Big (D)esign Conference 101 Amazing Content Ideas

BIG (D)esign
Sept 5, 2014
Introducing Advice Interactive
Real Time Content & Social Engagement
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© ADVICE INTERACTIVE GROUP, LLC | 2013 | All Rights Reserved 1

01 About Me

Who I Am
Bernadette Coleman, CEO Advice Interactive
Mad Men is My Favorite TV Show
I have a Blended Family With 5 Children
I am Originally From Pittsburgh (Go Steelers)
I Love to Listen to Audio Books
I Am Active on Face Book, Twitter & LinkedIn

Connect With Me

What You Don’t Know About Me
• I wrote my first blog in April 2013

Why Am I Telling You This? – 6 Months

7
Does This Mean I Am Amazing?
NO!
It means I figured out how to use High Quality
Content to attract High Quality Traffic, which lead
to High Quality Customers!
It means…

8
Content is Important to Your Web Design
• In todays world of information overload content
heavy website designs are slowly but surely
becoming the usual thing.
• And this feature is not only typical for
eCommerce and news-related websites, but also
for a great deal of other regular websites.
• Even despite the fact that content intensive
layouts are famous for its problematic and
complex nature content is important for many
reasons. It also means…

Post good content
and the followers
will come.
It's an edict of
nature.

What I learned…
We had to Learn About Engagement
Engaging humans is harder
than tricking algorithms.

I had to Learn Human Engagement
• Capture their imaginations
• Speak directly to their hearts
• Talk about things that they love and are
interested in
• Share ideas
• Listen to their concerns and;
• Consider their feedback.

We had to Learn Purposed Content

I had to learn how to craft a
We had To Define The Message
message that will contribute to a
larger story, We had to begin with
the end in mind.

I Had to Figure Out How to
Define The Response
What’s the action that I want
people to take once the story
has inspired them?
What are they going to do
once the message sticks?

Give The Best That I Could Give…
I had to learn to post
stimulating, engaging content that:
• provokes
• questions,
• humors,
• and causes engagement.

If I Had Nothing
Grand To Share
You Have Nothing Grand To Share
Then share someone
else's!
Then I would
share someone
else's!

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I learned how to Speak Out
• Make a bold comment on a social issue that is in
the back of everyone's mind.
• Take a stand.
• Give inspiration
• Demand feedback and award original suggestions.
• Do not forget to make a clear call-to-action for your
followers as they would be too dazzled by your
brilliance to know or do otherwise.

The New Face Of Content Create content
that both people
& search
engines will love…

My entire online marketing strategy
revolved around the convergence of
content, search, and social with quality
content being the dominant piece of the
puzzle.

GWooghley h Iisg hGlyr reataets Content Important?
content which is
original, high-quality,
free of spelling and
grammar errors, and
valuable.
The new search
engine algorithms are
getting better and
better at indexing
and ranking your
content the way a
human reader would.
Remember- Symantec
Search is here to stay!

Why Is Great Content Important?
Remember, Quality content is much more
sharable.
Quality content is much more sharable.
Social Media is now the number one reason
why people use the internet,
Social Media is now the number one reason why
people use the internet,
Creating content people enjoy enough to share
gives you enormous potential.
So creating content people enjoy enough to
share with their friends presents an enormous
potential.

Why Is Great Content Important?Your readers will
come back if your
content interesting
or entertaining.
The search engines
reward content
which provides
value to people.

How to Create Engaging Content
Gone are the days of publishing
large amounts of poor quality
content and using automated
article submission tools.
• Gone are the days of publishing large amounts of
poor quality content and using automated article
submission tools.
• Creating great content, by contrast, is not quite
as easy, but practicing a few good habits can
make a great deal of difference.
Good habits can make a
great deal of difference.

Balance is Important
Create A Publishing Schedule
But don’t fall into
the trap of
posting too much
without doing
your research.

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How , Do I Find The Time To Do It?
I am going to tell you my number 1 secret!
First of all, follow these steps to write a high quality
article that solves a problem for your target
audience.

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Attention Grabbing Headlines
Write an Engaging Heading That Readers
Will Quickly Understand:
How would you describe your article or
digital asset in seven to 10 words? Be clear
and succinct, and cover at least one of the
captivating ideas or features of your digital
asset.
• Customer Service Tips From The Pros
• SEO Tips From Todays SEO Gurus
• Wedding Planning Tips From Successful
Brides

Curated Link Lists
• Top News Posts
Today
• Complete
resource list
• Funniest
• Most Useful
• Top 10
TIP: You can create value for
people who are interested in a
core subject or theme & they will
share them…

Tips Are Good Share Bait
Offer tips and
helpful advice
using various
asset types, such
as text, apps,
video, images,
and so on…
TIP: Use tips if your goal is to
show thought leadership or
demonstrate commanding
knowledge in a particular area
of expertise

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What’s Next…
I am going to show you my secret…

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Write a 400 – 500 Word Article
• Start with a brief introductory paragraph
• Write 5 – 6 points with a paragraph to explain
each point
• End with a concluding paragraph
Simple Right?

21 ways to be
Brilliant!
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Now What…
The Secret is Leverage
21 Ways To Be
BRILLIANT!

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Step 1: Publish The Article On Your Blog…
Your blog is your business
journal, The HUB for
everything you do.
• Help your company find
its niche
• Increase the traffic
coming to your site
• Sending your depth of
content and page rank
soaring
• Makes you a fast friend
of the search engines

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Don’t Forget The RSS Feed
This reallysimple syndi
cation method allows
you to automatically
feed your blog’s
content to many
different places,
including many social
networking sites.

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Step 2: Publish It In Your Newsletter
Send and email or a
newsletter gets your
content directly to your
subscribers email inbox.
Another amazing benefit
to email communication
with your readers is that
you can ask them
questions and engage
with people on a more
personal level.

Step 3: Submit Industry Blogs &How To Articles
Submit you article to industry blogs or create your how-to
and step-by-step articles in text, images, video, or other
asset types. This allows other people to read, copy share
(as long as they promote you) and use it in their material.
• related searches
represent a major
segment of search-query
volume.

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Step 4: Post The Article On Google +
Google allows you to
post entire articles on
Google +.
Not to mention, Google
uses them in their
search results!
As a matter of fact..
Post to all of your social
media sites…Reddit,
Stumble it, Digg it…

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Step 5: Offer to post the article on somebody
else’s blog
Look for blogs that
reach the same
target market as
yours, but written
by non-competing
authors.

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Step 6: Print it on your letterhead
Mail it old school to
20 key people in
your network.
People do still
appreciate getting
material by mail.

DHiovwe tros iCfrye ayteo Eunrg acgoinngt eConnttent
Cover a wider range of mediums.
Images, infographics, streaming videos and
auditory content can all help to make
your content more interesting.

Create Downloadable Assets are GREAT!
• Screen savers
• Plug-ins
• Ebooks
• Create a circle
• Excel spread sheet (with a formula)
TIP: Offering up an application, screen savers,
plug-ins, ebooks, and other productivity
enhancements is another great way to solve a
problem for your audience and create a
shareable event.

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Step 7: Create an audio version
This is for people
who prefer to
listen ...
Read it out loud,
record it and post
the MP3 file on
your Web site as a
free download.

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Step 8: Podcasting is Crucial
Post the MP3 file to
your podcast (audio
newsletter)A podcast is
an audio newsletter –
delivered automatically
to listeners.
If you don’t have a
podcast, you can use
Hipcast.com to create
it

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Step 10: Presentation is the Key…
Turn it into a Power
Point presentation and
publish it to
Slideshare.com. Put it
on your site as a
resource for download.
Think of Slideshare as
“YouTube for
PowerPoint”

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Step 11: Spread the Wealth
Publish the same
PowerPoint
presentation to
AuthorStream.com
AuthorStream is not
as big as Slideshare,
but it still has a large
number of users.

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Let’s Get Even More Creative
Remember…Web content
is no longer primarily
about written content.
Although textual content
is still extremely
important, visual content
including images,
infographics, and videos
are also becoming
increasingly popular.

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Step 12: Graphics & Social Media
Save the PowerPoint
slides as individual
graphics, and use
them to create a
series of images and
printed postcards.
Share them one at a
time on your social
media.

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Step 13: Infographics Still Rule
Use Visual.ly to create
an infographic from
the article’s content.
Submit your
Infographic to
infographic sites.
Don’t forget to link to
it.

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Step 14: YouTube Rocks
Record a YouTube video,
talking through the article
point by point. Upload and
optimize the video. Put a
link from the video to your
other assets including the
article on your site blog.

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Step 15: Animation
Save your PowerPoint
slides as individual
graphics, and use
Animoto.com to create an
animated slide show
Animoto turns a
collection of pictures into
an attractive slide show
with music and
animation.

Now It’s Time To Expand Your Work
Expand the article to create even more substantial
content ... Distinguished it as being more exhaustive
and comprehensively
researched.
• Best Of
• Top Ranked
• Complete List Of…
Remember to use detailed information, images, and
commentary for each item

Step 16: Extra, Extra, Read All About It!
• Expand each of the points in the article and turn it
into a special report, which you publish as a free
PDF download on your Web site The report should
be about 3-4 pages long.
• Creating a real-world business case attract a like-minded
business or consumer audience.
• Good case studies can
take on a life of their
own and often get
shared around the Web.

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Step 17: Special Reports Continued…
Upload the PDF
report to Issuu.com
Think of Issuu as
“YouTube for special
reports”

Step 18: Research and Statistical Data
Turn the article in to a one-page diagnostic tool, and
publish this as a PDF report. For each point in the
article, replace the explanation with a simple 0-5
rating scale.
Provide unique insights into a
business or consumer problem.
This is one content idea that could
catapult your website and social
presence into the mainstream
social conversation.

Step 19: Quizzes, Polls and Surveys
Turn your Article into a poll or
Quiz. Take each point and add 3
multiple choice answers along
with an “other”. Use Google
Form maker to create and share.
• Quizzes are a fun way to earn
their attention
• Polls and surveys are a great
way to gauge what your
audience is thinking and get a
pulse on your market-research
efforts.

Step 20: Live Video & Hangouts
Use Ustream, Google Hangouts, or other live
video services to create an event and
broadcast your content.
Create a live
Discussion or
Question & Answer
session with your
your audience.

56
Let’s Talk About Content Engagement
But WAIT, There’s more…

This Is My List Of Engaging Content Ideas
Remember to consider how your audience
consumes content. Use each suggestion
accordingly.

• Insightful Q&As with
interesting people
• Fun, engaging,
informative
• Many asset types,
including video, audio,
text, and images.
• Build relationships Help
broaden my reach and my
network.
The Interview

Stories and Antidotes Special and unique
content comes when
sharing real life stories
and experience.

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Contests and Giveaways
• If you give away something that interests your
key audience, you will receive attention in
return.
• Use your entries as a way to offer additional
content-opt-in opportunities
• Keep in mind that your giveaway should be
relevant to your end goals, or else you will
attract an irrelevant audience.

Contests and Giveaways

FAQ’s
• be considered mandatory
for any business, product,
or service on the Internet.
• provides the answers that
your core audience most
commonly seeks
TIP: Not only for social
outreach but also for
search, because many
people will enter their
common questions about
your business into a search
box.

Reviews
Consider providing regular reviews or
commentary on products, services, or
even business strategies
Use text, video, audio, or a variety
of combinations of asset types.

Recommendations
Great way to illustrate your knowledge
of a particular topic by relaying helpful
choices to your audience.
• TIP: Recommendations put
a more positive spin on the
review process, without
being negative or creating
any ill will with your
audience.

Scoops or Exclusive Announcements
Being first with a great story can be a
tremendous advantage as content breaks
out in real-time.
TIP: Consider contacting
major players in your
business space and ask
whether they have any
new products or services
that you could cover for
your blog

Q & A’s From People Within Your Network
Answering questions and offering expert
advice should be a fundamental part of
your content strategy.
TIP: Post on third-party networks, or
create a blog post with three to five
common questions you’ve received
and answer them for your audience.
Also remember to add your answers
to your site FAQ.

Images and Image Channels
• Showcase entire galleries or photo channels
on Flickr or SmugMug or create your own
galleries on your blog or website.
• Shoot an industry or consumer event and
tell your subjects where to find you online.
TIP: Audiences are almost always
captivated by content about
themselves.

Bios and Get To Know You’s
Routinely spotlight different people on
your team or within your company.
Add a picture and
publish a Q&A.

Live Blogging & Live Tweeting
• blogging live from the event
• Give a factual recap of what is being said in real-time,
or offer your own side commentary.
TIP: Create a #Hashtag. It is
very common for people to
monitor social streams by
hashtag or keyword during
these types of events.

Things To Do
• Local attractions
• Favorite restaurants
• Other helpful localized tips
TIP: If your audience is from
out of town show a little bit
of hospitality and provide
useful content – they won’t
forget.

Posts About Other Posts
• Blog about your blog
• Blog about a press release
• Blog about a citiation
TIP: This way, you can tell the
regular audience in one channel
about his column and also offer
different bits of information to
supplement the topic.

Commentary and Editorials
• Establishing yourself as a conversation leader,
communicate your opinions on the main issues and
topics.
– Blog posts
– Social conversation
– Status updates
– White papers
– Videos…
Be prepared to follow up with comments…

TIP: A good piece of
insight is one of the
best ways to establish
yourself and your
business as a thought
leader in both the
content space and
business space.
Thought Leadership

Glossaries
• Informative content
• Rank well in search
• Glossary terms on a
single page
• Create unique pages
for expanded
definitions
• SHARE IT!

Write Down Ideas
• As you are going through your daily tasks,
• reading your industry blogs,
• conversing with others in your industry,
TIP: Create a spreadsheet that you can
update with interesting bits of
information as you go through the
day.
Refer to this spreadsheet when you
need a content idea for your next
blog.

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And That’s Not ALL!
Prepare for My Fast & Furious
Engagement Tips…

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Do Something Engaging
Take out your smart phone…

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Do Something Engaging
Take a picture
Type:
The King of Content was just crowned by
@AdviceGroup @BigD2014
And share…

Start Engaging
• Ask a provocative question
• Post Something Funny
• Share an interesting blog or an article
• Comment on a recent news item
• Post an inspirational picture or quote or meme
• Request follower feedback
• Ask for reviews on your products or services

Start Engaging
• Add new, useful content to your pages on a
regular basis. Content freshness adds relevancy
to your site in the eyes of the search engines.
• Add viral components to your web site or blog
like reviews, sharing functions, ratings,
visitor comments, etc.
• Invite relevant and authoritative bloggers to
guest post on your blog, to build social
shares and traffic.

Start Engaging
• Always write a unique and catchy Meta
description tag, with a call to action if
applicable, for your post, as it will attract more
click-throughs.
• Blog about the problems your product or service
solves – not about the product or service.
• Broaden your range of services to include video,
podcasts, news, social content and so forth. SEO
is not about 10 blue links anymore.

82
Start Engaging
• When optimizing your blog posts, optimize your
post title tag independently from your blog title.
• Cater to influential bloggers and authority sites
who might link to you, your images, videos,
podcasts, etc. or ask to reprint your content.
• Get the owner or CEO blogging. It’s
priceless! CEO influence on a blog is incredible as
this is the VOICE of the company.

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Start Engaging
• Understand social marketing. It IS part of SEO.
• The more you understand about sites like Digg,
Yelp, del.icio.us, Facebook, etc., the better you
will be able to compete in search and social.
• Videos that show up in Google blended search
results don’t just come from YouTube. Submit
your videos to other quality video sites like
Metacafe, AOL, MSN and Yahoo.

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Start Engaging
• Surround video content on your pages with keyword
rich text. The search engines look at surrounding
content to define the usefulness of the video for the
query.
• Use the words “image” or “picture” in your photo
ALT descriptions and captions. A lot of searches are
for a keyword plus one of those words.
• Enable “Enhanced image search” in your Google
Webmaster Central account. Images are a big part of
the new blended search results.

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Start Engaging
• Think of marketing as storytelling, and think of your
customers as the characters.
• Depressing tweets, vague tweets, tweets about your
weight loss and what you are eating are better kept
to yourself.
• Tweeting a little personality is fun. But for the most
part, stay professional and positive. And always,
always stay classy, of course.
• Stop talking about yourself if you want more
retweets.

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Start Engaging
• If you’re going to tell people to “like” your
company on Facebook, give them a reason why
they should “like” you.
• Use social media contests as an opportunity to
learn more about your customers.
• Leverage social search and boost your rankings
for target keywords by offering content (ebooks,
webinars, etc.) and having them pay with a
tweet.

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Start Engaging
• Actively participate on Google+
and in the Google Authorship program.
• Link your Google+ profile to all blogs and sites
you write
• Whenever possible, link your guest authors’
Google+ profiles to your blog.
• Use an appealing Google+ headshot, as it may be
displayed in Google search results.

This I s Not TV or Radio We Are Talking About
This is not advertising to a
mindless population
catching
glimpses of your brands
during breaks from their
favorite shows or
games while
rushing to the
restroom.

This Is Engagement
Which means you have to engage to make it work
Respond to your followers to make sure the right
relationships are formed and maintained.
Courtesy is a virtue so remember to:
• Check your Facebook messages
• Post to FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Answer Twitter direct messages (DMs)
• Answer Twitter @ replies
• Engage in LinkedIn Discussions

Remember:
• keep a tab on your analytics
• check out what the competition is up to
• Find out what works and what doesn't
• classify those that bring in the most results
• and don’t forget to optimize your content.

Q&A
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Big (D)esign Conference 101 Amazing Content Ideas

Big (D)esign Conference 101 Amazing Content Ideas

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Editor's Notes