When your readers come to your website, you must not only make sure that your content is tailored to their pains, but that they must find it easily. , Remember, you must tailor your website to provide the most approachable content for your target audience. When it comes to the internet, people reading online tend to be rushed and distracted. In a majority of casees, they are reading for information, not pleasure. Most often, they’re scanning for the information they want—not reading for literary purposes.

Writing with the online user in mind ensures that visitors will be more likely to spend more time at your site and to visit it often. Because people usually visit several times before making a purchase, your goal is to create a site that makes people want to return again and again.

When creating content, be aware of how it is presented. Ask yourself - are readers going to be confused as to where their eye should rest and how they should follow the text? Are there too many distractions (i.e. images, bolded text, highlights etc.)? Here are some tips on how to properly present your content...

Give the copy life!

Ask yourself these questions.

• Is the content interesting?
• Does it grab you and address your needs?
• Does it have a rhythm to it?
• Do you use your action in the verbs?

The more variety that you have in your sentences and copy the better it is in grabbing the attention of your readers.

Don’t get all emotional on me…


When you think of Apple, what do you feel? If you’re diehard Mac fan, you probably swoon at their ads and can’t help drooling while you browse their website. Apple has done a great job in invoking emotion to their brand and their ads.

You must do the same thing. When you’re writing for your website – take a step back and see if your readers are responding to your words… Does it grab their attention/interest and create desire?

Or best yet, does it make them act? Use a style of writing that people will like when talked to.

Design: Less is More


Don’t overcrowd your pages, let the copy breathe. Include plenty of white space,  and keep content pages short—300-350 words. Complicated menus or loads of graphics make pages visually confusing and may lose you customers. Make pages easy to see and easy to use. Help your reader concentrate on the content by placing ads out of the way.

• Easy navigation – make the content easy to follow 
  Take a look through your analytics program and see how long it takes your readers to find what they need on your site. How many clicks does it take – keep it between 3 -5. But what’s important is how intuitive is it for them to find what they want, not the number of clicks they take.
• Headlines and bullets make scanning a breeze 
  Notice the way this article is laid out? Headlines tell you the general contents of each paragraph, which is helpful because more than 2/3 of your readers will actually be scanning the pages, not reading them. When you use headlines and bulleted lists, you provide information that’s quick to access and easy to read.
• Consistency in patterns
  Take a look at your pages, do they have a consistency in look and feel? Do your words have the same tone and style from page to page? Also take a look at your graphics, menus etc.. and see if there is any variancy between the pages. Any differences will throw your readers off and navigate away to other pages.

Content Marketing Strategy to Increase your Fitness Club and Spa Members

Content marketing has come a long way from where it was a few years ago. With the changes of the Google Panda update and Web 2.0, online tactics have evolved to keep up. At this point, content marketing has become the foundation of any online marketing strategy – which allows any business to compete effectively. Fitness Clubs and Spas can use the same strategies in getting new gym members and spa customers.

There are certain specific tips that you can use to ensure a good creative content marketing strategy for your gym or spa.

1. Define your target market

Just as in traditional marketing, you need to define who your members are.   The kind of content that you create for consumption should also be designed specifically for them and their needs. This is something that will require a fair amount of research to understand your customers pains, their information needs and goals. Take advantage of various online tools out there that will help you identify your customers. Do an analysis of keywords to understand your customers more. Dig deep into your competitors sites.

If you have done your research well, you may uncover hidden opportunities and niches that you can target through your online content.By defining who your client is and their wants, they can easily be targeted with the right content that calls to them.

2. Don’t propagate features, create solutions

There is no point in creating content that details all the features of your gym or spa. You are not likely to increase gym membership in this manner. Neither are spa customers likely to flock to your center after you have told them the kind of massage rooms that you have and the services that you offer. Once you have identified your customer, understand their needs in detail and offer solutions that can help them achieve what they are looking for.

For example, you may choose to increase your gym membership by targeting those who are looking to meet new people by creating more social classes.

In order to market those classes and attract more members, you can:

• give a brief description of various classes, mentioning their fitness benefits – but more importantly their popularity
  
• you can provide online videos of members taking part in the classes and having fun.
  
• You can put video testimonials.
  

3. Define your objective

Even after you have defined your potential clientele and the solution that you want to offer them, make sure that your content marketing strategy has an objective. Do you want to ensure that your clients respect your gym as a trusted name in the industry or do you want them to think of your fitness center as one that has the solution to any obesity problem? Make sure that you conduct a short survey to assess the image of your center at regular intervals to understand the effectiveness and receive feedback.

4. Update the content

Updating content frequently not only keeps you on top of mind, it will also place you top of search engines. With the amount of information that is uploaded on to the Internet each day, it is essential that you post articles, podcasts, blogs and other pieces of information everyday to remain active. Write original ideas or provide well-researched information. Don’t regurgitate the same-old information out there. Above-all, keep the content relevant and contextual.

From trust to action – do not forget that the content marketing strategy that you have developed has a goal of increasing gym membership and spa customers at the end of the day. Ensure that your online content is designed and presented in such a manner that the customer finds it easy to register and make the appointment when ready.

Online marketers are routinely frustrated when they check their analytics and see high bounce rates. No matter, how much they tweak their copy, the layout of their website - the dreaded bounce rate never drops! What to do?! It's most likely that your visitors are not finding what they want on your website and that's related to the content that you post. 

To increase your readership, tailor your website to provide the most approachable content for your target audience. Remember, people reading online tend to be rushed and distracted, they are reading for information, not pleasure. Most often, they’re scanning for the information they want—not reading for literary purposes.

Writing with the online user in mind ensures that visitors will be more likely to spend more time at your site and to visit it often. Because people usually visit several times before making a purchase, your goal is to create a site that makes people want to return again and again.

Information architecture -Creating your content plan

Remember before you even set up the content, take a few steps back and start planning your goals, the site architecture and wireframe. You must ask yourself:

• What are your website goals
  
• What are your users goals and expectations
  
• What are your sites content areas?
  
• How are you going to drive users to those content areas?
  

Take your time to create a site map including a wireframe to determine how the user is going to access your content and how engaged they are going to be. Remember that web design and content go hand in hand here… Understand what will catch the eye of your user “top of fold”, and how you can help guide them towards the desired action.

Write for the web but do not write for the web

Writing for the web means being informal, showing your personality and providing relevant information. In short, it’s a conversation that builds relationships. You have a lot of tools to use to be able to do that.

But what you should not do is write as if you’re writing for the web..Don’t call attention to the “web” by putting phrases such as:

• Click here
  
• Follow this link
  

Don’t use any self referential terms and avoid words/phrases specific to web use. To double check out any overuse – print out the article, read it and ask yourself if it still makes sense on paper.

Keep sentences simple and paragraphs short.

If your sentences are long, cut them up into digestible pieces. You’re writing for the 6th grader, so that all potential prospects can understand.

Long sentences and paragraphs scare people away, and anything that looks like it’s going to be a slog to read will turn readers off. No one has the time or inclination to want to read the whole thing.

And keep the sentences personal – get used to the word “you”. The web doesn’t go well with formal sentence structure. It’s an informal world, and if you want to build relationships with your readers, use the word you as much as possible.

Quality, Quality, Quality

What does quality mean? In the online world, quality means relevant and fresh.

Always keep the audience information needs in mind. Your reader wants to feel that they came out of your website learning something new or had a positive experience in their interactions.

Whether you’re selling soccer balls or vitamins, it’s important to keep the information clear and to the point. Articles should be concise and informal. The web doesn’t go well with formal writing but more of an informational tone.

Your customers are looking for answers to their questions—about their health, their activities and the products that will enhance their lives.

Lots of people have problems trying to find new things to write about on a regular basis. Especially for blog posts – which compose 85% of Fluide Media’s contracts.  Here are some tips that you can take for creating quality ideas and posts.

1. Find a new angle.. Like PR pros say – find a new angle to pitch. The same topic can be turned around so many different ways for different audiences. You can do the same.
   
2. You have a personality. Use it! Do not be afraid to show your true side! If you want to be the wild and crazy guy then put it down… Your readers will relate to you better, and know that there is a human being on the other side.
   
3. Tell a tale. When you write, it’s more interesting to tell a story with a point to it. Don’t just write a dry article, use analogies, draw from real life experiences, make fun of situations….
   
4. Stay fresh. Keep yourself updated on a regular basis. Hook yourself up to what’s going in the industry or category. Subscribe to RSS feeds and at least scan them on a daily basis.
5. Be opinionated. Got an opinion, don’t be afraid to say it. It’s a free country.. You should also say things as it is based on your knowledge and analysis, even if it could create controversy.
   

Less is more – using design with content

Give the copy life! Ask yourself these questions.

• Is the content interesting?
  
• Does it grab you and address your needs?
  
• Does it have a rhythm to it?
  
• Do you use your action in the verbs?
  

The more variety that you have in your sentences and copy the better it is in grabbing the attention of your readers.

Don’t get all emotional on me…

When you think of Apple, what do you feel? If you’re diehard Mac fan, you probably swoon at their ads and can’t help drooling while you browse their website. Apple has done a great job in invoking emotion to their brand and their ads.

You must do the same thing. When you’re writing for your website – take a step back and see if your readers are responding to your words… Does it grab their attention/interest and create desire?

Or best yet, does it make them act? Use a style of writing that people will like when talked to.

Design: Less is More

Don’t overcrowd your pages, let the copy breathe. Include plenty of white space,  and keep content pages short—300-350 words. Complicated menus or loads of graphics make pages visually confusing and may lose you customers. Make pages easy to see and easy to use. Help your reader concentrate on the content by placing ads out of the way.

Easy navigation – make the content easy to follow 

Take a look through your analytics program and see how long it takes your readers to find what they need on your site. How many clicks does it take – keep it between 3 -5. But what’s important is how intuitive is it for them to find what they want, not the number of clicks they take.

Headlines and bullets make scanning a breeze 

Notice the way this article is laid out? Headlines tell you the general contents of each paragraph, which is helpful because more than 2/3 of your readers will actually be scanning the pages, not reading them. When you use headlines and bulleted lists, you provide information that’s quick to access and easy to read.

Consistency in patterns

Take a look at your pages, do they have a consistency in look and feel? Do your words have the same tone and style from page to page? Also take a look at your graphics, menus etc.. and see if there is any variancy between the pages. Any differences will throw your readers off and navigate away to other pages.

To Summarize…

Writing for the web doesn’t have to be complicated; keep it simple and easier to use, and make sure the content is relevant and fresh!

• Analyze your copy by looking at your choice of words. Do they connect with your readers and tell a story?
  
• White space is important. Use bullets and lists to allow for quick scanning. Use headings and sub headings to help break up the page.
  
• Keep your word count per article between 300-350 range. It allows for easy digestion of your content.
  
• Use emotion to sell. Write as if you’re talking to your reader face to face.
  
• Balance design with content. Test the site usability. Can the reader find what they want easily?Be Authentic! Show your true personality, warts and all. Quality is better than quantity when building relationships.
  

Ten years ago, people in the know were posting links and placing banner ads on websites to promote their businesses; with the advent of near-universal broadband, videos are becoming the way to make it all happen. What’s more compelling than a message that combines visuals and audio for multi-sensory impact?

Since the silent films wowed our ancestors and black-n-white TV blew our grandparents’ collective mind, we’ve been in love with the screen, huge or small. From the big-as-a-barn flat screen to the moderate but totally hi-def laptop, the world is watching more video than ever—but not nearly as much as we’re going to watch next year, and the year after that.

With the advent of the cell phone, we’re even forming strong attachments to wee little phone screens, and now that video cameras are super-affordable, anyone can be a movie-maker. Everybody’s a star, a blogger or a small filmmaker, and YouTube is providing all the audience you could want—as long as you know how to access it.

But the movies can break your heart, and plenty of people who thought YouTube would be the perfect place for advertainment are learning that it takes a bit more than just making a short video to get that video seen by thousands of avid viewers.

The good news is that, with some planning and follow-through, you can make your video go viral, presenting your products, services or corporate messages to a huge audience, at great savings to the traditional advertising budget. It’s not a lazy person’s game, but a little hard work can pay off beautifully.

In creating and distributing a video, there are five main points (and a slew of minor ones) to consider. You have to take into account the:

• Content of your video
  
• Optimization strategies
  

1. Content

a) Advertainment – should the brand name be evident in the video?

Viewers and content providers are notoriously hostile to outright ads: most experts agree that viral video production involves giving something up—notably, your usual expectation that a video promotion should actually contain the name of the product you want to sell.  Some say that it’s smartest to create a video that amuses, shocks or otherwise entertains, and provide a link to your website on the page. Others contend that embedding the message in the video isn’t a bad thing as long as the video is sufficiently engrossing. The message to take from the entertainment vs. advertising debate is that content counts: if your video isn’t compelling, people won’t forward it on.

We say that the video must be either one of these three things in order to be of interest:

• Entertaining/humourous
  
• Informative/Educative
  
• Controversial

Before you even think of integrating your brand to the video, you have to ask yourself – does  it meet one of those three criterias without your brand? Otherwise, it will never move to the top of the pile.

Of course, what makes a video compelling hasn’t changed much: scantily-clothed women, bright colors, plenty of sound and a tight story line add up to success. Remember though, that it all needs to happen in a short period of time: as little as 15-30 seconds. With fantastic content, you could probably go as long as two minutes.

Great video quality makes viewers happy, but you don’t have to be Scorsese to make fun, challenging content that’s going to generate discussion and excitement. Get the best audio and visual you can, but don’t get too hung up on perfection; part of the YouTube experience is seeing “real” videos by “real” people. Viewers don’t expect Hollywood gloss, but they appreciate being able to see and hear your videos.

b) Variety

When you’re thinking about creating viral videos, don’t just plan on making one: expect to make several running along the same theme. As short as the video-watcher’s attention span may be, if you’re doing good work, people are going to want to see more of it. They aren’t going to want to wait—they’ll forget you in the abundance of other videos—so have several videos ready to roll, and don’t be afraid to bring them all out at once. You’re not a film studio with yearly releases; you’re blitzing the channels with your message in several versions.

c) Title

Some people go to a lot of work to make a great video and then give it a dishwater-dull title, ensuring that anyone who sees the title will instantly look for something else to watch. Expend a little creative capital and come up with great titles. If one title doesn’t seem to be getting clicks, swap it out for another one. Experiment. Test.

d) Thumbnail

When you post on YouTube, there are thumbnails that people can check out before deciding to watch the video. Don’t skimp on thumbnails! Another hint; thumbnails frame grabs are automatically chosen from the exact center of the video, so when you’re writing and shooting, make sure there’s something in the middle you want to see in the thumbnail.

2. Optimization Strategies

a) Tags

When you post a video, make sure to add keyword tags, and the line that allows people to link it to their favourite social networks. When you tag your videos, take the extra time to make sure your tags are unique, so that when viewers are looking for you, they find your video —not your competitors.

b) Networks

Clearly, the way to reach millions of people is to get your video in front of as many connected people as possible, and the best way to do that is by getting it on as many social media networks as you can. Forward-thinking companies have dedicated space on Tribe, Facebook and other social media networks including having it on Digg or Stumbleupon.  Sending a link to your friends is the fastest way to get your videos viewed—and forwarded. And faster is better, because if you really want to make a splash on YouTube, the time to do it starts at Day One. Getting onto the Most Viewed Daily list (which takes 50,000 views) means also garnering even more views as the folks who check in to the most viewed videos check yours out.

Here is a list of the most viewed content providers/channels overall (scroll down).

Here is a list of video sharing platforms where you can upload your videos.

c) Blogs

Putting a link on a popular blog is a great way to increase your viewer numbers; if you don’t have a connection to a good blog, there is always paying the blogger to pose the video – but you didn’t hear it from us.

d) Forums

Generating a buzz in forums is most often the result of diligent, if undercover, work. When your video’s up, dedicate some time and staff to talking about it in the forums. Create a controversy, a debate. Throw in some outrage, or hilarity to draw more people in. If you do a good job, people will join the discussion—oh—and see the video!

e) Lists

Don’t forget the enduring usefulness of email lists. Drop a link into your newsletters or other emails.

Getting to the Most Viewed Daily means staying on top of things from the moment you post your video(s). You’re basically engineering a coup; don’t slow down when it comes to getting links up everywhere, checking in to see what the buzz is, and creating as much buzz as you can on your own. Consider working late for a couple of days to make your videos climb to the top.

Commenting at the bottom of videso may be a way to a democratic process, but you don’t have to be utterly bound by it.  Pay attention to them because they may be telling you something important. Sometimes, when you’re close to a situation, you miss what’s obvious to outsiders. Sometimes videos are offensive to lots of people for one reason or for many reasons, and you definitely don’t want to alienate your audience.  If you find legit viewers hate your video in a way that generates negative energy (instead of exciting debate) consider swapping it out for another, less challenging one.

At the same time, don’t be afraid to create some controversy in the comments will help get more viewers and also get them engaged.

Who does it well?

One of the best companies that are using a full suite of online marketing tactics including video is karmaloop.com . They have a online video site called Karmalooptv.com, which they have created as an independent entity. They regularly update the content (hip tv content in a news format) and distribute it through content partners such as Complex Magazine, Undergroundhiphop.com, ClintonSparks.com and others. They even have their own YouTube page and a Facebook fan page which they regularly update with their videos amonst other content.

Following the suggestions in this article may make the difference between a video that just does okay (or maybe flops) and one that makes a splash. If you find any of these hints helpful, send us the stories of your success!

For many Marketing Managers, understanding how to target prospects is a major challenge. Your prospects are inundated by thousands of marketing messages, you need to find a unique way to communicate.You've always known the value that content has towards online marketing. However, with the number of marketing channels there are online, creating content for each one of them is overwhelming! 

Experienced marketers know that providing information that enlightens and educates their prospects gets better results than just sending sales collateral (in B2C,  tugging on emotions produces the best results). Strong brand relationships are created by providing good, authoritative, even leadership-type content.

You know that your clients need information that will help them do their jobs better, but how do you reach them? Do you create an online email newsletter which may go directly to the spam filter? Or do you create a print newsletter or a glossy magazine mailer, knowing it may wind up in the garbage with all the junk mail your prospects receive? What’s a marketer to do? 

If you’re a marketer, you’re not interested in spending resources on wasted efforts. You may split your budget between direct sales and channel marketing, but, by using targeted content, your message is easily heard over the general noise of ordinary marketing attempts.

However, just don't jump into creating a white paper/custom magazine right away!  You need to outline a few key areas that will help you maximize your chances of success, such as: 

• Audience: Who are your prospects?
• Content quality: What do your prospects look for to fill their information needs?
• Competition: What are your competitors doing?
• Measurement:  How will you measure the success of your content strategy?
• Cost: What are the costs of producing and delivering the content? What's your ROI on a dollar basis?
• Time: How much time will it take to produce the various content? 

These points will help you clarify your content strategy approach to potential prospects.

Audience: Obviously, you know your audience and its information habits. You really need to know your potential customers down to a T. Where do they hang out online? What are their information requirements? What causes them stress in their jobs? To whom do they go for advice?

By understanding the day-to-day life of your audience, you are in the best position to provide them with information that will grab their attention. The best way to do that is to create reader/audience personas. A character-based description of potential prospects, their needs, their thoughts and challenges. 

Example:  Peter, a busy IT Manager in a health company, needs to upgrade his servers to handle a new software application that new employees can access remotely. As he’s putting out fires on a daily basis, he doesn’t have the time to spend doing research during the day, and definitely does not have time to talk on the phone with sales people. But because of the priority of this project, he may take time after work to do some vendor research online, and call up a few resellers for RFPs. He will definitely visit some forums to see what his peers are saying and to see if he can get some information there. He’ll read a few industry blogs. And if he can find them, he’ll download some white papers.

Content Quality: You should expect to spend a lot of time on content. Remember, content does not mean direct sales! Content means providing valuable information that helps solve clients’ problems, even if it means giving it away for free. Remember also that content helps build your credibility. Of course, you can say that putting sales materials about your company, the awards you’ve won, the clients you’ve served, is good, but it doesn’t help your clients understand how you can solve their problems.

Credible content is what builds brands, not sales materials. If your content is very helpful and specifically solves your B2B clients’ issues, they will be more receptive to working with you. What would be better:  having a client download a white paper from your site and view an online video about your product, or mailing out a package that provides a print whitepaper, a software demo CD, and an interactive DVD on how your product will help solve their problems after they’ve had a conversation with your salesperson?

Competition: What is your competition doing? Remember that your prospects receive hundreds of marketing messages and phone calls on a daily basis. Are you doing the same thing and getting lost among them? Or do you stand out from the pack by targeting your prospects in other ways? Do some research; find out what your competition is doing and if it’s working. If you find that hundreds of your competitors are doing the same thing, don’t bother repeating their mistakes. Take what works and discard what doesn’t.

Measurement: Can you measure your efforts accurately? Any marketing tactic you choose should create measurable results. Is the campaign working, or is it a flop? How easy is it for you to collect the data? Are you spending too much time trying to analyze the data? Are the results self-evident?

Cost: Cost is one of the most important considerations in campaign planning. Will the tactic you choose provide you with the best return on investment for the lowest cost? But then you have to balance cost with….

Time: How long does it take to prepare the campaign and how long will it take to see results? Is this campaign one instance or more of a branding situation where multiple exposures are required before clients respond?
Failing in a content marketing campaign is an expensive proposition! 

Take these factors into account before running a campaign, and maximize your chances of success.