You’ve heard it time and time again: “Invest in content marketing!” But what exactly is content marketing, and why is it such a big deal? Do you even need it? Simply put, content marketing is a way to help your brand find its voice and stand out from the competition. When done correctly, you will […]
Taking Action with Calls to Action: A Definitive Guide for Beginners
Around 70% of small businesses don’t use a call-to-action (CTA) on their sites. This unfortunate habit means they are all missing out on the opportunity to: Give users an easy way to contact you Help convert readers into customers Direct users to another page on your site Adding CTAs to your pages will help you […]
Listening Completely: How to Reach Your Niche
My coworker, Alanna, shared an Ernest Hemingway quote with me recently that said, “When people talk, listen completely.” She mentioned the quote in a conversation we were having about letting audiences drive your content. It got me thinking about how marketers often ignore certain demographics in the interest of time, money, or convenience and how […]
How to Let Your Audience Drive Your Content
You’re at a party and there’s one guy who will not stop talking. He talks about everything and nothing and it’s clear that no one is interested in what he’s saying. Nonetheless, he won’t let anyone else get a word in. Unfortunately, some companies treat their content like that annoying guy at the party. Websites […]
Navigating Twitter: A Guide to the Basics for B2C Companies
You may think you don’t need social media, preferring “old-school” forms of engagement. Or perhaps you recognize the need, but don’t know how to effectively start and maintain a social media strategy. Twitter is a great way to connect with both current and potential customers and help generate content but only if you know how […]
How to Write Political Blogs on Your Company’s Website
Regardless of how risky your political blog is to your company, there are several best practices to add to your blogging checklist: Respect your company’s brand Stay current with the day’s news Use social media to your advantage Know what to do when things go wrong Work your way up over time These guidelines will […]
Gauging the Risk of Your Company’s Political Blog
As we’ve all experienced at family gatherings, people react strongly when politics are brought into the conversation. Our political beliefs are often a major part of our identity, leading us to trust or turn against others depending on whether they agree with us or not. These kinds of extremes typically scare companies—particularly small companies with […]
Building Trust by Discovering the “Why” of Your Brand
Put simply, building trust online is harder than most other platforms. When people interact with businesses face-to-face, that human connection is inherently more trustworthy than interacting with a website. Duplicating that experience in the digital space takes a lot of hard work. Here at jWeb, we believe that the secret to gaining trust is effective […]
Recent YouTube Authors Show How to Recycle Old Content
Dynamic content—typically referred to as “blogging”—is essential to any productive content marketing strategy. Unfortunately, blogs quickly become dated and less authoritative to your readers the older they get. If you’re having a hard time coming up with completely new topics, it is possible to revisit blogs you’ve already published. Some content stays relevant over time […]
To Be or Not to Be: The Dangers of Undead Blogs
This Halloween, I want to discuss a survival tactic for content marketing: avoiding the undead. An undead or “zombie” blog is created when a website has a blog, but it’s never (or hardly ever) updated. So while it’s not alive, kicking, and contributing to the online community, it’s visible presence means it isn’t dead either. And much like zombies in the movies, an undead blog will devour your brand’s online reputation.