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5 Ways To Create Great Content Without Writing A Lot
 | We want to create engaging content but we don't always feel like typing a lot. For some, it's a constant struggle to get our thoughts on to paper (or in this case on pixels). Typing isn't always required to create content your readers want. Marcie Hill showed us 5 Ways To Create Engaging, Sharable Blog Posts Without Writing… A Lot, in her New Media Expo 2014 presentation. Check out these quick and easy ways to create great stuff that your readers will want to see and share.
Photos
Over 1 billion people will buy a phone this year and most of them will have cameras. Most of us take pictures all the time. These can be great sources of content for your posts. With more than 350 million photos uploaded to Facebook each day and 55 million to Instagram (35 million are selfies), it's obvious that people love pictures.
Get creative. Take a look at things from a different angle and show your readers something they don't see every day. Don't fancy yourself a good photographer? There are plenty of online resources to help you take awesome pictures, even using your smartphone camera.
Infographics
We all learn in different ways but most seem to learn better visually. That's one of the reasons that infographics are so popular. They take information (sometimes dry and boring stuff) and break it down into easier to understand and consume visual representations. Though they do take some research to get the info together, infographics can be a great way create engaging content without writing much. They're also highly sharable. Pinterest users love them and with the site driving more traffic than Reddit, LinkedIn, and Twitter combined, it has the potential for huge traffic.
Audio
In a spot you can't type? Some of us get our best ideas while we're driving or when we're away from our computers. Bloggers can audio record their thoughts and ideas to make easily sharable content for their audience in a hurry. Most smartphones have built-in audio recording apps and you can even use an audio transcription service to translate those recordings to text if you like.
Not only is audio great for recording while on the go but it's also great for people to listen to when they don't have access to a computer. Lots of people listen to podcasts and other audio programs in the car on the way to and from work. You might find a new audience you didn't know was out there.
Video
People watch over 6 billion hours of video a month on YouTube. Video is huge. Be part of those 6 billion+ hours of viewing by recording video for your blog. Interviews, events, thoughts, and more can all be made into great video posts. With the built-in editing tools on YouTube, and the numerous other tools such as iMovie and more, anyone can make their video look great and draw tons of viewers.
Animations
Looking for a simple and super sharable way to attract attention? Animated GIFs are a form of content that everyone loves. People are highly amused by them and they love to share them. Tumblr is a great source to search and find them but you can also easily create them yourself. GIF Brewery for Mac and Giffing Tool for Windows both allow you to simply capture any on-screen video and turn it into a high quality animated GIF. Capture video from YouTube and overlay hilarious text in minutes with interfaces easy enough for anyone to use.
We all consume content in different ways. Though text may be great for many, there are other ways people look to consume too. While we might not always be up for writing out every post, there are still tons of options for great sharable posts that will resonate with your readers.
Try out these text alternatives on your own blog and let us know how your readers eat it up!
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How to Build Your Brand's Voice Through Blogging #NMX
 | When you think of your brand's online voice, what comes to mind? Perhaps it is embodied by the people running your social media accounts, or by the marketing professionals that craft content for your website. In any case, your online brand goes far beyond the logo – and it needs to be nurtured with a robust content marketing strategy.
Digital strategist Luvvie Ajayi used her NMX session to stress the importance of identifying and optimizing brand voice and reputation. Businesses that don't tend to their online identities risk appearing isolated and disconnected from their audiences.
The process for building or repairing an organization's online identity begins with an analysis of the current situation: How are people talking about your brand now?
Your logo is not your brand – nor is your website or slogan by themselves. Placing equity in these things alone makes little difference – because your brand is all of these things (and much more.). It's the whole idea that people have about your personal or professional identity. Ajayi made specific mention of the indirect foundation for branding: Your brand is how others see you, not how you see yourself. Everyone has a brand, and instantly recognizable brands are the most influential.
Consistency helps build your brand
How do you build a strong brand? Consistency. Leave some room for random thoughts or messages, but the bulk of your strategy should be consistent and cohesive. Audiences won't connect with you if your messaging is scattered. You want to be the voice in that space/niche that people think about. Ajayi built her voice over time, and people now think of her when they think of red velvet or red pumps (both related to her non-profit organization).
Stand out with strong voices
Strong connections are built with strong voices. Your voice is how you stand out – and you can't fake it. It should be different from everyone else, and authentic to you. Don't try to copy someone else's style – it becomes blatantly obvious. Make sure to consider the tone and intentions of your online messaging – sarcasm is far more difficult to identify on Twitter than in person. Ayaji called this the concept of "speaking in 2D" – flat conversations that are unambiguous for the audience.
Ask your followers for ideas
As you build your brand and define your voice, ask your followers for three words that best describe you. Make it a tweet, using the hashtag #3words. If you don't like what you hear, change the conversation accordingly. Your audience is defining your brand identify for you, so listen to them!
Color matters in branding
Color can make a large impression on your audience, so make sure the colors you use mesh well with your messaging. Looking to present a warm, inviting persona? Use red, orange, or yellow. Want to appear definitive and direct? Try black, dark blue, or brown.
It's about instant recognition — figure out a signature color, and people will start tying that color to you and your brand. You can train people over time to make the right connection.
Utilize pervasive branding to add another element
URL shorteners offer another opportunity to promote your branding. Ayaji purchased the "luvvie" domain, and TopRank uses the “tprk.us” shortener. Create a united, consistent front across all platforms and resources.
While your audience is the primary driver for brand identity and voice, you can help direct them toward a positive conclusion with these tips. If your brand messaging is conscious, cohesive and consistent, your audience will respond productively.
How have you seen these things make a difference in your brand’s voice?
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How Your Brand Can Work With Bloggers #NMX
 | Traditional advertising is expensive, and sometimes not effective for your brand. Some have found podcasts to be incredibly lucrative, while others have found that promoting their message through blog posts works best.
The latter is becoming increasingly popular. Engaging bloggers has relatively low cost (compared to other forms of promotion), a high return on investment, and gives readers a sense of honesty and transparency that they wouldn't necessary feel from brand-generated content.
But finding a blogger who can speak to your audience and appeal to the customers you want can be extremely difficult. Tara Salinas and Bill Downs have figured out how to make it much easier through their blogging program for Global Resort Homes. Their NMX session reviewed how they were able to find the right bloggers for their brand.
Find a Loyal Audience
For Salinas and Downs, finding bloggers to write about their experiences in their vacation homes was important. They wanted someone who would make decisions, drive conversations, have a loyal following, and be interested in the topic of travel. For them, that audience was women — and more often than not, moms.
Takeaway: Find those who are talking about your topic and engage enough with their audiences that they have an emotional connection and a loyal following. Sometimes you might have to hunt for them, but the work will pay off.
Develop a Blogger Criteria
Let's face it, everyone wants free accommodations on their vacation. As a result, Salinas and Downs are flooded with pitches. So how do they decide who to include in their blogger program? They use a criteria. They evaluate things like:
- Are they a good fit? Do they talk about what you talk about?
- How is their interaction rate? Do they engage a lot, or only every once in a while?
- What are their numbers? Do they have 10 followers or 10,000? Do they post once a day, or 17 times a day?
Takeaway: Evaluate how potential bloggers are performing before you invite them to write for you. Have standards and minimums set to ensure you're getting the highest quality and the most exposure.
Communicate Expectations
Salinas and Downs found it extremely important to communicate expectations in their blogger program. They identified not only what is expected of the bloggers, but what they can expect from Global Resort Homes. They found that this makes things go a lot smoother, and can help both parties feel invested and compelled to promote the content.
Takeaway: Be clear about what you want the bloggers to do. Do you want them to post pictures on Instagram? Will they be participating in a video? Would you like them to comment on Google+? Don't forget to think of all the little things that can help promote your message. But don't be selfish—explain what you're doing for them. Whether it's promotions or exceptional service, make sure they know what they're getting!
Have a Back-Up Plan
Sometimes, even after all of the screening and expectation-setting and commitment, a blogger will fail you. They will back out, or fall short of your expectations. So what do you do? Salinas and Downs just roll with it. They (obviously) don't invite that person back.
Takeaway: Know that there is a possibility of falling short on expectations. Have a backup plan for content just in case, and make sure you're committed to your screening process to minimize the amount of failures you encounter.
Hold Blogger Events
A big part of Salinas and Downs' blogger program is what they call blogger events. They invite bloggers to stay in their vacation homes and write about their experiences. It's a great way to get your name out there on social networks. Bloggers then tend to live tweet and live promote your company for days.
However, these events are big time and commitment expenses. Salinas and Downs couldn't stress enough that the pre-planning stage is critical. Knowing what you want, having a schedule (that's flexible of course), and knowing if you can complete it in house is essential. If your end result is a video, do you have the equipment you need, the talent, and the ability to edit? If not, you might have to outsource.
Even though they're lots of work, blogger events generate a lot of content — more than you'll need right off the bat. But it's great to re-purpose and consistently promote your message.
Takeaway: Think of how you can invite bloggers to experience your product or service. How can you create an event around those experiences? Would a video, an infographic or an eBook the best way to wrap-up and/or promote the event? Make sure you're creative, and go above and beyond to create the best experience possible (which, by the way, you should be doing for all of your guests/customers).
Deal with Negativity
Not everything will be perfect, and you'll run into negative feedback. If a blogger has a less-than-perfect experience, Salinas and Downs encourage them to be honest and transparent. It's much more valid than if they lie and say everything's great. Plus, it gives the blogger an opportunity to say how you fixed their problem. It's another place for you to demonstrate your awesome customer service.
Takeaway: Be a problem solver. Don't shy away from being honest. Admit that things aren't perfect, but they are fixable. It will make you appear open, honest, and realistic—not something that's too good to be true.
Don't Stop After the Event End
Salinas and Downs put on a video shoot with each of their bloggers. As a result, they generate a lot of content that they don't necessarily use right away. So, they then catalog it to use later. They also monitor links to their bloggers’ posts (which are hosted on a different site) to ensure they remain functional.
They also encourage bloggers to support and promote new content via their Facebook Group. Whenever they have specials, many of their bloggers would promote those specials within the posts they wrote about the venue. It's a great way to leverage the bloggers even after they leave.
Takeaway: Think about the "what's next". Have a plan for re-purposing content, continue to engage bloggers after they leave, and maintain current content.
Once you have started to engage bloggers in your brand, you can then take it up a notch. Continually raise the bar on the caliber of bloggers you invite to try or experience your brand/product, and try experimenting with new things—like videos, or infographics, contests or more blogs.
Engaging bloggers is a great way to promote your message and build trust with your audience. It gives customers a new way to interact with your products and services, helps you reach a broader audience, and can generate more content than you know what to do with.
How could you engage bloggers with your brand?
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