Content Marketing

August 4, 2016 By Carrie Gallagher

The Biggest Content Marketing Trends in 2017

Author: contentmarketinginstitute.com

I’ve spent the last 12-plus months talking with enterprise marketers from around the globe to get a handle on where the content marketing industry is going. Through that process, in combination with our ongoing research, the CMI team puts together the schedule for Content Marketing World 2016.

Here are what I believe are some of the biggest issues enterprise marketers are dealing with, as well as some thought leaders who are covering this topic at #CMWorld (hint, hint).

Note: These are not in any particular order. They are all important, depending on where you are in your content marketing maturity.

One thing is for sure: Content creation and distribution in the enterprise, outside of the content about our products and services, have become both more important and more integrated over the past year.

In almost every keynote speech I give, I ask the audience members whether their organizations have a documented content marketing strategy. Sadly, most do not. Our research tells us that those organizations that do have one, and that review it consistently, are more likely to be successful. Even though you (the expert reading this) might think this is basic, it’s not. We are still too focused on campaigns and talking about our products, instead of truly driving value outside the products and services we offer.

Read More at contentmarketinginstitute.com

August 2, 2016 By Carrie Gallagher

The Ultimate Collection of Free Content Marketing Templates

Author: Anum Hussain

I joined HubSpot in September 2011 as a blogger. At the time, I needed to know how to write and educate through my writing.

Flash forward to today. My content role has evolved eons beyond what I could ever have imagined. To conquer lead gen, I mastered ebook production. To help spread data, I learned how to create infographics. When I write blog posts, that typically means designing a SlideShare or other visual element to accompany the posts.

It’s been fun, but it certainly hasn’t been easy. These days, content means so much more than just writing. And for those of you who understand that content marketing is a critical component of inbound success, content will need to mean more than just writing for you, too.

But rather than panic about the endless content formats you need to go master, we’re here to make it easy for you. In this post, you’ll find what I wish I had once upon a content marketer’s dream: a full collection of 386+ free, customizable, content creation templates. Let’s take a look at what’s inside.

5 Top Marketing Automation Tools for SMB’s

Author: Matthew Toren

Join us for a free, live webinar and learn how to drive revenue with content marketing. Tune in 8/4 at 10:30 a.m. PT. Register Now »

Marketing slowing you down? Tons of small to mid-sized businesses are using marketing automation tools to boost productivity, increase revenue and get rid of monotonous day-to-day tasks.

GetResponse is an all-inclusive marketing automation tool made to truly get stuff done. SMB’s love it for its email automation features. GetResponse’s “workflow builder” makes it super simple to create the ideal conversion funnel by clicking and dragging filters, actions and conditions into place. Once set up, the workflow builder will send welcome emails, coupons, social media links, newsletters and more in response to certain triggers. Colorful email templates even take the hassle out of sculpting the perfect newsletter online. How much time will that take off your plate?

Related: 10 Marketing Automation Hacks All Businesses Should Be Using

Want to see who’s opening and tossing your emails? GetResponse’s analytics share insight without overwhelming you with raw data. “Email ROI” helps you understand exactly how much your business is benefiting from email campaigns over time. There are also tracking capabilities for your company’s website, so you can uncover who’s visited your site, what visitors click on most and when leads turn into paying customers. Guesswork is a thing of the past.

Top Sales Performance Gurus #salesgurus

Author: Nick Riseboarders

Mark Hunter Hunter Sales motivation tips and proven sales training techniques to help you increase sales, profitably

Jeb Blount Founder of Sales Gravy and Author of People Buy You, People Follow You, People Love You and Power Principles. Expert on human behavior in the workplace.

Deb Calvert Be more effective by putting People First! We can help! Top 50 Sales Influencer & blogger, Certified Master The Leadership Challenge, instructor at UC-Berkeley.

Jeffrey Gitomer King of sales, dad, granddad, writer, friend. Learn more, earn more, make more with Gitomer Gold. https://t.co/vlzqYBIOrL

Jim Keenan CEO A Sales Guy Inc, Keynote Speaker, Author, Professional Ski Instructor (aka Ski Bum) Dad of 3 crazy, in a good way, girls. FINDER OF THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Jill Rowley All me, all the time. I don’t outsource or automate social. Startup Advisor. Keynote Speaker. #SocialSelling Evangelist. 16 years #SaaS. Husband, 4 Kids, Doggie

Geoffrey James Professional speaker, award-winning sales blogger, and author of Business Without the Bullsh*t and How To Say It: B2B Selling. http://t.co/BoTVuCvASA

To Increase Sales, Get Customers to Commit a Little at a Time

Author: hbr.org

Most sales models include a conversion funnel in which reps try to convert a marketing-generated lead into a prospect and then a customer through sequential steps. In this model, sales people are expected to make the process as friction-less as possible for the potential buyer and to close the deal at the end by using certain phrases and techniques to “overcome objections.” This perspective is promoted in books and seminars, but research indicates it is not how people buy.

As one of us noted in a previous article, buyers work their way through parallel streams (rather than a funnel) as they explore, evaluate, and engage in purchase decisions via web sites, white papers, social media, and contact with other buyers through sites like Marketo, and so on.

This why the end of a sales process is the worst time to handle objections — prospects typically contemplate their objections long before “close,” and, to avoid conflict, often cite a socially-acceptable rationale such as price, which may not be the real barrier to buying. To better address this reality, sellers should ask prospects to make incremental commitments throughout the process.