5 ways to skyrocket your content marketing in 2017

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Content marketing is a powerful marketing technique that can help your business succeed in the online space. It helps you establish your business as an authority on a topic, increases traffic to your website, helps your business reach new customers and much more!

If you intend on using content marketing in 2017, it is important to be aware that the strategies and techniques involved are continually evolving.

Marketers are constantly discovering new ways to create valuable content and use it effectively.

Here are five exciting techniques that will skyrocket your content marketing in 2017.

1. Combine the written word with visual content

Traditionally, content marketing has focussed on the written pieces only. Blog posts, eBooks, articles, white papers and so on. This is because it is very easy to create and share this type of content. It can be used on a website, emailed directly to customers or downloaded as a PDF.

In 2017, businesses will need to be more creative in the ways that they present content. They will have to use multiple types of content to make their material stand out in a crowded marketplace. That means combining text content with videos, audio, interactive components and visuals.

Some of the ways you can use visualisation to make your content marketing succeed include:

  • Infographics that highlight key statistics mentioned in the article
  • Short introductory videos that explain the purpose of the article
  • Full-length videos that present the contents of the entire piece
  • Interactive elements, such as maps and graphs that allow users to explore the information discussed in the article
  • Interactive slideshows that make browsing the key points in your article simpler

Creating multiple forms, using online form creators, of visual content gives your visitors the option to consume the content in the format they prefer — videos, images, infographics or interactive presentations. Having multiple forms of visual content also gives you the ability to share it on more platforms. You can upload your videos to Vimeo or Youtube, submit infographics to Visual.ly, post slide decks to Slideshare, or upload images to Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest. Users can share the other forms of visual content via social media, which can potentially increase the reach and engagement.

2. Make content that is highly targeted

As you might have noticed, there is a huge amount of content available online. There are billions of blog posts and articles covering nearly every topic known to a human being. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly important to avoid writing about generalised topics. Chances are there is already an article or blog post out there which tackles the same topic in great detail.

Instead, look for topics that are specialised to your audience or related to current affairs. Always carefully tailor your content to match the background and knowledge that your audience already has. If you focus on creating highly targeted content that your audience cannot get elsewhere, it will be considered highly valuable.

That being said, evergreen content still plays an integral role in any content marketing strategy. Hence, using a skyscraper technique, which mainly focuses on developing content that already ranks well by making it longer, more comprehensive and detailed can certainly level up your marketing game in 2017.

3. Focus on reader retention

Anyone running a business knows that it is much easier to retain a loyal customer than it is to find a new one! If you have built an audience that reads your emails or visits your website regularly, it is crucial that you spend some time thinking about reader retention.

Some of the best audience retention techniques include:

  • Provide regular stream of quality, useful and relevant content
  • Engage in a dialogue with your readers via the comments section or Twitter. This will help you build a relationship with your audience.
  • Make it easy for your readers to obtain and subscribe to your content
  • Create a seamless experience for readers to find your “best” content and related posts
  • Offer incentives for readers to keep coming back, including competitions, giveaways, discounts on products, or access to special content.
  • Use email marketing to reach your users directly

4. Embrace user-generated content

Internet marketers have discovered that users trust content made by other users. That includes comments on blog posts, discussions in forums, and shares via social media. When a user comments positively on your article, brand or product, it carries a lot of weight with other visitors.

Take advantage of user-generated content by encouraging your audience to engage with your work. Ask for feedback via Twitter, encourage comments on your blog, ask people to share your post via social media and so on.

5. Promote your content

Making fantastic content is a waste of time if it can’t be found by readers!

In 2017, most content marketers are concentrating on finding new ways to promote their most valuable pieces.

In addition to promoting your content through email marketing, social media and press releases — consider using paid promotion to highlight your phenomenal pieces. Consider investing into paid ads, such as Google Adwords, Facebook Ads and Stumble Upon.

You can also take advantage of paid content discovery networks like Outbrain and Taboola.

7 lesser-known tools to increase your everyday productivity

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With so much to achieve in so little time, we business owners are bound to be on the lookout for tools that help ease our burden and increase productivity. With technology being an enabler, rest assured that there exists software to finish every task imaginable.

Every tool either helps improve an existing product or combines various tools and solutions into one unit.

While everybody knows about popular tools like Dropbox, Evernote, Wrike, and so on, let’s take a look at some lesser-known, yet powerful tools that can help make doing business easy.

Inkflow Visual Notebook

The Inkflow Visual Notebook app allows you to “think visually.” It’s your personal scribble-pad.

Do you doodle and scribble on the notepad during meetings, brainstorming sessions or while thinking? If yes, you now have a potent companion that not only allows you to doodle, but also organize your thoughts.

Doodling, believe it or faint, has shown to help pay attention. And you thought doodlers were a bored lot, unable to pay attention during an important strategy meeting?

BookScanner Pro

True to its name, this little gem of an app delivers what it promises. Simply click photos of pages of books and the app will split the shot into two pages, while correcting distortions and defects.

BookScanner Pro then recreates the page perfectly. You can then create electronic copies of the scanned pages in 12 different formats (PDF, EPUB, etc.) which can be shared via the cloud with anyone.

You can also take prints directly through your phone.

Hooks

This one is IFTTT on steroids.

Hooks keeps up-to-date on the latest news, sports, announcements, and absolutely anything, through push notifications. It also lets you chat in real time to people with similar interests.

This is a great app for business owners as you can stay on top of industry news and happenings, as well as chat and discuss topics of interest with like-minded people.

FLIO

If you’re a frequent-flier like me, I cannot even begin to tell you about the awesomeness of this app.

I’ve always hated business traveling, particularly airport-hopping experiences around the world. But that was only till a friend told me about FLIO.

With this app, you can easily get access to free Wi-Fi, uncover great deals on food, receive updated notifications about arrival and departure, and literally everything you’ve wanted to know at the airport.

This app is my constant companion while traveling, and because it covers over 900 airports, I actually look forward to having a great time when traveling.

Rescue Time

Rescue Time tells you how you can spend your time online. Once you register, it will track your online activity and send you weekly reports.

These reports will contain information regarding the sites you visit and spend the most time on, and so on. You can set your productivity goals and the app will help you achieve them.

It can also block distracting websites to help you stay focused. Further, it will maintain a log to record how you fare on a daily basis.

GoA2B

If FLIO is your friend inside airports, GoA2B is what you will need in a new city.

It’s your essential riding companion app that will compare all available rideshare services (Uber, Lyft, Flywheel, Curb, Gett, etc.) and give you the cheapest and fastest option. So, you save on precious dollars when traveling and always get the best deals.

Pssst, I’ve heard that they are also coming up with coupons and discount codes!

Focus Booster

Having trouble maintaining focus and managing distractions? Get Focus Booster app.

It’s based on the famed Pomodoro technique devised by Francesco Cirillo. The app has a Pomodoro timer that can be set for various tasks.

Its simple dashboard helps you monitor your activities and visualize your progress. You can also share timesheets with clients and managers too.

Do you know of other lesser-known valuable apps that have made a difference in the way you do business? Let me know about them in your comments.

Super Mario Run storms the charts with 40 million downloads in 4 days

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Despite running into some bad press, Super Mario Run has so far stacked an impressive amount of downloads, cruising through the 40 million mark in just four days.

Nintendo revealed the accomplishment in a new press release issued earlier today. In addition to topping the “free” chart of the App Store in 140 different global markets (out of the 150 where it’s available), the game also made it into the top 10 best grossing games in 100 different markets.

By comparison, smash-hit augmented reality title Pokémon Go reached the 25 million milestone 11 days after its initial launch – which is almost a week more than Super Mario Run needed. However, unlike the new Mario game, Pokémon Go was available only in limited locations.
Credit: Sensor Tower

Given that earlier reports speculated Super Mario Run trumped Pokémon Go as far as first day downloads go, it’s hardly surprising Nintendo’s new game continues to shatter records.

Among other things, Nintendo revealed it has plans to make it easier for players to access all modes after purchasing the game.

Despite previous reports suggesting the Japanese giant has no intentions to add new features to the game, today Nintendo also rolled out an update that adds a new mode allowing users to compete with friends without paying any Rally Tickets.