Successful Inbound Marketing and Public Relations Requires Content Marketing and SEO Work Together
This past week, I attended webinars, started studying books, and read articles with a common theme: When content marketing and SEO work together, long term, impactful business goals are achieved.
This resounding theme also touches upon another key element: a publishing strategy integrating content marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) is sustainable. These experts share their views on important changes in marketing organization (and individual) skills, mindsets, and organizational structures.
That’s a huge deal for all businesses:
Large Corporations
Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Freelance Professionals
Here are links to these great articles on where inbound marketing and public relations are heading to deliver more meaningful business outcomes and results.
A second straight quarter of increased user growth: 16 million new users
Revenue doubled to $312 million (driven by mobile use and mobile ad consumption)
Mobile advertising accounts for 81% of total ad revenues
The stock price spiked 29% in after hours trading
271 million monthly active users
How Twitter’s Investor Relations Team (@TwitterIR) framed these positive results is worth studying. Their critical and judgmental audience includes (but is not limited to):
Wall Street Analysts
Technology Journalists / Bloggers
Mutual Funds Managers
Silicon Valley Competitors
Individual Investors
Writing and storytelling skills are important in the financial and investment community. Investor Relations Teams are tasked with building credibility, trust, and transparency. The ability to convey confidence with a compelling and memorable story (particularly when financial performance suffers) makes or breaks organizations.
Real-time, Internet speed and scope, play a crucial role in addressing public scrutiny. Here are three (3) writing and storytelling tips I learned from the Twitter Investor Relations Team.
And, it maximized this competitive advantage during the July 29th earnings call. Topsy analysis shows @TwitterIR‘s (Twitter’s Investor Relations Team) published 23 real-time tweets supporting the earnings presentation.
Topsy Query for @TwitterIR July 29 Tweets
Tip 2. Be Simple and Concise
Communicating financial analyses (or other complex information) into simple, bite-size messages isn’t easy. Twitter’s Investor Relations Team addresses this challenge head-on knowing they have to frame a memorable, compelling story in “pulses” of 140 characters or less. I’m sure their rehearsals resulted in multiple iterations of tweets to constantly refine and simplify the gameday message.
According to Topsy, here’s the top tweet during the July 29th call …
Topsy Twitter IR Top Tweet
Topsy Top Twitter IR Tweet
… and it clocks in at 136 characters (with spaces).
Tip 3. Draw Pictures for Key Messages
Twitter’s Steady, Consistent Positive Revenue Growth. Note: I drew the red arrow.
As an individual Twitter investor, I appreciate and respect the Investor Relations Team sharing key metrics like quarterly revenue, EBITDA, and net income. But, the tweet has too much math for my simple brain.
The hyperlink and chart are vital. They impart two (2) positive impressions:
“We know you want more details. Here’s where you can find/analyze the details.”
Writing to summarize results and convey information
Writing to communicate ideas or explain informaton clearly
Incorporating information to develop strategic insights
57 Resources to Land that First Marketing Job
There's Hope, If You're Willing to Put in the Work. These various resources are categorized to aid recent college graduates who majored in marketing and communications (or current students majoring in these fields) during their full-time job search (or an internship search for current students).
These resources (along with resources from previous posts in this series) can give recent graduates ideas, strategies, and tactics providing a competitive advantage not only in the job search but also in developing several of the requisite skills and knowledge employers say recent graduates lack.
The categories are listed below with a make-shift table of contents:
Resource 1: Your Online Portfolio, Evan Kirsch and FolioMatch.com
Resources 2 – 9: Resources / Ideas from Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Mitch Joel, and David Meerman Scott
Resources 10 – 18: Career Success Ideas from Dan Schawbel for Young People and Millenials
Resources 19 – 20: Job Search 101
Resources 21 – 28: Interviewing 101 (and Beyond)
Resources 29 – 30: Using Twitter's Real-Time Capabilities to Power Your Job Search
Resources 31 – 46: 21st Century Marketing and Communications: Walk-the-Walk and Talk-the-Talk
Resources 47 – 49: LinkedIn
Resources 50 – 51: Preparing Your Resume
Resources 52 – 57: Inspiration on Demand
Resources 2 – 57 are in no particular ranking or order. I included numbers to track the number of items and subsequently group them with some logic.
Addressing Unmet Needs. FolioMatch.com fulfills HUGE unmet needs for young people who may have recently graduated, will graduate in Spring 2014, or are current college students seeking internship opportunities while in school:
Providing a living/breathing, on-demand online portfolio capturing all relevant projects, class assigments, internship deliverables / work products, accomplishments, awards, etc. throughout a college student's four-year college career
Making it easy to manage and deploy this online portfolio in a one-screen world
Devoting a career-focused, portfolio-centric, social network for a narrow audience (college students AND ambitious high school students)
From the Video."We started FolioMatch to be a one-stop resource for a student to keep track of all the projects they've completed over the years. Since then we have started sponsoring educational challenges so that we could help boost the content of students' portfolios."
Required Full Disclosure / Am I Receiving Any Money / Am I Receiving Any Equity / Am I an Advisory Board Member and other Boilerplate B.S. I Have to Write For Speaking So Highly of Evan and FolioMatch.com. I receive zero, nada, nothing, and any other cliche, etc. in financial compensation for talking up Evan and FolioMatch.com.
If you're a parent who's worried your son/daughter who graduates from college in Spring 2014 may face difficulty in this brutal job market (because the odds are he/she will), go to the FolioMatch.com site and register.
2.Tom Peters / Fast Company: The Brand Called YOU: This August 1997 article is the original classic highlighting the rising importance of personal branding. Mr. Peters was ahead of his time in publishing and describing these timeless career management principles.
Bonus.David Meerman Scott — Inbound Job Search: David published this video on December 2nd. He shares five (5) inspiring stories about people publishing creative and remarkable content to win dream jobs. One of the stories is how his daughter, Allison Meerman Scott, leveraged her personal blog to differentiate herself from thousands of outstanding Columbia University undergraduate applicants to win admission!
I do. And, even though he's 20 years younger, I believe his teachings apply to any age group or professional experience level. He's the epitome of entrepreneurial hustle
These Mashable articles do a great job in describing the basics AND the things to do to stand out. The common theme here is "put in the work." No magical formulas. Just get to work.
The common theme throughout these articles: Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Do this and you'll eliminate 50% – 60% of your competition before walking in the room.
When it comes to real-time news and responsiveness, there's Twitter and then there's everybody else. Leverage its real-time capabilities to your advantage. Finding out about that open, entry-level position before other candidates is a competitive advantage.
You don't have to memorize vocabulary lists by rote. But, you have to credibly demonstrate your awareness of how marketing, communications, and public relations are constantly changing.
51. LinkedIn Labs Resume Builder: This handy app transforms your LinkedIn Profile into a PDF resume. Therefore, fill out your LinkedIn profile with as much detail as you can.
Inspiration On Demand
52. to 55. LinkedIn Influencers — My First Job Job Series: If you're getting down on yourself during the process, GO HERE IMMEDIATELY. Everyone had to start out somewhere. That includes some of the world's most influential movers & shakers in every industry.
My First Job. I started out as an unpaid, summer laboratory tech intern / dishwasher at The Washington University School of Medicine. Luckily for me, the department's head researcher paid me that fall because my boss said I was a good guy.
56. Jonathan Fields — The Good Life Project: Jonathan is an A-List entrepreneur and a person driven to help others succeed personally and professionally via entrepreneurship. His video interviews are inspiring.
57. Video: Best Day of My Life (Dog Version) by American Authors: Trust me, this video will make you feel soooooo good after watching it no matter how bad you feel. And, it's probably why American Authors are my new favorite band and why this song is now my all-time favorite.
Closing Thoughts
This is post five (and the final one) in a series to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships.
If you're a college graduate looking for work, a concerned parent, a worried relative, or a current college student, please let me know in the comments if the content here helped (or if it didn't).
What should be kept on this list? What should be taken off? What resources did I miss? What should be added?
Please help me in continuously improving this page as a helpful resource to others.
"A bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence or capability."
Suggested Authors / Books to Help Undergraduate Marketing Majors Land that First Job After College
These suggested authors / books are not of the "cookie cutter" or "10 easy steps on how-to land your first job out of college / summer internship in a lousy economy" variety. They share creative ideas to show a potential employer "you're more than a resume and the grades on a college transcript". Their teachings maximize the Internet's global reach and leverage search engines to your advantage.
In my opinion, if you graduated with a marketing and/or communications degree (or are currently studying these undergraduate majors), the following authors and books are REQUIRED READING.
Note: I am not an Amazon Affiliate Program Member. I respect the following authors because of their invaluable advice on how to develop a credible and professional online presence.
David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, bestselling author of eight books including three international bestsellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media.
Why The New Rules of Marketing & PR Matters
The New Rules of Marketing & PR is in its 4th Edition, has sold 300,000+ copies, and is translated in 25 languages.
Marketing and communications students will learn from this book the value of:
Thinking Like a Publisher (e.g. managing and creating content as a valuable asset)
Tactfully and Skillfully Informing the World About Your Expertise
Creating Varieties of Content Demonstrating That Expertise
Building, Understanding, and Targeting Your Audience Via Buyer Persona Profiles
Commenting on Other Blogs to Build Online Credibility and Relationships
Giving Away Your Expertise by Publishing and Distributing Free E-Books
Here's David discussing the latest release of The New Rules of Marketing & PR:
"An e-book is a PDF-formatted document that identifies a market problem and supplies an answer to the problem. E-books have a bit of intrigue to them — like hip younger sibling to the nerdy white paper."
If you click on the image captions, the hyperlinks will take you to the respective, eBook PDF download pages.
If I've said it once, I've said it 43 other times. Ann Handley is the best writer and storyteller in the New Media Business. Her writing and storytelling makes you:
Ann and C.C. share clear, actionable advice built on two (2) governing principles:
Thinking and Acting Like a Publisher
Publishing Helpful, Remarkable Content
Content Defined. Words, images, videos comprise content and can take the form of:
Web Pages
Videos
Blogs
Photographs
Webinars
Whitepapers
eBooks
Podcasts
Presentations
Social Outposts (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.)
Learning Through Great Storytelling and Writing. Great writing makes reading Content Rules enjoyable. And, studying it helps you ask the right questions about content strategy execution:
Goal Setting: Who is Your Audience? What Metrics Will Determine You're Succeeding (or Failing)?
Defining: What Content Type(s) Should You Publish?
Publishing: How Often to Publish (by content type)? What are the Platform Considerations (i.e., blog posts, tweets, Facebook updates, LinkedIn Group discussions, etc.)?
Promoting: How to Share Content (without the cologne of a used car salesman).
More importantly, they share practical advice for budget-constrained marketing teams wondering:
How Do We Start?
What's the RIGHT Content Strategy for US?
Pages 22 to 24 to the Rescue. The Content Rules of Why & Who (or Grab Your Colleagues, Tons of Sticky Notes, Lots of Paper, and Thrash Through the Following Questions):
Whom are you trying to reach (e.g., your audience, clients, customers)?
What does your audience crave (e.g., content that informs, entertains, something else)?
What do you want your audience to do (e.g., motivate it to do X, figure out the calls-to-action)?
What content do you already have (e.g. take a content inventory)?
Wake Up (because this is a long post, and I can hear you snoring)! How about re-imagining those boring bullets into something differentiating and remarkable:
Content Rules Video Update with C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley. C.C. and Ann made this September 2010 video before the book's release. It's a great example of practicing what they preach and seeing the human side of great content marketing.
Walk-the Walk and Talk-the-Talk.Inbound Marketing is the second book I studied about digital marketing strategy (The New Rules of Marketing & PR being the first). If you're a serious marketing and communications graduate (or current MAR-COMM undergraduate) and want to "rock it" in your interview, you have to study and learn Inbound Marketing's principles COLD. Published in 2010, Brian and Dharmesh's teachings preceded much of the current and future implications of marketing and digital strategy:
Foundation principles and relevance of inbound links, SEO, Google Authority, Page Rank so potential customers/clients find you (instead of you interrupting them)
The underlying principles behind “closed loop” marketing (CLM)
Inbound Marketing provides clues to what a genuine, 21st century digital-driven organization looks for in employees. Hubspot utilizes its DARC framework when evaluating potential hires:
D = Hire Digital Citizens
A = Hire for Analytical Chops
R = Hire for Web Reach
C = Hire Content Creators
If you can'tanswer the following HubSpot interview questions while simultaneously providing real-time "show-them-the-money" on-screen, digital evidence, YOU'RE HOSED. Here are example interview questions from pages 170-171 and page 173 of Inbound Marketing (within the context of your interviewer verifying your answers on her/his laptop, tablet, or smartphone):
Interview Questions Evalutating Depth of Digital Citizenship:
What RSS reader do you use? Can you show it to me?
What blogs do you read?
Do you rank first for your name in Google?
Do you have a blog? Can you show to me?
Do you use Facebook or LinkedIn? When was the last time you updated your profile?
Do you have a channel on YouTube? Can you show it to me?
Interview Questions Evaluating Web Reach:
How many subscribers to your blog? Do you talk about our industry on your blog or about personal stuff?
How many Facebook followers do you have? Do you talk about our industry at all on your Facebook account?
How many LinkedIn followers do you have?
How many Twitter followers do you have? Do you talk about our industry on you Twitter account?
Closing Thoughts
My apologies for not finishing / publishing this post by the originally stated timeline. My "day job" is crazy/hectic especially as the 2013 4Q ticks away. That's okay (because that's the job).
Please tune in for the this series's next post: a comprehensive list of online resources (i.e., websites, blogs, blog articles, etc) to help recent college graduates and current college students land full-time jobs or internships. The HUGE list will easily comprise "20+ Resources."
Please give me a couple weeks to consolidate this list, provide context, and hit "publish."
Your Turn: What is your opinion of the books listed here? Have you read any of them? If so, how did the book(s) content create an opportunity for differentiating yourself either before, during, or after the interview? What books did I leave off? What additional books would recommend?
Please let me know. It would be great to hear from you!
Note: This is post four in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships. If interested, here are links to other posts in this series:
I loved reading the January 1, 2012 New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller: Google Bases a Campaign on Emotions, Not Terms. Her article explains Google's distinctive philosophical change towards marketing and advertising. For Google to acknowledge investing more time and resources to actively promote its products and services stands in stark contrast to the image of "cold engineers" hating anything related to marketing, advertising, or public relations as described in Ken Auletta's great book, Googled.
Why Google Reinvented Its Marketing
"A Remarkable Transformation." What's driving this "remarkable transformation for Google" as noted in the article by Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix, a firm that evaluates TV and video ads?
Ms. Cain Miller's article cites two business drivers:
Finding New Revnue Sources Beyond Search Ads. Google needs new businesses like the Chrome browser and the Google Plus social network to succeed.
Focusing, Paring Down, and Integrating Google's Offerings. This is part of Larry Page's mission as CEO to pare down Google's product offering and make these products more attractive, intuitive, and integrated with one another.
Does This Sound Like The Voice of a Cold Engineer?
"As we got bigger, we had more competition, more products, more messages to consumers, so we needed to do a bit more to communicate what thse products are and how you can use them."
"If we don't make you cry, we fail. It's about emotion, which is bizarre for a tech company."
Sounds Like Marketing From the Heart. But, make no mistake Google still bases its decisions on rigorous, fact-based data analysis. And, the article further describes the significant data analyses and testing that went into planning its first Super Bowl commercial (e.g., dozens of tests) and a 140-tab spreadsheet used in location planning for Google Zeitgeist (the company's annual conference for it's biggest advertisers).
Don't Pitch. Tell a Story.
The Google Video Advertisements Cited in the New York Times Article. The article mentions the following successful advertising videos because Google uses storytelling versus product pitching. I've pulled them all together in this post.
It's Not About Features and Benefits. Notice how we can all relate to each of these stories. In particular, the two (2) Google Chrome videos mention nothing about Chrome as the world's fastest web browser.
These stories are moving, emotional, and entertaining. What's their emotional impact on you?
* Number of Members: Tens of thousands of companies, agencies and institutions worldwide
* Audiences Served: Thousands of media points through satellite delivery, tens of thousands more through email and fax delivery, more than 600 television stations, and reporters and bloggers from 27,000 news organizations registered for PR Newswire for Journalists, http://www.prnewswire.com/media, plus the general public and millions of investment professionals through more than 5,500 websites, online databases and financial networks.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Benefits. Earning coverage and an inbound link from PR Newswire provides important SEO and Google Rank benefits. Each one builds authority in Google's search engine algorithm:
* SEO Benefit #1: The PR Newswire inbound link equates to an influential and authoritative online vote because many websites link to PR Newswire's site.
* SEO Benefit #2: PR Newswire's inbound link helps increase Social Media ReInvention Blog's online reputation and credibility in social media marketing, social media strategy, and public relations strategy.
* SEO Benefit #3: Social Media ReInvention Blog's exposure to PR Newswire's wide audience increases the likelihood of more people discovering this blog.
What a Way to Start the Weekend! Achieving this online milestone is both thrilling and humbling. It's taken hard work and commitment. And, that hard work and commitment will continue.
Full Disclosure: My employer provides management consulting advice to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. The opinions and content published within this blog post are mine only.
The Challenge. As cited by the article, the FDA will conduct a hearing on June 28th – June 29th to "focus on competing interpretations of medical data about Avastin's effectiveness in delaying the spread of late-stage breast tumors." The FDA wants the upcoming hearing focused on scientific data. However, Avastin's manufacturer, wants patients to be able to testify.
What's at Stake: Drug Access and Reimbursement. The Wall Street Journal quotes Avastin's cost around $88,000 for a series of injections. The article further states: "The Kalley's say that if the FDA withdraws approval for Avastin as a breast cancer treatment, insurers and Medicare might not cover the costs, even though doctors can still prescribe it for breast cancer."
A Case Study in Integrated Public Relations Strategy
Traditional and Digital Public Relations (PR). Mr. Kalley's and AQABA Web Technologies public relations strategy aligns the support of influential legislators and policy makers and builds public awareness through social media channels. These traditional and digital tactics form an integrated public relations strategy that informs, publicizes, and rallies support from important stakeholders:
Breast cancer patients
Physicians
Lawmakers
News media
* Traditional PR. Meet face-to-face with key Michigan legislators and influential Capitol Hill policy makers. In addition, The Wall Street Journal article references that The Kalleys would be meeting with Avastin's company representatives.
* Digital PR. Publicize in the online channels when meetings with Michigan legislators took place and with who (readily observable in the Freedom of Access to Medicines Twitter stream).
* Digital PR and Traditional PR. Promote within the online channels (i.e., Twitter, Facebook) positive media coverage (i.e., the recent Wall Street Journal article appeared on the front page of WSJ's print Marketplace Section).
Building Public Awareness Via a Social Media Home Base
The Freedom of Access to Medicines Home Page. Mr. Kalley and AQABA created a foundation web page to increase public awareness and build patient advocacy. The web page acts as the home base for the foundation's public and media awareness activities:
Easily Connecting Through Social Channels. If you scroll further down the home page, you'll find the following social media "buttons" on the bottom right-hand section of the foundation's home page. Easily finding these social media "buttons" is critical so the foundation can quickly connect with supporters and advocates who can further spread its mission through online word-of-mouth.
LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook are Social Media Content Distribution Outposts
Four (4) Social Media Outposts. The "home base and outpost model" leads viewers back to The Freedom of Access home page from selected social networks. The four outposts distribute content that:
Describes a physician-patient discussion on drug access and reimbursement
Provides real-time updates of important meetings with key legislators/policy makers
Promotes the mission of the foundation
Thanks supporters sharing testimonials
For more information on using a content outpost approach as part of an overall public relations or social media strategy, here are additional resources:
How Freedom of Access to Medicines Leverages Twitter. Real-time updates about meetings with key government officials and policymakers are part of the content strategy. Twitter plays a significant role in promoting the foundation's activities with these stakeholders:
How Freedom of Access to Medicines Leverages Facebook. The foundation's Facebook page provides more detailed updates beyond Twitter's 140 character limits. Facebook's status updates provide summaries and links to online articles the foundation wants to share with supporters.
How Freedom of Access to Medicines Leverages LinkedIn. Mr. Kalley leverages the SEO benefits of his LinkedIn Profile because the #1 Google search result for his name is his LinkedIn Profile:
His LinkedIn Profile describes the foundation's patient advocacy mission and objectives in the Professional Experience Summary Section:
Conclusion
The Freedom of Access to Medicines Blog Launched on May 1st. As of the original publication of this post, the missing piece in the Freedom of Access to Medicines digital public relations portfolio was a blog. However, The Freedom of Access to Medicines Blog launched on May 1st.
Initiative and Creativity in Public Relations. The Freedom of Access Medicines example showcases how an organization can harness The Internet's global scale and reach particularly through social media. Similarly, The Wall Street Journal article references how Avastin's manufacturer employs Weber Shandwick (a large, global public relations firm) to garner public and media support.
One Person's Individual Efforts Augmented by Integrated Social Media Tactics Can Make a Difference. I'm sure other organizations and individuals are taking notice of Mr. Kalley's and AQABA'S combined face-to-face and digital efforts. I plan on following the results all the way to the June 28th – June 29th finish line.
