Content Marketing 101: Six Types of Content to Boost Traffic and Engagement

People make the rookie mistake of thinking that content marketing is all about blogging. 
However, this is a vast understatement and a misconception no less. We have reached new depths in the creation of content that blogging is just one of the many and diverse ways to do it.

 However, with so many options to choose from, which of these drives more traffic to our respective websites? 

Which of these have better online traction and user engagement? 

A direct answer would be the hip and trendy ones. However, it is not as straightforward as we all think it should be. Utilizing just one type of popular content may initially guarantee you results, however maintaining this would prove to be difficult. Moreover, marketing just a single type of content is a surefire way to make your traffic and engagement rates tank and dip. The key is to add something new to the mix every once in a while. Make your page fun, exciting and fresh. 

So if you’re looking to add a new spin to your contents, let this article serve as your menu of the various types of contents you can choose to utilize on your page. 

GUIDES 

Guides are fairly common online and more often than not, they are usually exhaustive when it comes to detailing the information they are trying to convey. This is understandable as guides do not simply offer their readers information but rather, they have that authoritative voice that teaches their readers the relevant techniques on how to go about what is discussed. 

This content is relevantly popular as it encourages readers to do things themselves and take whatever task they have at hand by the reins. Though they are lengthy compared to other types of content, they are popular as they provide extensive information. 

MEMES

Making memes is one of the best content marketing ploys to attract a diverse population of online users and readers as it is fresh, new and trendy. It was fairly unheard of in the early 2010’s and made a sudden impact in the latter part of that same year. Memes are popular in a sense that they are humorous and readers can relate them better which is why they are such a hit with the online community. Memes utilize the voice of your audience who made this type of content popular in the first place. 


Memes are fun-filled pictures usually associated with pop culture alongside just a sprinkle of words. To make this more effective, they usually have a humorous undertone. It does not take a lot of brainwork to do and is relatively easy to utilize which is it is so popular. 

VIDEOS 

Videos offer you a lot more variety than ordinary writing ever can. 

It offers you a whole lot of possibilities and it certainly presents your content in a more visually entertaining way. Because videos are a lot more versatile than written contents, aestheticism is easily achieved through the utilization of motion pictures. Additionally, it helps you convey your message better, memorably and succinctly as well making this type of content effective in gaining traction. 


If it is done well, its power of persuasion will be unmatched.

HOW-TO’S

This one is a bit more popular than the rest and is certainly making rounds online. In fact, each and every content writer must have written at least one how-to article in her career. This is because how-to’s are relatively easy to do and succeed in capturing the interest of your audience. 

It is less extensive than a guide and is certainly not as exhaustive as one which is why it is an effective type of content for the type of audience who wants to get the gist of how to get a particular thing done without going through all the specifics.  For writers, this is a content that is rather easy to manipulate and create seeing as options are rather inexhaustible and seemingly endless. You basically focus on a single task at hand and create a step by step plan on how to accomplish it. 

In order for you how-to article to gain traction and efficacy, make it thorough and informative. Include diagrams and pictures as much as you can. 

In closing…

The options offered in this article are just a smidge of the various possibilities you can still try out there. When it comes to content creation, the possibilities are endless and in there is teeming potential for traction, traffic and audience engagement. Now, it is up to you to exploit that potential in your content strategies. 
Remember; do not stick to a particular type of content. Mix it up. 
Now, get up and get creating. 

5 Pointers for Attending SEO Seminars Alone

lanceblackburn.com

Attending ALONE in an SEO training Philippines can really be a nerve-racking, especially when you are not exposed to that kind of environment. Agree? While other seems to enjoy attending the seminar, other people find it boring and annoying. When anxiety sets your mind in, you suddenly think other things. The thought of not going to attend the seminar instead strikes you anytime, and/or wish that the seminar will be done as soon as possible. It is definitely awkward to be alone. Well, sitting, listening, and enduring the talk until the end won’t hurt you after all.

Technically speaking, it is certainly¬ NOT a pain when you attend a seminar. In fact, you can get more and more knowledge about how SEO works. Moreover, you definitely can attend a seminar while enjoy the talk, especially when you are just focused on getting the knowledge that you want to have. Sad to say, not all people feel that way.

When your boss tells you to attend a seminar alone to represent your company, then you don’t have a choice but to follow.  Well, fret not! Below are some pointers for you to be able to feel at ease and expose to that kind of situation.

1. Always come prepared

Laptop and its charger, paper and pen, markers, extension cords, etc., when you come prepared and is all set, then you don’t have to worry about anything else. When you need something, you  don’t have to borrow from the person sitting next to you, which makes it more awkward. Your seatmate might think of you as irresponsible for not bring the important things needed for the seminar. Moreover, when you have something to write about, it gives you the opportunity to take down strong points from the speaker easily and immediately.

2. Avoid distractions

Being distracted is definitely the enemy of being attentive. One of the reasons why you feel bored and annoyed is because you don’t listen to what the speaker is talking about. Perhaps, you are holding your phone while texting with your friends, or opening social media and doing your own thing. Well, that unless if it is related to the seminar that you are attending to. Tweeting about the talk, researching the terms the speaker used is an exception. However, you should not spend too much of your time on the things that you are doing since it will definitely distract your focus from the seminar.

3.  Seek potential acquaintances

Just because you are alone in attending the seminar, it doesn’t mean that you are not going to mingle with the other people. Making friends with the person sitting next to you, and/or with other potential people will definitely be to your advantage. The person whom you mingle with is most likely to share his/her own knowledge about the SEO. There is a caveat though, you have to be keen and/or observant to the people around. There are people who attend the seminar just for the sake of attending without any determination to learn new things. Well, you don’t have to literally avoid, but you can still stick to the plan on making friends with the knowledgeable ones.

4. Participate

One of the many things you can do to avoid boredom is to participate. When it comes to seminars, there will definitely some group activities or workshops and/or question and answer portion to know whether you have learned something or not. You have to mingle with other people in the room for you to lessen the awkwardness that you have felt. Mind you, it works! Moreover, the more you participate, the more knowledge that you can get. Knowledge that you can have only by doing some hands on activities.  There will also be a caveat though, just because you are participating, it doesn’t mean that you are already good at it. You also have to be mindful of the things that surround you and learn something from it.

5. Dress appropriately

Last but definitely not the least, if you want to be confident in going to seminars alone, then you should start by dressing yourself appropriately. Your outfit will speak about who and what you are. When you dress in a formal and/or semi-formal at the event, then people will see you as a respectable person.They will think of you as a knowledgeable person, even if you know that you don’t have any idea about it at all. Well, you have to show your worth through expressing it with the way you look and dress.

Online Marketing 101: Hashtags for Effective Marketing Campaigns

www.sophisticatedrelations.com

Ahh, hashtags.

 A fairly recent term for what used to be what people called a sharp key or a pound sign and an apparent evidence of just how much Internet Technology has evolved.

I must admit when I first heard of this rather colloquial word uttered by my friends, I was confused.

And when it started making its debut on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, I was even more baffled. I had absolutely no idea why this nondescript pound sign which was followed with a bunch of seemingly unreadable words mashed next to it became suddenly popular and trendy
.
Deciding to ride with the trend, I started using hashtags in what would perhaps be the most inappropriate way possible. As I had no idea what using hashtags entailed, I just did what I thought what everyone was doing: write a pound sign and write a phrase or sentence next to it (no matter how long)

Of course, by now, all you social media-savvy users know that this is not the way to utilize a hashtag.

And when I did discover what novice mistakes I was making, I began to realize the true potential of the hashtag.

Marketing campaigns

When that sunk in, it became clear just how much this new online trend can be exploited and utilized by online business owners and marketers. However, utilizing the hashtag may seem easy but more often than not disastrous results can happen when applied incorrectly.  

Let this article serve as your guide in navigating the ways of how you can harness the true potential of the hashtag in your marketing campaigns.

Understand that placing a hashtag anywhere before a bunch of words would not help you 

 Placing a hashtag before a bunch of unreadable words may seem like a tempting idea to try, but it is the wrong way to go about how to use it. Additionally, it would not help the cause of your marketing campaign. If you are a smart internet marketing agency, you would know that this is a basic mistake.
Not only that, it would make you look #superannoying.

Hashtags when properly used can be a source of unifying force across all of your marketing campaigns, making you easy to find. To illustrate just how powerful the hashtag is, take a look at a local commercial you see being aired today and more often than not, you will see a hashtag splashed on the screen at some point.

This is an effective way of letting viewers know that should they want expansive information regarding a certain product or whatever is being promoted, you can find it online through that hashtagged phrase.

Twitter- Where it all began

This recent genius all started from Twitter where it made rounds the first time it was successfully introduced. However, there is no denying that its popularity has certainly spilled over other social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram—thus becoming a well-known staple variant for a profitable viral modern marketing campaign.

It has been stated that for maximum engagement, tweets with a hashtag or two are most effective. But be cautious, it has also been noted that exceeding two hashtags in a tweet decreased your chances of engagement by 17%. Choose your hashtags wisely and make sure they are appropriate to your campaign.

This alone can increase your exposure and your click-throughs on the site.

Tread carefully with Facebook

Facebook may allow the usage of hashtags but people who are on the site tend to abuse this feature granted by the social network. In fact, they have been so overused and inappropriately used in Facebook that research conducted by EdgeRank found that posts with hashtags had less engagement than those without.

Like twitter, the formula is easy. One or two hashtags a post will do you wonders and that fewer hashtags will grant you more engagement. However, it is not as straightforward as we want it to be. Utilizing hashtags on Facebook would require you to test out some of your campaigns and see if your audience is receptive to it.

Forgoing the usage in Facebook altogether is not exactly the best solution as you will lose the cohesion across cross networks that would better serve you ultimately. Just test out a formula and limit your hashtags.

Google+ is boon for your marketing campaign 

The beauty in using Google+ is that it automatically assigns a hashtag for your post even without you assigning one. Consequently, your post will be made searchable through the juggernaut of search engines. Additionally, when you don’t assign a hashtag on your post, Google would assign at least one to your post using your post text or the headline of the link should there be one.

Organizing their hashtags by category is also a feature and they include them in their searchable database as well as use them to collate trending topics. Let that sink in for a moment and marvel as this wonderful addition to the social network.



So there you have it, some useful tips to keep in mind the next time you hashtag a post. Keep in mind that hashtags are effective when they are used appropriately and sparingly. Picking just any bunch of words and phrase that comes to mind and hashtagging it is a preschool mistake. Use a hashtag that fits your campaign perfectly, give it a lot of contemplation and make sure no one else has been using it.

When you have found just the right hashtag for your post, you can maximize your engagement from there.

DO’s and DON’TS of Using Emojis in Marketing Campaigns

www.mintel.com

Technology is evolving every single day.

That much is a fact as evidenced by how far advanced the Internet is nowadays compared to how it was ten years ago. Along with that evolution, was the rise of the social media trifecta: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These three juggernauts have managed to wheedle themselves into an average person’s daily lives.

And smart online marketing agencies are exploiting it. However, since the advent of this online rage, a few things have been making their rounds online as well. Consequently people both young and old are very receptive in utilizing it.

Take the Emoji for an example. What was once largely overlooked by users is now causing quite a stir and is making a lot of rounds online. And as of recently, it seems like even online marketers are capitalizing on its popularity. However, as tempting as lacing your marketing campaigns with Emojis is, this rather intrepid task is more of a hit or miss when being utilized in marketing campaigns.

But fear not, this article will walk you through the most basic DO’s and DON’TS in applying such in your campaigns.

DO NOT FORGO WORDS

Just because Emojis are trendy, it does not necessarily follow that every single one of your readers and followers can read them or speak it fluently.

Take a few seconds to give your post some brief contemplation, if it looks like it was composed by a teenager then odds are, you are doing it wrong. Apart from looking unprofessional, people would likely ignore your post because decoding your message is an absolute waste of time.

Stick to equal parts of message and Emojis. Use your words.

DON’T UTILIZE EMOJIS WHEN CONVEYING A SERIOUS MESSAGE 

There is always a time and place for the usage of Emojis.

Conveying a serious message is not. Emojis are meant to be accompanied with lighthearted, humorous and fun posts. And if you want to have an effective marketing campaign, then you should stick to this tactic. The utilization of Emojis in conveying a serious message or post can earn you the ire of your audience.

It would not only seem shallow on your part, but incredibly insensitive and callous as well. Additionally, your sound advice would fall to deaf ears. Don’t make the mistake of favoring Millennial targeting over making your post sensible and judicious.

DO USE IT CREATIVELY AND CREATE AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

Emojis are popular because they are trendy and your readers and followers are rather receptive to it because it is familiar to them. And more often than not, these users employ Emojis in their daily communications which is why as a smart online marketer, you  should acquaint yourself better in the usage of such.

You do not have to create a customized set of Emojis just so you can relate to your audience better, use what is given to you instead.Develop a habit of using Emojis in communicating to your audience and never forget to include them in your campaign in order to make your marketing strategy more inclusive and interactive.

Have fun with the Emojis, think of ways you can turn those little icons into games and see your post gain traction.

DO USE EMOJIS TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE BETTER 

A smart and practical way to utilize Emojis is to commemorate momentous occasions and events. Though some pre-composed Emoji laced messages might be more of a hit or miss thing, never underestimate the power of a well-timed Tweet that can benefit from an Emoji or a lot of Emojis.

The frequent utilization of Emojis by various brands manifest their human side to their customers, as should you as an online marketer. Should the occasion call for it, get creative with Emoji art (include them in your Tweets in the same way, you would in a text message). Of course, as earlier stated, be careful in utilizing Emojis when topics are sensitive and serious.




Let’s face it, Emojis are here to stay. And if you want a successful marketing campaign, it would not hurt to include something trendy such as these Emojis.

After all, isn’t it much better to accompany your message with a round smiley faced fellow rather than a text that simply states *smiles*?

4 Simple Tips for Dealing with Upset Clients on Social Media

clickz.com

What do you usually do when you unintentionally upset your clients? Have you done anything wrong that leads them to be upset? Why do you think your potential clients are upset with the post that you have? How will you handle their frustrations and critics towards you? How will you let them understand that what you have done was not on your purpose? What did you do to calm them down?

Yes, when it comes to social media, your approach towards your potential and target clients will be much different than in person. You have the need to know what words you should use in order to fit the context of what you are trying to imply. Moreover, the tone of your content should be convincing for you to immediately grab their attention before anything else. Sad to say, there are just times that we tend to forget all of these things and do whatever we want to do.

Well sometimes, we are not aware that we already have offended our clients. If you could just talk with your client personally, then it is better and easier for you to make things go back to normal. However, you are dealing with a client through social media, which makes it more challenging on your end on to how you are going to let them understand the situation. If you are one of those people who are still stuck on these kind situations, then here are some simple and effective tips for you to deal with your upset clients on social media.

Respond no matter what

Misunderstanding between you and your client will definitely not be resolved if you don't respond to their critics immediately. Especially when your clients have some complaints about your post, then it is your responsibility as a marketer to let them know and understand the things on what you are trying to imply to them, in as much as simple way as possible.

Remember, there are hundreds to thousands of people who can see your post, and if you don’t respond and just ignore it, they might think that you don’t care about your target audience at all. Well, you don't need to fret too much since your clients will definitely understand if you just know how to explain it to them.

Be patient and understanding

There will be times that your client will try to argue with you on social media and insist that they are right about what they believe. However, even if they have the right to complain, it doesn’t mean that they will always be right. You also have the right to explain your side about the post that you have on social media. Of course, you have to be patient and understanding with your clients in order for you to effectively convince them that what you have posted is true.

Contact your client privately

Arguing with your client on social media is an act of unprofessional. You do not attack them with words below the post that you have. Of course, the conversation between you and your client will bring some attention to the other people. And it is not an ideal thing to do if you are protecting your reputation.

One of the best ways you can lessen the tension is to communicate with them privately. It will definitely not hurt you if you extend some time and effort in letting them understand what you want to impart to them. Also, this is also a way for you to know how and why they are upset with the post that you have, and know their side of their story.

Consider asking your client to remove the comment

It might be embarrassing to ask for a small favor from your client, however, it is the only way you can make the negative conversation stop.  Moreover, if you just leave the negative comment on your post, a lot of people can still read it and might try to continue the conversation that you had.  With that, your reputation as a marketer will definitely be destroy and people will not trust you anymore.

If you want to save your reputation, asking your client to remove the negative comment will not hurt you. Just at least reach out to them and let them understand what you want imply to them.

Effective Tips to Try in Reaching and Maximizing Word Count

www.orderseoarticles.com

"I am ten words short"

"My article has an excess of fifteen words"

"Is there any other way I could rephrase this so that I can reach my word count?"

"…just three words more so that I can finally reach the word count and hit publish"

Do these sound familiar?  I bet they do.

Whether you are a regular content provider for SEO companies that specialize in link building services or a blogger or just plainly writing for academic purposes, at some point in your writing endeavors, you have encountered this dilemma.

The word count.

That little insignificant number on the corner of your screen may be the cause of your biggest frustration and disdain for writing articles.

In some cases, it can stunt the quality of one's craft. It can go both ways, you can either be rephrasing the same paragraph over an hour just to meet the designated word count or chop your paragraphs endlessly so as not to exceed the limit.

This may seem insignificant to some but to those of us who are in the business of producing articles online, this little trivial number is taken in serious consideration. None of us want to produce articles too short so as not to make a significant ping in Google's search engine but neither of us wants to compose long-winded and excessively prolix write-ups either so as to make our readers bored with tedious writing.

So how do we come into terms with this? How do we harmonize word count and our workflow without having to compromise the quality of our craft?
Here are some tips specifically addressed to that predicament:

FOR WRITERS HAVING DIFFICULTY IN MEETING THEIR WORD COUNT: 

Do expansive research 

This one is self-explanatory and rather obvious, however, most writers overlook this incredibly simple and straightforward tip in favor of writing more articles in order to meet their quota. It pays to research your topic widely as this will aid you in writing your articles not only better but with authority as it is backed with well researched materials. It only makes sense, the more you know about a topic, the more you can write about it.

Practice every day

Designate a couple of hours to write each and every day even if you are not working. This will encourage you to write better articles and produce quality content. Additionally, this can help you meet your word count at ease. The more you write, the more ideas you will get. Think of a random topic and write about it and disregard the word count after you are done, go back and check how many words you have poured in. If you do this habitually, you will eventually see some progress in meeting your word count.

Think critically 

This tip will only work if you have done more than adequate research. When you are doing a research on a particular topic you are to write about, do not stop at having sufficient knowledge. Always aim for more. From this, you can sift and choose which ones you would like to include in your article and elaborate them well within the article. Expansive research helps you think critically and when you do think critically, the content you produce is not only of great quality but is backed by evidentiary facts as well.

FOR WRITERS EXCEEDING THEIR WORD COUNT: 

Eliminate articles, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, etc.

These articles are necessary in order to make transitions in our write-ups better. Additionally, they make something particularly clear. But more often than not, they are just fillers and they can be eliminated while retaining the core substance of your article.

Disregard anything that does not specifically relate to your main point 

Avoid long-winded discussions and unnecessary detailing so as to aid you in successfully meeting the word count without exceeding it. Not only will this drive your main point home, but it would successfully keep your readers attention on your article.

Wrap everything up in at a maximum of three sentences

Do not write excessive conclusions. Keep it short and wrap everything up in at least three sentences. Remember, if you still have to say it in the conclusion then maybe you could have elaborated on the body a bit more.



These are just a few of the tips you can follow in order to aid you in writing articles with a strict word count. Though getting the precise word count for you article is a hit or miss occurrence and there is no exact formula in order to get it, following these tips may aid you in your future writing endeavors. So apply these tips, get to writing and conquer the ever elusive art of mastering the word count.

Tips and Tricks Online Content Writers Can Learn From Fiction Writers

www.internetbillboard.net

You may think that there must be something vastly wrong with the title. How can content marketing ever get tips from fiction writers?

Content writers provide information that could potentially lead to link building services while fiction writers still do offer substantial information but would more towards creative writing.  How do you harmonize both? Moreover, how is anything in content writing related to fiction writing?

Is there even a similarity between the two?

A common misconception is that there is none. However, like fiction writing, content writing in itself is still a form of storytelling and because this is so, content writers can take a leaf or two out of a fiction writer's style and technique in drafting unique content. Here are some of a few:

Polish your article. If it sounds too much like a write-up, go back and rewrite.

Should your writing sound too formal and stiff, you would bore your readers. Try to give your articles new spins every single time you write and never stick to a single formula. Sure, it may be trusted and it may work, but bear in mind that this is the easiest way for you readers to grow tedious of your work and for you to find your craft monotonous.

A few tips would be to avoid adverbs where possible as more often than not, we utilize this just to boost our word count. Additionally, keep things short and concise by not going into great detail when describing things unless you are rather excellent at it and lastly, leave out anything that you think your readers may tend to skip. To elaborate, if anything in your content sounds awkward, formal or stuffy upon verbal reading, omit it.

Use your words to show not to tell 

Consumers are tricky persons, they would not want you to boast about how great your product is, they want concrete examples of just how amazing and awesome it is. Telling them just won't cut it, you need specifics and stories. This is where anecdotes will come in handy.

 Detailing how great your product is may seem more appropriate in non-fiction content marketing, however, mix it up with a few images here and there. Prove your point by writing about actions instead of just telling it straight out.

Utilize suspense 

Like fiction, content marketing is about creating suspense. Tell a story and have a great build up, have unresolved mysteries that you would wrap up by the end of your article. In essence, this is what keeps a reader in your blog and which would make them read it from start to finish.

Avoid answering all questions before you reach at the end of your blog. Maintain a good balance between achieving just the right amount of suspense and filling the gaps between unresolved questions and their respective answers. Make sure that at the end of your article, you have successfully delivered the resolution to the mystery you have crafted.

Write what you love not about what you think you're supposed to write

This may seem impractical seeing that as content marketers, we don't have much room to let our creative juices flowing with the topics we are most passionate about but consider that for every niche there is, there is room for something that would potentially interest you.

 Always keep in mind that if you do not want to read it, there's a chance that nobody else would want to either.

Learn from other writers just like yourself 

There is always room for learning and writing is a never-ending process of learning. Take it from other writers who have more experience than you and observe how they craft their articles. Read a lot of blog posts, especially ones that you really enjoy and absorb their skills.



All in all, as bloggers and content marketers we need to make sure our craft is something that our readers will enjoy so that we can be assured that they would come back for more. A key element in doing this is to continuously mix it up which is why, as writers we can take a leaf or two from those seasoned writers who always keep readers flipping from one page to another, the fiction writers. Once we master this, we would not only succeed in garnering more readers, we would polish our skills as well.