TMG’s Content Blog: Engage

As Traditional Media Shuts Its Doors, Content Marketing Is Having an Open House

The shifting tides of the digital revolution are causing tsunamis in traditional media. Discussions around paid vs. non-paid writers sparked fierce debate among media professionals and now the Washington Post’s decision to charge readers for access to its website has reignited the discussion around a choice many traditional media outlets are weighing: To paywall or […]

The Rise of Content Spam (and How to Make Sure You’re Not Piling On)

I love the smell of content in the morning. Fresh, handcrafted, thoughtfully curated, intriguing, inviting, informative and eye-opening. I could give coffee the credit for being the best part of waking up but in all honesty, I’ve got to give credit where credit is due: I love nothing more than opening my laptop and finding […]

The Venn Diagram of Strategic Content

The branded content bandwagon is running short on elbow room. As more and more marketers realize that smart content can outperform advertising (and that the best ads actually are content in disguise), brands are creating and distributing branded content at increasing rates. This should be a welcome sea change, right? People are filtering out ad […]

Say Goodbye to Google Reader: 4 Alternatives to Keep You Organized

Yes, the rumors are true. Starting July 1, 2013, Google will shut down its reader service, giving us dedicated users around three months to find an alternative. Many of you might be saying to yourselves, “But I use Google Reader every day. Why would Google do such a thing?” According to Google, usage for the […]

4 Ways Bloggers Can Keep Their Content Fresh

4 Ways Bloggers Can Keep Their Message From Going Stale

There are three commandments I follow when developing content for my professional and personal blogs: Be honest. Be human. Don’t be boring. Even if you religiously subscribe to those tenets, it still can be a struggle to keep your message from going stale. Here are four ways you can keep your content as fresh as […]

3 Lessons Content Marketers Can Learn From Elton John

There aren’t too many recording artists who have had a better run at the start of their careers than Elton John did in the late 1960s, early 1970s. His first five albums—“Empty Sky,” “Elton John,” “Tumbleweed Connection,” “Madmen Across the Water,” and “Honky Château”—were released in a four-year span and feature some of the most […]

Lessons From Ben Affleck: How to Recreate Your Brand Image, Find a Niche, and More

The year is 1998. Two fresh-faced Boston boys giddily accept their Oscars for Best Original Screenplay. Affleck is the class valedictorian, standing at the podium with wide-eyed ambition. Overnight, he becomes the new golden boy. Not only the kind of All-American who girls want to poster on their walls, but also the kind of artist […]

Want to Influence Bloggers? Stop Begging and Start Blogging

Despite the explosion in social network usage over the past few years, blogs still wield incredible influence over consumers. And brands want in. Recent findings contained in Technorati Media’s 2013 Digital Influence Report shed some insight into how the seemingly magical world of digital influence works. Some of the results may sound surprisingly old-school:

Tools of the Trade: 9 Hacks for Web Journalists

Now and then we need to stop cutting wood and sharpen the saw. This little story explains exactly what I mean: A man sees a woodcutter furiously trying to cut down a tree with an obviously dull saw. So he asks “Hey, why don’t you stop for a minute and sharpen your saw? Your work […]

Passion Project: What The Verge and Joshua Toplosky Taught Me About Content Success

I do not know Joshua Topolsky. But I feel like I should—know him, that is. Thanks to the Internet, I end up feeling that way about a lot of people I’ll probably never meet. Take Josh (Do his friends call him that?), for example. I know that he is or was a drummer in a band […]

The Content Hustler’s Playbook for Brands: 5 Steal-able Ideas

Unless you’re living under a rock (or in an apartment without an internet connection, which sounds a lot worse) you’ve undoubtedly noticed the increasingly loud chorus of brand marketers, bloggers, and media pundits singing the praises of content marketing. And if you haven’t, then just take a quick look at this Google Trends chart showing […]

3 Social Media Lessons Your Association Can Learn from APHA

For many association communication departments, the annual conference once meant hosting press conferences, scheduling interviews with reporters and producing daily convention newspapers. But associations who are holding tight to these traditional ways and not experimenting with social media may see their meetings slink into “dulls-ville.” So how do you create a buzz around your event, […]

3 Tips for a Scandalously Successful Social Media Presence

3 Lessons Your Company can Learn from a Prime-Time TV Show to Become Scandalously Successful

I prepare for battle every Thursday evening after work. My armor consists of a bowl of popcorn, a glass of wine, my television, and last but certainly not least, my smartphone. What my co-workers who don’t follow me on Twitter may not know is that while they partake in happy hours, I moonlight as a […]

Fashion and Beauty Publications Strike a Pose with Advertising Sales

Co-written by Megan Manning & Kara Batt We just got our hands on MRI’s 2012 magazine sales numbers, and while the data initially read as a bunch of numbers on a spreadsheet, a closer look gave us insight into the advertising industry. Even though access to print and digital magazine content was easier than ever […]

Nine Years of the Social Network: A Facebook Birthday Tribute

How many of us have ever thought to ourselves “I wish I had thought of that Facebook thing, I would never have to work another day in my life.” If you had the idea fifteen, or even ten years ago, you would be all over the news and making billions. Unfortunately for all of us […]

Why Collecting Content Isn’t Enough: Careful Packaging Is Everything

I was sitting at home this morning, drinking a chocolate and peanut butter smoothie (Is there a more superior combination of flavors than chocolate and peanut butter?) when an email from a colleague popped up in my inbox. I hesitated to read it at first. I was still in my boxers and about twenty minutes […]

The Logic Behind the Explosion in Content Marketing Spend

To make money, you gotta spend money. Despite making every CFO’s head spin, the above phrase is an undeniable truth in the world of brand marketing. You’ve got a product or service. Your audience has a defined need. Letting the latter know about the former is the essential quest of marketing. And typically, that quest […]

3 Old Tricks for the New SEO

When it comes to the world of SEO, there’s only one constant: change. A lot of the major ones have already happened with Google’s new algorithm in 2011 and again in 2012, but it appears that there are Panda updates a few times every year. So although the last refresh may not have affected you, […]

20 Brands That Prove Why You Have No Excuse Not to be on Pinterest

So your brand doesn’t sell diamonds and dresses, doesn’t plan weddings, and is the furthest thing from cutesy. That must mean you’d be crazy to jump into this little thing called Pinterest, right? Wrong. If a custom content agency can do it (ahem, follow TMG here), you can, too. Need proof? Here are 20 companies […]

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