Curation Revolution

Burn Down Your House
Talking Heads know an important internet marketing truth – sometimes you need to put on a big suit, jump around and burn down your web marketing house.

Watch David Byrne carefully. Everything happening is practiced but not stale, choreographed but spontaneous and crazy & planned. If there is a better example for where our near real time, content, community and commerce online world is going we don't know it.

High resolution music player maker Astell & Kern and Bluenote created a a cool new music & technology mashup that may point to music's next big thing.

Content marketers tend to attack the work like kids at a sundae bar – scooping up as many toppings as they can to have the most or best creation. Avoid the ice cream sundae syndrome with these steps inspired by Twitter’s founder.

Marty Note
Thanks to my friend and uber-curator Cendrine Marrouat I found this excellent Content Marketing Institute post about the nature of content marketing revealed by startup master Ev Williams.

I agree the Ev Williams quote is an important piece of startup Zen, but find the post's laboring application to content marketing strained. I do agree we content / Internet markets have the shinny lure syndrome.

We (marketers) are like hungry trout clustered together in a fast moving stream darting out for the next new bait an action made all the more frenzied by its proximity to the judging chorus of other trout. Truth is rarely so shinny, easy to digest and so hard to throw off.

Truth is listening + learning + bold risk taking = success. Listening to customers has never been easier or done do badly. Listening thanks to our mobile / social / connected world is EASY to do and remains hard to BELIEVE.

Listening must be matched with learning. Learning too has never been easier or harder to believe. We SEE the patterns, hear the customer and yet we do not SEE or understand. As good as the post is it also provides an example into our greatest problem.

Content marketing is flawed. Content marketing speaks too much ans listens too little. Content Marketing hasn't received Mark Schaefer's Content Shock memo (http://www.businessesgrow.com/2014/01/06/content-shock/ ).

We marketers can't get there (sustainable online community) from here (content marketing). The challenge in creating an "institute" is the isolation and over emphasis such emphasis creates.

Agree Easier Than We Think
The beautiful thread the CMI post picks up from Ev Williams quote is business and life isn't as HARD as we imagine or think. Find a human desire, preferably one that has been around a long time, and use modern technology to make it easy and cool such as:

Need A Ride - Uber
Want to buy online instead of going to the mall - Amazon

Don't want to wait for your car in the cold - FlashValet
Social connection without computers - Android & iPhone
Social Connection - Facebook, Twitter GPlus

I would modify Ev's statement a tad:

Find a human desire and use modern MOBILE technology to make it easy and cool.

Williams "technology" was heavily weighted toward mobile, but at Curagami we see an increasing trend - cool isn't cool without some mobile aspect. Mobile First is becoming a more important statement than it original UI intent. If you are creating ANYTHING new it better play amazing on a smartphone or life will be harder.

Recently I purchased a wireless speaker from Amazon. The speaker is cool and I like having good sound when I travel. The speaker is controlled by an app on my phone.

Here's the killer thing to understand - the app DOESN'T DO ANYTHING that buttons on the speaker don't do better, but the app does NOTHING in a very cool way AND the app ties the speaker to my phone.

That tie means the speaker doubled its cool enough so that I'm mentioning it here. WITHOUT the app no way I mention it. With the app, the app that adds NOTHING, the package is cool enough to mention.

SO, lesson is find a DESIRE (by listening to customers), wipe some cool tech on it, listen to customers some more and don't forget if whatever you are making or marketing doesn't play on a smartphone then it won't exist (soon).

Thanks to @Cendrine Marrouat - https://www.cendrinemedia.com for curating a great post my way :). Marty

Marty Note
Great post by Scoop.it team. At our cool tools for ecommerce merchants startup http://www.curagami.com we see all six of these mistakes. Here are some of the ways we've helped clients fix reasons their biz blogs sucked:

1.  No Subscription Form
   Agree with this mistake being #1 since it cuts off your Internet marketing nose to spite your face. BUT adding a subscription form can be tricky. If a client has a vast archive we always locate a large search box in their header. If NOT we  cross our fingers and put a subscription from up there.
   We HATE subscription forms in footers since it since the WRONG message. Footer forms say, "Sure you can join, but we don't care." Best location is left rail somewhere below your hero (largest image on the page is a hero) and that means your left column should be navvy (i.e. about 200 - 300 pixels and have other nuggets like social in there too). We don't like being forced right either since we read left to right so stuff on the left typically gets more "eye time". WE HATE popunders those annoying requests to join that must be cleared BUT they work with enough people that most online merchants use them. Our answer to that is if everyone jumped off a cliff would you too and then we realize we are sounding like our parents so we shut up (lol). If you have to popunder use http://rocketbolt.com/ as they are the least obnoxious popunder we've seen.
   
   
2. Content Is Skinny & Stale
   Blogs are a commitment. The deal you make is you WILL be blogging several times a week. Break that commitment and your biz blog will suck, never receive links and so you may as well stay home and watch TV for all the good adding less than 300+ posts a year will do you. Blogging is a discipline, a habit, your routine must incorporate if you want your content marketing to mean anything to visitors not related to you. Daily blogging gets easier the more you do it, but do it you must as fresh content is a huge part of the bargain you are striking with Google when you put a website into its view. Google is important, but your customers are even more important and they believe in QDF too (Quality Deserves Freshness), so blog it out. 
   
   
3. No Relevant CTAs
   Boy this is one of our HUGE pet peeves. If you don't have a BUTTON or LINK on your site that says the equivalent of CLICK ME THERE IS COOL STUFF HERE your biz blog sucks. CTAs are important, but you can have TOO MANY too, so strike a balance and ask for attention HERE and HERE.
   
   
4. No Related Links
   Blogs are NASTY bad at building relevant next links. Without a plugin your blog will be backwards. Most default WordPress themes publish "archives" in reverse publishing order (most recent first). BTW, that sucks. You are better off to have related links at the bottom of a post AND create Top 5 lists across several dimensions such as popularity, most shared, most commented on, staff favorites and even bottom 5. Creating a priority list does wonders for content because it brings the MOB into play. We want to know what OTHERS think is interesting or bad or amazing. Lists work so USE 'em.
   We think of content as products. We want to merchandise, combine and suggest content just like an ecommerce merchant creates cross-sale and up-sale.
   
   
5. Don't Leverage Analytics in PUBLIC
   I'm sitting at a Panera Bread writing this and there is a big sign sharing that the owners shared $19M with charity last year. Public feedback loops such as Top 5 ordered lists and Most Searched summaries help your visitors know you, your content and your tribe.
   
   
6. No Social Shares or BAD Social Shares
   Wow we could write a mile on this one, but we will give you the quick version. 1. Make it easy to share every page 2. Remember you want some shares for your SITE and some for the content people are reading now and those are two different things and need two different social widgets. 3. ALWAYS include your @name in your auto-tweets and shares. 

Great post by the Scoop.iteers. Hope those ideas help you know how to fix six reasons your biz blog sucks. Time and web attention are way to valuable to ever SUCK. That is not to say we've never SUCKED (lol), but we try not to stink forever. Blog on :). M

Biggest challenge to great web marketing may be learning to THINK like an Internet marketer. Here are 5 Secret Tips to help you become a great IMer.

Over Planning Can KILL Your Content Marketing
We see a lot of experts, gurus and people who should know better sharing yesterday's advice. We've read thousands of words about the importance of goal setting, planning and objectives for content marketing.

People talk about creating content marketing calendars and planning everything to within an inch of your life. Good luck with that. Might have worked 3 years ago, but today's social / mobile / connected world means you need to become a NOWIST.

This Curagami post embeds the influential Joy Ito TED talk about becoming a Nowist by pulling from the network to meet demand. Your content needs to do the same.

AND You need to digitally listen. We riff a few paragraphs about what it means to digitally listen such as FOLLOWING those who follow you, Retweeting and curating content from your customers and brand advocates.

Next time you read 1,000 words on planning your "content calendar" STOP and read this Curagami post so you don't over plan your content marketing.

If you are serious about growing your Google Plus following -- and actually gaining some clients from the platform -- you should be doing these seven things:

* Share Great Content.
* Interact with Others.
* Forget your listings.
* See out those with authority & influence.
* Expand your content offerings.

* Join Real Estate communities.
* Build a business page.

Marty Note
My friend Bill's post about how to create a G+ Real Estate following apply to anyone needing to build a following for anything. How we sell stuff is different now and getting more so everyday. Bill is a leader in real estate, content marketing and social media. He took to Scoop.it like a duck to water.

Movement Marketing With Orate.me
Why startups create movements & community from organic fuel such as narrowing focus, winning hearts, minds & loyalty and building online community.

Follow Cendrine's Favorite Tweeps Paper.li
Cendrine is one of Curagami's top 50 curators because she is one of the hardest working content curators. If you don't already subscribe to @Cendrine Marrouat - https://www.cendrinemedia.comPaper.li you should:

http://paper.li/cendrinemedia/1335165520?edition_id=33690c50-26eb-11e4-8895-002590721287

Great curated content from a great curator that can save you time and energy is always welcome. Look for my Curagami post on Being Mark Traphagen: How You Can Get Paid To Be You (http://www.curagami.com/featured/being-mark-traphagen-get-paid-to-be-you/ ).

Oh, and LOVE The Moon Audio (http://Moon-Audio.com) ad thanks to retargeting (too good).
M

Connection, our human ability to listen, share and respond, is the new ecommerce. This Haiku Deck is in support of Marty Smith's Keynote talk at FedEx Connection Conference 7.30.14.

5 Movement Brands
One important social media marketing implication is every brand needs love, advocacy & sharing. Movements not sales win hearts, minds & loyalty brands need.

* Chic-fil-a.
* Disney - Pixar.
* Red Bull.

* Red Cross.
* Coke.

There are no "right' or "wrong" ways to use social media, but there are ways to grow your following faster and get more return from your social efforts.

Creating online community is HARD. This Haiku Deck shares "behind the curtain" secrets to help you build an engaged and engaging online community.

Bill Gassett By Bill Gassett What do you think LinkedIn is for? Is it just for people who are trying to find a new job? Should you only visit it if you want to...

Lessons From Favela Painting
Artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn create community art by painting entire neighborhoods, and involving those who live there. Lessons include:

* Live Where You Work.
* Make sketches and models, SHARE THEM.
* Include everyone.
* If your idea is ridiculously big Easier to get people to go along.

* Let projects grow organically.

* Create feedback loops like BBQ.

* When in doubt crowdfund.

Elements of this TED Talk speak to issues brought up by Joy Ito in his TED Talk - Become A Nowist (http://www.ted.com/talks/joi_ito_want_to_innovate_become_a_now_ist?language=en ).

Tap into the power of mobile marketing, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest you can really turn up the volume in

This holiday selling season (2014) will happen as close to real time as any thanks to the social / mobile web. Listening and curating are going to be important, but so is tapping the nostalgia and spirit of the season in creative and collaborative ways.

Story may be the most important but least understood online marketing word there is. Understand why storytelling is "beyond important" for web marketing.

Clash Crowdfunding Lessons
Crowdfunding may be the ultimate "in your face" DIY (Do It Yourself) disruption. Much like the CLASH's "punk ethos", so well described in The Future Is Unwritten the biopic documentary film about Joe Strummer, marketers must create content and community with authenticity and awesome, daring and original content.

Working on a companion Curagami blog post too. Here is link to HaikuDeck:

http://shar.es/11YHo2

3 Internet Marketing Haiku Deck Triptych is BUZZING:

Invisible Giant: Why It's So Hard To See The New SEO (1,726 views 2wks)
http://shar.es/1nY2gX

Get Hired or Bought By Warren Buffet (132 views in 12 hrs)
http://shar.es/1nY2qu

Connection: The New Ecommerce (1,094 views in a week)
http://shar.es/1nY27I

Is you digital marketing talking to itself about itself? Here are 10 Tips so your online marketing wins hearts, minds and loyalty. On Curagami & Curatti.

Gamification - Winning Hearts, Minds and Loyalty Online a Free Atlantic BT White Paper with tips on using gamification to achieve Internet marketing return on investment (ROI). Continue reading