribution. It has for years. What are we to do? I suppose we should start procuring the "stuff" to get up to date...… like a turntable.

End of Owning Music was the source for this post.

Dec 5, 2016

the lens of transformation

Advertising agencies are changing the scope of their business. They are seeking solutions across commerce, digital content, and media distribution. This shift has been slow. Quite frankly, they've been wrapped too tight in their own traditions. However, to their credit, they've moved with much precision.

The shift has changed the face of marketing. TV marketing is waning, giving way to social media, digital media, user experience or open source. A new wave of innovators is poised to bring their expertise to this new ecosystem.

Accenture, IBM, PwC, and Deloitte are engaged in the acquisition of agencies that have capabilities in user experiences, digital marketing, design, Web, and mobile. These organizations have services traditional agencies can't match.

Digital marketing must fit into the overall business strategy.


Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men

Client-agency relationships will be revolutionized. A new breed of ad agency will be born. This means that agencies will create websites, app, and video games. Digital initiatives for brands will be created. A variety of platforms will be created for content and production.

Newsrooms will bring a bigger power to brands. The customer experience will be transformed to deliver goods and services with the customer's journey in mind.

The customer will be a major part of a brand, acting as the salesman for the product they buy.

Creation and distribution are key. Many elements will be transformed that will give the entire spectrum of media a new meaning, a new way of doing things.

Source: forbes.com (November 2016) My 'Next-Big-Thing' List: Who Will Transform The Post-TV Ad World In 2017

Related topic: B2B and Social Media

Dec 2, 2016

blog marketing

Content marketing with a blog helps get better rankings on the search engines. We need to concentrate on more, like engagement and authority. We have to attract an audience and keep it. We also have to lead this audience to do something, like subscribe to a newsletter, share something, or buy something.

We need content that engages our audience. Your content must tell a story and offer to solve a problem.

Each blog post must have an image that accompanies it. This is important since people are more likely to check out your content if they see an image they're drawn to. This is particularly true with Twitter.

The best images are colorful. Images should be simple with a strong focal point. Remember, simplicity helps find pictures with strong focal points. Strong images are good for mobile. Be sure your images are relevant to your content.

Images are a valuable tool in anyone’s content marketing arsenal

Source: website-designs.com (July 2015), Blogs, Content Marketing, and Images

Oct 27, 2016

curated content

Curation is all about sorting through the vast amount of content across the Web.

Find and share the gems whether it’s in your newsletters, across social channels, or as research for creating your own content.

When you start sharing more curated content you’ll quickly learn more about your audience. This will also help dictate the type of content to invest in creating yourself.

Keep things fresh.

May 14, 2016

blogging and influence

Blogging influences customers. Here's how:

They buy from blogs
They are inspired by blogs
They get assurance from buying from blogs
They discover new products and services
They get support and answers from blogs
They refine their choices from blogs

Every time you publish a blog post you get the opportunity to influence your readers.
Blogging is a good benefit.

Apr 18, 2016

blogging

Blogging allows you to connect with your audience, the people who want to follow you. You’ll be able to convert readers of your blog into followers.

Continue to engage them via your blog.

A blog will attract the search engines and will be featured highly in the search results.

Blog regularly, ideally three or more times per week. Consider blogging as online marketing. Once you start to use a blog and make it part of your marketing campaign, you'll find that you won't need some of the other expensive advertising mediums. By being a regular blogger you’ll become an authority figure that others look to for advice within your niche.

You can tailor your blogging activities to meet the needs of your audience.

Mar 17, 2016

be engaging

Tell a story. Paint a verbal picture. This brings your audience into the story. Marketers have created engaging ways to "talk" to potential customers. Infographics, videos, and even webinars allow curators to break down relevant statistics. Creative visuals encourage audience engagement.

Audiences embrace content that is the most relevant to them. This establishes a community of like-minded followers.

A good marketer will use content to tell engaging stories.

Mar 15, 2016

the open network

The OPEN mindset is how we grow our personal networks.

OPEN

(Ordinary Person | Extraordinary Network)

Today quality content is in focus. This means quality contributions and quality connections. Those successful in Social Media have developed OPEN Circles.

How do you do that?

ASK:

What do I have in common with that person?
Will this person see value in what I am sharing?
Will I learn anything from them?
Is this person a potential partner, collaborator or friend?
Do they have the capacity to refer me to others in their network?
Can I do the same for them?

Grow your personal brand. Be OPEN.

Mar 13, 2016

music and the internet

The music industry's use of the Internet has come a long way. Let's face it, the Internet was killing music. Digital rights were a problem. Device compatibility was too. Streaming services came next. Big Data and analytics have played a big part in the positive evolution.

What's been moving the evolution?

Recommendation engines designed to make the perfect playlist is redefining the dynamics of the music industry. The relationship is creative between listeners and music. This relationship has built a new horizon for the music and the listener.

In the past, the record industry had limited ways to learn who was buying LPs, cassettes, or CDs. Downloading allowed record labels to begin tracking listening habits and making recommendations like Amazon does for books.

The current streaming model opened the floodgates.

All the listening is up for grabs. The industry wants to gain a deeper understanding of its customers and the music.

Raw music is unstructured data because it is easily digitized. It can be quantified and analyzed. Since 1999, the Musical Genome Project has been structurng music data by manual classification as well as automated algorithms. Up to 450 data points are used. 30 million songs are in the database.

The Musical Genome Project was developed by Pandora.

The Internet of Things could be finding its place in music. The streaming model is popular. Look for crowdfunding platforms to spring up. Live streams translate into revenue streams.

Data Analytics is the driving force.

Feb 17, 2016

cell-phone novels

We've had e-books on Kindle and Nook, but are you ready for novels delivered to cellphones?

They'll be delivered one chapter at a time. Breaking down novels into installments really isn't a new concept. Novelist Charles Dickens did so when he published small novels in London newspapers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave the world Sherlock Holmes in installments before he wrote the first Holmes full-fledged novel.

Mobile publishing, though, is a new idea and has merit.

Chiki Sarkar, the former head of Penguin India has launched a new publishing venture specializing in mobile "books". Juggernaut Books has a strong editorial team and a good backing.

Mobile publishing is an exciting business with plenty of potential. There's an "experiment" feel to digital publishing. I'm sure there is still much to decide.

Read more from a source post on Vogue India

Read more from a source post on Deccan Chronicle

What we have now is Juggernaut Books, a publishing house with strong investors and one of the most high-powered editorial teams in the business.

Read more at: http://www.vogue.in/content/what-chiki-sarkar-wants-you-to-know-about-her-new-publishing-house-juggernaut-books/

Jan 31, 2016

what to do

I came across a website on LinkedIn that gave 10 items to do to become a millionaire. I liked it because there is one item on it that I feel is important and I wished to pass it on.

Rule of 500

Simply put, if you wish to become a millionaire, make contact and reach out to 500 people a month. I post this mainly for a reminder to myself, to reach out to "the 500". This makes sense if we're wanting to make money. But I'm not looking at the money angle so much. I want to make contact with a lot of people. But wait..... "the 500" a month does not mean a different set of 500 people per month. It can be the same people.

Now.... the article states to reach out by phone or email. I originally thought of social media when I saw the heading. I'm spinning my head to begin an email campaign. I'm going to have to glean my social media contacts to get a list of 500. I'll do that. I'm starting tomorrow morning. If you're interested to hear from me on a regular basis, email me to follow this blog. The submit area is at the bottom of the right-hand column of this blog.

I'll most likely send them blog post info and other items of interest. That's where my work comes in, to find the right "500". I'm not going to be a pest. I wish to be of help. That's more for me to do.

I urge you to do the same thing. Remember...... email or phone. I suggest email first.

The article tells us that to expect at first a 5% conversion rate when reaching out. That's OK. Remember to concentrate on building relationships. That's where to start.

I tend to think email as a social media channel. To me, Facebook Messenger is glorified email. Same with Twitter. That's me though...... to make email a bit more social.

Jan 28, 2016

value and engagement

You might be wondering what the difference is between value and engagement.

Engagement is visible social media reactions. Comments and "likes" on Facebook are examples.

Value can be entertainment and information.
News is a subset of information and stops to be informative after a limited time.

High level social media advice given by consultants can be summarized to:

Provide value.
Get and grow engagement.
Grow your audience and increase return on investment (ROI).

We don't get to decide what value is.
Our social media plan is about the value we provide to our audience.
But what audience? The TARGET AUDIENCE. The target audience really is the key to unlocking social media success. Value is a goal and our job is to provide a lot of value.

What is target audience and value exactly?
The target audience is who you want to reach. Say males from 25 to 34 years of age. Value is information that is useful to your target audience.

Let's say you sell diapers. You could blog how to best use your products. Or perhaps about children's toys or toy safety. Another subjects is tips on handling a busy life with a child. Let's assume that your audience already knows you sell diapers. Your not blogging about your product to give value to the audience. Blog about items that are related to your product or to the people who use your products.

What is exactly the right item to blog about?
Well, that's a challenge. We really don't know for sure. It's up to trial and error. If your blogging to a niche market, initial data helps.

We can only measure.
But what?
Engagement is an indicator for value.
Engagement. Traffic. Sales.

Look for engagement within the context.

Relate to your audience. Personalize your blogging. Try to anchor your audience with the initial information they receive.

Jan 11, 2016

data for growth

Data grows up to 60% a year. 90% of the world's data was created in the last two years.

6 billion people have cell phones. The world population is 7 billion.

Business analysts spend 80% of their time looking for information, and only 20% using it. Data analysis is crucial for companies that want to grow.

An analytical specialist collects chaotic data, structurises it and delivers it.

There are 3 types of data analysis:

Prescriptive Analytics
Predictive Analytics
Descriptive Analytics

Analytics does not remove the need for human insights. There is a compelling need for people to understand data, think from the business point of view, and to come up with insights.

There is a need for professionals with analytic skills that look to harness the power of big data. The ocean of big data is vital to the organization.

To grow visuals come into play. 66% of social media posts are visual according to inc.com. The brain processes visuals better and faster.

Imagery grabs attention
Visuals are easily shareable

Jun 1, 2014

pandora's contribtion

In another blog I posted about Pandora. Pandora is the infrastructure for 100,000 artists. They have taught much about audience and fan engagement.

Brand strategy and success. Pandora has been a master at it. Competition in the space is heating up and I'm curious how Pandora will hold up. But I can't help but think of 2011, a good year for Pandora.

Original Post: Pandora's Contribution on 1776media

Apr 15, 2014

the headline

Headlines get your stories read. They get more clicks. Often, it's the headline that only gets read. Here are some tips I use to get you more exposure.

Use powerful words.
Personality.
Use desire.
Content focus.

Every post must be a learning experience for the reader. The use of images means more that ever, especially with social platforms Pinterest and Instagram.

I match content well with what you want your brand to project.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR BRAND