In honor of our upcoming joint webinar with content specialists Influence & Co., we’ve created a fun, interactive crossword puzzle about all things content marketing. Use the clues below the squares to complete the puzzle. Stay tuned because we’ll publish the answers next week. To learn how your company can start seeing ROI and actually profit from your content efforts, join our webinar: “How To Create a Content Marketing Machine that Works” on Wednesday, August 26th at 11:00am EDT.
There’s no exact formula for publishing the perfect piece of branded content. As is the case with any creative work, you’re going to go through a period of trial and error before you find the process that works best for you, and there are going to be some hits and misses along the way. Even now, five years into my career as a professional writer, I am still tinkering with how I do things, learning from my peers, and searching for ways to get better. With that said, I’ve looked at thousands of branded content items over the past two years — first as an advertising reporter and later as a content marketing writer — and I’ve noticed that the best stories always have a few things in common. Here are the four elements I’ve found to make up an amazing piece of branded content. An enticing headline that lives […]
At Taboola, we think every day should be a day to explore the world – whether outside or online – because you never know when you’ll discover something new. So, it should be no surprise that we wanted to acknowledge today’s official public holiday in Canada: Discovery Day. Canada’s Discovery Day was established to honor the anniversary of the discovery of gold on August 16,1896. The shiny precious metal was found in the Klondike region of the Yukon and the event marked the beginning of the Klondike Gold Rush, prompting enthusiastic miners from Seattle and San Francisco to join the search. As you might have already guessed, “Discovery Day” is celebrated in several other parts of the world, signifying a variety of different events and sightings. These areas include The Bahamas (commemorating Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World in 1492), Brazil (in honor of Pedro Alvares Cabral who […]
When I worked as a business journalist, I used to have an editor who wouldn’t let me begin working on a story idea until I had first pitched an eye-catching headline to accompany the finished piece. Initially, I found this idea counter-productive, and quite frankly, infuriating. After all, how could I know what the headline of a story was going to be before I had done the interviews and the research necessary to write my piece? Over time, though, I began to see the error of my ways. If the body of a story is the product you offer to the masses, the headline — along with the thumbnail image you use — is the packaging that tells people what’s inside and gets them excited to open it. Today, the headline is an integral part of my process for developing story ideas, as I know that I can’t serve readers […]
As the effectiveness of online “push” advertisements continues to wane, there is a surge of new interest around inbound marketing methods. Content has proven to be a powerful way of attracting and engaging new customers, and software companies like Hubspot are building platforms that help companies manage and optimize lead generation throughout the entire customer decision process. Based in México, inbound marketing agency Grou works with clients around Latin America on incorporating these new methods into their overall marketing strategies. Following its own best practices, Grou began building out its company blog with actionable tips for marketers and insights derived from successful case studies. The company encountered limited success promoting its services across search and social channels, but after partnering with Taboola, discovery soon emerged as the most effective lead-gen channel. We recently published a case study featuring Taboola’s work with Grou, including some of the below key highlights: Discovery […]
Content marketing has gained popularity in recent years, due especially to its wide reach. These four brands fill you in on their secrets to success.
Earlier this month, we hosted our latest Taboola Talks event around the theme of “Data Never Goes Out of Style.” A roomful of attendees gathered at Taboola’s global headquarters in New York City to hear from Jessica Novak, Senior Content Strategist at Refinery29, and Liz White, Head of Strategy and Development at Poshly. The discussion revolved around both the opportunities and pain points of incorporating data-driven strategies into marketing and editorial workflows. Novak and White are enmeshed in these transitions at their respective companies, which have each carved out a valuable niche within the competitive digital media landscape. Refinery29’s scientific approach to audience development (supported in part by Taboola Newsroom), paired with a distinctive editorial voice, have built it into the largest independent fashion and style website in the US. Poshly’s growing and buzz-worthy online platform hosts engaging questionnaires that help beauty lovers discover new products and unlock personalized giveaways. […]
People seem to be creating more content than ever before, and the number of digital formats available can be overwhelming: text, video, slideshows, infographics, quizzes, the list goes on. Although content marketing helps cut through the clutter, the format you choose plays a big role in whether or not that piece of content actually resonates with your target audience. Taboola teamed up with ClickTale, the leading customer experience firm, to take a closer look at how people consume two of the most widely used formats: text and video. Video Creates an Empathetic Connection Studies show that watching video activates our brain’s “mirror neuron mechanism,” enabling us to experience (to a lesser degree) the behaviors and sensations of the people on-screen. This neurological activity makes the spectator much more emotionally involved in a way that text alone cannot replicate. Reading Activates Our “Inner Voice” While watching video is a passive experience, […]
Forrester Research predicted that 2015 will be the year that online brand communities make a comeback, and there are many reasons to celebrate the occasion. Brands have increasingly found that investments in social media communities aren’t paying off. After spending significant time and resources building out Facebook pages, the platform has continually tweaked its Newsfeed algorithm to the detriment of brands, dropping the organic reach of their content to a mere two percent of their fans. Rather than submit to these closed ecosystems, and the whims of ever-changing platform features, brands can regain control of their online communities by hosting them on-site. Below we’ve highlighted some of the ways these communities can drive real ROI for brands. Help Consumers Find Answers Brands can leverage their particular expertise to educate consumers and help them find relevant answers in a timely manner. These efforts provide real value for consumers, and can foster […]
Unlike traditional forms of advertising (e.g. billboards, banner ads), content has the unique ability to educate consumers about a new product or service through in-depth storytelling. Having experimented with an array of online promotion strategies, digital upstart Plated — which empowers foodies to cook chef-designed recipes at home — learned that content often drove the most knowledgeable and interested consumers to its website. Taboola partnered with Plated to promote its unique story on premium publisher websites around the web, matching its branded content and positive third-party media coverage with relevant audiences that were steeped in “content consumption” mode. The highly cost-effective campaign generated a significant boost in Plated’s new customer sign-ups, and we published a case study detailing the results. Key highlights include: Plated achieved a 75 percent drop in CPA (cost-per-acquisition) on Taboola through rigorous A/B testing and optimization. With Taboola, Plated generated over 1 billion impressions in January […]