Branded Content Catchup: 5 Stories You Missed While Failing to Explain Your Job to Your Family

If you work in brand publishing, you’ve probably realized that it’s really hard to explain your job to relatives that barely understand what an app is; you may find yourself stumbling back into your office in a bit of an existential funk, muttering, “What do I do?” I feel your pain. After two days of trying to explain to my family that I run two magazines for a technology company that connects journalists and multimedia artists with brands, and receiving blank looks in response, I started wondering if it wouldn’t be easier to just become a plumber.

Because we feel your pain, here are five stories that will get you back on track.

Google Dreams Of A Bot That Will Take Over Your Brand’s Twitter. Should You Let It?

Man, bots just keep taking over Twitter. At least the latest generation is pretty interesting. First came the New York Times’ 4th Down Bot; now comes Google’s new patent, which describes a bot that can replicate a person or brand’s voice, posting updates and replies on social media for them. It brings up some big questions about marketing automation.

5 Books That Should Be On Every Content Strategist’s Holiday Wish List

I don’t care if Christmas is over. You should buy these books for yourself. Now. #ProsePatrol

Twitter’s Tailored Ads To Boost Branded Content Distribution

Mark my words: 2014 is going to be all about brands figuring out the most efficient ways to get the right eyeballs on their content and keep them there for as long as possible. Twitter’s Tailored Ads has the potential to be one big-time solution.

Was Burger King’s Fan Purge A Smart Move?

Burger King Norway bribed a whole bunch of troll fans to leave with Big Macs and lost over 70% of their fans. Did the controversial strategy work?

The Emotions That Trigger Sharing

Spoiler: Ambivalence isn’t one of them.

What’s the deal with the Content Strategist? It’s something we created at Contently because we believe in a world where marketing is helpful, and businesses grow by telling stories that people love. Take advantage of our tools and talent and come build that world with us.