Arc 3 Communications

The 2 Most Popular Article Types for Association Content Marketers

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In a digital age, content marketing is one of the best marketing strategies that can be used by associations’ large and small. There is a wide variety of options in the world of content marketing and choosing the best types of content for your association can be challenging. Of course, you do not have to use just one type of content, in fact using a variety of different content formats is good for keeping your membership and stakeholder audiences interested. These different types of content can be tailored to fit your association and reach your target audiences. This guide will identify two of the most popular forms of content out there right now and explain what each of these can accomplish for your association.

  1. Listicle Articles

We have all read listicle articles in magazines or on social media, even if we didn’t know that is what they were called. In fact, the article you are reading right now is a listicle. Listicles are highly popular due to their ability to be very informative while being easy-to-read and aesthetically pleasing. Arranging information in a list format and including numbers in the title and body of the article has been proven to be psychologically attractive and draws in readers. People like having their information in list form; and with a catchy title, this form of content can greatly increase page views, shares and likes.  Listicles will usually have a numerically based title, for example: “Top 10,” “6 Ways to,” “5 best,” etc. These numbers can either be a ranking system or simply organize information into the list. Unlike How-To articles (which we will discuss next) listicles do not necessarily have to show someone how to do something or teach a skill; it can simply be used for informing readers or for entertainment purposes. The items in a listicle will usually be related to an overall theme such as “10 Things to Consider When Writing Captivating Content for Members”. This theme will be something related to your association that will attract your membership and stakeholders. Listicles are immensely popular and can be tailored to any policy or content bucket.

  1. How-To Articles

How-to articles are another extremely popular form of content. The how-to article is written in a sequence of steps and shows the reader how to perform a skill or complete a task. In the past it was enough to use a title like “How to do…” but now, with social media and endless online articles for your members and stakeholders to choose from, you have to be creative with your titles and content in order to catch the attention of readers. How-to articles are much more specific than listicles, usually explaining a specific task or skill. Often, listicles and how-to articles can cross paths with steps and guides written in a numbered list format like “10 Easy Steps to Building a Remarkably Popular Website.” This translates roughly to “How to Build a Website” but uses much more exciting and interesting language. Like listicle articles, how-to articles increase traffic, shares, and likes and can benefit your SEO and keyword placement. Writing how-to articles that take a unique approach to a topic and take a new angle on what might be a well-known subject to your members is the key to leveraging this content format.

In the End, Quality Content Works

Ultimately, the most important thing about creating content is making sure that it is of high quality.  You can pump out countless content pieces, fast and furious; and have them all fall flat because there is no value to them. Quality over quantity is the golden rule when it comes to creating new content for your marketing campaigns. Well-crafted content will boost the visibility of your website and ultimately increase your audience numbers. Interesting and readable content will go far in engaging your membership and keep them coming back for more. Strong content is also more likely to be shared on social media, thus acting as free advertising and driving traffic to your website and generating membership leads for your association. While the two content types discussed in this article are the most popular and effective, they certainly are in no way the only types you can use to be effective. In the end, if you create quality content, your membership and stakeholder audiences will rely on you time and again as a trusted and valuable resource.

For more information or help with your association’s content marketing visit us at www.arc3communications.com or contact Patrick Burns at pburns@arc3communications.com. We look forward to working with you to achieve your goals and develop successful content marketing strategies to help your association grow.

How to Run a Lucrative Email Marketing Campaign

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What is the difference between an email newsletter and an email marketing campaign? This is a good question and one that a lot of companies and organizations may have when designing their marketing strategies. This article will help distinguish between these two tools as well as help you create and implement an email marketing campaign that is successful.

E-Newsletter vs. Email Marketing Campaign

First things first, let’s take a look at the difference between an E-newsletter and an email marketing campaign.

An e-newsletter is a regularly occurring email that contains strong informational content that relates to your readers and their lifestyle or interests. Newsletters are not advertisements and do not push products or services. Instead, these emails develop and build relationships with your audience by relating to them on a personal level. This content will be related to your business or market and drives website traffic which can lead to conversions.

An email marketing campaign consists of many different types of emails used together in a strategy to persuade the recipient to take an action such as making a donation or purchasing a service or product. An e-newsletter is considered a part of an email marketing campaign, in addition to other email types such as welcome emails, promotional emails, retention emails, and nurture emails. We will discuss these different email types further, but for now, just think of an e-newsletter as one tool in an email marketing campaign.

Now that you know the difference between e-newsletters and email marketing campaigns, we can discuss how to develop and implement a successful email marketing campaign.

Running a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

Email is still one of the largest communication tools used today, with 90 percent of adults and 74 percent of teenagers using email regularly according to the company OptinMonster. This makes email one of the most efficient ways to reach your customer base. Here are the steps you can take to create a lucrative email marketing campaign. 

  1. Set Your Goals

Before beginning to design your emails, it is important to set goals you want to achieve with your campaign. These goals will vary depending on your business but some of the common goals are:

  • Welcoming new subscribers to your campaign which involves informing them about who you are and what you do. This begins the relationship building process.
  • Strengthening existing relationships with current subscribers by providing them with useful information and incentives.
  • Touching base with inactive or less active subscribers to try to get them to reengage with your business or organization.
  • Encourage engagement with strong content and calls to action to drive conversions.
  • Target your subscribers by segmenting them based on data you collect to deliver relevant content to the right people.

Keep in mind your conversion goals when developing your email marketing campaign goals so one can help the other.

  1. Create Strong Opt-ins

Opt-ins are how you will initially get and grow your audience. These are forms strategically located on your website where visitors can sign up to receive your emails. It is important that these are eye-catching, well designed and prominent without being annoying or overpowering. Having a pop-up when people navigate to your site, a visible form that stands out on your homepage, or an exit pop-up when people are leaving your site are good ways to catch the attention and drive your call to action(CTA) for subscribers.

  1. Use Different Email Types

As we discussed earlier, there are different types of emails that can be used as a part of your campaign. These email types will work together to help you reach the goals you have set.

  • Promotional Emails are offers and sale information that promote your business and can include coupons or special events.
  • Transaction Emails include welcome messages and confirmations for sign-ups, orders/purchases or information changes.
  • Relational Emails are where your E-newsletter come into play. These emails deliver relationship building content and appreciation to your subscribers (free gifts, thank you notes, etc.).
  • Follow-up Emails are emails that can be scheduled to follow promotions or newsletters to keep your subscribers active.

  1. Crafting Your Email Designs

 Content and design are very important aspects of a good email marketing campaign. Without strong content, catchy subject lines, and professional, clean design; your emails will be overlooked, go unread, or you could even lose subscribers. Strategies such as personalization, valuable information, polls and surveys, and incentives can be used to help drive open and click-through rates. It is also very important to include a call to action in your emails that encourages your readers to take an action like making a purchase, partaking in an event, or becoming a paying member. These are best when short, clear, and to the point and will work for you if your content and design are strong and relevant.

  1. Use Tools, Tech, and Software

There are many programs and services available to help create email templates, automate email scheduling delivery, track success and goal completions, and help to segment your audience. Services like Mailchimp provide all of these aspects in one place and can help you make sure your campaign runs smoothly. Tools like these are necessary to keep track of where you stand with your goal completions. This can also allow you to test new ideas and gauge the success rate of these ideas, giving you much control over your own success.

  1. Test Runs and Tracking

Anytime you are sending a mass email it is always smart to do a test run. This can involve sending your email to people designated as test readers, such as an inside marketing team; to check for errors, broken links, and to see what your audience will see. You can also do test runs with your audience to test things such as send times, calls to action, and subject lines. You will always want to track email activity with your subscribers so you can see what works and what doesn’t. This way you can keep doing things that are working with your subscribers and change and test things that might work better. This will be key to helping you reach your set goals and drive conversion goals as well.

For more information or help with your email marketing campaign visit us at www.arc3communications.com or contact Patrick Burns at pburns@arc3communications.com. We look forward to working with you to achieve your goals and develop successful e-mail marketing strategies to help you grow.

 

Content Marketing and Social Media Training for Georgia Movers Association

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Content Marketing and Social Media Training Georgia Movers AssociationArc 3 Communications recently conducted a content marketing and social media training program for the Georgia Movers Association as a part of their annual conference. The program was attended by hundreds of moving company executives from across the state of Georgia. The annual conference was held at the Idle Hour Country Club in Macon.

Arc 3 Founder Patrick Burns provided insights on what is content marketing and why it is important for a moving company’s marketing efforts. Participants were provided insights into how to incorporate a content marketing process inside their business and the fundamental elements for developing and implementing a content marketing program.

The Arc 3 Communications team also provided insights regarding the major platforms in digital marketing today – Facebook and Google. Session included strategies on how moving companies can utilize Facebook advertising to market their  business using tools like the Power Editor for targeting and Facebook Pixel for re-targeting. Tips for sharing timely and informative posts and how to leverage Facebook’s live video feature were also provided.

Session attendees were also provided tips for “Keeping Google Happy”. Practical and helpful website tips in the areas of security, page speed, local SEO, caching, optimizing images, accelerated mobile pages (AMP), and inbound links were shared. Finally, insights into Instagram Stories and Snapchat and trends that may lie ahead in marketing were presented.

The training session on content marketing and social media stimulated conversation among the moving company executive attendees on the types of content and marketing tactics members were using to help them to achieve their business goals.

Arc 3’s  content marketing and social media training seminars are customized for trade associations and have been very valuable to their members. Content marketing and social media are changing everyday with new platform updates, tools, shifting audiences and techniques. Through our research, lab work and networking we keep up with the latest trends in content marketing and social media.

Want to talk about a customized content marketing and social media training program for your association? Contact us here or via Facebook Messenger. Or sign up for our newsletter to get the latest tips here. 

Why Content Marketing Matters for Your Trade Association’s Future

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content-marketingEvery industry is facing the digital disruption of their traditional marketing and communications. Trade Associations are no different and not immune to the winds of change that have occurred in consumer and business to business marketing. Trade associations’ marketing and communications efforts to membership, stakeholders, alliance groups and government audiences is changing and aligning with big brands’ transition to a content marketing model. The largest and most effective brands in the world such as Coca-Cola and IBM, use content marketing to build relationships and brand loyalty and make future sales.

Developing a content marketing program for your trade association is important to achieving your organization’s goals and objectives in the digital age of communications. What is content marketing? It is the creating and sharing of valuable, relevant and consistent content in order to build relationships with an audience to achieve an objective such as a membership sale. It is owning media, not renting it. By sharing your best ideas and experience, good content builds trust and relationships with people and encourages them to come back to you when they need your services or product.

The most popular forms of content marketing are articles, social media content, blog posts and e-newsletters. But case studies, white papers, e-books and webinars have also proven to be effective in reaching audiences. Although social media and digital formats have made content marketing affordable and effective for big and small organizations, it is not strictly confined to online. Print publications such as John Deere’s The Furrow Magazine and Lego’s Lego Club Magazine have been around for decades and are remarkably successful in building long lasting relationships for these respective brands.

Like the big brands, trade associations must come to the realization that traditional marketing with its heavy reliance on television, direct mail and print media is a losing strategy in retaining and growing membership and promoting advocacy and policy goals, especially among millennials. With the rapid decline in cable television subscribers, newspaper readers and the increase in junk mail into mailboxes, producing compelling content that engages your members and reaches them on the digital continent is vital. The most popular television channel for millenials isn’t even on TV; it is YouTube.

The future of trade associations and all those organizations that are engaged in civic life depends upon the sharing of content online that engages and forms relationships with audiences. In order to have millenials active in your association, you must reach them on the digital continent in which they live. Support for your association’s membership, legislative and advocacy efforts depend upon this large group upon which future board members and leadership will come.

Want to learn more about the principles and fundamentals of content marketing and how you can update your trade association’s communications and marketing efforts? Contact Patrick Burns at pburns@arc3communications.com. We can work with you on content marketing fundamentals such as a content audit, the creation of a content marketing plan, content calendars, a content management system and analytics. Arc 3 can reboot your trade association’s marketing efforts and implement a content marketing process in your organization that helps you achieve success.

This Week in Digital and Public Affairs: The 2016 Olympics, BuzzFeed and Ad Blocking

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buzzfeed-logoDigital and social media are transforming how government institutions, political campaigns and trade associations are communicating and marketing to their key audiences.

Below is a roundup of key stories in digital and public affairs for this week:

Content, Digital and Social Media

Digiday reports on how The New York Times’ T Brand Studio which was born two years ago to assist clients in the creation of native advertising  (sponsored ads and content that look like actual stories in NYT) is now expanding into a full fledged agency. T Brand Studio will now assist clients in the creation of multi-media, stories and content that can be placed in publications beyond The New York Times. In pitching its new services, the Times will be competing not just with established agencies, but other publishers that are also producing content for clients such as Atlantic Media Strategies, started by Atlantic Media, publisher of news magazines such as the The National Journal.

Ad Week rants about the many ways that businesses and brands can get in trouble posting on social media regarding the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. For those businesses that are not official sponsors of the games like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Visa or P&G, posting on social media regarding the Olympic Games runs legal risks. The many restrictions issued by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) include prohibition against non-sponsors using the Olympics’ trademarked words or phrases such as Olympic, Olympian, Team USA, Go for the Gold; using terms that reference the location of the Olympics, such as the Road to Rio; and using hashtags that include Olympics trademarks such as #TeamUSA or #Rio2016. Non-sponsors are also prohibited from sharing or retweeting content from official Olympics social media accounts.

Gov 2.0 and Public Affairs

The Las Vegas Sun reports on how Las Vegas area governments and authorities such as the City of Las Vegas, Clark County and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority are turning to social media to modernize their communications and engage with citizens. The City of Las Vegas has a social media team of 4 staff members and is present on nine different social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Next Door and Google Plus to promote citizen engagement. Speaking of Snapchat, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently tapped hip hop star DJ Khaled to launch its new Snapchat account. The authority’s Snapchat launch generated more than 400,000 views and 25,000 engagements in a 48-hour period thanks to DJ Khaled.

In Associations Now, Ernie Smith reviews a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau that found that a quarter of all internet users already block ads, which is less than anticipated.  The majority of users who block ads are adult males from 18 to 34. While ad blocking on desktop computers is at 26%, ad blocking on mobile devices is lower at 15%. The IAB has been focused on combating ad blocking over the years, and is recommending that advertisers promote lighter non-invasive ads. The study found that lighter non-invasive ads online encourage ad blockers to turn off their ad blocking software. One interesting note from the study: 40% of internet users believed that they had ad blocking software turned on, but many of the users confused anti-virus and pop-up blockers with ad blocking software.

Campaigns and Elections

Business Insider reports on BuzzFeed Editor-In-Chief Ben Smith sending a memo to the outlet’s news staff to refrain from taking “partisan stands” on social media. The memo was written after a BuzzFeed reporter posted a pair of now-deleted partisan tweets to her account during a video that played before President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. BuzzFeed’s ethics guide states that “reporters and editors should refrain from commenting in a partisan way about candidates or policy issues.” After acknowledging the unusual nature of this year’s Presidential election, Smith stated in his memo: “I’m writing to remind you about our policy on not taking partisan stands on social media, or in our coverage, for either side. You have colleagues covering this race intensely and an audience who should trust that you, and we, are as fair and accurate as you know we strive to be.”

These are some of the reads that matter to us for the week in digital and public affairs. What do you think? What are your favorite stories? We’d love to hear from you!

Happy Thanksgiving! 10 Things I Am Thankful For

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ThanksgivingHappy Thanksgiving from Arc 3 Communications! As we celebrate the 3rd anniversary of our agency, it is good to reflect upon those things that I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful for our clients in the civic space that have entrusted us over the years to help with their content, digital marketing and social media needs. We have worked with clients ranging from government agencies to trade associations to political campaigns at the local, state and national levels. We have developed digital marketing and social media campaigns, new websites, content marketing plans and all types of amazing content to help them accomplish their legislative, policy, electoral and civic engagement goals.

2.  I am thankful for the talented team of creatives, digital marketing, social media, technical and public affairs experts at Arc 3. I am also thankful for our interns that have breathed life into our agency with new ideas and enthusiasm for our mission.

3.  I am thankful to our vendors who have become trusted partners in helping us to carry out our mission. These knowledgeable experts in accounting, the law, banking and technology are indispensable.

4. I am thankful to the awesome team at Strongbox West who provide us with an affordable, fun and innovative office space to work in that is filled with other startups in the creative, digital and technology space. The shared learning from other entrepreneurs has been immeasurable.

5. I am thankful to the many innovators in digital, social media and technology that have transformed marketing from a traditional marketing model to a world driven by content. This includes not only the creators of the well-known platforms such as WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tumblr; but the countless other innovators who developed lesser known digital and social media platforms that have helped to create a competitive marketplace that produces amazing channels for communication and sharing.

6. I am thankful to our agency competitors for new business in the content, digital marketing and civic space who by their efforts in the marketplace, push us to do better, innovate and strive to be our best.

7. I am thankful for the digital, social media, creative and start-up community of Atlanta in which we are constantly learning new things through shared knowledge and crowd sourced learning. I am most grateful to the Social Media Club of Atlanta, SouthWired (former Digital Atlanta) and the many Meetups around the city that are ongoing.

8. As Founder of an agency focused on the civic space, I am thankful for the many long-standing institutions in government, politics and civic life and the people and ideas that sustain them. The great civitas of our country depends upon engaged citizens, media, candidates, elected officials, trade association and non-profit executives and public servants in government at all levels.

9. I am thankful for the countless numbers of friends and former colleagues throughout my career in government and politics, academia and the agency world who have offered encouragement and referred business our way.

10. I am most thankful to my family for their constant love and support through my entrepreneurial journey. My family has shared this experience with me every step of the way. It is hard to express my gratitude and thanks to my four children and most especially my wife Mary. My wife’s selflessness, determination and love for me has been the rock upon which my success has been built.

Finally, I am most thankful to God to whom all thanks must be given. Without his love and my faith in him, my entrepreneurial journey would have never gotten off the ground 3 years ago.

What are you most thankful for this year? Please share with us!

Patrick L. Burns, Founder and President of Arc 3 Communications

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arc 3 Conducts Content Marketing and Social Media Education Programs for Chamber of Commerce Executives

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Arc 3 Communications recently conducted content marketing and social media continuing education programs for the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (GACCE) as a part of their fall regional road shows. The programs were attended by hundreds of chamber of commerce executives from across the state of Georgia. The regional road shows were hosted by the Dublin-Laurens County Chamber of Commerce in Dublin; the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce in Albany; and the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce in Canton.

Arc 3 Founder Patrick Burns provided insights on what is content marketing and why it is important for a local chamber of commerce’s communications efforts. Participants were provided insights into how to incorporate a content marketing process inside their chamber of commerce and the fundamental elements for developing a content marketing plan for their organization.

The Arc 3 Communications team also provided an overview of the major social media platforms in the categories of social networking and micro-blogging. Sessions on how a local chamber of commerce can utilize Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter for member engagement and other organizational goals were provided. The Arc 3 team also shared tips for creating a social media policy and utilizing social media management and measurement tools.

The continuing education sessions on content marketing and social media stimulated conversation from among the local chamber of commerce executive attendees on the types of content and tactics that were engaging members and helping them to achieve their chamber’s goals in promoting events, economic development and policy initiatives, and tourism programs.

Arc 3’s  content marketing and social media training seminars are geared towards those in trade associations, public affairs and government and have been very valuable to communications professionals in the civic arena. Content marketing and social media are changing everyday with new platform updates, tools, shifting audiences and techniques. Through our research, lab work and networking we keep up with the latest trends in content marketing and social media in the civic space.

Want to talk about customized content marketing and social media training for your organization? Please contact Patrick Burns at pburns@arc3communications.com.

 

Content Marketing and Social Media Case Study: Cherokee County, Georgia Government

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The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners is the local governing body of one of the fastest growing counties in Georgia and the Southeast. The county is home to one of the lowest tax rates and the highest SAT scores in the state. 

One of the fastest growth segments of Cherokee County’s population was an influx of the first wave of the millennial generation who were purchasing homes and building families. Increasingly, these millennials were turning to online and social media as a primary resource for news about local issues and events. The county felt that their traditional marketing efforts were not reaching and informing this audience.

In addition, county leaders were becoming increasing concerned about the county’s digital and social media presence online and the impact that it may have been having in the economic development competition with other local communities across the country in attracting new businesses and large employers to the county.

Arc 3 Communications worked with Cherokee County Board of Commissioners to develop a plan for creating content for their website and social media networks to educate and inform stakeholders, constituents, businesses and c-level executives.

Through the development of a content marketing plan which included an identification of key messages, audiences and content buckets, the county was able to launch a new website and social media program that reached key audiences. Training was provided to county department heads and staff on key social media channels and tactics; content tips and the content marketing ideation process. 

Cherokee County’s new content marketing and social media program has resulted in a 53% increase in fans on Facebook; 241% increase in followers on Twitter; and 40% follower growth on LinkedIn. Cherokee County has also established a strong presence on Instagram in anticipation of the visual growth in social media. Cherokee County has seen its Klout Score, a measure of social media influence, increase by 300%.

However, a successful content marketing and social media campaign is not just measured by the number of likes and followers. More importantly Cherokee County has seen an increase in citizen engagement and civic reporting, greater citizen awareness about their local government, and more economic development leads. Cherokee County was just recently awarded the location to the county of Inalfa Roof Systems, an economic development win that was recognized by Governor Nathan Deal and the Georgia Economic Developers Association as the “Deal of the Year” for 2013.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Arc 3 Communications

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Thank you to our clients, friends and colleagues who have helped to make Arc 3’s 2nd year a great success. We set out to do ambitious and interesting work in 2013, and our clients have entrusted us to do just that.

Over the last year, we have done innovative work in the area of content marketing, digital and social media for clients in the political, public affairs and government space. It has been our passion to help trade associations, right-center campaigns and local and state governments evolve their communications and marketing strategies to fit the digital age.

Content and measurable data are both important to us. Arc 3 has helped clients to develop and implement effective strategies and campaigns that help them to achieve their organizational goals in a complex media and public affairs landscape. Content marketing and digital and social media only work if they help an organization to reach those real world objectives that result in a return on their investment.

The golden age of mass media communications through print, television and radio has begun to fade, and a new multi-platform and digital age has begun. The digital age has resulted in new ways in which people – especially millenials – are processing issue and policy information.

Over the last several years, businesses have been going through a transition from traditional marketing to content marketing out of necessity in order to reach consumers. Our civic institutions, campaigns and trade associations will have to change as well in order to sustain their key roles in the public square.

As our agency grows and evolves in the dynamic landscape in media and public affairs, we look forward to another year of fun, interesting and purposeful work.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Patrick L. Burns, Founder and President, Arc 3 Communications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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