In this week’s edition of Thursday Trends, take stock of your SEO strategy, become an authority in your field, pair storytelling with experience, and check in on the bots. Finally, turn more leads into conversions!
Is A.I. Stranger Than Science Fiction? Not Entirely
How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Digital Marketing via Forbes
Artificial intelligence fueled by machine learning is at the heart of A.I. in marketing. We’re a far cry from a computer having the ability to emulate emotions, fully understand nuance, capture the art of humor, and mimic a true human touch. It seems, however, that A.I. is not far from the ability to offer some actual, applicable benefits to marketing initiatives everywhere in the not so distant future.
This recent article from Forbes breaks down exactly where artificial intelligence stands in marketing, content marketing, and content strategy. Although A.I. isn’t ready to replace your talent team, it can provide some pretty interesting benefits, like showing you the best ways to use the content you have and suggesting topics based on audience parameters and goals. Take a look at the complete article to find out whether you see A.I. in your near future.
Tell Me a Story. No, Wait. Show Me a Story.
A Wide New Window to Overtake Traditional Storytelling Is Open and Why Marketers Should Own It via Martech Advisor
If you’ve ever taken a creative writing class, then you’re familiar with the popular writing rule known as, “show don’t tell.” If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it’s the difference between writing:
- It was a beautiful day. (Telling)
- The sun shone, the birds chirped, and the grass was greenest on my side. (Showing)
See the difference?
This article from Martech Advisor discusses the importance of user experience. It explains how a good marketing concept that uses storytelling, but shirks UX design fails to show, fails to engage the audience, and fails to promote your brand. Read the complete article to learn how you can partner UX with content to tell a truly immersive story that engages and inspires your audience.
Does Your Website Offer Information or Just Stuff for Sale?
Benefits of a Resource Page – And How to Build This Asset via WriterAccess
How much value does your content offer your audience? If you think you could improve your brand value, then including a resources page on your website might be the way to do it. When researching topics around your product or service offerings, your audience is going to trust the brands who seem to have the most information, the ones who are well-informed, and those who do a great job of helping them answer their own questions.
This recent WriterAccess article explains everything you need to know about incorporating resource pages on your websites to improve your SEO, increase your brand’s perceived value, and more. Read the article for a complete run-down on why you should definitely add a resources page to your website.
Get More Out of Your Content by Using the A-Word (Audit) More Frequently
How to Do a Helpful SEO Audit in a Few Hours via Content Marketing Institute
If you have a content strategy, then you likely spend lots of resources (time and money) on content marketing, distribution, management, and everything in between. Do you ever stop for a moment to take stock of everything you’ve accomplished and to see whether your content is working for you?
Hint: a thorough test requires more than seeing where you rank on a Google search. Read through this recent article from Content Marketing Institute for a few tips, tricks, and a game plan for auditing your SEO.
What to Do When Leads Don’t Lead to Conversions
Bridging the Marketing-Sales Gap with Content Marketing Strategies via CMS WiRE
While taking stock of your metrics, you might notice you have a ginormous number of leads followed by only an itty-bitty number of actual conversions. What gives?
According to this recent CMS WiRE article, you might need to build some bridges between marketing and sales. They suggest doing this by focusing the scope of content and topics on your customer’s journey and place within your sales funnel. Take a look at the complete article for advice on how to implement these kinds of changes in your strategy.
Jennifer G is a full-time freelance writer and editor with a B.A. in creative writing from the University of Montana. She enjoys researching and writing creative content to engage readers and developing professional voices for clients across all industries. She specializes in medical, health, veterinary, and financial writing. Having worked nearly thirteen years in finance, Jennifer applies her experience in the banking industry (marketing, social media management, consumer and commercial lending, customer service, accounts, and bookkeeping) to her writing work within the industry.
