The start of a new year is touted as one of the best times to try something new or make positive changes. For marketers, that often translates to taking a step back and evaluating the current strategy. Looking back at how the strategy fared in the previous year can provide a good sense of what did and did not resonate with the audience or propel the business toward its marketing goals. By taking a closer look, especially at the overarching content marketing strategy and the individual assets you’ve created, you can realign your current plans to ensure you continue to create the content your audience wants.
In our own retrospective here at Brafton, we rounded up the blogs published in 2016 with the highest engagement to find out what topics were really speaking to our readers (that’s you!). Perhaps not surprisingly given our range of services, our most popular blogs touched on everything from social media and content creation to SEO and overall content marketing strategy advice. So without further ado, let’s see which blogs topped our list this year!
10 need-to-know Instagram facts (+ 4 steps to a winning Insta-marketing strategy)
For the old-school marketers who doubt the power of this visual social network (we hear you naysayers asking: “where’s the ROI?”, “why can’t we include links?” and “what is this DOING for my brand?”), we’re here with tips for winning an Insta-marketing strategy.
12 marketing conferences to mark on your 2017 calendar
While even we won’t be attending every single event next year, we wanted to highlight the top marketing expos, conferences and trade shows happening across the country so you can start planning which you’ll check out.
Social media in 2017: New trends for the new year
What social media marketing trends can organizations expect in 2017, and how can they create successful campaigns to bring in results? We spoke with members of Brafton’s Promotions and Engagement team to get their thoughts, expertise and insight on what the new year will bring to the world of social media.
Build your buyer personas with real user data from social media
Personas help to cut down on extraneous and resource-heavy marketing techniques, and eliminate the wasted content that doesn’t reach the right people. Your social media presence has been passively recording your followers’ behavioral patterns, demographic information and interactions with your brand, so the first step for marketers creating personas is to harness this information.
Top free analysis tools for your social media strategy
Social media, like any other digital marketing outlet, requires thoughtful planning to get the most return on the work being put in. When you’re in the early stages of developing your social media strategy, take advantage of these free insight and analytics tools.
3 content marketing lessons from the success of Pokemon GO
The first step to create a successful marketing campaign is to build a buzz around your product or service. The dream is to have an asset “go viral,” much in the same way that Pokemon Go’s popularity has spread across the country like an infectious disease. Luckily, the craze that swept the nation has some strong marketing insights that can be gleaned from its sharp rise to fame.
SEO in 2016: 4 areas you may need to modernize
The techniques and technology SEOs use become obsolete as fast as bloggers can publish their “10 tips to improve SEO.” The one thing that stays more or less the same? You. If you’ve ever searched online, you are already more prepared to manage your SEO than you might expect. When you apply your own experiences and search preferences, it will help you customize your content to reach others.
How to use content marketing to rock your next trade show
You’ve just landed in the city where the big trade show you’re attending this year is being held, ready to start schmoozing. But there’s more to a successful event than just being there, so we’ve built a skeleton structure of how you can sync your content marketing efforts to get maximum ROI from your next big event.
Generate B2B leads with your video content: Our best 3 practices
For many B2B marketers, lead generation is the primary goal. Video can be a powerful medium to help accomplish that – particularly as prospects begin to move through the sales funnel. Here are some best practices to keep in mind.
3 brands with the best social media campaigns in 2016
By incorporating the right details into your social media marketing plan, you can experience the wide range of benefits that these platforms offer. Take a look below at some of the best social media campaigns we saw over the past year and what made each of them successful.
