…featuring a tool called Gist and you can see it here over the internet!
Here’s a brief outline of my intro:
This event is hosted by my friend Dana VanDen Heuvel at The Docking Station in Green Bay, however, thanks to the new functionality in Google+ of being able to broadcast a hangout over the air in YouTube, I’ll be broadcasting and recording the event in this post at Noon CDT. You can either watch it here or join more directly by connecting with toddlohenry@gmail.com in Google+…
…as much as I am an internet mechanic who helps thinkers become thought leaders! Here’s what I mean…
Yes, I do WordPress websites buy my emphasis is not on high maintenance sites that look pretty and deliver no traffic. I’d rather you think of me as an internet mechanic that can keep your content marketing engine running smoothly. Comment, call or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to you and your organization…
An editorial focus and calendar that reinforces it may be the single most important thing you can do if you want to blog for thought leadership. In his ground breaking book ‘Brand Stand’, Craig Badings writes…
The more research you do on the topic [on which you choose to focus] the more you will understand the space you want to enter. Ask yourself: Who is already playing in that space? What they are saying? Are they achieving cut through? Does our company have substantially more to say or something unique to offer in that space or not? Your deciding question should be ‘Can we own that space?’ If you cannot own a space my advice would be do not go there.
If you have decided you can ‘own the space’, here is an overly simplified formula for achieving alignment in your content marketing strategy and getting ownership:
Brainstorm around your unique offerings in the space. Ask yourself “what are the problems my clients expect me to solve and how do I solve them in a unique way?”
Use Google’s keyword tools to research keywords around those unique offerings
Track trusted sites and keyword searches in Google Reader; read primarily those things that deepen your expertise in your unique offerings without losing the context of the whole space
Only curate or create content on your blog related to that unique offering
Leverage social media, etc. to amplify your content
Connect effectively with the readers you draw in
If you do those things in that order, you will have alignment around solving your customer problems and you will be found when people are looking for your solution[s]. In order to effectively cover my space, for example, which is content management and marketing for thought leadership, I track the topics content management, content marketing and ‘thought leadership’ marketing as well as the following tools:
Blogging
Facebook
Google+
LinkedIn
Twitter
and supporting tools like Google Reader, Shareaholic, Storify, etc.
Thursday, for example, is Twitter day. Every Thursday I reflect on Twitter as part of a balanced content management and marketing for thought leadership strategy and ‘storify’ a summary of the best articles from the previous week. This tactical approach ‘forces’ me to not only review the best content from the previous week in Google Reader and Twitter, but be sure to cover it in my blog.
Questions? Feedback? Comment below or use the connect form. In the meantime, here’s a summary of the best of what I found in content marketing, LinkedIn and Twitter this past week…
By now, most people have heard that the Google motto is ‘don’t be evil‘. Current trends in social media indicate that many are wondering whether or not Google has forgotten that mantra and took a left turn somewhere in 2011. Even I, the Google fan boy that I am, must admit that some of Google’s recent changes — like the ones made to Google Reader on November 1, 2011 — have left a sour taste in my mouth…
Still, as a social media instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, I fought hard to have a Google class added to the social media curriculum. Why? The value of Google’s ‘free’ tools is so great that I think it’s foolish NOT to use them despite the hidden cost. All of life is about trade-offs and compromises. Although I may have sold my soul to Google long ago, my students still have a choice…
I firmly believe that Google has two of the three most powerful tools for the collection phase of content management; Gmail and Google Reader. I firmly believe I would not be who I am doing what I am doing without those two tools. Gmail allows me to effectively handle my ‘just in time’ content while Google Reader helps me handle my ‘just in case’ content. They go together like peanut butter and chocolate to help me manage the content I need to be a thought leader in my space…
Per usual, here’s a collection of the best Google articles I’ve found this past week. Enjoy!!!
Google, Gmail, Google Reader, and now Google+ are all a vital part of a content management and marketing for thought leadership system. I use Gmail and Google Reader for content management and Google+ for content marketing. Gmail, and it’s business version Google Apps for Business, are critical for managing what I call ‘just in time’ information — information that affects relationships and revenue. Google Reader is what I use to handle ‘just in case’ information like news and industry trends. Applying this approach to your content management will go a long way toward lightening the load in your inbox, but Gmail features like Priority Inbox, keyboard shortcuts, etc. give Gmail a clear advantage over other email systems, too. Google Reader allows users to create a virtual newspaper that delivers up to the minute reports on the things that are important to your world. Together these Google products are like the peanut butter and chocolate combination of content management. The cherry on top of the sundae is that these Google tools, like so many others, are available as excellent android apps as well!
The best thing about these products is that they are free, or have the appearance of free. Even with news like this report from Mashable, I still think these tools are a good value…
Google+ is still an unknown variable in my content marketing world. I’m not happy with the way that Google is ‘forcing’ me to use it whether I want to or not, but I am gradually starting to use it as part of my content marketing plan. Sometimes I’m grateful that my social media certification course at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College forces me to be familiar with all these tools! btw, Google Reader is what I consider to be a ‘secret weapon’ for my work. I’ve done several posts on it — here’s a link to a series I did on getting content into and out of Google Reader that you might enjoy…
In the meantime, here’s a collection of the best content I’ve read on Gmail, Google Reader and Google+ in the past week:
Bright, shiny objects! 