Author: Bonnie Harris

24 Oct

Posted at 12:12h in Small Business by
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The new buzz about content marketing or "brand journalism" is really about the brand creating the content, rather than waiting for media to publish something about the brand. It falls in line with the increasing sense of urgency (also called impatience) of business owners to get their name out there fast. I don't blame them - technology makes it possible so why not do it. I do have a word of warning however. If you have tried and failed to maintain a blog, you will be even more hopeless with content marketing. Here are some of the reasons why most small businesses fail at producing content:

15 Oct

Posted at 11:34h in Digital Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Small Business by
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I've talked to many PR folks about how much our jobs have changed in the last couple of years. I love that for most public relations people, writing (and even video editing) is becoming an even bigger part of our jobs. Content marketing and brand journalism are becoming the "it" girls of marketing. Over the next few weeks instead of re-inventing the wheel, I thought I would offer up some of the better posts on content marketing I've seen. Let's start with Duct Tape Marketing, and John Jantsch's comments on why it's vital for a product launch. The Essential Role of Content Marketing in a Product Launch 

18 Sep

Posted at 14:15h in Integrated Marketing by
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...as consumers, we loooove a deal.  I was reading Forbes' recent story about the ouster of Michael Francis, President of J.C. Penney and I was reminded of my intense dislike  of JCP's new advertising campaign, an immensely unpopular opinion back in January.  Unfortunately I was right. The company is in turmoil, sales are dismal and heads are rolling. JCP's ads didn't sell anything because they, like Saturn before them, forgot that we absolutely love a deal. My friend Craig and I regularly try to one-up each other on our steals we find at the "best" Goodwill in town, often brand new, designer label clothing that some rich person bought and never wore. My mother is a die-hard Herberger's fan and regularly uses their coupons to buy "this fantastic amazing shirt for $7" that I have to hear about for at least 30 minutes.  We just got through a recession for goodness sake and people are still hurting financially.  When we buy something, we better know it's a great goddamn deal.   I have four questions for J.C. Penney: