Content Marketing Predictions for 2012: My First Exposure on Joe Pulizzi's Site

Top 15 Content Marketing Predictions for 2012 screenshot

What a great way to start the day! I ran through my Google Mail and received a Google Alert stating that there's an article featuring my name, "Celine Francisco." 

So curious, I clicked on the link that followed and whoa... http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/top-15-content-marketing-predictions-for-2012-0111000#comment-403953

This article, by Joe Pulizzi, features the top 15 Content Marketing Predictions for 2012 -- and indeed, it's my pleasure to have been included on the list. :)

Content Marketing jobs will be at their peak due to the constant need and hunger for lead nurturing mechanisms.

(boxed in pink) My Prediction :)

Top 5 Essentials of Internet Marketing

Upon learning more about internet marketing, what could be the first ones to consider as part of one's digital marketing plans/strategies? Here are the top five, plus another one (to compliment the first five).


1. Content Marketing
2. Inbound Marketing
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Email Marketing
5. Mobile Marketing
6. Integrated Marketing

These are basically the list from Bernie Borges' article "The 5 Pillars of Digital Marketing." Read more to learn about each pillar.

Week 3: Blog Branding in Business

          Entrepreneur aptly defines branding as “the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.” The useful brand strategy provides an entrepreneur a considerable edge in a competitive market situation. The brand conveys to potential clients what to look forward to your products and services. It also distinguishes your commodity from what is being sold by other enterprises.

Understand Branding

            Your brand is what customers, friends and rivals know about your business. The belief of most people is that the theory of branding is all about logos and packaging. Actually, the aspects of branding – logos, websites, marketing, layouts and content are not all that matter. There are other vital factors such as promoting customer knowledge and interaction with your goods and services. You have to employ marketing tactics and strategies to promote constant interface with your client base.

Networking

            You have to be an expert in networking. You can only build and publicize your brand through establishing a massive set of connections. It pays to interact a lot and be present in prominent networking activities. It is not enough to give our business cards away. Be sincere and determine what you can do for other people. Develop long-term relationships and convince people that you are there to listen to them and extend a helping hand. It is not enough to be physically present in these events.

            Create a unique and positive impression. You cannot generate a constructive reputation overnight. According to ideamarketers, “every business has an image, regardless of whether it has tried to create one or not. It is made up of the way that it is perceived by its employees and its customers, and also by the general public. It is essential that the image reflects your commitment to quality, excellence and more importantly to how you deal with relationships.” Remember to be honest and straightforward in your dealings with the people in your network.

            Make sure to convey a deep-seated and unswerving brand message. Take the business card as an example. One advice from experienced businessmen is to produce a so-called personal brand card and come up with an impressive slogan that stands for your personal brand message. If possible, include your catchphrase and a link to your email signature.

Building your Brand Online

            It is necessary to build a strong brand. This has been said and written about over and over again. You need to invest in your brand online not only through financial resources but to build an “entity that will resonate with your customers and keep them coming back again and again even when there is no deal or promotion to entice them. Searchengineland stresses that “putting in place your brand online will certainly heighten responsiveness and strengthen your reputation. The more people are attracted to your brand, the bigger the chances that they will aggressively search for it and stay loyal to you. Never regret the fact that you have invested so much in your brand. Continue to do so!”

Week 2: Your Branding Toolkit

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vincentteeuwen/

There are various tools in creating an effective and powerful brand for your blog. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is an essential instrument in branding. According to K2SEO, “branding is very important idea to hold simply because it sums up everything about your business that will leave an eternal impression on prospects. Once a prospect visits your site through search engine optimization and if you have done branding properly then probability of him coming back increases.”

RSS & Linked In

There are other widely-accepted techniques such as RSS feeds which means “subscribing to the feed of a website.” On the other hand, LinkedIn is the biggest social networking site that concentrates on the business aspect and a precious means for people who want to get jobs. It is also a way of increasing your network. It has been described as the “most clutter-free social network which is full of information and people who are eager to take part in active chat.”

Twitter

About.com describes Twitter as “social messaging.” It allows somebody to “follow people and have followers, and with the ability to have interaction with Twitter on your cell phone, Twitter has become the perfect social messaging tool. Whether you are out on the town and want to coordinate with a group of people as to what hotspot to hit next, or keeping people informed of developments at a company-sponsored event, Twitter is a great tool for quickly communicating a message to a group of people.”

Nowadays, Twitter, along with Facebook, have become vital devices in building a persuasive brand for your blog.

Facebook

        Facebook is a world-renowned social networking website that is meant to link up with friends, relatives and business colleagues.

      Wisegeek.com, Facebook was founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. It spread in campuses like wildfire and expanded beyond Harvard into other Ivy League schools. With the phenomenon growing in popularity, Zuckerberg enlisted two other students, Duston Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, to assist him. Within months, it became a nationwide college networking website. At that time, it was only available to schools, universities, organizations, and companies within English-speaking countries. However, it has expanded to other communities globally to include almost everybody. Facebook users create a profile page that shows to all their friends any information about themselves. The choice to include a profile in a network means that everyone within that network can view the profile. 

Google Alerts

Google alerts enable you to obtain web content updates sent to your email inbox directly based on keywords. Google Alerts are interesting because of elasticity. Aside from videos, “you can set it up to surf the Internet in general, blogs, and Google Groups. There's also a comprehensive option that will do all of the above. To keep your inbox from overflowing, you can set up the frequency of alerts, too. There's a simple drop down to select once a day, once a week, and an as-it-happens option that will send you notifications the second Google finds it.”