Content Marketing

Facebook’s Most Influential, New Year Freelancer Habits, Content and Context

The Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

Most Influential People on Facebook

Mashable ranked some of the most influential people on Facebook.

Former “Star Trek” star George Takei made the list for his meme posts that make millions of people laugh. President Obama used the site and his 34 million fans during his campaign for a second term, while Mike Huckabee organized the Facebook event “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” during the gay marriage controversy. Police officers and judges, in general, made the list as well.

Changing Freelancer Habits for 2013

Blogger Dan Smith says that every year, freelancers need to change their rate card and start charging more for services. That way, instead of upping rates dramatically every few years, smaller increases every year are going to sit better with employers.

Clients should be evaluated, and ones that don’t pay enough should be replaced by clients that will pay more. Writers should always be networking and making friends with one another–it will only help out their careers.

Context and Content in 2013

Bryan Kramer of Purematter discusses how, in 2013, context will become more important in relation to content.

He says, “We’re listening better, we’re learning more, and we’re developing the technology and skills to better target, personalize, and deliver messaging at just the right time, in just the right space, to just the right person.”

For example, at Starbucks, consumers can purchase coffee and earn points with their phones. He believes that in 2013, personalized mobile commerce will grow. Location based marketing will increase since people are sharing the locations where they take photos more and more.

Promoted content will also take the reigns in the new year: “Content may be king, but context shares the throne, and contextual messaging is becoming a major player in the social spectrum.”

Online GIFs and Brands

NewsCred reports on GIFs and how they were used during the holiday season.

Uniqlo hosted an online giveaway titled “GIF box” where shoppers could enter and win gifs and/or gift cards. Victoria’s Secret, a few months ago, had GIFs designed by Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader. Diesel, Coca-Cola, and Calvin Klein are all using GIFs.

Launching a Winning Blog

Content Marketing Institute’s Marcus Sheridan writes about the steps a business can take if it wants to establish a successful blog.

The first step is to ensure that management is on board and understands content marketing efforts. All of the employees should participate in the brainstorming process and one employee should be named the chief content officer. This means he or she is in charge of planning, assigning, editing, and uploading all the blog content.

A strong foundation is needed — this means having five to 15 posts ready to go. The blogs need to be promoted via email throughout the company that include articles that ranked for keywords, leads generated from content, and success stories for the sales department.

Taking a Marketing Cue from New Year’s Ads

Ben Richardson of Business2Community profiles vintage New Year’s ads and lists key takeaways that can be applied to marketing plans today.

Although Lejon Champagne was targeted to consumers mainly during the holidays, its “Drink More Pop” ad was designed to last throughout the whole year. Marketers should make sure that their campaigns are sustainable and always prevalent. Smirnoff Vodka’s 1980 ad includes a paragraph about why the holiday should be celebrated with friends, in an attic, while drinking Smirnoff. The copy is persuasive but not pushy, and the ad is relatable.

Freelancers and Financial Organization

All Freelance Writing’s LaToya Irby writes about the importance of organization when it comes to financial documents for freelancers.

She says that in a system, invoices, payments received, business expenses, estimated taxes paid, and writing contracts/agreements need to be filed. This is especially important because at tax time, freelancers need to know where all of their documents from the past year can be located.

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