When determining which articles to create for our clients we strive write about relevant information. We then tie the information into the client’s core message. Social media allows us tap into the conversation and then utilize conversation as a basis of our content. Andy Beal, of Marketing Pilgrim, has a great post about this titled: Social Media and Content Discovery: A Growing Relationship

Read the article here: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/10/social-media-and-content-discovery-a-growing-relationship.html

The FTC has new guidelines for paid endorsements and payment in-kind. Bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

An update to FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising includes the following language:

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Please be sure to note:

The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

Related stories:

PaidContent: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-new-ftc-regs-require-greater-disclosure-of-advertising-and-bloggers/

AdAge: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=139457

PaidContent: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-can-good-blogging-seal-of-approval-help-mommy-bloggers-avoid-the-regula/

Content comes in many forms; as  long and short articles, as video and slideshows, and other forms of digital content. Sometimes determining the best way to present and distribute content can be confusing. Additionally, with social media, there are virtually hundreds of ways to post content.

This is where The Content Marketing Playbook: 42 Ways to Connect with Customers comes into play. The playbook features a smorgasbord of content options: long and short, textual and visual, simple and sophisticated. The idea is not to present a comprehensive review; content marketing is too big and evolving too quickly for a “definitive” summary. Read more

Local Newspapers – Diminishing in Value?
The internet has created a significant impact in transmitting news to the world. Formerly, newspapers were the chief means of local news. More and more news networks find themselves in a compromising situation: Sell newspapers or face extinction. The question is whether or not local newspapers require radical reinvention in order to compete with the lightening speed of the internet. The answer is most definitely “Yes”.

Local Newspaper Reinvention
It’s incumbent upon all journalists and media moguls to face differences between journalism in the press and journalism as it exists on the internet. There is a difference. Local newspapers have a good opportunity the internet doesn’t offer: local embedding of local news with larger saturation. In other words, local news with an appeal directed toward local readers. To radically reinvent local newspapers, pressmen need to rethink their readership carefully and seriously. For decades, sensationalism has been the main composition of news. Yet, there has always been interest in local news. Readers want to know what is happening in their local towns, cities, counties and boroughs. The other part of newspaper reinvention should be to consider what captures local attention. Too often, larger tabloids offer sensationalized national news that may or may not include local events. Local newspapers can print national news with a local viewpoint. Read more

Since the dawn of the new century, it has become increasingly obvious that traditional “command and control” marketing, which was the guiding advertising principle for decades, is feeling the influence of the Internet. Today “content” marketing, which is organic and more complex, is also coming into use.

“Content marketing can achieve many marketing objectives” states Dan Sturdivant, content marketing expert, “using a rock solid process and stated goals will help CMO’s reach their immediate goals as well as build a long lasting asset that produces positive ROI.”

Why content matters

Whether content is created internally or by the user, it will become more important in the future. Wikipedia tells us that publishing is “the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view.” With this in mind, it would seem that marketing has morphed into publishing. At the same time, however, the appearance of various media channels that are all enabled by Web 2.0 is taking content marketing in another direction. Read more