I like to call 2020 the Year of Data Viz.

Due to the ugly unfolding of COVID-19, as well as the run-up to the November election, all of us were exposed to a massive trove of data-driven research … and the beautifully creative ways journalists and bloggers chose to visualize those insights.

For content marketers who have access to original research (think: original surveys, analyzing user data, or analyzing third party data), visualizing data is a fantastic way to get attention and earn credibility.Continue Reading

More companies are using research as a form of content marketing – be it survey-based studies that dive deep into an industry trend or analyses of internal user data to show off the brand’s expertise and point of view.

Yet, all that new interest comes with a learning curve. Original research is one of those areas where so much can go wrong, especially if you’re inexperienced. Most problems I see relate to one of two things: poor survey design or faulty statistical analysis.Continue Reading

A version of this article originally appeared in CCO magazine.

If you’ve donated to conservation groups, chances are your inbox and mailbox are littered with appeals from like-minded nonprofits. According to nonprofit research organization Guidestar, over 20,000 nonprofits are dedicated to conservation and environmental education.

In short, there’s a lot of competition for donations.

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Incorporating differing opinions, collaborative friction, and dissenting ideas into your creative processes adds powerful dimensions to your marketing conversations. Even better – it can also improve your marketing results.

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Updated July 14, 2020

From a young age, I was told I had an odd voice. It was a little too low for a girl and I tended to whisper a lot. I blame the whispering on the house I grew up in, which was big and echoey. If you didn’t want mom to hear you talking about inane things on the phone, whispering was a necessity.

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Marketers’ reliance on productivity tools can mask operational concerns that lead to low content quality and sub-par team performance. Forget the tech Band-Aids and focus on these four concepts to streamline your workflow and reduce system-wide stress.

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Editor’s note: Staying sane while working has never been more challenging and necessary. We’re bringing back this 2018 article to help.

I committed to evaluating my personal tech stack (yeah, I know that’s an odd collection of words, but you’ll see what I mean). My workload felt out of control. My goal was to be more intentional about finding worthwhile shortcuts and workarounds, as well as trying to make life simpler – an undertaking I jokingly call Clare 2.0.

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If you think it’s too soon to incorporate AI tools into your content marketing, you’re already behind the curve. There are interesting, unusual, and worthwhile applications of AI you can – and should – put in place right now. Read on for a look at how machine learning and predictive analytics are reshaping the marketing landscape and ideas for starting to power your program with the benefits it offers.

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