We hope you've been enjoying your Monday Morning Motivator. If you've received this issue for the first time - welcome aboard! It only takes a couple of minutes to start your week off right with the MMM! Be encouraged by the success or great ideas of others in your business community. The MMM has a community of 78,814 subscribers.
Note : Please add Adam Advertising Group (drago@adamadgroup.com) to your address book to ensure it is not zapped by your spam filter.
Content Marketing Is Now King
This week we came across an article from Mikal Belicove that we wanted to share with you. If you have ever talked with us about marketing you know that we put a premium on original content creation and seo strategies. Mikal's message may open your eyes as to the necessity of content creation for your business. (check out www.AskScott.ca and www.AskTom.ca as two examples that do extremely well as content creation sites)
Also check out Sherwood Park Dodge's latest example of content creation below or click here.
When it comes to marketing strategies, content marketing has just been crowned king, far surpassing search engine marketing, public relations and even print, television and radio advertising as the preferred marketing tool for today's business-to-business entrepreneur.
Late this summer, HiveFire, a Cambridge, Mass.-based internet marketing software solutions company, surveyed nearly 400 marketing professionals about the state of the business-to-business, or B2B, market, and discovered that marketers are retreating from traditional marketing tactics such as search marketing and have made content marketing the most-used tactic in their brand-enhancing tool box. Fact is, according to HiveFire's B2B Marketing Trends Survey Report, twice as many B2B marketers now employ content marketing as they do print, TV and radio advertising, according to the survey.
So what exactly is content marketing? It's the creation and publication of original content -- including blog posts, case studies, white papers, videos and photos -- for the purpose of generating leads, enhancing a brand's visibility, and putting the company's subject matter expertise on display. HiveFire's researchers found that an impressive 82 percent of B2B marketers now employ content marketing as a strategy in their marketing programs. Coming in at a distant second place is search engine marketing at 70 percent, followed by events at 68 percent, public relations at 64 percent and print/TV/radio advertising at 32 percent.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents said driving sales and leads was the top marketing goal of their organization, followed by boosting brand awareness and establishing or maintaining thought leadership (both at 35 percent). Another 28 percent said their primary goal was to increase web traffic and 24 percent said it was to improve search results.
Part of the popularity of content marketing is its ability to generate qualified leads while engaging prospects in a branded environment without busting the budget. Nearly half of the content marketers interviewed said they dedicate less than a third of their budgets to such marketing expenditures. In addition to frugality, B2B marketers also believe most of their customers and prospects are online, which is why they're focusing their marketing efforts on the Internet.
Finally, the survey shows that "content curation" -- which is defined as the process of finding, organizing and sharing content -- continues to gain strength as a top marketing strategy, up 17 percent from six months ago. Seen as a way for marketers to fuel their marketing programs, content curation does have its problems. Nearly 70 percent of content curators say lack of time hinders their efforts, with 66 percent saying a lack of original and quality content is a major drawback. Another 38 percent say difficulty in measuring results is the stumbling block and 37 percent say lack of staff to do the work is the hindrance.
Despite these issues, the survey makes clear that content marketing is only going to become more important going forward, whether you market to other businesses or to the public at large.
If you would like to find out more information on how content creation can help your business, give us a call. We're here to serve.
Have a great week unless you choose otherwise. (by the way you can also follow us on twitter now @AdamAdGroup)
PPS - We have some exciting news going on at The Adam Ad Group. We have spun out a new company to handle our amazing growth in online marketing, SEO, PPC , video production and business consulting services, our new company is called The Rainmaker Group. We are in the process of building new websites for Adam Ad Group and Rainmaker Group that will better showcase who we are and what we do.
We also recently announced the arrival of Arthur Zhang to The Rainmaker Group/Adam Ad Group. The team continues to grow. We are now pleased to welcome Gerry Shea as the latest addition. Gerry will be working with us to expand online marketing services in North America. Gerry is focused primarily on helping North American automotive businesses to expand market share while reducing marketing expenses by leveraging the web.
Gerry grew up in Kamloops where he ran a successful chiropractic clinic before a shoulder injury sustained while water skiing forced him to close the practice. In 2002 he began acquiring certifications and now Gerry is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA). Gerry worked as a Computer Network Engineer for a few years, which led to a passion in website production.
Prior to joining The Rainmaker/Adam Ad Group Gerry worked with ASL Internet, a full-service website development company specializing in design, production and maintenance of websites for the automotive industry. We are thrilled Gerry has joined us! If you'd like to learn more about howThe Rainmaker/ Adam Ad Group can assist you company to capitalize on the opportunities present on the web, email or call us at 604.937.8886.
Special Note : Many of you know that my 11 year old son has Type 1 Juvenille Diabetes. We are extremely excited to introduce to you our new program called MyBrandit.
This system offers our customers and subscribers, great selection, pricing and quality on all promotional products and merchandise. The products are hand selected as proven winners and the best part for us is that we will be able to donate a portion of all sales to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Please Click on the banner below to have a look around and let us know what you think! or copy and paste the following link into your browser http://adamadgroup.mybrandit.com/
Testimonial Of The Week - In a uncertain business climate, what is certain is the commitment and ability that Drago and his team deliver to develop successful strategies and campaigns for their clients.
Simply put, Drago and the Adam Advertising Group deliver results for their clients. Drago's foundation for success is based on a personable, focused and value based understanding of the client and their goals, the partners they choose to do business with and the ideas that deliver value and results to their customers.
We also wanted to say Thank You for allowing us to meet with you every Monday Morning. The MMM has experienced incredible growth with a subscriber base of 78,814 people.
This week we would like to recognize a very special couple who not only built a successful company but are making a difference out of a very tragic circumstance, Jack & Margaret Lee.
Jack Lee founded 4Refuel in 1995 and it has become one of North America’s fastest growing fuel logistics companies. The company manages nearly one billion litres of fuel per year and is currently growing at 26% annually. Then things took an unsuspecting turn when Jack and Margaret's daughter Janice took her own life, Monday, December 4, 2006. To read about Janice's story click here or copy and paste the following link into your browser (http://www.ok2bblue.com/History).
Jack and Margaret have taken this devastating situation and are making a difference by their creation of The Blue Wave Foundation. The purpose of BLUE WAVE and its website is to be a media/portal where youth and parents can learn about the challenges surrounding mental health issues.
The underlying message is that we all feel "Blue" from time to time, and that it is: OK2B BLUE. However, prolonged "Blueness" or depression, may be a symptom of what could be a more serious mental health issue if left untreated. Hence, the need for broadscale education relating to the mind which, in such cases, would raise awareness for early intervention.
Please help Jack and Margaret spread the message of The Blue Wave Foundation, by visiting or sharing the website with others. www.Ok2bblue.com
Contact Drago Adam at drago@AdamAdGroup.com or call 604 937 - 8886 or 866 923 - 6477
PS: Thank You for sharing your Monday Mornings with us. The MMM started three years ago with 35 subscribers, today's issue is going out to over 78,814 Weekly Subscribers.
