Summary In today's episode, I walk through how to measure your content marketing so you actually know whether it is working. Here's what this means for you. You'll learn how to pick the right metrics that match your real goals instead of guessing with vanity numbers. You'll also learn these concepts: why metric scope (event,…
One of the more opaque things about Google Analytics is understanding how the software processes various types of tracking codes. If we don’t know how Google Analytics interprets the different kinds of tracking that it uses for attribution, then we may not be able to explain changes in our analytics data. The Importance of Good…
I posted a chart in a discussion forum the other day, and someone responded that it was a great insight. That left me scratching my head – the chart was useful, to be sure, a predictive forecast of when a topic was likely to trend in the next few months. But it wasn’t an insight,…
One of the most powerful tools at our disposal for demystifying complex subjects is the analogy. When we work with analogies, from simple comparisons to skeuomorphic design (digital designs that mimic real world objects), we help people learn faster, retain information better and longer, and reduce confusion. So, why don’t we use these tools more…
Suppose you’re like me and not the world’s best archer (or even a good archer). You own a variety of bow shapes and sizes, and you plink away at your target with them. Some bows are a little easier to score well with, others… not so much. But you practice and you get a sense…
A glut of ink, mostly digital, has been spilled about Apple’s upcoming Mail Privacy Protection and the doom it will supposedly spell for email marketers. If you’re doing email marketing correctly, with best practices for tracking, you will largely be unaffected. What Exactly Is Happening? Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection in iOS/iPadOS 15 and the upcoming…
Leigh asks, “What is your best advice for building connections with audiences through content marketing?” Make content that’s valuable to them. That’s it. Look, nothing makes a connection to someone else like saying, hey, I made you this thing that’s helpful and useful to you, and I made it thinking about what you need. It’s…
I was reading through my LinkedIn feed the other day and a post caught my eye, from a public relations professional who was ranting at the state of their industry. Their critique of PR was on point: the old way of spray and pray announcements, completely off-target pitches, and trying to force their way in…
Lee asks, “How can marketers break through the digital content fatigue audiences are feeling now?” Fatigue comes from overexposure, from too much of something. We reach fatigue in every area of life, from eating the same kind of food to doing the same kind of workout to consuming the same kind of marketing. Before we…
One of the most straightforward and yet difficult questions to answer in marketing strategy is whether we should be fixing what’s broken or doubling down on what’s working for us. The answer to that question has to be governed by several things: Do we have the resources and capabilities to fix what’s broken? Do we…
