Content Marketing

Efficiency in Data, Facebook’s Ad Strategy, Smart Visualizations

The Strategist picks the day’s most interesting stories for the content aficionados who love the backstory and reading between the lines. Here are the gems you need to kickstart your Wednesday.

Three Brands that Used Data to Transform Their Media Strategies (AdWeek)
Data won’t necessarily make your ads sexy — but it’ll darn well make your media spend more efficient.

What’s surprising is that advertisers don’t always know how much data they actually have (or how to use it, for that matter). Keep an open mind and be highly creative in your approach to your numbers.

Facebook’s New Ad Plan Is the Web’s Old Plan (AllThingsD)
Facebook is expanding its advertising ecosystem to target users based on all of their online activity — not just sponsored stories.

Facebook says that its strategy will allow marketers to have the best of both worlds: native ads and behavioral targeting. Each has a clear place along the sales conversion funnel, and Facebook’s goal is to address both.

The Question All Smart Visualizations Should Ask (HBR)
Pictures are pretty, but they’re also much more — they’re narratives, jumping off points for debates, and educational resources.

Your success measurement? The ability to effectively communicate complex information in a straightfoward, simple, and easy to follow way.

Do You Know the Most Powerful Type of Advertising? (OPEN Forum)
You might be surprised by the answer to this question — it’s not branded journalism or user experience.

It’s… celebrity endorsements. If you think you’re immune to subtle product placements, you should guess again. There’s power in fame.

Get better at your job right now.

Read our monthly newsletter to master content marketing. It’s made for marketers, creators, and everyone in between.

Trending stories