Earlier this year we produced a magazine that included QR codes in it for download-able apps. All a reader had to do was scan it with a QR code reader (an app available for smart phones) and the app would download instantly. Imagine if the QR code was for a coupon for your store? Pretty cool, huh?
Junta42’s Joe Pulizzi has more insight on mobile marketing trends and statistics, including:

  • 56 percent of companies plan to increase budgets for mobile marketing in 2010.
  • Marketers plan to increase their online marketing budgets by an average of 17 percent this year, drawing money away from traditional channels, like print.

Wondering how your company can reach out through this growing marketing channel? We can help!

One of the biggest keys of successful Internet marketing is posting fresh, original content as often as possible. But do you ever struggle with doing this day after day? If you’re feeling uninspired, give these 5 R’s of content creation from BharatBhasha.com a try:
1. Research. Before writing, use Google to research phrases that people use to search for your topic. This will give you ideas about hot topics as well as keywords to use in your content. Visit popular forums to get an sense of what people want to know about your topic.
2. Rearrange. Develop an outline to help you organize your thoughts and set the tone of your piece. Start with bullet points and then flesh them out into full-blown paragraphs.
3. Reveal. Humanize your content by sharing anecdotes or adding personal touches. Share stories or offer examples that help your readers connect your content to their situation. Don’t be afraid to get visual, especially with technical topics.
4. Read. It’s always good to have someone else proof and critique your content, but if you’re the sole editor, print out a copy and read it out loud. This will force you to double-check every word instead of letting your mind “autosuggest” words that aren’t there. If a word looks funny, look it up, especially if it’s a term spell-check wouldn’t catch!
5. Revise. Be as creative as you want when you sit down to start writing and save your critical side for later—when it’s time to polish your first draft.
Once you’ve followed these steps, you’re on your way to becoming a professional copywriter!

On April 3, the iPad era will begin. And yes, Rex will be at the Apple store early that morning to pick up the one he has reserved. That should be no surprise. On his blog, Rex has become noted for his accurate predictions about what the iPad would be, starting back in July 2006. He even Photoshopped a concept of the device in November 2007. And a year ago, he miscalculated the date it would be announced, but came pretty close to describing the device, down to the pricing.
As Rex and I are the resident Mac-heads in the office, I thought I’d use this “count-down week” to interview him about why he believes the iPad is such a big deal — especially when it comes to the business we’re in: Custom media and content marketing.

If my coworkers are wondering why I’m walking kind of like a duck today (waddle, waddle), it’s because I did a half marathon yesterday in Knoxville. The forecast called for rain at the start line, but I consider myself and the 2,000 or so participants lucky that the rain didn’t start until I hit mile 12. It made for a very wet, cold and overall miserable final mile (and walk back to the car), but the race was fun and gave a beautiful view of a city I decided I need to visit more often.

The finish line was on the 50-yard line of Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee, which would be exciting for most Tennessee residents, but not for this Vanderbilt fan/alum. I proudly wore my Vanderbilt shirt and hat as I trotted into the end zone. (I think there’s a joke somewhere in there about Vanderbilt football being really bad, but I love my school too much to make it.)

In all seriousness, I really enjoyed being a part of this wellness event that also included a Kids Fun Run. It was a reminder of why the work I do during the day with HealthTeacher is so important — and rewarding.

At Hammock we not only love words and beautiful layouts–but we love data too. Why are we so fond of numbers and graphs and spreadsheets? Because this kind of data collection and analysis ensures that the media we are creating are doing what they are intended to do. We’re always clear on how our words and video and tweets and other media are working (or not working) because measurement is such an integral part of what we do.
Jon Buscall, in this content marketing article, “Data is Content Marketing’s Friend,” says you can’t rely on your gut instinct when it comes to evaluating if your media is meeting your objectives. I couldn’t agree more. We don’t rely on crystal balls or some kind of unscientific “feeling” when it comes to our clients’ content marketing efforts—we rely on hard data to track if their strategy is working and if changes are necessary. At Hammock data is indeed our friend and it helps us create content that works for our clients.

At Hammock, we’re currently re-thinking the design, content — even the role — of our company’s primary website.
That’s not unusual. We’ve been rethinking it constantly since we first launched it in 1995.
I used to think a website — the design and structure part — should last for a couple of years. While I’ve always thought the content should constantly change, I thought the “look” and “feel” should stay fairly constant. Such a personal bias can be seen in my 10-year-old blog. Despite undergoing three or four significant re-designs and three changes in content management systems, even a regular reader would be hard-pressed to point out anything that has changed about the design of RexBlog. Being subtle with the changes sometimes is more difficult than a major overhaul.
I’ve also always believed (and still do) that different people visit a site for different reasons and a company should make the site’s navigation flexible enough for any of those reasons to be satisfied. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered over the years that no matter how flexible you make a site, it won’t work for everyone. So you keep trying.
Today, we’ve thrown out the two-year rule. Today, we accept the reality that a company’s website design and structure should be constantly reconsidered. Things change — rapidly. And the need to have a website change along with new ways people use the web should be a part of your approach to maintaining the site.

Leaders in custom media and content marketing from across the county have been in Nashville this week for the Custom Content Council’s (formerly the Custom Publishing Council) annual conference. When not exploring local sights like the Country Music Hall of Fame or the honky tonks of Lower Broadway, attendees have been learning from their colleagues and debating the latest trends in custom content.
This morning Rex, one of the founders of CPC (oops, make that, CCC), moderated a panel of custom media CEOs and industry veterans. Chris McMurry, CEO of McMurry, Diana Pohly, President/CEO of The Pohly Company, Valerie P. Valente, SVP/Publishing Director of Rodale Custom Publishing and Cameron Brown, President of King Fish Media shared strategies for evolving their content services to better meet the needs of their clients. The panelists acknowledged that 20 years ago their businesses were focused on magazines and newsletters while today those offerings have expanded to video, social media, event media and more.
Even though platform choices and vehicles have expanded, their focus remains the same: Meeting their clients’ goals with custom content.

Rex is live-tweeting the Custom Content Conference, happening this week in Nashville. The theme of this year’s conference is “Content: Use It Or Lose It: Taking Advantage of Content in a Custom Media Age.” Follow Rex’s observations and pithy quotes from the speakers here: twitter.com/hammock.inc.
There is no one who thinks about content and how to make it work for your business more than Rex. Don’t miss his Content That Works series for a distillation of his approach to and analysis of content marketing.

A new study released today found that interactive digital magazines outperform traditional Web sites when it comes to engagement, according to BtoB.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said they were more engaged with their digital magazine than with Web sites covering the same topic. Seventy percent of survey respondents said they were more likely to ignore Web site banner ads than ads in their digital magazine.
The survey polled readers of eight interactive digital magazines that “are taking advantage of the interactivity offered by the Web and supplying readers with video, slide shows and Flash animation,” study author Josh Gordon told BtoB.
Speaking of engagement, Junta42 founder Joe Pulizzi posted a free whitepaper on the topic at his blog. It’s called “Engagement: Understanding It, Achieving It, Measuring It.” You can get it for free, no strings attached, and it includes great insight on something we’re passionate about here at Hammock.

As if you needed another reminder: Content marketing is the best way to build your presence on the Internet. Sure, it takes more time than submitting an ad, but the payoff is much greater, writes T.J. Philpott in an articlecity.com blog. Here are his five reasons to adopt a content marketing strategy:
1. It’s economical. All it costs is time and effort.
2. It lasts. Newsletters, blog posts or articles drive traffic long after they have been published.
3. It boosts credibility. The more content you publish, the faster your reputation grows online.
4. It draws traffic. By focusing your content on what you’re trying to promote, you’ll pull in not just any traffic, but targeted traffic.
5. It’s search engine friendly. The more you publish quality content and link back to your site, the higher your rankings will be in search engines.
Convinced yet?