Marketing Headlines of the Week: Long Lines for Fresh Content

There is something fulfilling about waiting in a long queue for out-of-the-oven bread. Its freshness always justifies the wait.

Similarly, there will always be a long line for fresh content. The more you refresh your website with up-to-date information, the more readers you will get. That's the first lesson emerging from this week's top five news stories on InboundMarketing.com :

Lesson: Update Information Religiously
As real-time search becomes increasingly important, you should be refreshing your website 's content regularly. It is exactly the newness of information that gives Microsoft's Bing an advantage over the giant Google. By displaying recent search trends Bing shows the most up-to-date data.

For instance, Bing showed an increase in interest for Neda , an Iranian woman who died in Tehran's protests. Google's data on the same subject was three days old. As search engines enhance their real-timeness, you need to become religious about your content's freshness.

2. TV Advertising advertising about TV advertising
Author: Jon King

Lesson: Make Audiences Active
Making audiences active is the goal of today's advertising. You are on the right track if you prompt targeted readers to join your conversations. You are on the wrong track if, like ThinkBox , you self-promote your business and leave audiences passive.

ThinkBox is a television marketing body that recently launched a TV ad campaign . "The catchy slogans take me back, back to the days when we couldn't avoid seeing commercials," writes Jon King about the ad campaign. However, Jon points out, today's audiences are "no longer passive." Now we want to be part of conversations and to be heard. We want to write product reviews, leave comments and interact with other customers.

3. PR Clients Demand More, Better Measurement
Author: MarketingVox

Lesson: Measure Data for Customer Needs
Since tracking is an integral part of marketing, you need to measure and analyze all data you can get your hands on. According to a recent Benchpoint study, more and more PR practitioners evaluate the effectiveness of their outreach campaigns. Their measurements are mostly targeted to fulfill customer needs.

The survey showed that customer demand for online communications measurement has increased from 29% in 2008 to 41% in 2009. PR experts now use internal reviews, opinion polling and other media tracking tools . Your goal, as a modern PR agent, should be to gather relevant data and analyze it to improve customer experience.

4. Social Media is Rife with Experts but Starved of Authorities
Author: Brian Solis

Lesson: First Observe and Listen, Then Participate
In order to harness the benefits of social media, you have to first observe and listen to the conversations taking place, and then engage in them. Many social media experts list the advantages of building brands online. Yet not many can provide detailed instructions about how to go about it. Designing specific networking programs remains the difficult part of social media marketing. Brian Solis suggests that "transformation begins with observation," listening and "less time broadcasting or talking "at" people."

5. Why Preaching to the Choir is a Good Thing
Author: Chris Guillebeau

Lesson: Find Targeted Audience
Delivering your message to the right people is a point that can't be emphasized enough. "Instead of knocking on doors or begging for spare change, recruitment is all about opening your own doors to the people who are already naturally predisposed to your message," writes Chris Gullebeau.

There is an audience segment, your church choir, which is actively interested in your content and products. In order to find these targeted choir members, you might have to filter out the ones lacking the needed predisposition. In this context, adequate filtering tools and selective judgment mean greater marketing efficiency.

Photo Credit:  Charlyn W

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