Five Ways to Organically Grow Your YouTube Audience (PandoDaily)
YouTube is the world’s second largest social network. If your brand isn’t active on this platform, you may be missing out on key customer connections.

Audience development is just as important as the content you’re producing. Here are clear steps to help you get started.

The Secret to High-Impact Sales Copy (CrazyEgg)
The bad news is that your sales copy is probably useless. The good news is that if prospects are reading your product descriptions, they’re already very interested.

Your copy’s job is to help your customers imagine the benefits of using your product. It’s up to your marketing team to make that connection real.

How Bloggers Are Scoring Million-Dollar Funding Rounds (AdAge)
Your company blog is more than just a marketing tool — it’s foundational to your business and product.

Prominent bloggers are leveraging their influence to build startups, pitch investors, and forge strategic partnerships. Here is how to capitalize on the success of your blog.

Mom, What’s a TV Network? (AllThingsD)
It’s an understatement to say that the Internet is transforming multimedia.

Imagine that you’re a child who’s grown up on YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and other online media. What the heck is a TV network? Has digital media reached a point where that question is actually relevant?

When The Atlantic ran the infamous Scientology story in January, the world of brand storytellers shuddered. Publishers everywhere took note.

Content creators realized that they were walking a more dangerous tightrope then they had previously thought, and everybody saw that such mistakes in publishing make for lost advertising dollars and, more importantly, damage to hard-earned reader trust.

Panel 2v3 from Contently on Vimeo.

Publishers who support branded content must maintain the interests of brand partners while keeping the good faith of their readership.

At Contently’s Social Content Summit in April, three trailblazing publishers spoke about their approach to advertising. In this video, Business Insider’s Pete Spande, Forbes’s Mark Howard, and Mashable’s Lauren Drell explained their credos and strategies for branded content.

Four Lean Advertising Campaigns that Went Viral (HBR)
Harvard Business School marketing professor Thales Teixeira uses eye-tracking technology, facial-expression analysis, and lab experiments to understand why and how people watch online videos.

Here is his take on four lean campaigns from DC Shoes, Blendtec, Speed Stick, and Golden Grahams.

5 Questions Guaranteed to Engage Your Facebook Fans (OPEN Forum)
If you want to engage your Facebook community, you need to inspire your audience.

Remember that great conversations start with even better questions. Here are five examples to get you started.

Marketing to the Big Data Inside Us (MIT Tech Review)
Advertisers leverage data to target consumers. Companies know your shopping habits, age, salary, and where you live.

Pretty soon, your DNA will enter the behavioral targeting equation. Skeptical? Read this blog post, and then decide.

Crowdsourcing the News: Do We Need a Public License for Citizen Journalism? (PaidContent)
Social media platforms like YouTube are becoming hotbeds for breaking stories.

Media outlets and journalists are constantly scouring these resources  — without necessarily providing the right credit. Does the media industry need a formal, legal structure to deal with this media dynamic? Here’s one writer’s take on the topic.

How to Spend a Billion-Plus on User-Generated Content, Google Edition (AllThingsD)
By now, you’ve probably heard that that Tumblr is now a part of Yahoo’s family of companies.

This article by Peter Kafka points out a key observation that the Yahoo-Tumblr deal closely resembles a high-profile integration from back in 2006  — Google and YouTube. Here’s a comparative then-and-now style look into financials, user acquisition, and year-over-year growth.

Viral Video Recap: Must-Watch Memes of the Week (Mashable)
Have a case of the Mondays? It’s all good.

Luckily, you work in the digital media industry where brain breaks are the equivalent of market research. Here’s a must-read story that you can ‘study’ away.

The Evolution of Hacker News (TechCrunch)
With so many media channels covering startup and tech, is there really room for another? Y Combinator seemed to think so. YC built Hacker News as a demonstration of a programming language that he was building.

All of a sudden, the platform evolved into a community — which is now responsible for generating 1.6 million pageviews and 200,000 unique visitors on any given day (engagement + user pull mechanism = awesome). Here’s a story that will have you ready to build a community around your brand — especially if you’ve been worried about the competition.

Content Marketing’s Got a Quality Problem (Digiday)
The vision of content marketing is that the tool presents a highly engaging and user-friendly path to sales.

The problem is that ‘quality’ is in the eye of the beholder. Here’s Jack Marshall’s take on the ever-pervasive content quality problem.

BuzzFeed Starts Program to Train Agencies in the BuzzFeed Way (AdAge)
If you’ve developed a great methodology, why not sell it as a standalone product? BuzzFeed has launched a one-of-a-kind program to train agencies to become master storytellers.

Native ads will be a key part of this strategy. Participants will receive three to six months of training from BuzzFeed’s editorial team. After the program, ‘accredited’ agencies will have direct access to post to the BuzzFeed site.

The 12 Most Extreme Craigslist Ads We’ve Ever Seen (Business Insider)
The best advertising takes the ordinary and makes it amazing.

Take a lesson from this ad for a beaten-up, 12-year-old bicycle copy so awesome that that it caught Mashable’s attention.

Stand Out in a Crowded Industry (Inc)
There’s one thing about marketing that you can’t escape – there’s a lot of stuff out there.

From products to content and services, there’s a lot of competition for virtually every brand. You need to truly stand out. Here’s one leader’s strategy.

YouTube Launches Its Paid Subscription Channels with Select Partners (PaidContent)
YouTube’s paid channel platform is now live. Partners can now charge as little as $0.99 per month for access to video content.

There’s a 14-day trial with discounts for annual plans. Are YouTube and distribution the new face of video and television?

YouTube’s 10 Most-Watched Ads in April (AdWeek)
The votes are in – here are YouTube’s 10 mega-hits from April.

Of course, Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ is on the list. Then there’s Evian’s latest babies commercial. Both have soared to become YouTube’s most watched ads of 2013. Their secret? Powerful stories and human experiences.

LinkedIn Continues Its Evolution as a Media Entity with the Launch of Magazine-Style News Channels (PaidContent)
If you’re questioning the business value of content marketing, just take a look at LinkedIn.

When users click on the platform’s ‘News’ heading, they’ll land on a page with news channel subscriptions. Educate yourself, and follow what you care about most — all from one platform.

Coca-Cola Vows to Reduce Advertising to Kids (AdAge)
The public is blaming the soda giant’s sugar-filled drinks for the rise in obesity in the world. The brand’s reaction?

Fight the evil it’s been accused of causing. Coca-Cola has vowed to stop advertising to kids under the age of 12 — a big move for a giant brand.

Want to Make Better Decisions? Procrastinate (Inc)
A little reflection can go a long way. Decisiveness is a virtue, but so is self-reflection.

Sometimes, it pays to watch and wait. Collect data, ask lots of questions, and push your ultimate decision to the very last moment.

7 Things Marketers Should Know About Tumblr (Inc)
This micro-blogging platform is the 32nd most popular website in the world, but is it relevant to your business?

You have to approach this tool as you would any other social network like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Forget marketing, provide great content, and be evergreen. Could Tumblr work for your brand?

What the Most Successful Leaders Know About Creating an Inventive Culture: A Case Study (Forbes)
As a team, department, or business leader, you’re in the perfect position to cultivate creativity.

Establish context, orchestrate the experience, and shape the conversation. These three factors will amplify the brilliance around you.

Interview with Karl Blanks – Rocket Scientist Turned Conversion Rate Expert (UserTesting)
What do rocket science and conversion rate optimization have in common? More than you may realize.

Remember that marketing needs more than creativity to succeed — your strategy needs discipline and scientific rigor. Here are some key takeaways from this rocket scientist gone marketer.

Online Ads Can Now Follow You Home (WSJ)
Technology is no barrier to robust user targeting. That’s right, brands can now reach you (and precisely you) regardless of whether you’re on your phone, iPad, or laptop.

Cross-screen marketing is a problem worth solving. Here’s how top brands, marketers, and paid channel advertising groups are tackling this fundamental concept

In keeping with the spirit of its Real Beauty campaign, Dove commissioned a FBI-trained sketch artist to draw women based on how they see themselves; he then drew the same women again based on the description of others.

The big reveal takes place when the side-by-side sketches are shown to the subjects. Women are clearly their own harshest critics, hence the tagline, “you’re more beautiful than you think.”

The heart string-tugging video, created by Ogilvy & Mathers Brazil, has social and mainstream media buzzing. Here’s why brand content creators should be paying attention:

Dove is selling a consistent message

Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign began nearly a decade ago, and it’s been selling that powerful message over and over again in various ways, said Dan Hilbert, senior vice president of client engagement at TBA Global, a creative events marketing agency.

“There’s nothing more powerful than a brand really owning an emotional benefit.”

He worked on the original Dove Real Beauty campaign in his former role as director of integrated marketing for Unilever, Dove’s parent company. “If you can represent a powerful idea that is relevant to the consumer, you will win and always get the sales volume,” he said.

As such, he’s not surprised to see that Dove has capitalized on this idea once again. “There’s nothing more powerful than a brand really owning an emotional benefit,” he says. “Unilever’s support and consistency is amazing. That’s a unique concept in today’s world of changing brand leadership and marketing schizophrenia.”

Dove knows its consumers

While it may seem an easy formula – create something inspiring and align it with your brand – finding something that resonates so strongly and comes across as genuine is like capturing lightening in a bottle.

“It serves as evidence for truly understanding the perspectives and mentalities of consumers, as well as the benefit in taking a courageous stance to better peoples lives beyond the direct product or service,” said Chad Kaszer, communications strategist at experience design and innovation practice, Sub Rosa.

More important, Dove has latched on to an important facet of the female consumer in particular.

“Women often select brands that they ‘believe’ in,” said Nora Miller, co-founder of Anderson Miller PR. “Advertising a clear brand mission shows customers that the brand believes in its customers’ well-being, and builds trust.”

Dove is not simply selling a bar of soap, she notes — they are selling the notion of how to feel beautiful and comfortable in your own skin.

Dove is leveraging a well thought out media mix.

The campaign goes beyond the YouTube clip. It’s been shared on Facebook thousands of times, and users — including major women’s media brands — are tweeting about it or using the #wearebeautiful hashtag on Twitter. Not to mention all of those in-person conversations that can’t be captured online or quantified.

“Women are sharing, liking, commenting, writing blog posts, and response videos with their personal experience with the video’s message, and how they learned from the campaign,” Miller said. “They are watching it with their daughters, and even playing the video in class It’s viral affect shows that it’s a win.”

Backlash happens, and that’s OK

As with any national conversation that people care about, there is bound to be criticism, such as this Tumblr post that’s generated a lot of attention for its critique of the ad, saying the campaign equates beauty with happiness and defines ideal beauty as thin, pale, blonde-haired and blue-eyed.

Even if Dove missed an opportunity to reach a multicultural audience, the majority of the engagement has been positive. “I think if you try to predict or anticipate criticism, you might never move forward with anything,” said Paul Donaher, president and COO of New York-based creative agency Laird + Partners. “That is not to say that sensitivity to certain issues isn’t important, but trying to avoid criticism is just an impossibility in today’s world.”

Either way, despite criticism, people are talking about it, said Miller. “The larger the discussion, the more people see it.”

What will Dove do next?

It’s now up to Dove to leverage all the buzz and brand goodwill that they’ve generated to drive sales of their products.

“As a result of this effort, I would expect that consumers would be more likely to listen to what Dove has to say next,” said Kaszer, ” to give the brand a few more seconds of their time, and to entertain what we in marketing all hope for. a real relationship between consumer and brand.”

Ad of the Day: Wheat Thins (AdWeek)

From an advertising standpoint, snack foods have many faces. They’re cheesy, healthy, family-friendly, satisfying, and awesome.

Now, Nabisco’s trying something different in the form of over-the-top and ridiculous humor. Here’s what happens when you cram together Wheat Thins, a puppet, and an awkward comedic twist. Does it work? Oddly, yes.

10 YouTube Channels That Will Make You Smarter (Mashable)
YouTube has value beyond dancing cats, viral memes, and hilarious television platforms.

Brands, educators, and industry experts are leveraging the platform as an educational platform for connecting with audiences. Check out these 10 channels for some killer inspiration.

9 Silly Mistakes that Marketers Make (Inc)
Key takeaways: adapt to your customers, give engineers their freedom, don’t expect customers to read, and don’t teach your salespeople how to sell.

Be a growth engine, but most importantly, be your company’s collaborative pillar.

The Orange County Register’s New Owners Want to Reinvent Newspapers (PaidContent)
This newspaper’s new owners — two entrepreneurs with no background in traditional media — are pouring money into resources for online journalism as well as print.

Their core strategy is a rigid paywall — if you want content, you need to pay. No exceptions. Smart move or risky business? Time will tell.

YouTube’s 20 Most-Shared Ads in March (Mashable)
There’s no avoiding the fact that YouTube is revolutionizing the digital advertising industry.

Who made the cut for top ads in March? Pepsi, Carlsberg, and the Simpsons to name a few.

Which Social Network Makes Your Customers Buy? (HBR)
The beauty of this post is that you won’t come away with a clear answer – and that’s exactly what you need.

ChartIQ Co-Founder and President Dan Schleifer points that business owners need to each undergo this process of exploration. What are the best platforms for customer acquisition? Look to your own social strategy for answers.

7 Infographic Topics You Should Avoid (Crazy Egg Blog)
Just because something’s quantifiable doesn’t mean that you should illustrate it.

When done right, infographics are beautiful works of art. Tell a story beyond numbers, share human interest, be compelling, and leverage persuasion. Know when to use humor, and don’t forget that your goal is to entertain an audience of people – not sleepy robots.

Create a Bond Between a Customer and Your Product (Inc)
Former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley shares a profound solution to one of your business’s most complex yet pivotal challenges. What should be your start-up or product strategy?

The answer to that question is powerful – let your customers define your company’s mission and vision. Create your business together – there’s no better bond.