The Wax Blog

content marketingSeventy-one percent of marketers will increase their spending on content marketing this year, according to recent Curata report. The report, which surveyed 500 industry professionals, found that best-in-class marketing campaigns rely on a predominance of 65 percent original content, supplemented by curated and syndicated material. The payoff is tangible, with 62 percent of companies reporting that content marketing improves both their quantity and quality of leads. But creating content costs money, a reality reflected in Gartner's finding that small businesses will spend 10 percent more on digital marketing this year. If you're just starting to promote your business via content marketing, your budget is probably limited—making it imperative you develop a cost-efficient strategy for funding your initial promotional push.

Scale Your Budget to Your Revenue

A 2012 survey by Staples found that the average small business operates on a $2,000 per year marketing budget. According to the Small Business Administration, however, the smart strategy is to scale your marketing to your revenue projections, which might make this too small.

[caption id="attachment_5754" align="alignright" width="300"] Credit AMC TV[/caption] By Satish Polisetti As more sites like Facebook, Twitter and Buzzfeed blend ads directly into a user's content stream, the future of online advertising is quickly shifting. It's a brave new world defined by content, not dimensions; mad math, not mad men. Science and data, not merely creative endeavors. Where are we today? Currently, online ads are defined primarily by size and dimensions -- with IAB ad unit guidelines describing leaderboards (728 x 90 pixels), skyscrapers (160 x 600), and full banners (468 x 60), to name a few. These very basic but widely accepted standards are based on the artistic perspectives of a previous generation - from the minds of creative geniuses you might see on Mad Men. These have more to do with traditional ad buys, and print ad dimensions, ones that have not really changed much in the past few decades since the swinging 60's of Don Draper. When we jumped into internet advertising, the look and feel of advertising changed, but standards failed to get with the times. And then there were banners:

By Theresa Roemer - Business philanthropy expert Charity work is a labor of love and can provide you some of the most rewarding experiences of your life. While the decision to actually dedicate your time to a charity might be a seamless one, the hard question is where and what charity do you devote your time and efforts towards? There are many charities in the world that support good and reputable causes. You just need to discover, which one is the right one for you. Business Philanthropy expert, Theresa Roemer offers the following tips on how to find the best charity for you: 1. Ask Yourself the Hard Questions – Reflect on what tugs at your heart strings. Is it your children or your animals? Were you or was there ever a person near and dear to you diagnosed with an illness? Write down a few moments, experiences, and events that have impacted you both positively and negatively. This way you can see where you stand. 2. Do Your Homework - Based on your passions, go out and research charities that relate to your interests. Find out if the charities you are interested in are large or small in scope; are they national or international? what makes them unique and what are their goals and mission, where does the money that they earn go? Your research will allow you to figure out if you actually want to get involved with that organization.