The bottom line is that there is only one true branding mechanism online and that’s content marketing. What makes me so certain? Well, for starters, content marketing enables brands to share their story in long form and in their own words. An incredible sea of change in the way information is shared and distributed online means that for the first time ever, any brand can create its own content affordably and at scale. The story can come in the form of blogs, articles, reviews, ebooks or videos. It can be low-cost or it can be professionally produced. But let’s be clear: we’re not talking about ads! It’s real, interesting content that delivers informational or entertainment value.

Content marketing is a strategy with two obvious pillars: content and marketing. ‘Content’ means the creation of original content or the curation of content for the benefit of your audience. ‘Marketing’ means getting people to discover and engage with your content.

The good news is that there’s already plenty of inspiration to draw from. Just check out some of P&G’s content sites, such as BeingGirl.com, Man Of The House and Home Made Simple. Browse the great recipes at General Mills’Tablespoon.com or Kraft’s KraftRecipes.com. Get some quality advice from Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project or the Allstate blog.

Just like search was a decade ago and social was five years ago, content marketing is the next digital media revolution.

Via Forbes

Plenty of brands have paid, earned and owned media campaigns in place. The problem is, these elements often come from three disparate departments or agencies, creating a disconnect in messaging, aesthetic and call to action. To create a consistent brand message, “paid, earned and owned stakeholders must meet at the table to plan initiatives, content, creative, media and strategies that link them.” To drive a successful three-pronged media approach, a brand must be ready to back things up with consistent, quality content. Brands often miss out on the full package because the way most agencies are structured today, you can’t get paid, earned and owned from a one-stop shop. “Most agencies tend to specialize in, or have a revenue model contingent upon, only one of these three key media channels.” Via lonelybrand.com 

Retailers that want to grow sales and improve customer loyalty would be wise to invest in mobile shopping. According to a new report from IBM, retailers experienced 15% growth in sales from mobile devices. Conversely, sales traced to social media were down 20%.  Via RetailingToday.com

In five years, organizations will spend nearly 20% of their ad budget on social media — up from 7% today.

Since 2010 social local search has increased 67%. Dining, shopping and medical facilities are the most popular reasons for these searches. (via CMSWire)

Twitter did not crash and the Super Bowl became the most tweeted sporting event in history, averaging more than 10,000 tweets per second.

That wasn’t all that surprising: continued growth of the social network, not to mention tablet and smartphone technology that make it easier to tweet while watching television, means that record will probably be broken several times between now and next year’s Super Bowl.