Commenting Platform Disqus Introduces Sponsored Comments Disqus, which says it powers the comment sections on almost 3 million websites, is announcing a new type of ad unit today — Sponsored Comments. Since Disqus already runs ads through its Promoted Discovery program, the idea of a Sponsored Comment seems like a pretty natural addition. However, in a company blog post, General Manager David Fleck said this actually stems from the launch of Featured Comments a month ago, with the Disqus team asking, “Can we use the concept of Featured Comments in order to make more money for publishers and allow brands to reach specific audiences?” It sounds like a Sponsored Comment is basically a Featured Comment that advertisers pay for, occupying the same spot at the top of the thread. Not only should it bring in money for Disqus and the publisher, but Fleck suggested that it’s good for marketers, too, because it helps them advertise on “passion blogs around specific topics,” which might not be large enough to employ their own sales team.
Harvard Library Is Hiring a 'Wikipedian in Residence' The school's Houghton Library is seeking someone to help make its collections as accessible as possible. WIkimedia Commons The Houghton Library on the Harvard campus holds the university's collection of rare books. The Houghton Library on the Harvard campus is awesome, is what I'm saying. Yesterday, John Overholt, Houghton's Curator of Early Modern Books & Manuscripts, posted a job listing. The Wikipedian in Residence will, according to the job announcement, help to "expand coverage on Wikipedia of topics relevant to Houghton collections." This won't be the first Wikipedia in Residence attempting to narrow the divide between the intellectual resources of the campus of those of the web. Overholt explained the reasons for the creation of the Harvard version of the job over email: We're hiring a Wikipedian in Residence for the same reason that lots of museums and libraries have over the last few years.
How GoPro and Tesla Hacked Digital Marketing Dominic Smith is a senior writer and content strategist for Rackspace Digital, the digital marketing infrastructure specialists. Digital marketing, like the “analog” marketing that came before it, relies on word of mouth. Clicks, shares, pins and retweets are all part of the conversation. Even in the age of BuzzFeed and go-viral formulas (online quizzes involving yesteryear celebrities apparently back in style), many brands still engage traditional ad agencies and marketing consultants to craft their message. Two companies that have broken away from the pack for their unconventional use of digital marketing channels are GoPro Camera and Tesla, the electric car manufacturer. Its secret sauce? GoPro camera: A window onto the world At its most basic level, a camera is a lens, a window onto the world. Even though it’s mostly invisible in this video, it’s the camera and the GoPro brand that get most of the credit. Tesla: A carmaker without a dealer network The power of “free” advertising
7 Tips for Igniting Your Content With Social Media Angie Pascale | March 5, 2014 | 7 Comments inShare62 You can't just create a video, post it on Facebook, and expect it to generate tons of awareness, engagement, and sales. You need to put thought and structure behind the content you create and share on social media profiles. "Content is fire. Jay Baer uses this analogy to explain the idea that content is the main substance in any digital marketing campaign; social media channels ignite that content and help it to spread. But you can't just create a video, post it on Facebook, and expect it to generate tons of awareness, engagement, and sales. 1. In addition to the standard methods of audience discovery - industry research, focus groups, and brand surveys - you can also use social media data to build audience personas. 2. Take Charmin's Sit or Squat app, for example. Charmin isn't selling anything with Sit or Squat. 3. To broaden the conversation and take the spotlight off your brand, you should create content pillars.
Yahoo’s 18-year-old Prodigy Nick D’Aloisio on the Future of News Yesterday, Yahoo announced that its “atomized” news digest was being made available on Android, and in virtually every market in which Yahoo is active. It’s a bold move for a product that has only been available for less than six months. Behind the ambitious project is Nick D’Aloisio, the 18-year-old who sold his company Summly to Yahoo a little over a year ago for a reported $30 million. Since then, he’s been working within Yahoo to integrate the technology, and bring his nugget-sized take on news to the masses. Following the launch of Canadian and International editions of the resulting Yahoo News Digest, TNW caught up with D’Aloisio to talk about the next steps for the service and how the humble newspaper will still inform our news consumption in the future. It’s been quite a journey already to get this far, can you fill us in on a bit of that journey? Nick D’Aloisio: For a bit of context, the journey basically began when I joined Yahoo, about this time last year. It is.
How to Make your Content Stand Out: Give it Muscle If you want your online content to have an impact on your audience, it pays to give it some serious muscle. Here’s how… Make it longer, better, slower, stronger Sure, your audience has limited time, but if everything is brief, “snackable” and relentless, you may end up getting more unsubscribes than you’d like. Consider changing the length and frequency of your content to make an impact. Yes, there will always be the scores of OMG political gaffes, animals jumping on trampolines and Ryan Gosling memes. When experiences are immersive and compelling, users become more invested. Patagonia does a great job with slower, more thoughtful, yet simple content: elegant photo essays, gorgeous, immersive big wave surfing videos, and in-depth profiles of their Ambassadors. Adjust the volume Try slowing down the cadence, too. The company VonDutch spins a yarn about their namesake Kenneth Howard through super cool iconography and visual wizardry. Do it live! Image credit: Shutterstock
A guide to getting everlasting traffic with keyword research Denis Duvauchelle is CEO and co-founder of Twoodo, helping your team organize itself using simple #hashtags. When you look at any of the thought leaders in marketing and copywriting, read any top keyword research guide (from Hubspot, Copyblogger, Moz) they will all tell you the same thing: You gotta get your keyword research right. What will keyword research impact on? SEOSEMsocial media activitycustomer discoverygetting the right people into the funnelbranding Why? We are a team collaboration tool. Language is a tool you can use to build data about your ideal users, where they are, how to find them and how to attract them. People identify with the things they use – here are some amazing survey results about iPhones, Androids and Blackberry users: iPhone users are quite vain and travel moreAndroid users are good cooks, work longer hours and drink moreBlackberry users are richer and eat out the most These companies got their language right. Validate your assumptions with keyword research
6 Steps to Build a Social Listening Dashboard Do you want to streamline your social listening? Are you looking for tools to help you find and share content? Tracking social mentions, finding interesting content and following industry news is important, but time-consuming. In this article you’ll discover six ways to optimize your listening tasks and the tools to get it done. Why Social Listening? To build community, start conversations, deepen existing relationships, keep up with brand mentions and watch for customer service opportunities, you have to listen. As you probably know from experience, social listening can be a job in and of itself, nevermind your other social media marketing duties. There are many parts to effective social media marketing. A few changes in your listening tactics can have a real impact on your daily productivity. Before you start setting up your new social listening routine, make sure you have something to work with. I suggest you put that information into a master spreadsheet so it’s easily accessible.
OpenX launches the first global exchange for real-time bidding on native mobile advertising 26 February '14, 06:00am Follow Ad tech leader OpenX today announced Native O|X, a new ad exchange with an unprecedented combination of several of the most popular trends in the industry: mobile-first, real-time bidding and native advertising. While the new offering might sound like a pile of buzzwords to those outside the advertising space, Native O|X represents a natural next step for OpenX and the industry. The firm helped pioneer the rise of real-time bidding and programmatic advertising, which relies on software algorithms to automate the buying and selling of ad inventory. With its rich media and video content, Native O|X should result in a better overall ad experience on mobile for us consumers. “The 320×50 banners that are cemented in mobile sites and apps are not that effective…What publishers are telling us is that those units just don’t perform well,” Rob Kramer, OpenX’s general manager for mobile, said in an interview.
29 Free Internet Tools To Improve Your Marketing 4.7K Flares Filament.io 4.7K Flares × Aren’t shortcuts just the best? While everyone else takes the long way, you and your shortcut get to breeze right through, skipping a few steps and feeling pretty smart doing it. Finding a good marketing shortcut feels especially great, considering all that we marketers have to do in a day. That’s why I went hunting for the top free marketing tools in a variety of marketing categories. Research Tools We’ll start at the beginning: researching topics, sites and ideas. 1. I don’t know why more people don’t talk about Google Scholar, but I love this tool for researching science-heavy articles and digging into emerging studies. 2. Described as a search engine for links, Open Site Explorer allows you to see a list of the sites that are linking to you – or another site. 3. See what the world is searching for and how interest in concepts has changed over time with Google Trends. Ideation Tools 4. Stumped for ideas? Not bad, huh? 5. Reading and Writing Tools 6.
mashable Shutterstock, the stock photography firm, is branching out into music. The New York-based company introduced Shutterstock Music on Tuesday, which lets companies pick background music for videos, commercials and podcasts, among other uses. The company's site lets you select music by genre, mood and tempo. Wyatt Jenkins, VP of product for Shutterstock, says an established business already exists for linking deep-pocketed advertisers with well known artists' work (like the Rolling Stones catalog, for example). "We saw a sweet spot in the market in terms of licensing," Jenkins says. Shutterstock will vie with established companies in the category, including AudioMicro and Pond5. Have something to add to this story?
5 Ways to Connect With Your Fans Using Visual Content Do you give your customers the best information in the simplest way possible? Are you connecting with your fans through visual content? Pictures and video can inspire and amaze your audience in a way text just can’t. In this article you’ll find five ways you can use images and video to connect with and add value for your audience. Your Audience Craves Visual Content Our brains love images. If you have an important message you need to convey or just want to stand out from the crowd, visual content (whether it’s a picture or a video) is the way to go. Stand out from the crowd by sharing images that convey your story. Don’t worry if you aren’t artistic. Here are five ways to use visual content to build a deeper relationship with your fans, followers and customers. #1: Elicit Emotion With a Good Story Using compelling visual content to tell or extend your story sparks emotion in your audience. #2: Make an Impression With Quick Thinking Is your team ready to jump on in-the-moment opportunities?