Lessons from Digital Marketing Experts

Digital marketing requires equal parts art and science. You need creativity to tell the best story and get your brand attention in a crowded marketplace. Science is needed to collect data and measure results. Both elements need to come together to create the ultimate digital marketing strategy.

During the recent Content Marketing World (CMWorld) conference in Cleveland, Ohio, more than 2,500 digital marketers gathered to learn about content marketing straight from the experts. There were a ton of networking opportunities and takeaways during the conference, so you may want to start planning to attend in 2015.

Until then, here are some lessons that you can start incorporating into your digital strategy now.

Use Influencers (But Do It the Right Way)

You know how a celebrity can send a simple tweet about something and it will get a ton of retweets and favorites? Even if it is something obvious like “Driving in the rain is the WORST,” people will share it. Celebrities also can inspire action, even getting people to buy things they may not need. That’s because, like it or not, celebrities have influence over people.

As digital marketers, influence is an important part of the job. Your brand probably doesn’t have the budget to hire Meryl Streep for your marketing efforts, but that doesn’t mean that other influencers are off-limits to you.

Influencer marketing was one of the topics covered during a session at CMWorld. Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, gave expert advice on the right way to use influencers for your marketing efforts.

Focusing on building relationships and trust was one of Odden’s major points. But to do that, you first have to know how to find an influencer, not just a popular figure.

When looking for influencers in your industry, Odden advised to look for people who can inspire others into some sort of action based on your goals. You can use influencers to create content, but don’t forget to bring it back to your strategy and audience.

“Be the best answer for your customers, regardless of where they are looking,” Odden said.

Digital marketing thought leaders Joe Pullizzi, Ann Handley and Lee Odden

Strong Writers For Strong ROI

Writing is a major asset in digital marketing. Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs and author of the upcoming book Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, did a session at CMWorld about how writing is the future of content. She explained how writing is not just the heart of content marketing, but also the lungs, central nervous system and other major organs as well.

Handley gave a lot expert advice, like how important it is to focus on being useful, relevant and telling inspired stories. She also gave five steps to follow for your content writing efforts:

1. Follow specific goals and plans. Handley advised to keep asking “so what?” and answering with “because…” and the reason why until you get down to the final goal.


2. Your writing should have a “strong, unforgettable voice.” Handley said that Crowdrise is a good example of a great voice.


3. To tell the best story, Handley advised to “write to one person.”


4. Look for moments of inspiration everywhere. Handley told the crowd to “make the customer the hero of your story.”


5. Last, she said to give gifts to your customers. No, you don’t have to send presents, but creating a memorable customer experience or sending out helpful newsletters or sources of inspiration can motivate your customer toward action and increase their loyalty.

Digital marketing is full of experts, so seek out some of your own. Whether you try to build the relationship and leverage them as an influencer or simply learn from their knowledge, staying abreast of the work of experts will surely inspire and delight you.

Lessons from Digital Marketing Experts