content marketing

Sep

2018

Google Demystified: Here’s How A.R. Marketing House Creates Content that Aligns with Google’s Mission

Great Content = Great Google Ranking

Just as the caliber of your character matters for customer relationships, it matters to Google and here’s why… Google is continually evaluating website content based on relevance and quality, so too are the people using Google. What does that mean? It means that as we move closer and closer to a marketing structure that really caters to people’s needs, we train Google how to register those met needs, just the same. It’s safer to assume quality means EVERYTHING and increasingly so. However, here’s a quick reference guide to give you a better idea of what that looks like.

Key Points for Q.A. based on Google’s Mission

High-quality, high-value content
Great content formatting that is easy to interact with
Superb user experience (UX)
Eliminating any aggressive and/or deceptive advertising
Fixing any and all on-site SEO issues

How does Google Judge Content?

A good rule of thumb is to improve quality content across the board and over the long run for your efforts to be realized by Google. You will want to have marketing staff and content professionals conduct a full content audit then update old blogs using your new high-quality, no more excuses rubric.

1.Content Formatting

According to Google, the best general formatting for your blog as well as other website content needs to include:

Superb headlines and meaningful subheadlines
Readable, well-formatted text (both for Google and your readers)
Catchy and honest introduction with a lead-in question
A body with rich information that is unique and valuable to viewers
A bold, actionable, and helpful conclusion that empowers the reader with a propelled sense of knowledge toward a particular action.
A place for leaving feedback to allow for extended discussions, unanswered questions, or handling rebuttals of your process or logic
But wait! Don’t forget images, video, and gifs. You will need to make sure each has a purpose, place, and presence that matches the intention of your content and is correctly formatted

2.Length of Content

Not too short when it should be longer, not too long when the answer should be short and direct. In other words, maintaining integrity in the length of your content. When developing your content, treat it as if you are sharing the information with someone famous that you’ve always admired, just pick someone, whether dead or alive. Think about the conversation you would have with that ultra-important person. Would you overindulge on a topic that only requires direct answers? Would you be too brief on a matter that needs a little legwork to explain and get the breadth of your point across?

The point is, if you’re maintaining integrity with the length of your content, you will be maintaining integrity with people and with Google. When you do this, you won’t need to reassess your content every time there is an algorithmic change.

3.Duplicate Content

There are rules to the content game, my friends. Those rules include not making multiple copies of the same content and spreading it across various channels for the sole sake of increasing your presence. With that said, it’s also not sufficient to change up a bit of the headline, text, or a little unimportant something just to say it’s different. There are ways to funnel your content to various channels like LinkedIn or Medium without raising red flags, however, you will need a conscientious team to know how and when to execute this. Heed the correct methods for sharing content on multiple platforms according to Google standards, using the tools available on each of those platforms.

4.Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent

Does your content team have the journalism chops to compete with Forbes and The New Yorker? This may seem like the standards of a heaven-sent content creator but if you want to be competitive in the future online market, this will need to be the trajectory for the intellectual and creative output of your team. Are they savvy, well-read, up-to-date on a variety of topics that will influence your content like industry history, nuances, and public opinion?

Figuring out if you have the right content team will require that CMOs and Directors, 1) find the curious team with the intellectual capacity to think of topics in a newsworthy way, a group they can trust that will keep all company goals in mind while developing a creative edge for company content and 2) give your team the creative flexibility they will need to find new and innovative ways to make your brand shine with your content.

5. Bonus…

Involve Lobbyists in your Educational Content tactics!

One huge way to leap over the competition and help your industry as a whole is to connect with lobbyists in your field. Become the go-to source and deliver content in the form of presentations, graphs, data-to-content, reports, and other helpful evidence. This can be used for lobbyists to do their job better while illustrating their key points for proliferation and protection of your industry in Congress.

It’s not enough to offer solutions, sometimes you have to realize the historical underpinnings of your industry in order to deliver relevant insight to people. Then, you have to apply your efforts collectively to push the movement in your industry, forward. Double down on educational content and political action for a winning combination that addresses both the long-term and short-term goals of your company as well as your industry as a whole.

Learn more about how we use High-Quality Content to solve the educational & Google Ranking needs of our clients. [su_button url=”https://armarketinghouse.com/contact-us/request-a-quote/” background=”#dcae1d” size=”5″]GET RANKED[/su_button]

Aug

2018

10 Marketable Blockchain + Crypto Concepts that can take Crypto Mainstream

Why Blockchain & Crypto Companies Should be Delivering Education-Based Content Marketing

The development of cryptocurrency and the ongoing release of new blockchain projects can cause a flurry of excitement, but only for a select few in the global population. Though highly technical professionals, executives, investors, and engineers are relatively comfortable discussing blockchain technology and how it is disrupting nearly every major industry, most everyone else is left to ask themselves... “is that like bitcoin?...” If they ask at all.

We’re in the prime time for the proliferation of blockchain and crypto projects and we need to back this up with blockchain and crypto education if we want to reach mass adoption. If professionals in the industry aren’t directly educating, what we’ve seen is that someone else will be miseducating and spin otherwise useful information. The miseducation and misleading of novices within the space is more of a difficult situation to work backward from. Especially when that miseducation leads to bad experiences of losing money on an exchange or setting up an unsecured wallet that gets hacked. Newcomers should be greeted to the crypto world with quality education and helpful tools to getting started and navigating the space intelligently.

“Never forget that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression - with investors, with customers, with PR, and with marketing.”

The current landscape of blockchain is one of constant thrill. From being able to buy real estate investment fractions to trading solar power energy with your neighbors, blockchain projects are something everyone can get excited about now and invested in at nearly any level. Once more people understand the vast opportunities in a functional, logical way -- that is when crypto will go MAINSTREAM and it will also ensure a savvier end-user base.

Before email was understood, it took roughly 6:54 minutes to explain what it was and how to send one.

[su_youtube_advanced url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szdbKz5CyhA" width="200" height="200"]

But let’s start by taking a step outside of the blockchain tech world and approach this from the outside. Blockchain and crypto began its focus on decentralization, and because of this, it has historically required a bit more self-governance with one's own accounts and assets. When you help to remove power from the hands of the middlemen, it’s imperative that you also collectively educate a wider audience on what that means for them and how they will have to take responsibility or democratically seek out safer solutions than they were previously accustomed to. Yes, of course, many are building user-friendly, safer, easy-to-use platforms, but education on the baseline of decentralization and what this means point by point will be helpful to people wishing to enter the market.

Here are 10 places people can easily begin to start transitioning their thinking to be blockchain and crypto ENTHUSIASTS, or at the very least curious lurkers. Moving the conversation from how blockchain works to what it can do for people will break down some of the mental barriers to entry. Let’s Explore!

1. Savings accounts...

that actually pay! Many savings accounts from mainstream banks are more than a joke, they are highway robbery when you do the math on depreciation vs. taxes on them. With more flexibility and creative business models in the cryptocurrency space, companies can offer more competitive rates for parking your dough. Of course, consumers should be educated on which savings accounts are safest and the exact method your interest is earned. But people should be educated on their range of options beyond and sometimes connected to fiat (your countries currency i.e. the Yen).

2. Access to investment opportunities...

previously reserved for angel investors with $1Million+ net worth. The investment landscape has drastically changed. More Venture Capitalists (VCs) are moving toward a token sale model of investing and more Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are opting for an easier path to fundraising. What does that mean for an average person? It means you can enter as an investor at nearly any amount you can afford. This is a huge shift in the direction of access to wealth for all… You just need to research and know which investments are most likely to be worth the risk. Here’s a handy tool from Superbloom.

3. Wealth Redistribution = Decentralization

In addition to access for investing, decentralization of current protocols, industries, and regimes means that average people will now have access to and control over way more things than before. In the 20th century, so many institutions and corporations became monopolies and oligopolies because they cornered the market and wrote the law to keep themselves as the sole entity capable of managing this aspect of society. With decentralization, many of these entities will have to shrink back down to their rightful size, while peer transaction on and build systems that empower each other.

4. Real Estate Investing Made Easy with Blockchain

REI made easier for those with limited funds to build their portfolios and with liquidity, which the market has already struggled with. It’s always been a challenge for people with below average means to gain access to real estate investing. Now with blockchain technology and smart contracts, you can use cryptocurrency as a mechanism for representing an actual asset of real estate. These bits can be broken up into smaller pieces that multiple people can come together and essentially divvy smaller pieces of the investment pie. Liquidity has always been a big challenge as well, and the token backed real estate model solves this.

5. Solar energy peer-to-peer trading.

This is huge for decentralizing the exchange for which solar producers and consumers can easily transact together on a cryptographic network. Now more people can be incentivized to participate in solar production by placing solar panels on their property. The decentralization means they are not stuck with the sell-back rate prescribed by energy utility companies, instead, fair rates can be had for both buyer and seller of solar in the blockchain-solar model.

6. Incentivize Everything...

by redistributing the power and resources back to the hands of the people. Some examples of this are Steemit, social media credits, areas where people are currently giving their rights over to Facebook and also handing over any profits to be made to someone else. Below is a snapshot of some high earning articles on Steemit, content creators are directly rewarded by readers who send money to their wallet via a link on the article.

7. Improving Democracy

Combating fraud and making voting a seamless process you can securely conduct from a digital device is the aim of some new blockchain platforms. Agora is one of those, and although there are some murky details in their recent participation in the Sierra Leone election, they are nevertheless aimed at solving the following issues that currently exist in voting systems worldwide.

8. NO MORE CHECK CASHING PLEASE!!

Educate on systems that remove the middleman from the everyday lives of people who are taken advantage of by offering check cashing at ridiculous fees. There are strategically placed check cashing places located in areas where people are kept from acquiring bank accounts -- blockchain and crypto can help to bank the unbankable and remove the thieving cash checking services that sometimes charge 29% fees to the already disenfranchised.

9. Access to Capital

Easier access to capital means more startups and small business owners in more places around the world will be able to develop their business skills and create opportunities for themselves. Below is an example of one such business model.

10. Removing the Renters Wealth Vacuum

The next sector to be disrupted by blockchain and how we view ownership rights will be real estate. Through changing the way we interpret and act out property ownership rights, real estate assets can be distributed and valued in a whole new way. Technologists are looking for ways to incorporate a more full scope understanding of land ownership rights, specifically, rights of disposition. Future smart contracts can incorporate these more equitable understandings when it comes to renters rights, subletting rights, a renter’s investment into the property as well as the property management, and finally investment into the community of a property and what that might look like for renters to build real estate wealth even as a renter.

Why Blockchain Consumer & Investor Education is Importance

It’s time to elevate the conversation from a murky understanding of bitcoin to a constructive conversation on the details of how the blockchain works and can work for you. It’s time to start discussing how blockchain will improve lives and allow for more people to get in by developing the understanding to issues that deal directly with their day-to-day lives (banking, solar energy peer-to-peer trading, access to capital, renter as owner, etc.).

The Solution to Increasing Excitement and Adoption of Blockchain to Mainstream

The solution to these current “wall between the tech advancements” and mainstream adoption is creating the content that explains and invites a wider audience to participate in blockchain projects. It’s time for ICOs and blockchain tech leaders to begin formulating their educational curriculum and execute a marketing strategy layered on top of it. We can’t expect that people will simply make new choices because they are better, we have to take the steps to guide them to the reasons why new solutions are in their favor and bring a new level of integrity to the crypto space.

Who is responsible for Educating on Blockchain & Crypto?

Everyone involved
ICOs
Programmers
Chief Marketing Officers
CEOs
Blockchain Leaders
Investors
Enthusiasts
Ancillary products and services

What are they responsible for?

Elevating the conversation.
Making talking points accessible.
Speaking at conferences.
Conduct educational content marketing
Create educational materials

We're bullish on blockchain! Start developing your blockchain educational marketing.

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Jun

2018

Awkward Truth: Why Successful Content Marketing is a Commitment

Whether you are looking to incorporate a Content Plan into your marketing strategy or you have made a few attempts at developing your content but abandoned ship after not seeing results fast enough, I’m going to share with you why a decision to undertake Content Marketing, is not one that should be taken lightly. But when you finally do, you will reap long-term returns, all while greatly benefiting humanity.

This is because Content Marketing is an asset and costs associated with content should be considered as an investment rather than the traditional view of marketing as a cost.

Let’s shed some light on the concept of content as an asset by looking at the Disney brand. When reviewing the entirety of assets owned by Disney you will see among them, that content from multiple projects are in fact considered assets, as they continue to provide revenue and grow the Disney brand. In a similar way, when you develop your content strategy consider it as a long-term investment in the content asset class, and not as a direct cost because this is not an accurate portrayal of Content Marketing as a strategy.

Unlike an advertisement, which dies off once you stop paying for the ad, the value of content grows over time, stays in your brand content library, and thus has a long-term value that continues to attract more and more people to your brand and website while educating and serving. Paid advertisements are great and do have their place. However, to a consumer, content is the promise of VALUE, education, entertainment, and plain usefulness.

Once you decide to commit to a content marketing plan, the payoffs are huge. You can consider it as a sort of marketing retirement account for your brand, one with considerable growth potential.

[su_pullquote]“Every brand I’ve ever worked with that has committed to content marketing has seen a positive ROI. And their return isn’t 10 or 20 or 30 percent higher than their other marketing investments, it’s 100, 300, 400 percent higher. Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.” – Technology Advice [/su_pullquote]

When you make monthly investments toward your blogs, videos, articles, infographics, presentations, eBooks, case studies, whitepapers, quizzes, and other interactive content, you can expect to see 100% – 400% ROI. The big keywords are planning, commitment, and patience. As with most things that are well worth the reward, like a happy marriage, a fit physic, and a healthy investment portfolio — Content Marketing, when given the proper respect and commitment will too be an extreme value to your organization.

In fact, the main difference between Content Marketing Plans that succeed and those that don’t, almost always boil down to commitment. It’s the difference between being “somewhat committed” which results in a 40% success rate for Content Marketing and “extremely committed” which results in an 83% success rate, which is where you begin to see the highest tiered ROIs.

Short-term ROI is not the correct marker for which to judge your efforts, as you might be disappointed when three months down the line your plan is only just gaining traction. It is long-term sustained gains from a growing asset; this is the way you want to view your content strategy. Younger businesses that get excited about Content Marketing as their core strategy, often times dabble, see little results, and prematurely abandon their plan of content as a core strategy before it had time to mature.

It is the wiser, older businesses that have a deeper understanding and knowledge that they must give their strategy room to grow with patience and diligence; that’s when you begin to see huge results that grow exponentially over time. These wiser organizations with increased experience and foresight see the greatest success and ROI with their marketing plans, especially Content Marketing. It’s a great idea to take a lesson from those who are succeeding with content marketing, learn from their mistakes and successes, adopt their methodologies and scale your efforts accordingly.

Not even some of the most successful ad campaigns will see results overnight. Take for example the rebranding of Marlboro, which was once a failing brand standing at 34^th in the line of cigarette brands and known primarily as a women brand of cigarettes. Marlboro hired ad executive Jay Conrad Levinson, who overhauled the image of Marlboro into the cowboy aesthetic of Marlboro Country or “Marlboro Man”. They invested millions into campaign ads, magazines, and commercials. After just one year they met to review the campaign’s results and witnessed zero increase in sales. They were still the 34^th brand of cigarettes and still primarily associated with women. The person in charge of marketing could have decided the campaign was a failure and moved on to a different strategy after seeing zero results the first year. However, he was aware that these things take time and decided to stay the course of the “Marlboro Man”. A few years into the Marlboro Country commitment, they became known as both the main cigarettes for men as well as women and rose to their well-known #1 cigarette brand spot. Imagine if they would have given up after 1 year of not seeing any results from millions of dollars in ads? Not only would their initial efforts had been wasted, but also they would have likely jumped from one failing plan to another simply because they lacked the foresight to commit to their strategy. Of course, perhaps fewer people would have died and been addicted to cigarettes, YES, but aside from the carcinogenic horrors of smoking, as a product in itself, this is a lesson in knowing when to stay the course.

So if being committed is a prerequisite for success with Content Marketing, then what exactly do you need to know before deciding that content is the best path for your brand? It’s time to get real. I am going to go through a reality check of things to consider if you’re thinking about implementing a content marketing plan or are thinking about jumping back into your content marketing plan.

#1 Patience

Before hopping on board, you will need to have the patience to commit to a long-term content marketing plan. Depending on your goals and project, plan for an absolute minimum of 1 year.

Though your plan should be structured it should also be nimble and able to change according to analytics. Either way, you need to have patience in order to harness the power of your Content Marketing Plan and be 100% committed to its creative flow, execution, delivery, analytics, and reassessment.

#2 Know what your goals are + how you will measure them:

Brand Awareness: Referral links, social buzz, downloads, document views, video views, page views.

Engagement: Inbound links, forwards, likes, tweets, shares, and blog comments.

Lead Generation: Conversion rates, blog subscriptions, email sign-ups, form completions, downloads.

Sales: Revenue from online sales, revenue from offline sales, reporting

Customer retention and Loyalty: Retention rates, continual contract rates, and subscription rates.

Upselling and Cross-selling – sales for subsequent products and services.

#3 Know your audience

Have a strong and definitive hold on your target audience. Develop your buyer personas.

#4 Topics + Questions to Answers

Know the topics you will need to cover based on your target audiences.

#5 Types of Content

Know the types of content your audience will respond best to:

#6 Know what works

Know what content has worked in the past. Conduct a Content Audit.

#7 Budget

Know your budget. Allocate an appropriate budget that sees your plan

into the future.

#8 Write-up your plan.

Develop and document the official Content Plan and Strategy.

As growth propelling and empowering as a Content Strategy can be, it’s wise to address whether your organization is ready to embark on a full content plan and then, if you decide you are, develop a long-term plan and, stay the course. In order to truly enjoy the fruits of building your content library, be ready for full commitment.

Jun

2018

10 Highly Influential Thought Leaders and their Educational Content

The term “Thought Leader” is often used loosely, but it’s easy to recognize one when we encounter them, whether in person or through their content. Genuine Thought Leaders have the ability to broaden our perspectives and challenge our assumptions on a specific topic while motivating us to take action and inspiring us with hope for the future. A Thought Leader is someone whose expertise, ideas, and views on a subject are highly respected, influential, and aspirational.

By opening our minds to new ways of thinking and providing insightful solutions to complex problems, Thought Leaders can drive innovation and create positive change in their industry or field. They are the individuals who set the tone and lead the conversation on important issues, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

Benefits of publishing thought leadership articles

Writing articles can be a powerful tool for leaders who want to educate. By providing valuable information and insights, leaders can establish themselves as thought leaders, build a community of supporters, raise awareness of important issues, encourage engagement and action, and create a platform for dialogue and discussion.

There are many benefits of leadership article writing, and here are some of them:

Provides a platform to share ideas and insights: Writing articles can help you share your ideas and insights with a broader audience. By publishing articles on relevant topics, leaders can educate others on environmental issues and promote sustainable solutions.

Establishes credibility and thought leadership: Publishing articles can help you establish credibility and influence in your industry. By providing valuable information and insights, leaders can earn the trust and respect of their peers and followers.

Builds a community of supporters: Writing articles can help build a community of supporters with shared vision and values. By publishing content that resonates with followers, you can attract like-minded individuals and organizations to their cause.

Raises awareness of important issues: Publishing articles can help raise awareness of important environmental issues and promote sustainable practices. By providing accurate and relevant information, leaders can educate their audience and inspire action.

Encourages engagement and action: Writing articles can encourage engagement and action from readers. By providing practical tips and suggestions, leaders can motivate their audience to make positive changes in their own lives and communities.

Provides a platform for dialogue and discussion: Publishing articles can create a platform for dialogue and discussion around environmental issues. By encouraging feedback and comments, leaders can engage with their audience and create a sense of community around their cause.

Producing leadership videos

Producing videos and conducting interviews can help position you as a thought leader by showcasing your expertise, providing value to your audience, increasing your visibility, creating a personal connection with your audience, fostering engagement, and providing a platform for sharing your vision. Here are some benefits of producing leadership videos:

Showcase your expertise: By producing videos and conducting interviews, you can showcase your expertise in a particular subject or industry. This can help you establish yourself as a credible authority and thought leader.

Provide value to your audience: Videos and interviews can provide valuable information, insights, and tips to your audience. By providing valuable content, you can build a following and create a community of people who look to you for guidance.

Increase your visibility: Videos and interviews can help increase your visibility and reach a wider audience. By sharing your content on social media and other platforms, you can attract new followers and expand your reach.

Create a personal connection with your audience: Videos and interviews can help create a personal connection with your audience by showcasing your personality and style. This can help you build trust and rapport with your audience, which is essential for thought leadership.

Foster engagement: Videos and interviews can foster engagement by encouraging comments, questions, and feedback from your audience. This can help create a dialogue and foster a sense of community around your content.

Provide a platform for sharing your vision: Videos and interviews can provide a platform for sharing your vision and ideas with the world. By sharing your perspective and insights, you can inspire others to take action and make a difference.

Why is it important for leaders to publish books?

Publishing a book is a core strategy to establish Thought leadership, educate, provide a legacy for your ideas and insights, offer a platform for storytelling, enable deeper exploration of complex or new topics, and inspire others to take action. Books are great for leaders, here are some of the benefits

Establishes credibility and thought leadership: Writing a book can help leaders establish themselves as credible and influential thought leaders in their industry. By sharing their ideas and insights in a well-researched and well-written book, leaders can demonstrate their expertise and establish themselves as authorities in their field.

Promotes personal brand: Writing a book can help you promote your personal brand and increase your visibility. A well-written book can help leaders build their reputation and establish themselves as a go-to source for information and advice.

Provides a legacy: Writing a book can provide a lasting legacy for your ideas and insights. A book can be passed down to future generations as a record of a leader’s accomplishments and contributions to their field.

Offers a platform for storytelling: Writing a book provides leaders with a platform for storytelling. By sharing their experiences and insights, leaders can inspire others and provide a roadmap for success.

Enables deeper exploration of complex topics: Writing a book allows leaders to explore complex topics in depth. By delving into the nuances and details of a topic, leaders can provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and offer unique insights that may not be available elsewhere.

Inspires others: Writing a book can inspire others to take action and make a positive impact in their own lives and communities. By sharing their experiences and insights, leaders can motivate others to pursue their own goals and make a difference in the world.

Whether you are already a Thought Leader or aspire to become one, it’s important to understand how some of the top political and spiritual influencers of the world develop their content and use it to spread their message to a global audience. By creating compelling content that can be accessed anytime and anywhere, Thought Leaders can leverage their voice to improve humanity worldwide.

In this guide, we will examine the content lineup of highly influential global leaders, allowing their messages to speak for themselves. By studying their methods, we can gain valuable insights into how to create content that resonates with our audience and inspires them to take action.

From political leaders who use speeches and social media to connect with their audience to spiritual leaders who share their teachings through books and online courses, these are ten highly influential thought leaders and their various educational content formats that have helped them build a strong following and Thought leadership.

1. Marianne Williamson

12 Books
Audiobooks
Recorded podcasts
8 Online Classes
Blog
Videos
Daily ACIM lessons
Tuesday Talks

2. Noam Chomsky Audiobooks

Books
Articles
Blog
Recorded Talks
Recorded Debates
Letters

3. Dalai Lama

115 books
Audio books
Videos
Live Videos
Recorded Talks
Photos
Quotes as micro-content
Dalai Lama App

4. Brene Brown

Blog
Quotes as micro-content
Downloadable Worksheets
New Monthly Download
Guides
5 books
5 audiobooks
Personal Library “My Nightstand”
Explainer Videos
Ted Talks + Super Soul Sessions
Speaking Events/Presentations
RESEARCH!!!

5. Jane Goodall

Online Newspaper “Good for All News”
Video
12 Books
Impact Stories
Science + Research
Interactive Maps and GIFS

6. Michael Bernard Beckwith

Videos
Live Feed Video
8 books
12 AudioBooks & Teachings
5 Movies
Micro-content – quotes as graphics
Downloadables

7. Naomi Klein

Articles
Recorded Interviews
Speeches
Debates
Interviews
Video + Audio
5 Books

9. Malala YouSafzai

Blog
3 Books
Downloadables for education via Malala Fund + Global Education Monitoring Report
Data to Content – graphs + charts

9. Paulo Coelho

Blog
Image Quotes
Videos
32 books

Paulo Coelho’s Top 10 Rules For Success (@paulocoelho)

10. Vandana Shiva

15 books
Blog
Infographics
Videos

Vandana Shiva Interview

It’s clear that the most influential leaders develop great content for their audiences, and it’s safe to say that the more influential a leader, the greater their content library. Building a content library and plan is key to becoming a major thought leader. To follow in the footsteps of these greats, it’s important to:

Decide what forms of content will work best for your message.
Determine how to develop this content to effectively deliver that message.

If you’re looking to create a passive income stream based on your own “Zone of Genius”, you’ll need to be content-rich, strategy-heavy, and committed to your plan.

The most successful content marketing plans are the simplest ones. It’s been proven that a simple, one-page plan that’s easy to stick to is more successful than a huge binder of various strategies. We’re going to share with you our simple and easy-to-follow Content Marketing Strategy so that you can start developing your strongest content plan today and deliver your profound, much-needed message to the world.

Jun

2018

This is How you do Environmental Content — Honoring 5 Gyres on World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day takes place every June 8th to recognize that there is one global ocean that connects us all. On this day, global citizens work to prevent plastic pollution and encourage solutions for a healthy ocean.

The Non-Profit Organization, 5 Gyres is a purveyor of ocean health, educational content, and empowerment for change.

“Our mission is to empower action against the global health crisis of plastic pollution through science, education, and adventure.” – 5 Gyres

They have taken their mission to the max and created a multidimensional platform with content that supports the following:

1) Education on the harms of plastics to animal (including humans) health and the ocean.

2) Collaboration with other environmental organizations, research entities, and retail businesses.

3) Introduction to and sales of #plasticfree products via their #plasticfree shopping guide.

4) Making policy involvement easy for visitors with quick links to take political action against (polystyrene, plastic microbeads, plastic straws, etc.).

You can see the results of their efforts via the 5 Gyres History in Numbers. For example, the politically powerful community of 5 Gyres was able to put enough pressure on 16 major personal care product companies to remove microbeads from their product lines, including Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, and The Body Shop. And in another instance of action, 5 Gyres was able to divert ~ 16 billion microbeads from oceans and lakes because of their #beadfree campaign pledge.

Co-founders Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen have merged their respective experience in Environmental Science Non-Profit and Marine Research to develop the amazing platform that is 5 Gyres. With a Ph.D. in Science Education and Research, Marcus is now launching Leap Lab a science center working to build the modern city that addresses ecology, food and water cultivation, waste, community building, and clean energy. We look forward to seeing how Leap Lab dispels barriers to mass adoption of sustainable modern cities.

5 Gyres is the perfect example of how we can all be doing better, as in building communities with educational content that influence policies. Collectively contributing to the movement toward outlawing environmentally damaging products and practices that have been proven by the scientific boards and researchers around the world is key, and 5 Gyres embodies this collaboration with their contributing partners:

As a content marketer with an environmental science background, it is my opinion that there needs to be this trifecta of empowerment for better solutions to take on the market. We cannot live in a black and white landscape of hyper-environmentalism that in its quest for perfectionism alienates consumerism and market needs. We are a consumer society, but the hopeful part is that we consume media as well and in this, we are capable of consuming educational content that is strategically marketed.

In order to proliferate positive change and mass adoption of sustainable thought processes, as well as products, we need the same trifecta of:

1) Research/Data

2) Market solutions/political action/lobbying (that replace detrimental products like plastics, petrochemicals, petrol, pharmaceuticals, etc.)

3) Educational content and programs that empower people and forces governments toward solutions.

On this World Oceans Day, we want to thank 5 Gyres for breaking ground on a potent model that incorporates this trifecta for effecting positive change for our world’s oceans, this day and all year long.

Consider a donation to 5 Gyres, a sincerely dynamic Non-Profit!

Mar

2017

A Unique Way to Fund Your Much Needed Research, Content, and Educational Efforts with Crowdfunding

Benefits, Resources, and Examples for Crowdfunding Your Research & Educational Efforts

Crowdfunding for educational purposes and the common good is not a new idea. However, with education and research accessibility at an interesting crossroads, this form of funding for the collective good could become more common. Consider where we are today when college tuitions are at an all time high yet Ivy League Schools are offering free courses online at edx.org and similar free educational sites. Where independent research grants are awarded by pharmaceutically backed giants yet holistic healthcare has to rely on its own nimble yet dispersed abilities to successfully fund research and educational content.

It’s an interesting time to examine where much needed public education and research fit into the grand scope of educational online content and who and what are funding this content.

There are countless multi-billion dollar corporations with a huge financial capacity to create their own misleading educational platforms and frame them as valid. So we, the people, need to create more clever ways to fund the educational platforms for the leaders and fields that are integral to humanity and include holistic health, environmental technologies, and social justice advocacy.

It is vital, necessary, even revolutionary, to take your expertise and share your knowledge with your community, your audience, and the world.

There are many opinions of crowdfunding, especially when you consider the vast array of randomness that people have decided to raise money for, like the cringe-worthy efforts of some people to crowdfund their “much needed” trip to Las Vegas.

But consider the most honorable reasons society could be using crowdfunding. Consider how you might fit into this honorable reason as a vital researcher and/or educator in your specialized field. Then let me propose to you, small business owner, with your specialty practice, highly helpful service, or uniquely genius products, that crowdfunding your educational platform could be an invaluable tool to spread your message. Education is the cornerstone of how your audience makes decisions. What would the world be like with YOU as the option? Without YOU as the expert? Without your business, practice, or clinic as an Educator not just in your field but for your field? Here is a list of 8 crowdfunding sites that can help you fund your dream educational and research projects!

1. Experiment

2. Indiegogo

3. RocketHub

4. GoFundMe

5. Razoo

6. Crowdrise

7. Crowdfunder

8. Kickstarter

Benefits to Crowdfunding:

You don’t have to wait for payment of your published scholarly articles or published books. If you are using crowdfunding, your goal is to make your educational material accessible to people, so you don’t have to sell it on platforms like JSTOR or Google Scholar. Though these tools are valuable and amazing, they are not available for free, nor are they academically accessible to the general population. Your produced content was paid for by the people, so give it to them and you won’t be waiting around to get paid for this work on a residual income basis.
Get your research funded! Did you know that there are sites now set up to crowdfund research? One of them is Experiment.com. In addition to raising the money you need for important research, you will have access to a support network of professionals helping you plan out and create milestones to complete your much-needed work.
Create hype and excitement around your research, education, or project by adding a data dashboard to your site that projects live updates when you have donations, shares the research or educational tools those funds are going to, and gives a live ‘thank you’ to donors on your crowdfund dashboard. This will allow people to get excited about what they are contributing to. It’s exciting to feel like you’re a part of something groundbreaking and bigger than you are, something that will live on and benefits future generations.

Example 1: Crowdfunding your Specialty Clinic’s Research

To give this idea some meat, let’s say you’re a practitioner of some particular holistic healthcare practice and you find that when speaking to random people about your work that they often generalize it into something else, something incorrect. You see a huge lack of education and huge misconceptions about your field of practice. Are there any studies, hypothesis, or data you collect that you can develop research on? Why not develop your research and submit it to the ‘go fund me’ of research and experiments, Experiment.com? The have generated over $7 million dollars in funding for over 600 research projects. So yes, now start conceptualizing that YOU can be contributing to the much-needed research, education, and content that will shift public perception to a deeper understanding of their health options.

Example 2: Crowdfunding for PSA Style Education for Victims of Abuse

You’re an attorney that practices law in an area that carries a lot of shame for your clients. It’s difficult to discuss and normalize the experience of victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and elder abuse. Many times this shame keeps victims in the closet of their nightmare experiences. You know that your job isn’t just about supporting your own clients but also creating a general space where any victims of violent crimes can feel safe to come forward. So you want to develop educational and emotionally supportive content to support people who experience these atrocities. Why not crowdfund this amazing and much-needed endeavor? You can develop it as a special page on your website where interested, supportive, and privileged individuals can donate to your important educational agenda. You can start a Go Fund Me specifically for creating your own form of education whether it be to speak at schools, retirement homes, or developing digital content and disseminating on places where people won’t feel ashamed to view it. Whatever your act of education, you can use the interest of your community to generate the funds necessary.

So, when your budget isn’t holding you back from making waves in the world for the better, what exactly will you do? Who will you open your practice and heart to that will join forces with you to conduct, finance, and execute learning for the masses? There are so many people IN desperate NEED of the information, compassion, and truth that you have in your brilliant mind, please do the world a favor and share it!

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Mar

2017

Education-Based Marketing for Holistic Health: The Industry’s Most Valuable Weapon

How holistic health clinics and alternative medicine can leverage educational content marketing

The data is in. People are increasingly seeking holistic forms of healing at accelerated rates.

A national survey revealed that the use of meditation more than tripled from 4.1% in 2012 to 14.2% in 2017. In addition, the use of chiropractors has increased from 9.1% in 2012 to 10.3% in 2017. Another study showed that dissatisfaction with conventional medicine was the biggest reason more people preferred the use of herbal medicine.

According to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., the global complementary and alternative medicine markets are expected to reach $210.81 billion by 2026. The number of people turning to herbal medicine, supplements, and body wellness continues to substantially increase, bringing the subject of alternative medicine to the attention of governments forcing officials to pay attention and implement initiatives. Rising costs of conventional medicine have become increasingly unbearable globally, also creating mistrust and monumental growth in people seeking alternative medicine and health care.

Approximately two-thirds of the population of most developed and developing countries have reported using one form or another of alternative or complementary medicine. Certain countries are moving towards legalization of some alternative medicine and therapies backed with approved clinical data. So why aren’t these healing practices more widely discussed in mainstream news? Whose responsibility is it to educate all of us about our healthcare choices?

The Rise of Cannabis Products for Healing

Cannabis legalization is on the rise, and in the U.S. the plant has not been federally legalized, yet we are experiencing states legalizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes as well as recreational use. Some might consider medical and recreational, the same.

The number of people seeking herbal alternatives is also increasing, although complementary and alternative medicine is not yet considered part of conventional medicine. People are not waiting for physicians, pharmacists, and the federal government to catch up.

They are experimenting with alternative remedies, various herbs, and sometimes seeking out herbalists and naturopaths looking for credibility, support, and most importantly, education. While we are in medical credibility limbo, it may be necessary for clinics and professionals of alternative and complementary medicine to take on the huge responsibility of educating. Education is important for everyone, from the end consumer or patient, to local communities, and governments, until all medicine is taken seriously.

The U.S., in particular, remains far behind in this arena, and because of this, there is, unfortunately, a major deficiency in medical research, which means a lack of content, data, and education, leaving the general public and science community ignorant. I don’t know about you, but having an ignorant medical community is frightening, and is likely the reason why more people are self-medicating.

Data collection and information sharing

The bright side here is that there are solutions. It just takes strategy, consistency, and the initiative to commit to education. This can look like:

Herbalists collecting their own data.
Cannabis clinics surveying their patients and sharing that insight.
Clinics of all types working with the vendors and creators of herbal blends that also participate in data collecting and creating more of a community around data and information.
Collecting enough data and creating a plan to disseminate this data strategically and consistently can force the conventional medical community to consider creating their own studies and perhaps listen to people who are already seeking alternative and complementary medicine.
Turning to data and analytics will not only help clinics learn about their audience, but will also help audiences learn more about how clinic treatments work.

Let’s discuss the holistic health industry’s current needs, then look at some professional cannabis educators, then finish off with some specialty A.R. tips for marketing herbal and holistic health. We can learn how green marketing can amp up your business, whether you operate as a clinic, herbalist, acupuncturist, grower, or as a niche in the industry. Let’s start with a quick definition and dive in.

What is Green Content Marketing? Why is green marketing essential for the alternative and complementary industry?

Green marketing is a pretty green area of study, no pun intended. There is not an actual set definition; however, A.R. considers education and re-education a vital underpinning of green marketing where people, planet, and profits are all equally important. Products that do not contain a triple bottom line, we believe, should be replaced by products and services that do. The way we do this is through educating audiences; pressuring governments to pay attention to what people are demanding and giving the science community a stronger, more authoritative voice.

Green marketing is:

The marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.

(social marketing definition) The development and marketing of products designed to minimize negative effects on the physical environment or to improve its quality.

(environments definition) The efforts by organizations to produce, promote, package, and reclaim products in a manner that is sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns.

Why should the holistic health industry about incorporating environmental considerations?

Because our environment has become a grave health concern, there is much to be done in the medical community to make this understanding evident. All holistic medicine must be given full and legitimate studies that also consider environmental factors. If this doesn’t happen, the Western world will continue to have few options to cure illnesses and few options to address our environmental in a genuine, legal way. This separation has already lead to many missed opportunities for improving health and our environment.

The need for alternative and complementary health professionals to educate

The growing number of cannabis businesses is shocking, especially to the average herbalists who consider cannabis as another plant in a host of many healing plants. But as the hot new healing plant, cannabis is proving to be very important as more and more research abroad is uncovered, even with the conventional medical community in the U.S. falling far behind. People are looking to herbalists, and now even cannabis dispensaries for answers, advice, and medicine. They’re doing so because they’re starting to see improved health of people with mild and severe illnesses.

However, the one thing lacking from this increased interest is coherent education around cannabis. That’s because while clinics are opening in legal states, they are failing to invest in educating their current and potential patients in a meaningful way. And this why we’re seeing so many people self-medicating with herbs and alternative medicine. This is where the huge opportunity comes into play for holistic health and cannabis professionals to deliver quality education, by creating case studies, collecting data and developing a full educational strategy as part of their marketing efforts. It will not only bring cannabis businesses more money; it will force the health industry to grow and put people’s health and the planet at the forefront.

Education is what will brand cannabis clinics as must-see industry experts, as opposed to just another dispensary. Focusing on credible educational content allows cannabis professionals to develop expertise, which results in greater reach, an educated client base, increased sales, greater trust, and of course, a greater public image. Let’s look at some examples and then some tips on how to go steps further.

A holistic health hero, Dr. Lakisha Jenkins

Here’s how an herbalist and major dispensary have leveraged education to move the cannabis industry forward to where it is today.

Dr. Lakisha Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins, labeled as The Educator by SF Evergreen, lead the industry as President of the California Cannabis Industry Association. Not only is she an advocate for illness treatment, but she is also an educator for alternative healthcare. Dr. Jenkins is a specialized herbalist finding treatments to assist with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, the flu, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and much more. She also uses her skill to offer health counseling, classes, and group sessions. You can find Dr. Jenkins taking her education to create an herbal wellness center in Jamaica, educating farmers and businesses. With a beautiful mantra of, “My hope for all of my patients is that they’ll find the peace and serenity that I find when I go to work every day. My therapeutic approach is meant to evoke harmony and wellbeing in each and every one of my clients. I believe in healing and nurturing the mind, body, and soul, and believe that together, we can help obtain optimal health.” You can plan your wellness vacation in paradise here.

Harborside Health Center. Harborside occupies the largest cannabis dispensary in the U.S. and focuses heavily on education for families of sick children, veterans, and seniors. Harborside founder Steve DeAngelo also wrote The Cannabis Manifesto: A New Paradigm for Wellness. Check out their abundance of resources; it’s a great place to learn from.

These two professionals are a great example of how to go about focusing your clinic on treatment and education to stand as a leader and disseminate truth.

A.R. Tips for leveraging educational methods.

Leveraging Education for Professional Clinics in Cannabis

What exactly can you do to educate your audience? How can you be influential in uplifting the cannabis industry as a whole?

Support an organization. Maybe it’s a PTSD support group, a cancer research organization, or even a person battling an illness that relies on cannabis for treatment. Reach out to them and discuss ways your company can contribute. Have they started a petition? Join their efforts.
Add political action to your content marketing efforts. Creating a petition is a way for your voice to be heard and your patients’ voices to be heard by state officials. This is a way to keep you engaged with your audience and patients while creating a community for change.
Fulfill your purpose. Let’s say you decided to stand behind a person battling an illness. Why not work with one of your growers to name a strand after this person? You can advertise in your shop that a portion of the proceeds from this particular cannabis sale will go towards supporting this person with medical bills, research, or maybe even something more specific to this person’s illness. This demonstrates your philanthropic efforts while opening the eyes of your customers to how they can also make a difference.
Get the stats. As a cannabis business, it is crucial to keep track of your patient’s information. Whether you’re a doctor or you’re selling a product, use what you have (while still maintaining confidentiality) and get the numbers. What is the statistical breakdown of your cannabis patients? Age groups? Illnesses? What are they buying? What is the gap between High CBD and High THC level products? Results?
Leverage the Content. As you collect content, share it in all the ways your audience ingests their information. Create an infographic, create videos, create a facebook group for discussions, or Instagram live videos and stories. Consistently survey your audience to find out how they like to receive and engage with content. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. all serve as potential platforms for putting you and your content out there. Hubspot shared a statistic that said, “Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3X more than any other type of content.” Why is this? Because people WANT to know the numbers. Having access to all this data and not doing anything with it is a huge problem. Use your content to serve as factory seconds data. Because legal cannabis is still so new, you’d be at an incredible advantage if you served as a source for facts, and more importantly, your patients will be healthier, more knowledgeable, not having to self medicate, and you will learn more as well which will grow your practice or clinic. Here’s is an excellent example of an infographic used to spread awareness about cannabis and epilepsy.
Stay Consistent. Just because you create one infographic does not mean a multitude of success. I mean, unless it just so happens to go viral, chances are, you are going to need more than just one post to establish your credibility. Create a content calendar so you have a schedule of when your content should be going out. This will help you stay on track, but also gives your audience a better understanding of your posting frequency.
Use alternative sources. We love infographics, but there are so many other ways to leverage your data and enlighten your audience. Some of the many sources include creating e-books, blogging, webinars, offering counseling, group classes, etc. Put your content to use in a variety of ways and share what you know.

At A.R. Marketing House, we see a tremendous need for educational style marketing, especially in the healthcare industry. Need help with education-based marketing by developing a content-forward strategy? Download our free Data to Content Checklist and start contributing to the much needed educational information on cannabis.

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