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Archives for April 2011

4 Ways Content Builds Brands

Content marketing works. I’ve seen it work first-hand for businesses and individuals. In fact, I wouldn’t have a successful business and 8 business books published by leading publishers (including the upcoming Content Marketing for Dummies) if content marketing didn’t work.

But how do you actually use content to build a brand? Keep reading to learn how content can help you build your brand and business.

Amazing content can do several things for a brand:

  1. Authority and Thought Leadership: Amazing content can establish your credibility and expertise, which subconsciously transfers to your brand.
  2. Word-of-mouth Marketing and Brand Buzz: Amazing content is often shared and discussed giving your brand more exposure.
  3. Search Engine Optimization: Amazing content is often linked to from other sites which boosts traffic to it and Google search rankings for it.
  4. Increased Business: Amazing content can help you build relationships with people that can lead to sales.

In a February 2011 survey of marketing professionals in the United States conducted by HiveFire, 42% said they are using content marketing. Of the 68% who were not currently using content marketing to build their brands and businesses, 85% of that group did admit to participating in content marketing activities without even realizing it.

The vast majority of businesses that use content marketing to build their brands do so primarily to increase brand awareness and word-of-mouth marketing. However, many businesses hit road blocks in content marketing simply because they don’t have the resources to create amazing original content as often as they need to in order to stay relevant in the fast moving online space. Whether that’s because they’re unwilling to pay an adequate rate to experienced freelance writers or they’re not looking outside their own walls for content support is not revealed in the study.

There are many “content mills” and content providers who offer content at rock-bottom prices, but you get what you pay for. If you’re ready to use content marketing to build your brand and business but you can’t create amazing content in-house, take the time to find a freelance writer who is qualified and experienced. Amazing content can help take your brand to new heights, but poor quality content can do more harm than good.

Measurement without Telling Anyone – Germany | CSR Around the World

Germany is often cast as the spiritual home of the Green movement in Europe, if not the world.  This is because it’s where the term ‘Green’ first entered common parlance as the name of the West German political party founded in the late 1970s: Die Grünen.

The vast industrial behemoth that is Germany seems an unlikely birthplace for what is now a worldwide political and social movement.  Based on the country’s huge coal and iron deposits a massive manufacturing base has grown up.  Today its exports are worth over $800 billion, of which nearly 30% comes from vehicles and industrial and electrical equipment.

However, it’s precisely this manufacturing base which has ensured green issues became embedded into everyday German life.  Concerns about the management of waste has made Germany one of the foremost proponents of recycling and has led the field in Europe for some time ever since the EU’s Waste Directive was introduced in 1975.

To put this into context, in the UK the amount of household waste recycled has risen from 11% to just over 15% in the last 10 years.  In Germany it’s boomed, going from an already impressive 46% to over 75% in the same period.

Because of this ingrained green-ness you may think that Germany has a natural predilection for CSR, and you would be right.  Sort of. [Read more…] about Measurement without Telling Anyone – Germany | CSR Around the World

Research Offers Tips for Better Facebook Brand Marketing Results

Research from Buddy Media released this month and reported by eMarketer offers insight into how to increase engagement with Facebook users. The study provides interesting statistics for brand managers based on when, what and how to publish content on the most popular social networking site in the world.

According to a small study, the highest user engagement with posts published by brands happens before and after traditional work hours rather than during work hours when most brands actually publish content on Facebook. Since a big part of social media marketing success via Facebook is getting people to read your content, posting updates when fans are more likely to be using Facebook and see your updates in their news feeds is critical.

Following are several findings from the study related to Facebook use by brands and user engagement with those brands:

  • Time: Companies experience a 20% increase in engagement when they publish Facebook posts outside business hours–before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.
  • Day: Engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays than any other days. Saturday is the worst day to post with a 18% decrease in engagement reported on that day.
  • Length: Shorter is better with posts of 80 characters or fewer experiencing a 27% lift in engagement rates.
  • Type: Posts that end with a question see a 15% increase in engagement. Including instructions such as “like,” “post,” and “comment” also helps to boost engagement.

The trick to using Facebook for brand marketing is to consistently provide succinct, great content and conversations that your customers want and need. That doesn’t just happen on Monday through Friday during normal business hours. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to publish content continuously throughout the day, every day. Too much information quickly turns into noise and clutter. Spread your brand Facebook updates out to a few times per day and at different times during the day to reach and engage with the widest audience. This is particularly important if yours is an international brand or your customers can be found in multiple time zones.

Automated web reporting | Changing the nature of CSR

So GRI 3.1 has been released.  I’ve been so excited by this development it’s taken me a couple of weeks to get around to actually looking at what the changes are.  Yep, that excited.

Actually, it’s a bit more than that.  a) I was busy on other things, and b) there are other far more qualified people who will have far more interesting things to say about GRI 3.1.

However, while reading through the changes I was struck once again by how simple it should be for large corporates to gather these statistics, and how easy it should be to publish these statistics in real time on the web.

Why this doesn’t happen yet remains a mystery to me, but then again I’ve always looked at how technically feasible something is rather than the politics which is required to get it to happen. [Read more…] about Automated web reporting | Changing the nature of CSR

Corporate Eye Summary April 9, 2011

  • Shell and Oracle : Sustainability’s Ashoka Chakra
    It should have been the major news story of the decade, but it was buried. This is partially because there was a lot of embarrassed coughing by all sides involved (meaning no one really wanted to publicise the event); but it’s also because your everyday business journalist hasn’t got a clue about sustainability and doesn’t […]


  • Go Mobile to Get Your Brand in Front of Mothers
    New research from BabyCenter.com reveals that brands that want to connect with mothers, particularly new mothers, should go mobile. According to the survey, 68% of mothers user their smartphones while they’re shopping, which is much higher than the average smartphone user. Furthermore, 46% of survey respondents said they want to get information about products and […]


  • Make Customers Part of Your Logo to Build Brand Loyalty
    The most powerful brands in the world are relationship brands like Apple and Harley Davidson. These are brands that people feel such a strong emotional connection with that they’re not only extremely loyal but they’re also extremely vocal about that loyalty.  Social media marketing and content marketing make it easier than ever for companies to […]


  • Leadership, Reputation and Company Views
      “To be perceived as the leader you have to act like the leader. And leaders aren’t afraid of having opinions.” Donal McCabe, Land Securities You’ve probably found that trying to explain what you think to someone else – particularly in writing – is a good way of clarifying your beliefs for yourself. It’s often […]


  • Communicating From the Top
    I invited Mariana Ashley to write a guest post for us this week on internal communication. Mariana is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. Over to you, Mariana… Quality Internal Communication Leads to More Satisfied Workers Corporations of all sizes are in the habit these days of asking their employees to […]


Shell and Oracle : Sustainability’s Ashoka Chakra

It should have been the major news story of the decade, but it was buried.

This is partially because there was a lot of embarrassed coughing by all sides involved (meaning no one really wanted to publicise the event); but it’s also because your everyday business journalist hasn’t got a clue about sustainability and doesn’t understand the impact the event has upon the business world.

Which event is this, you ask?

Why, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) being removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).

This was a seismic event in the world of corporate sustainability practices and reporting, and was followed up by Oracle being removed from the FTSE4Good.

Shell have been attacked on all sides because of their environmental and human rights record in Nigeria.  They’ve refuted many of the allegations and have sought to make good where evidence of corporate malfeasance is irrefutable.

What’s more their transparency on various sustainability indices has for a long time been of a leading nature, and their online interactive charts have often been cited as an example for others to follow second to none.

Yet despite all this the DJSI decided the company’s sins in Nigeria were too great and threw the company out in August last year.

This led to a rather difficult impasse within the company’s governance.  Shell’s remuneration committee had promised its executives bonuses linked to the company’s performance within the DJSI.  Yet, now the company is no longer a member of the DJSI … this means no bonus, right?

[Read more…] about Shell and Oracle : Sustainability’s Ashoka Chakra