Content Marketing For Dummies

Susan Gunelius is a 20-year marketing veteran and President and CEOof KeySplash Creative, Inc. Her marketing-related content appears onForbes.com, MSNBC.com, and other business-oriented sites. She is the author of Blogging All-in-One For Dummies and Google Blogger For Dummies. Susan speaks about these topics at events around the world.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Conventions Used in This Book 2What You Don’t Have to Read 3How This Book Is Organized 3Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 5Part I: Getting Started with a Content Marketing Plan 7Chapter 1:  Defining the Content Marketing Opportunity 9Understanding What Content Marketing Is 10Understanding the Google Effect: How to Leverage the Power of Search 17Revealing the Broad Reach of Online Content 21Shifting from a Marketer to a Publisher Mindset 23Developing Content to Build Your Brand and Form Relationships 25Committing to a Long-Term Strategy 29Benchmarking Other Businesses That Are Doing It Right 30Chapter 2: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 33Researching Your Competition 34Identifying Your Audience 39Establishing Goals and Choosing the Best Forms of Content Marketing 44Creating a Core Branded Online Destination 45Surrounding Consumers with Branded Content 48Comparing Free versus Premium Content Strategies 49Chapter 3: Taking the First Steps to ExecutingYour Content Marketing Plan 51Cross-Promoting and Interlinking for Greater Success 52Link Building versus Link Baiting Strategies 53Understanding the Do’s and Don’ts of Content Marketing 55Giving Up Control and Letting Your Content Spread 60Using Content as a First Step to Sales 62Leveraging Design to Enhance Content 63Part II: Marketing with Long-Form Content 67Chapter 4: Introducing the Tools of WrittenLong-Form Content Marketing 69Understanding and Using Long-Form Content Marketing for Your Business 70Becoming a Blogger 71Writing Articles and Contributing to Web Sites 81Authoring Ebooks 84Writing Press Releases 87Writing White Papers 89Publishing Presentations 91Chapter 5: Using Video, Audio, Online Events, and E-Mail for Long-Form Content Marketing 93Creating Videos 93Using Audio and Podcasts 100Holding Online Events 103Integrating E-Mail Marketing into Your Content Marketing Efforts 106Chapter 6: Writing in Long Form for the Web 109Finding Your Style and Voice 109Making Your Long-Form Content Shareworthy 110Following and Breaking Formal Writing Rules 111Formatting Long-Form Content 112Finding More Tools for Long-Form WebWriting and Content Marketing 114Chapter 7: Taking Long-Form Web Content to the Next Level 119Using Search Engine Optimization 119Building Relationships and Opening the Doors for Dialogue 126Syndicating Content for Broader Exposure 128Part III: Marketing with Short-Form Content 129Chapter 8: Introducing the Tools ofShort-Form Content Marketing 131Understanding What Short-Form Marketing Is 131Publishing with Facebook 132Networking with LinkedIn 140Finding More Social Networking Options 150Chapter 9: Using Twitter and Creative Ideas for Short-Form Content Marketing 151Microblogging with Twitter 151Uploading Photos and Images 164Reviewing Other Short-Form Content Marketing Tools 166Chapter 10: Writing in Short Form for the Web 171Comparing and Contrasting Short-Form to Long-Form Web Writing 171Finding Your Voice 172Formatting Tips 174Adding Value and Getting Shared with Fewer Words 175Following Short-Form Web Writing Etiquette 177Chapter 11: Discovering Ways to Improve Short-Form Content Marketing 179Increasing Your Search Engine Rankings 179Abbreviating, Truncating, and Shortening Content the Right Way 181Tools and Tricks to Get More from Short-Form Content Marketing 184Part IV: Engaging in Online Conversations to Share Content 187Chapter 12:  Defining Conversational Content Marketing 189Understanding What Conversational Content Marketing Is 189Jumpstarting Dialogue 190Being Personable and Engaging 191Conversing and Sharing Content the Right Way 192Building Relationships 194Chapter 13: Introducing the Tools ofConversational Web Writing 197Commenting on Blogs 197Conversing on Twitter 206Using Social Networks for Conversations 211Communicating on Forums 216Commenting on Other Forms of Social Media 221Chapter 14: Getting the Most out of Online Conversations 227Saving Time and Effort with Handy Tools 227Adjusting Your Conversations and Tone for Your Audience 231Using Keywords and Links in Conversations 232Understanding Online Conversation Etiquette 233Evaluating Discussions and Tweaking Efforts 234Part V: Achieving Long-Term Success 239Chapter 15: Integrating Your Content Marketing Efforts 241The Importance of Integrating Marketing Efforts 241Interlinking Your Online Content 242Making It Easy for Others to Share and Talk about Your Content 250Finding Content Marketing Opportunities 253Chapter 16: Analyzing Results and Fine-Tuning Your Strategy 259Monitoring Your Online Reputation 259Responding to Criticisms and Inaccuracies 267Knowing What to Track 269Finding Tools to Analyze Marketing Metrics 272Conducting Ongoing Research 275Retooling a Content Marketing Strategy 278Chapter 17: Building a Content Marketing Team 283Identifying Resource Needs 283Asking Employees to Help 285Considering the Budget 286Establishing Expectations and Requirements 287Finding Help with Content Creation, Sharing, and Promotion 289Monitoring Performance 292Part VI: The Part of Tens 293Chapter 18: Ten Free Tools to Get Started withContent Marketing 295WordPress.org 295stock.xchng 296Paint.NET 297Polldaddy 298Core FTP 299CoffeeCup 299Google Analytics 300Google Alerts 300bit.ly 300Google Bookmarks 301Chapter 19: Ten Sites to Publish Your Content for Free 303Blogger 303Twitter 304Facebook 304LinkedIn 304YouTube 305SlideShare 305Flickr 305BlogTalkRadio 306Podbean.com 307EzineArticles.com 307Chapter 20: Ten Resources for Content Marketing Help 309Blogging All-in-One For Dummies 309About.com Blogging 310WordPress Codex 310Google Blogger For Dummies 310Facebook Help 311LinkedIn Learning Center 311Twitter For Dummies 312SEOmoz 312W3Schools 31330-Minute Social Media Marketing 313Part VII: Appendixes 315Appendix A: Sample Content Marketing Quick Start Plans 317A Blog-Focused Content Marketing Quick Start Plan 318A Facebook Page Content Marketing Quick Start Plan 319A YouTube Channel Content Marketing Quick Start Plan 321Appendix B: Glossary 323Index 331