A Fresh look at Tumblr for Brands
May 20, 2013 - Posted by Stephanie Graves
With this week’s announcement that Yahoo will purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion, it may be a good time for brands to reevaluate how they can leverage the image-driven platform to reach their targets. If the marriage of the two companies is successful, then it’s likely that Tumblr will have the infrastructure to begin to expand their ad packages which until now have been largely experimental and focused on formats that meld nicely with the social/blogging site’s own aesthetic. For brands that have their eye on millennials — a group with which Tumblr has been highly successful — and that are savvy content builders, now is a great time to explore any new outreach opportunities using Tumblr that may have been back-burnered. And there’s certainly no shortage of opportunities. The latest numbers show that there are over 100 million blogs hosted on the site, generating 89 million new posts daily. Users… read more
Does your PR Agency Know How to Connect?
May 15, 2013 - Posted by Stephanie Graves
“We need more people talking about us!” As a CMO, or PR director, how many times has someone at the top come to you and said those exact words? Did you immediately start to feel the heat? When an organization decides it needs PR representation or that their current PR strategy needs an overhaul, it usually starts with a desire to create more buzz. And many times, this desire is motivated by a positive article in the local news about a competitor, or a look at another company’s thousands of seemingly engaged Twitter followers eagerly and happily interacting with their brand online. THE GOAL Simply creating buzz should not be the end goal for ramping up PR efforts. In the past, the end goal of public relations for brands may have been limited to raising brand awareness, but as the digital age has caused a major shift in how we… read more
Marketing Zen is looking for super awesome interns
May 11, 2013 - Posted by Stephanie Graves
The Marketing Zen Group, an award-winning digital marketing and PR company based in Dallas, is looking for talented go-getters interested in gaining valuable, first-hand experience working with a top digital agency. Check out our full list of available internships below to learn more. And if you’re not sure which one would be a fit, send us your resume along with a cover letter telling us why you’d be a great addition to our team. Our internships are unpaid, but highly-competitive and can be used for college credit. And we’re more than happy to provide letters of recommendations for your good work upon completion. And did we mention our internships are virtual? You’ll work from home….in your PJs if you’d like! Content Writer & Community Engagement Intern (SEO Dept.) Are you a creative, resourceful, error-free writer? Are you able to work with a steep learning curve and take independent initiative? Are… read more
What you need to know now about the future of digital marketing
May 7, 2013 - Posted by Stephanie Graves
A recent industry forecast by global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company aptly points out that “Digital marketing is about to reach more challenging territory”. The basis for this assertion is not surprising. Consumers are in power. Our current digital age places them squarely in the driver’s seat when it comes to how they receive marketing messages. Taking that a step further, we are barreling toward a place where consumers are not only determining “how” messages are received, but “what” messages they’ll receive. We’re talking about on-demand marketing that in the words of McKinsey and Company’s London director, Peter Dahlström, “cuts through the noise with pinpoint delivery.” As digital technology advances, and smarter, more sophisticated devices are at the finger tips of the average consumer, McKinsey and Company predicts four areas of demand that marketers will need to satisfy: Now: Consumers will want to interact anywhere at any time. Can… read more
Creating “Share-alicious” Content to Build Your Online Community
April 30, 2013 - Posted by Stephanie Graves
Ever wonder why some organizations seem to have no problem at all building and engaging their online communities when your company spends a great deal of time working to get more fans, to no avail? Does it seem like no matter what you post, tumbleweeds blow across your page. Very few, if any “likes” or comments are happening, with the exception of the one super fan you can always count on (read: your mom) who “likes” everything you post (because she loves you). You’re not alone. Many companies struggle to find the sweet spot in content creation. But if you listen closely, your audience is telling you what they want to hear. Deliver it, and you’ll see your online community start to take shape. First understand what moves your audience If you don’t have a deep understanding of who your audience is then you’ll have a difficult time figuring out… read more
Inside the mind of a rock star content marketer
April 18, 2013 - Posted by Stephanie Graves
As content marketing continues on its meteoric rise as the go-to audience building strategy for top brands, companies and other business organizations, leaders in the field are highly sought after additions to business entities looking to connect with their targets in a meaningful, non-sales-y way. So what is it that great content marketers possess that traditional marketers may lack? Here’s a glimpse into the mind of a content marketer — the differences may astound you. Rock star content marketers are sponges Content marketing is part science and part art. Crafting compelling marketing messages may be something we can learn in a classroom or on the job, but drawing from a number of sources, using varying mediums and curating that information so that it tells one compelling story requires an “eyes-wide-open” personality type. Great content marketers are constantly soaking in information that impacts their story no matter the source. It could… read more
Is it Time to Update Your Digital Marketing Strategy?
February 28, 2013 - Posted by Amanda Norris
It seems like just yesterday when the goal of a social media marketing campaign was simple: to find a new way to get a client’s message in front of potential customers. Now, social media is interwoven with the fabric of our daily lives in ways that seemed far-fetched just a few years ago. And marketers have to offer much more than novelty to get and keep customers’ attention. If you haven’t taken a close look at how the digital world has changed in the past few years, it’s definitely time to update your digital marketing strategy. The reason is simple: what worked last year probably won’t be enough this year. The Four-Screen Generation Moira Davis, Vice President of Marketing at ESPN, describes the four-screen generation this way in an informative video that is part of Google’s “Think with Google” series: “Google research shows that the average consumer spends about 4.4… read more
Why You Need More than Content for Great Content Marketing
February 16, 2013 - Posted by Amanda Norris
Let me let you in on a little secret about content marketing: you need more than content to get the results your business needs. Of course, a smart content marketing strategy includes: A great website with content that delivers what customers and prospective customers want An active blog with posts that deliver valuable information that people want to read Social media campaigns with a good ratio of other people’s content vs. your content And, of course, content that isn’t solely focused on your products, and is actually being read or viewed by the target audience. But that isn’t enough to translate content marketing into sales. You also need a way to translate people’s enjoyment of your content into a desire for them to buy. What you need is to put the tried-and-true ACT Methodology into practice to turn your content marketing into a sales magnet. In her best-selling book, The… read more
Your 2013 Online Marketing Checklist
December 25, 2012 - Posted by Amanda Norris
‘Tis the season to make a list – and check it twice! What kind of a list? An online marketing checklist for 2013, of course. No matter how hectic your holiday is, it’s a sure bet that reviewing your 2012 results and making sure that you’re on track for 2013 is on your priority list – and if not, it should be! What do you need to have in place to insure that 2013 meets (or exceeds) your marketing goals? How can you make sure that you’re monitoring the right analytics, and measuring the right metrics, to make the best decisions about priorities and spending? Here’s a sample online marketing checklist to get you started. If you need help with any item on the checklist, be sure to contact The Marketing Zen Group to see how we can help you make 2013 the best year yet. Branding Do your brand… read more
Four Reasons To Market Your Business With Webinars
November 15, 2012 - Posted by Rilee Chastain
The benefits of using webinars as part of your marketing strategy. For many businesses who offer their clients specific products and services, their average web user is typically looking to be educated by their website. Whether they are specifically looking to learn more about what your company can do for them, how your services differ from your competitors or simply whether or not they would like to work with you one day, most visitors looking at your business site are in research mode and are hoping to learn something more about your company. One of the best ways to attract these potential customers to your site and keep them coming back for more is to continuously feature educational offers on your website that will not only give users the information that they are looking for, but also establishes your company as an expert in that particular topic or field of… read more