Reflecting on 2015 & Gearing Up For Digital Marketing Innovation in 2016

This year brought many opportunities for innovation, creativity and growth for the team at TopRank Marketing.

On a personal note, I was beyond excited to re-join the team and dive head first into my new role as Director of Agency Marketing. In this role, part of my responsibilities include ensuring that our team provides creative, engaging, actionable and innovative content for our blog readers each week.

In 2015, our team published nearly 300 blog posts and amassed over 1.4 million unique pageviews for our blog content alone. Keeping the content engine running is an essential part of what we do at TopRank Marketing and I’m pleased to report the numbers above. Nearly a million of the pageviews above were generated from Organic Search which means that our strategy to optimize customers and search engines has led people to our content.

As part of our online community, I’d like to use this post to give you a glimpse into some highlights of 2015 for our team, as well as some exciting changes coming in 2016.

Executive Team Member Promotions

It’s always a great day when we are able to promote one of our own to a leadership position within the organization. The two women below have both shown exceptional drive, dedication and leadership to the team long before earning these executive promotions.

Jolina Pettice has been promoted from Director of Operations to the company’s Vice President. With 10 years of experience at TopRank Marketing, Pettice has performed a number of essential duties including managing Fortune 500 search, content and social media marketing programs for large enterprise organizations.

Alexis Hall was recently promoted from Senior Account Manager to Director of Client Accounts where she leads the account management team. Alexis began her career at TopRank Marketing as an Account Coordinator and she recently celebrated 5 years at the agency and oversees client programs for large software and healthcare companies.

Welcoming New Talent to TopRank Marketing

In addition to promoting current employees to leadership positions, we also added some fresh, creative and innovative talent to our roster. While we do have quite a few new team members start this year, here are some of our most recent additions to the TopRank Marketing Family:

Kevin Cotch joined TopRank Marketing’s SEO team as a SEO Analyst earlier this year. Kevin’s experience as well as his willingness to dive in and help solve complex technical SEO issues has made him a welcome addition to the team.

Another awesome addition to the SEO team was Julia Ramos as a SEO Copywriter. I will be the first to tell you that Julia is not your average copywriter. Her attention to detail, in-depth research and analytical brain have elevated the level of service that we are able to provide to all clients across the board.  

Knute Sands is one of our newest Account Manager’s and has a killer combination of account management and content experience. This makes him uniquely qualified to work with some of our biggest clients on their content marketing strategies and initiatives.

Last, but certainly not least was the addition of Caitlin Burgess as a Content Marketing Lead. Caitlin’s roots in traditional journalism and digital marketing have made her a content marketing machine!

While TopRank Marketing has already doubled its staff since 2013, they are always on the hunt for talented digital marketers. Open positions can be found on the career page of the website.

Building New Client Relationships in Banking & Telecom

TopRank Marketing’s reputation for delivering industry leading digital marketing services and achieving results has recently attracted multiple new clients including a leading fraud protection firm and banking services company with engagements focused on online advertising services and analytics. Additionally, a well-known IT and telecom company recently engaged the agency for content marketing services.

Our legacy clients and new clients have all taught us so much about how to provide value and help them solve problems through our digital marketing consulting and services. All of our clients continue to be a valuable resource and we are so thankful for the opportunity to work with and get to know each and every one of them.

Changing Locations But Not Values

The expansion of our business led us on a quest to find a new office space to better suit our growing needs. As of January 4th, we will be leaving the shores of lake minnetonka and moving to the 55 West Financial Center.

This new space will allow us to continue to develop our team of rockstar marketers, put us closer to local clients and encourage even more collaboration between teams.

If you’re interested, here is where you can find our new office:

55 West Financial Center
10405 6th Ave. N.
Suite 250
Minneapolis, MN 55441

Catching Up With TopRank Marketing President, Susan Misukanis

The heart and soul of our organization has been built by those that have spent time in the trenches building this company from the ground up. One of those people is our President and Co-Founder, Susan Misukanis. I was able to catch a few minutes with her and get some very open and honest reflections about TopRank Marketing’s past, as well as a glimpse into what our office move could mean for the organization.

Q: What are some of the things that you’re most proud of about TopRank Marketing?

A: All of TopRank Marketing’s Clients, small, medium and large who have supported us as we grew, taught us valuable lessons, and have given us the privilege of serving them over the past 15 years.

I’m also extremely proud of the the talented TopRank Marketing team members whose commitment to serving our clients is unmatched.

Q: What is one of the biggest lessons that you’ve learned in the digital marketing business?

A: One lesson we keep learning is how important it is to be committed to hiring the highest achievers and marketing talent who are truly focused getting the best results for our clients!

Q: If you could pick one thing to do over, what would it be?

A: I’m anticipating that we should have moved closer to Minneapolis sooner in order to attract talent who are not up for the drive to Lake Minnetonka. Thank you to all our team members who have enjoyed the daily drive around the lake to get to us!

Q: What are some expectations you have for our new office space?

A: I think that this move will help us attract and retain even more of those talented digital marketers that we are looking for to join our team. We will also have more flexibility with a new and larger space that allows team members to work in private or a collaborate in a team environment.

Wishing You A Happy, Healthy & Innovative New Year

Beyond our move to a new office, new team members and clients, we’re incredibly excited to be part of an industry that is constantly evolving and innovating at a rapid pace. The bar is constantly being raised and we look forward to providing you creative and compelling content in the new year, and continuing to expand our service offering for our amazing clients.

What are you looking forward to most in the new year?

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | Reflecting on 2015 & Gearing Up For Digital Marketing Innovation in 2016 | http://www.toprankblog.com

The post Reflecting on 2015 & Gearing Up For Digital Marketing Innovation in 2016 appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

How to Increase Your Social Profile Without Paying for Ads by @IAmAaronAgius

You don’t have to pay for ads to boost your social profile, but you will have to work that much harder to attain it. Are you willing to put in the effort?

The post How to Increase Your Social Profile Without Paying for Ads by @IAmAaronAgius appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

3 Super Simple SEO Strategies You Probably Forgot About by @neilpatel

Neil Patel shares three SEO strategies that are so simple, you might be surprised you’ve overlooked them.

The post 3 Super Simple SEO Strategies You Probably Forgot About by @neilpatel appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Influencer Marketing Predictions

This year, headlines throughout the marketing blogosphere proclaimed that influencer marketing is “the next big thing.”

At TopRank Marketing, we have been refining our influencer marketing strategy for nearly a decade. It’s our past, present, and next big thing. When done well, influencer marketing can boost brand credibility, provide valuable exposure for the brand and the influencer and create killer content your audience will love.

Now that influencer marketing has officially arrived, how will it evolve in 2016? We asked our in-house experts, and some of our favorite marketers outside the TopRank Marketing team, for their opinion.Here are the influencer marketing predictions for 2016.

Steve Rayson

Director, BuzzSumo
@steverayson

I think one opportunity is to build relationships with a small group of influencers (6-10) that have relatively few followers but high engagement rates. To do this find well shared content that is highly relevant to your area. Analyze who shared this content and filter those with high retweet rates (on average how many times their tweets are retweeted) but relatively few followers. Develop relationships by answering questions they ask on Twitter, sharing their content, commenting on their blogs, attending their webinars and meeting them in person if you can; and above all, ask how you can help them.

Lee Odden

CEO, TopRank Marketing
@leeodden

As consumers become increasingly numb to formal marketing messages and advertising, their trust in information from peers, social network connections and industry experts has increased.

A few interesting statistics about influencer marketing:

• 84% of B2B buyers start the purchasing process with a referral. (LinkedIn)
• 92% of consumers rely on referrals from people they know above all else (TapInfluence)
• 81% of those surveyed considered influencer engagement to be effective or very effective for meeting their objectives (Augure)
• $6.85 for every $1 spent – This is the average media value earned by brands who implemented influencer marketing. (Burst Media / RhythmOne)

In 2016 I think we’ll see more brands expand their view of how to incorporate influencers as partners in content co-creation vs. simply as another promotion and advertising channel.

We’ll also see higher expectations of influencers themselves. Popularity is not influence and brands that use influencer marketing will expect more than mentions and social shares. Those influencers capable of affecting real business outcomes will become even more in demand and valuable.

To take advantage of the growing value of influencers, sophisticated marketers will begin to better distinguish between different kinds of influencers and the characteristics that make them the best match for marketing programs.

Influencer Marketing software will lead the way towards effectively identifying, qualifying, recruiting, engaging, managing and measuring influencer marketing performance. Companies that achieve higher levels of expertise with this kind of software will achieve a distinct competitive advantage in their respective industries.

Amanda Maksymiw

Senior Content Marketing Manager, Lattice Engines
@amandamaks

Companies just getting into influencer marketing must understand that there isn’t a silver bullet or trick to overnight success. It takes time to build valuable relationships with influencers that produce results. You need to engage on social media, comment on blog posts, leave book reviews, interact in person (if possible), etc. In 2016, companies will realize that it’s the time for a less is more approach. Instead of targeting a list of influencers that is too large to manage and relying on automated tactics, marketers will focus on a smaller group so they can focus on more personalized, less automated outreach to garner big wins.

Susan Misukanis

President, TopRank Marketing
@smisukanis

In 2016, there is a prime opportunity for marketers to take their influencer marketing strategies to the next level. The competitive marketplace will require these marketers to become more strategic and creative in their approach. Instead of simply adding influencers here and there to content assets, it will be essential that they incorporate a campaign driven approach to get true value out of these programs.

Those that are truly innovative, will take a measurable campaign driven approach AND incorporate a layer of storytelling to truly connect their audience to the influencer-based content.

Smart marketers with true content chops will do some math this year:

Amy Higgins

Director of Content Marketing, Deem
@amywhiggins

Many marketers today think of influencer marketing as a campaign, or a one-off. They co-create a series of deliverables with a limited number of influencers designed to bring about a particular result. To me, this is like coloring inside the lines. I predict that beginning in 2016 marketers will learn to color outside the lines of a campaign.

As a marketer, you’d never create a single campaign that focuses on your brand’s voice. Instead, you’ll weave your brand’s  voice into any and all content that you create. By utilising influencers throughout all of your marketing efforts, you can increase your reach and engagement. So then, why do marketers still compartmentalize influencers? By not weaving influencers into all of your marketing and coloring inside the lines of a campaign, you are missing a huge opportunity for your business. In 2016, let’s color outside the lines with influencer marketing!

What Are Your Influencer Marketing Predictions for 2016?

Influencer marketing enjoyed a surge of popularity in 2015, and the best practices are sure to evolve in the coming year. At TopRank, we will continue to explore new tools, platforms and strategies to keep learning and improving.

What are your company’s influencer marketing plans for 2016? Let us know in the comments.

Want to learn more about influencer marketing? Check out our website or contact us directly and let us know how we can help.

Disclosure: Deem is a TopRank Marketing client.

Header image via Shutterstock

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Influencer Marketing Predictions | http://www.toprankblog.com

The post TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Influencer Marketing Predictions appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Google Confirms No Loss in Link Authority on HTTPS Implementation by @mattsouthern

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The post Google Confirms No Loss in Link Authority on HTTPS Implementation by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

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Former Yandex employe reportedly steals and attempts to sell source code information to fund his startup.

The post Former Yandex Employee Allegedly Tries to Sell Source Code on Black Market by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

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With nearly a billion websites online, there is a lot of competition vying for your audience's attention. Granted, many of those websites won't be your direct competitors, but they do create plenty of distractions you need to break through if you want to capture and keep your audience's attention.
Here are six ways to do just that.

The post 6 Ways to Capture and Keep Your Audience’s Attention Online by @dantosz appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

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You’ll notice an addition to Google’s normally clean and simple home page — links to the company’s suite of official iOS and Android apps. “Unwrap the best of Google,” the home page is inviting people to do. It’s likely no coincidence that the company’s push for app downloads comes immediate after Christmas. That’s when all the owners of new phones and tablets are setting them up and downloading the appropriate apps for their needs. The company isn’t playing favourites either when it comes to operating systems. Both Android and iOS receive equal consideration, which is wise considering the fact that iPhones […]

The post Google Advertises Official iOS and Android Apps on its Home Page by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

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The post The SEO Implications of Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines by @BrentCarnduff appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Content Marketing Tactics: Earned Media Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices

For any brand, reputation is everything—and reputations are often built (or torn down) with earned media. From a glowing news article about one of your products to that horrific Yelp review, every brand experiences the benefits and drawbacks of earned media.

And in today’s socially connected world, marketers are increasing their use of earned media as a contact marketing tactic as it continues to be a crucial factor in consumer decision making.

In fact, a study by Nielsen and InPowered shows that expert content—credible, third-party articles and reviews—is the most effective source of information in impacting consumers along all stages of the purchase process across product categories. The study also showed that earned media is 88 percent more effective than owned media content alone.

Definition of Earned Media

Earned media, also referred to as media relations, word-of-mouth, PR or publicity, is an unpaid brand mention or recognition such as a news article, published interview, or online review by a third party. In addition, earned media can also refer to a byline or article written by someone associated with the brand that is published by a third party.

Earned media is one of three major marketing categories, with the other two being owned media and paid media. Owned media is any content created and managed by the brand such as a website or blog. Paid media is–as it sounds–any publicity, advertising, or content published by a third party that’s paid for by the brand. Many would call earned media the Holy Grail of the three media types, and often earned media is the result of your paid or owned efforts. (e.g. running a promotion (owned) on your website that results in people around the web talking about it (earned).)

These days, social media and review curation sites are major earned media platforms. Everything from that nice tweet about your fabulous customer service to Facebook shares to poor reviews on independent review sites is part of earned media. And viral content is probably the ultimate example of earned media.

Pros

As a content marketing tactic, earned media is one of the most affordable and impactful strategies that a marketer can take advantage of. Here are just some of the benefits of using earned media in your content marketing strategy:

• Expert content allows brands are able to build reputation, credibility and trust with new customers, while reinforcing current customer relationships.
• Since credibility and trust are established, earned media also inspires customer action.
• Earned media is incredibly cost effective because it requires your time, not a large budget.
• Social signals such as likes and shares send positive juice to search engines and organic search results can be positively impacted.

Cons

While earned media can be have a positive impact on your brand, it does have its drawbacks, too. Here are some of the disadvantages of earned media:

• Since you don’t own the content, you can’t control the message—which can include negative press, reviews, and comments about your brand.
• Cultivating quality relationships with your customers and media outlets who cover your business is time consuming and doesn’t happen right away.
• Newsrooms are slimmer on editorial staff than ever and earning placements is also more difficult.
• The cost to pay a media relations firm for earned media in major publications does not bring a guarantee.

What Experts Are Saying

“Content is the currency for building social relationships with journalists and bloggers that can boost earned media. Companies that invest in content marketing through brand publisher models are able to attract more inbound media coverage due to their demonstrated expertise. Brand content also enables those same companies to bypass traditional media and connect with consumers directly.”

Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Marketing

“Content marketing can be a powerful tool for brands, but the key is to ensure that the messaging is relevant and consistent to the brand narrative. Otherwise it can become extra noise in an already loud space.”

Mark Delcorps, Public Relations Manager at Overstock.com

“The earned strategy, or publicity gained through editorial influence, is something that has been around for awhile but has become more important due to the advent of social media. Not unlike earning coverage in an industry magazine article, gaining shares, ‘likes,’ re-tweets, posts, and every other social signal related to your business has become an important criteria for promoting your business’ authority. It provides Google with an opportunity to understand if your content is important and, in return, helps to move that content up higher in relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). Online earned media has taken the place of the “word-of-mouth” advertising we all coveted.”

Christopher Baldock, contributor to Content Marketing Institute. (Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com)

Brand Examples of Earned Media

TopRank Marketing

TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden has established himself and the agency as thought leaders and innovators in content marketing. As a result, his expertise is often sought after for interviews, contributed articles and webinars. As an example, last year Lee participated in an interview with Content Standard by Skyword.

Budweiser

During the 2015 Super Bowl, Budweiser aired its “Brewed the Hard Way” advertisement that challenged the craft brewing industry a bit. The LA Times wrote an article titled “How the ‘Proud to be macro’ Budweiser Super Bowl ad got it all right.” Not only did the article make the beer company look great, but the LA Times is also a very trustworthy source. This is also a perfect example of earned media working with owned and paid media.

Copyblogger Media (client)

In early 2015, Copyblogger Media—a well-known content marketing software and training organization—was preparing for its second annual Authority Rainmaker conference. With the conference still in its early years, Copyblogger partnered with TopRank Marketing to create an eBook that would leverage event speakers to raise awareness and attract registrations for the event. Promotion of the eBook included several earned media guest posts to industry blogs such as Kapost, SlideShare, and Simply Measured.

Combining earned media with other content marketing tactics, the eBook had a total of 26,859 views, more than 1,000 shares, and 139 downloads. A total of 19 referrals were logged as assisted conversions, with an additional 4 direct conversions.

Earned Media Best Practices

• Create awesome, share-worthy content. Remember, content is king. Create quality, engaging content that serves a useful purpose. If you can address a paint point, provide valuable insights, or educate your audience, they’ll share.
• Build and nurture relationships. Reach out to publishers, editors, journalists, influencers, and any other relevant third-party. These are the people who can cover your business when a new product launches, as well as special events, industry news and so on.
• Be prepared to work on someone else’s deadline. Journalists and editors are always working on hard deadlines. Be prepared to speed up or delay your own efforts to fit with their needs.
• Earned media should be just one part of your content marketing strategy. Think about how your owned and paid media efforts can result in some earned media. For example, Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign that launched last summer was a huge multi-faceted campaign—that got a whole lot of people sharing photos of their Cokes on social media platforms.
• Share positive press and reviews. If people are saying awesome things about your brand, show people. Add customer reviews to your website and share on your social media pages.

Software & Resources

The following resources can help you connect with media organizations and journalists, craft quality content ideas, and track the publicity you’re getting on social media.

Software

• Cision
• Prezly

SEO and Analytics

• Google Webmaster Tools
• Moz
• Majestic SEO
• ahrefs

Social Media

• Hootsuite
• Followerwonk

Content Distribution

• PRNewswire
• Marketwired

The reality is that earned media is really just a part of doing business. Every brand will earn some type of publicity simply for being. But, marketers have an opportunity to grow the amount and the quality of earned media they receive by making it a part of their overall content marketing strategy.

Cultivating earned media is certainly not without its challenges, but it definitely needs to be a consideration since consumers are looking to that content for guidance before they buy.

How does your brand use earned media within its content marketing strategy? What are some of your best practices? Please share in the comments section below.

If you liked this post, check out our content marketing tactics index page with links to more than 25 helpful posts just like this one!

Header image via Shutterstock

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | Content Marketing Tactics: Earned Media Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices | http://www.toprankblog.com

The post Content Marketing Tactics: Earned Media Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

101 Tools to Grow Your Business in 2016 by @ChristinaBaldas

More often than not what tools you use can make a significant difference to the bottom line. Here is a list of tools to grow your business in 2016.

The post 101 Tools to Grow Your Business in 2016 by @ChristinaBaldas appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Be the Shakespeare of Facebook: The Enormous Guide to Writing Spectacular Social Media Updates by @kevanlee

Linguistics and language explains all the whys behind the social media updates we love. Here's how to incorporate it into your marketing messages.

The post Be the Shakespeare of Facebook: The Enormous Guide to Writing Spectacular Social Media Updates by @kevanlee appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

12 Content Marketing Lessons Learned in 12 Years of Blogging

Happy 12th Birthday to TopRank Marketing’s Online Marketing Blog!

In Malcom Gladwell’s book, Outliers: The Story of Success, he mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule”, which describes the key to achieving world class expertise in any skill as a matter of practicing for a total of 10,000 hours or so.

By many definitions, this humble marketing blog has involved many more than 10,000 hours of practice. While we’ve achieved many milestones from being the only blog ranked the #1 content marketing blog three times by CMI to helping our boutique digital marketing agency reach a worldwide audience, it continues to be a work in progress.

There are multiple dimensions for evaluating a blog’s impact. Here is some statistical trivia about TopRank’s Marketing Blog (thanks to BuzzSumo) representing some of this “practice makes expert” effort.

• 3,943 posts and 1.9 million words (overall)
• 1,026 average social shares per post in 2015
• 1.5 million+ unique visitors in 2015
• Lists and How to Posts attract the most average social shares in 2015
• Monday and Thursday are the top days for social shares in 2015
• Posts with 3-10k words attract the most shares in 2015

Our industry is in a constant state of flux and many companies continue to come in and out of the blogging world. We’ve found blogging to be effective in numerous ways, long before the popularity of social media, content marketing and influencer marketing.

From recruiting to reinforcing customer relationships to growing industry thought leadership to direct customer acquisition, blogging is one of the most demanding yet rewarding marketing investments a company can make. Some of that popularity is measured through social media and to get a sense for what kind of content resonates with our community, here are the top 10 most popular posts for 2015 (by social shares)

1. 50 Influential Women in Digital Marketing – 6,283 shares
2. Social Media Marketing Management Tools List – Updated! – 4,259 shares
3. 5 Social Media Marketing Tips for Business – 2,928 shares
4. Where Social Media and SEO Fit in Today’s Content Marketing Mix – 2,688 shares
5. 6 Steps to Build a Massive Audience with Content Marketing – 2,674 shares
6. Content Marketing Tools A to Z That You Can Use in 2015 and Beyond – 2,624 shares
7. 4 Digital Marketing Investments All Companies Need to Make – 2,562 shares
8. 25 Inspiring & Actionable Content Marketing Tips – 2,421 shares
9. Report: True Impact of Social Media Marketing for Business – 2,301 shares
10. 6 Bad Content Marketing Habits – 2,225 shares

The dynamic of being active in the industry and sharing insights as well as lessons learned is essential of a longstanding blog. Along those lines, here are a few insights you may find useful whether you’re just starting a new business blog or evaluating the direction of your current blog.

12 content marketing lessons I’ve learned from 12 years of blogging:

“Be the best answer.”

1.  Decide what you stand for and aspire to becoming the best resource for your community on that thing. To many companies try to be all things to all people with their blog, emphasizing a “more is better” approach. Specificity rises to the top in all things – especially in social media, search and the offline world.
2. Document your success in a specialty area and then duplicate that success in others. Expand your scope of knowledge and industry thought leadership following your own lessons learned in the process of  becoming “the best answer” for your community.
3. Optimize for answers in your blog content planning. Leverage search keyword data as well as social topic trends for voice of the customer insights you can use in content optimization. You can also monitor questions being asked and answered between customers and your sales and customer service teams. Being the best answer is a continuous effort of understanding the questions your audience is asking and optimizing your answers through content in an info-taining way.

“A blog is only as interesting as the interest shown in your community.”

4. Recognize your community by featuring influencers, internal team members, customers, members of the media, your community, or prospective customers in your blog content. Make lists, co-create, do interviews, liveblog and get quotes for blog posts to shine a light on talent. Becoming influential is great. Helping others become influential is how you gain true influence. Show an interest in your community, engage and recognize. Do that, and you will never run out of relevant topics to blog about.
5. Listen to your community through social media monitoring tools, sentiment analysis of blog comments, and contact forms, using social search tools like BuzzSumo and reviewing your own web and search analytics. Understand what your blog community is interested in and give it to them through blog content.
6. Inspire others by actively engaging on social networks, at industry events and in the right places where your community can participate. Social engagement can be overwhelming for many understaffed business blogging departments. Focus on just a few minutes a day consistently and use tools like social media monitoring or social search to uncover opportunities to poll your community, recognize their interactions with your brand and to answer questions – be useful.

“Great content isn’t great until people find, consume and act on it.”

7. Use search, social and target audience data to inspire content themes, topics and keyword optimization. Topical relevance is as important as keyword relevance for blog content discovery. Far too many companies focus entirely on content creation without considering blog content promotion. Make sure the blog content is what your community is actively looking for and talking about on the social web. Being relevant in this way will fuel inbound traffic and social sharing, which will attract even more blog traffic.
8. Empathize with your readers and create relevance through context and content that is meaningful. Learn the content preferences of your audience from topics to visuals to what devices they most often use to consume your blog. Go beyond thinking about your blog as a marketing tool and consider what would be the best experience for your readers.
9. Continuously review blog content promotion efforts and traffic sources to optimize performance. Conduct SEO, Content, Social Media and Conversion audits on your blog at least quarterly. With specific goals in mind for your blog, you should be able to tie blog performance back to goals. Performance is not just contribution to marketing, but the ability of your blog to satisfy the information needs of your community.

“If you want your content to be great, ask your community to participate.”

10. Identify the distinct audiences of your blog and create ways for those specific communities to contribute. Content co-creation can inspire promotion and improve blog quality. Most blogging efforts within companies are understaffed with high expectations. The most effective way to scale quality blog content and promotion is to involve the very community you’re trying to reach in the content creation.
11. Develop a mix of specialty post and recurring posts that allow you to attract new contributors and co-creators as well as a platform for return contributors. Content is a great relationship builder between any constituent audience and your brand whether they contributors are prospective clients, members of industry media or potential business partners.
12. Recognize contributors in a meaningful way. Share quantitative performance as well as qualitative feedback. People will work for a living, but die for recognition – as long as it means something.

Thank you to our community for being supportive of TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog over the past 12 years. Thank you to the candidates and companies that have taken that important step of following TopRank Marketing’s point of view on marketing through our blog and then engaging as an employee or customer.

I can’t tell you how many people have approached me over the years or who have sent letters and emails to say they’ve been reading our blog for years and that it has helped them in their marketing careers. It is very satisfying to know that something like a blog can both help you grow your business but also positively impact your industry.

A BIG THANKS to the TopRank Marketing agency team of blog contributors in 2015 including:

• Ashley Zeckman, who has made a huge contribution in 2015 with over 75 posts including the most popular post of the year. This is the first time someone has published more posts than me  and it feels great!
• Ben Brausen for consistently publishing helpful Friday news roundups. (54 posts)
• Josh Nite who has raised the bar on TopRank Blog content and has inspired the rest of us to improve our writing and content quality. (13 posts)
• Alexis Hall who has shared posts on client side marketing, marketing automation and has helped with livebloging. (11 posts)
• Evan Prokop who has found the time to share his SEO expertise and help with liveblogging. (11 posts)
• Debbie Friez who has done a great job with sharing her social media marketing smarts and liveblogging. (7 posts)
• Michael Bak who has shared his online advertising expertise for search and social media. (5 posts)
• Leila De La Fuente who has shared a mix of digital marketing expertise including online advertising, search marketing and ecommerce. (4 posts)
• Joel Carlson who has contributed several highly useful social media marketing posts. (4 posts)
• Caitlin Burgess who has jumped right into one of the toughest types of posts not long after coming on board at TopRank Marketing. (3 posts)
• Nick Ehrenberg who has published some very popular social media marketing posts. (3 posts)
• Jolina Pettice who is the busiest person I know at our agency (besides Susan Misukanis) and still found time to contribute (1 post)

What does 2016 have in store for TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog? A long overdue re-design, more contributions from the fast growing team at TopRank Marketing and even more useful insight to help our community become smarter and more creative marketers that can achieve real business results.

Thank you for reading, sharing, commenting and being a part of our community!

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | 12 Content Marketing Lessons Learned in 12 Years of Blogging | http://www.toprankblog.com

The post 12 Content Marketing Lessons Learned in 12 Years of Blogging appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Why Content Marketers Need to Use Rich-Media by @RealJonLister

Riche media is an essential part of any content marketing campaign, and here’s why everyone should be taking advantage.

The post Why Content Marketers Need to Use Rich-Media by @RealJonLister appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How to Add AdWords Location Bid Adjustments by @ChristinaBaldas

Location bid adjustments are a Google AdWords feature that lets advertisers show ads frequently to potential customers in certain geographic areas. Here's how you can set up one for your business.

The post How to Add AdWords Location Bid Adjustments by @ChristinaBaldas appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Rehashing 2015: A #MarketingNerds Christmas Spectacular by @AkiLiboon

In today's Christmas special of #MarketingNerds, Kelsey, Loren, and Brent talked about what shook the digital marketing world in 2015 and what lies ahead for 2016.

The post Rehashing 2015: A #MarketingNerds Christmas Spectacular by @AkiLiboon appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

The Cognitive Science Behind Complex Content Retention

How do we create content that people remember in this all-you-can-eat buffet of online information? Discover the cognitive science behind content retention.

The post The Cognitive Science Behind Complex Content Retention appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Online Marketing News: Bing’s Biggest, Google Goals Get Smarter, Twitter Signals State-Sponsored

A Complete Guide to 2016 Content Marketing Trends [Infographic] – Take a look at this infographic, which reveals their expectations for content marketing budgets, benchmarks and the key trends for 2016. Social Media Today

Bing Reveals The Top US and UK Searches of 2015 – Bing says we’re done collating stuff in 2015, and now’s the time to rank it all in order. What else are you going to do in December? Work? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Search Engine Watch

Why Sponsored Social Is One Of 2015’s Most Effective Marketing Tactics [Study] – Digital marketing is everywhere, but new research shows that sponsored social posts are actually getting noticed, explaining their growing popularity. ClickZ

New Study: The State of Employee Advocacy in 2015 – The Hinge Research Institute and Social Media Today conducted a comprehensive online survey of professionals who use social media for business purposes to figure out how businesses are using employee advocacy and what results they are getting. Social Media Today

Report: Brand Activity, Engagement Growing on Instagram – Advertising on Instagram has become an effective and profitable strategy. Social media users are heavily engaged with brands, and brands are learning that Instagram is no longer an option, but a necessity. SocialTimes

Twitter Extends Ads to Some Logged-Out Visitors, Including Those From Google – Twitter has started showing ads to some people who visit its desktop site without logging in. For example, now when someone who’s not logged in to Twitter clicks on a tweet appearing in Google’s search results, Twitter will be able to show an ad to that person and make some money.  Ad Age

Google Adds Forecasting Data In AdWords Display Planner – Google released updates to the Display Planner in AdWords on Thursday to show click and impression estimates based on the bid and budget an advertiser inputs. Marketing Land

Google Launches Smart Goals For Advertisers That Don’t Have Conversion Tracking – Smart Goals harness aggregated conversion data from Google Analytics-enabled sites for advertisers that don’t have another way to track and optimize for conversions. Search Engine Land

Facebook Introduced Transportation on Messenger – Today, we’re expanding the services available to you with our launch of transportation on Messenger. With this new feature, you can request a ride from a car service without ever needing to download an extra app or leave a conversation. It’s super easy and doesn’t take you away from the plans that you’re making with your friends or family. Facebook

Twitter Now Alerts Users To State-Sponsored Attacks – Twitter has introduced a similar notifications system, it seems. According to the Guardian, the company emailed more than 20 users with a notice saying their Twitter accounts were among “a small group of accounts that may have been targeted by state-sponsored actors.” Fast Company

What were the top online and digital marketing news stories for you this week?

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Infographic: Zen Content

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | Online Marketing News: Bing’s Biggest, Google Goals Get Smarter, Twitter Signals State-Sponsored | http://www.toprankblog.com

The post Online Marketing News: Bing’s Biggest, Google Goals Get Smarter, Twitter Signals State-Sponsored appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Why Building an Audience is so Hard (And Why I’m Still Trying) by @Ashread_

In this post, Ash Read shares some of the Buffer team's experiences on building an audience alongside six key ingredients to successfully build an audience.

The post Why Building an Audience is so Hard (And Why I’m Still Trying) by @Ashread_ appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

10 Key Content Marketing Tips for 2016 & Beyond by @JuliaEMcCoy

Julia McCoy shares major content marketing tips for 2016 and beyond. Long form content will be on the rise; brands should be storytelling; and more.

The post 10 Key Content Marketing Tips for 2016 & Beyond by @JuliaEMcCoy appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Content Marketing Tactics: Influencer Content Pros, Cons, Examples and Best Practices

While the world is more connected than ever, it’s also more cluttered than ever. Yes. It’s the age of information overload, and competition to get noticed is fierce. As a result, marketers are focusing on creating scalable content that gets shared more often and reaches more people by using influencer content programs.

Influencer marketing often refers to celebrities or brandividuals advocating for a brand. Influencer content goes beyond advocacy to focus on the actual content being produced for marketing. Influencer content isn’t something new, but the digital era has changed how it’s used. Influencer content marketing in its current form started gaining momentum in 2014, and it’s now the fastest growing and most cost effective marketing channel.

Why? Simple. It works. According to a study by Tomoson, an influencer marketing platform, businesses are making $6.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. In addition, 51 percent of businesses reported acquiring better customers through influencer marketing efforts.

Definition of Influencer Content

Influencer content is content that is created in collaboration with subject matter experts and industry authorities—influencers. As a content marketing tactic, influencer content aims to reach new or larger audiences by leveraging the credibility and social followings of those experts.

Collaboration with influencers can take on a couple different forms:

• Content can be co-created with the help of the influencer.
• Content can be created by the brand using a quote or contribution from an influencer.
• Content can be created by the brand for the influencer’s blog, website or another publication.

Influencer content can work closely with earned media. Earned media is any unpaid publicity, mention or recognition you receive from a third party such as a news article, customer review or social media mention.

Pros

Influencer content programs are proving to be one of the most effective marketing tactics around. Here are some of the benefits of using influencer content as a content marketing tool:

• Influencers are trusted by their followers and they can lend major credibility to a brand.
• Influencer content allows you to tap into trusted authorities’ audiences and reach more people.
• While influencer marketing can involve paid agreements with influencers, a lot of times influencers will market your content for free if it’s good quality and useful to their audience.

Cons

While influencer programs can be wildly successful, there are some downsides to consider before adding it to your content marketing strategy. Here are some of the downsides of influencer content programs:

• Influencer programs are all about relationship building and then nurturing those relationships, and that is incredibly time consuming.
• While influencers have an engaged following, that doesn’t guarantee your message will resonate with their following.

What Marketing Professionals Have to Say About Influencer Content

“Whether you are co-creating something new or including a simple quote from someone who is well-known in your space, incorporating influencers into your content marketing efforts is a win-win. It allows you to capitalize on your influencer’s brand, thought leadership, ideation, and reach so you can create more content and ensure you reach a broader audience. ”

Amanda Maksymiw, Senior Content Marketing Manager, Lattice-Engines

“Influencers have long-standing relationships with their audiences and provide a platform for brands to have the appropriate voice, time and lasting influence with consumers. As social media has progressed from a marketing afterthought to an integral marketing strategy, today’s influencers have expanded onto digital platforms, bringing unprecedented value to a specific audience segment through their large communities of trusting followers, authentic personal experience and expertise on a variety of social networks.”

American Marketing Association (Source: ama.org)

Examples of Influencer Content

LinkedIn

 

A great example of influencer content is the The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn. Influencers were included in the creation of the guide and it was promoted and repurposed through multiple channels. With both influencers and content communicating the value, visibility of LinkedIn as a marketing solution resulted in a huge ROI on the program and millions in new revenue.

Ray N. Welter Heating Company

This Minneapolis-based HVAC service company wanted to increase community engagement to build brand awareness using influencers. Since Welter Heating falls in a niche industry, many influencers are actually competitors. The first influencer post was “Thermostat Wars! Local Celebrities Tell Us What They Set Their Thermostat To,” and featured local news meteorologists, a news anchor and a young rapper/musician. Each influencer included in the campaign had a significant social media following and was easily recognizable to local residents. In just the first two weeks of publishing, this article had taken the No. 2 spot behind the homepage as the most visited page on the site.

Genealogy Research Firm

A leading genealogy research firm leveraged their attendance at an annual industry event to to take advantage of the engaged audience of attendees. Influencers collaborated to create a blog post with tips for creating the best genealogy project, with the goal of driving traffic to a priority page on the firm’s website. As a result, within two weeks the target page received 5,509 pageviews and the blog post itself earned 8,000 pageviews—which is two-times the average. In addition, more than 600,000 people were reached on Twitter.

Best Practices

• Define your influencer goals. Identify how you want to use influencers to contribute and promote your content. This will help you plan your outreach initiatives and your overall marketing timeline.
• Be smart when selecting topics. The content topics you choose will also have an effect on who you’ll focus on during the outreach process. Focus on concepts that are relevant and will make your influencers want to care, interact, contribute and share your content.
• Identify how those topics will be presented. Are you planning a series of blog posts? An eBook? A social media promotion? Define what form you content will take on..
• Thoroughly research prospects. Make sure you do your homework on potential influencers to ensure they align with your goals. You’ll want to look at how large their social followings are and how often they interact with those followings, as well as their own content creation efforts.
• But, remember audience size isn’t everything. Influencers don’t have to have a huge following to be considered for your campaign. This is why looking at interaction between them and their audience are important. Are they responding to tweet mentions? Are they sharing other people’s content on social? Do people comment on blog posts?
• Start courting before you ask for help. One of the core values of influencer marketing is relationship building. If you’re able to build some type of rapport with an influencer early on, you’ll have more success when you ask for help later. Influencer relations doesn’t happen overnight, so think long-term.
• Co-create content whenever possible. The opportunities to collaborate are only limited by your imagination and creativity. Influencers will also be more likely to share and promote this type of content.
• Amplify your content by making it easy to share. Provide influencers pre-written tweets, embed codes, images or short URLs so they have everything they need to promote right in front of them.
• Optimize for people and SEO is another core value of content marketing. All content should be optimized for people and search engines.
• Measure success. It’s crucial to analyze if your efforts are helping you reach your goals. Use social network shares and mentions, blog pickups, and direct and referral traffic metrics, as well as conversions to see how effective your content is.
• Don’t forget about your audience. Focusing on the customer, rather than just the influencer, will help brands achieve the most success. Remember, influence doesn’t matter if the message doesn’t connect with consumers.

Software & Resources

While influencer marketing in the digital age is still gaining some speed, there are already an unbelievable number of resources and platforms available for marketers—some free and some for a fee. Here are some of the most well-known:

• Traaker
• TapInfluence
• Speakr
• Crowdtap
• Tomoson
• Mavrck
• Zoomph
• Exposely
• Hey Press
• Notey
• Buzz sumo

And, of course, the TopRank Marketing Blog. Influencer content programs are an integral part to many of our clients’ strategies and we’ve written a number of influencer marketing articles.

In today’s digital world, cutting through the clutter and connecting with people is a challenge for every brand. Influencers can help overcome that challenge by lending their audiences and their credibility. However, influencers can’t guarantee engagement. So, marketers need to continue to focus their content marketing efforts on the people they’re trying to reach.

Does your content marketing strategy include influencer content? Why or why note? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Did you like this post? If so, check out our content marketing tactics index page with links to over 25 helpful posts just like this one!

Disclosure: LinkedIn and Welter Heating Company are TopRank Marketing clients.

Header image via Shutterstock

 

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | Content Marketing Tactics: Influencer Content Pros, Cons, Examples and Best Practices | http://www.toprankblog.com

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Track Santa – NORAD and Google Santa Tracker Apps Go Live for Christmas Eve by @mattsouthern

Track Santa online tonight with Google and NORAD's Santa Tracker apps.

The post Track Santa – NORAD and Google Santa Tracker Apps Go Live for Christmas Eve by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Says You Need Expert Writers: Content Standards From the New Search Guidelines by @JuliaEMcCoy

In November 2015, Google released its 160-page search guidelines. Julia McCoy discusses the two main acronyms Google now uses to rate content quality.

The post Google Says You Need Expert Writers: Content Standards From the New Search Guidelines by @JuliaEMcCoy appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Yahoo Updates Mobile Search, Tweaks Mobile Search Algorithm by @mattsouthern

Yahoo announces changes to its mobile search experience.

The post Yahoo Updates Mobile Search, Tweaks Mobile Search Algorithm by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Which Comes First: SEO Strategy or Budget? NEITHER! by @stoneyd

Most companies use strategy or budget to drive their SEO plan, but Stoney tells you why you should consider a different approach.

The post Which Comes First: SEO Strategy or Budget? NEITHER! by @stoneyd appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

SEJ Wrap-Up: Get Ready for Google Accelerated Mobile Pages & 2016 Social Media Cheat Sheet by @megcabrera

This week's SEJ Wrap-Up is about Google's plan to roll out accelerated mobile pages in February 2016, and a handy social media infographic cheat sheet.

The post SEJ Wrap-Up: Get Ready for Google Accelerated Mobile Pages & 2016 Social Media Cheat Sheet by @megcabrera appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

WebDev 101: Website Speed Optimization Hacks by @rankingelite

There are important reasons why you should include speed optimization in your digital marketing mix. Here are five ways to get it done.

The post WebDev 101: Website Speed Optimization Hacks by @rankingelite appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

DuckDuckGo Grew by 70% Throughout the Year of 2015 by @mattsouthern

Privacy-focused search engine, DuckDuckGo, grew by a considerable amount in 2015

The post DuckDuckGo Grew by 70% Throughout the Year of 2015 by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

A Guide to Choosing the Right PPC Bidding Strategy by @DustyVegas

Choosing the right PPC bidding strategy is an important first step in any campaign. This guide helps you decide which strategy is right for your PPC goals.

The post A Guide to Choosing the Right PPC Bidding Strategy by @DustyVegas appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

See Which Search Queries Trigger the “Install App” Button With Google Search Console by @mattsouthern

A filter has been added to Search Console for tracking impressions of "Install App" buttons.

The post See Which Search Queries Trigger the “Install App” Button With Google Search Console by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Next #SEJThinkTank Webinar: Are You Really Reaching Your Audience? by @megcabrera

Join us for a free SEJ Think Tank webinar to learn about reaching your audience. This webinar will be presented by Erin Everhart of The Home Depot.

The post Next #SEJThinkTank Webinar: Are You Really Reaching Your Audience? by @megcabrera appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How Speaking at Conferences Can Help Your Exposure & Expertise by @wonderwall7

Here are some of the ways conferences can help you grow your company branding and exposure.

The post How Speaking at Conferences Can Help Your Exposure & Expertise by @wonderwall7 appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Says You Need Expert Writers: Content Standards From the New Search Guidelines by @JuliaEMcCoy

In November 2015, Google released its 160-page search guidelines. Julia McCoy discusses the two main acronyms Google now uses to rate content quality.

The post Google Says You Need Expert Writers: Content Standards From the New Search Guidelines by @JuliaEMcCoy appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Yahoo Updates Mobile Search, Tweaks Mobile Search Algorithm by @mattsouthern

Yahoo announces changes to its mobile search experience.

The post Yahoo Updates Mobile Search, Tweaks Mobile Search Algorithm by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Which Comes First: SEO Strategy or Budget? NEITHER! by @stoneyd

Most companies use strategy or budget to drive their SEO plan, but Stoney tells you why you should consider a different approach.

The post Which Comes First: SEO Strategy or Budget? NEITHER! by @stoneyd appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Content Marketing Predictions

Was 2015 the year content marketing died? A quick Google search for “the death of content marketing” pulls up at least five articles written in the last six months, each seeking to put the final nail in the content coffin. To confuse the issue, for every “content marketing is dead” article, there’s a “traditional advertising is dead. Long live content marketing!” piece to balance it out.

Is this a Schrodinger’s Cat scenario? Are we holding a wake, or should we be performing CPR? In reality, it’s non-strategic content marketing that’s on life support. Audiences are increasingly ignoring the glut of mediocre content tossed haphazardly onto the web.

That’s good news. It means exceptional content with strategic creation and promotion can thrive. Making quality content the new minimum requirement is good for marketers and customers alike.

So make no mistake: Content marketing is very much alive, and it remains a crucial part of an integrated digital marketing strategy. We asked some of our favorite content experts, and some members of the content marketing team at TopRank Marketing (and yes, I did answer one of the questions myself), for their predictions on how content marketing will evolve in 2016. Here’s what they had to say:

Sujan Patel

VP of Marketing, When I Work
@sujanpatel

I believe that 2016 will be the year of comebacks & repurposing. We’ve already started seeing video come back in the form of Live streaming (Periscope, Blab, Facebook Live). We’ll see more of that along with companies repurposing their content in different mediums such as Slideshare, Linkedin, Medium, Video, and likely even offline magazines. With repurposing, companies can better personalize their tone and content for the audience of a particular network or channel. Ultimately this creates a better user experience and a will increase user engagement.

Knute Sands

Account Manager, TopRank Marketing
@KnuteSands

Video is increasingly easy to produce, and likewise becoming the most popular content type across all of social media. But, relatively few content marketers have embraced video as a primary content type in their ongoing efforts. In 2016, we will see nearly all content marketers attempting to utilize video more frequently. In addition, YouTube will continue to improve its ability to index content associated with, and contained within videos. As a result, we will see Google, Bing and other search engines adjusting their algorithms to favor video in search engine results pages.

Michele Linn

VP of Content, Content Marketing Institute
@michelelinn

Marketers constantly talk about quality content over quantity, and I couldn’t agree more. Only exceptional content need apply. Not only do I hope marketers spend more time on each piece of content (including creative creation, promotion and reuse), but I also hope they consider what currently exists that does not put their brand in the best possible light.

What existing content should be updated or retired?  Strive for content on your website that is current, relevant and organized — and pointing to other related items — and chances are you’ll see pages that convert better — and happier customers.

Jesse Pickrain

Content Marketing Manager, TopRank Marketing
@jpickrain

This may be hopeful thinking, but I believe 2016 will mark the peak of B2B content in terms of sheer publishing volume. I’m not predicting a big drop – or even a decline, necessarily – merely an end to the “more is more” mentality. The pacesetters will continue to invest in understanding, parlaying those investments into contextually rich experiences that respect consumers’ time. Meanwhile, those who haven’t removed their foot from the “lofty production quota, low editorial standards” pedal will be forced to make an introspective pit stop. In the end, consumers will occupy the winner’s circle. The brands that gave them a lift via content will be right there with them.

Lorelei Orfeo

Senior Video Content Manager, Birchbox
@LoreleiO

The biggest opportunity for content marketers in 2016 is mobile-optimized video content. Global mobile users have outpaced desktop users and time spent on mobile within the US continues to grow, outpacing time spent on desktop and other devices. It is critical for marketers to focus on connecting with their customers on mobile. According to Ooyala’s Global Video Index from Q3 2015, videos less than 10 minutes in length are watched on mobile 69% of the time. Creating video content for channels like Snapchat and Periscope that have vertical orientation (ideal for mobile viewers) is a huge area of opportunity for brands and I expect to see more vertically-oriented video platforms in the next few years.

Ashley Zeckman

Director of Agency Marketing, TopRank Marketing
@azeckman

In 2016, there will be more content created than in previous years. That means, it will be even more difficult to capture and keep the attention of online audiences. In order to combat this issue, content marketers will need to push even further outside of their comfort zones and focus on uber creative, stunningly visual interactive content.

Interactive content will help connect the audience with the message and create an experience for them that is hard to achieve with other forms of content.  I see this as an exciting new challenge and opportunity to raise the bar on content to meet audience demand.

What Are Your Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2016?

2015 is not the year that content marketing died. But it may be remembered as the year content marketing grew up. After the initial enthusiasm; after everyone rushed to get in the content business; after experimenting, failing, and doing better; marketers are finally ready to get the most out of their content marketing efforts.

How is your company changing your content marketing approach in 2016? Let us know in the comments.

Looking for help with your content and content marketing strategy? Learn more about our content marketing services.

Header image via Shutterstock

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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2015. | TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Content Marketing Predictions | http://www.toprankblog.com

The post TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Content Marketing Predictions appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.