“We could be heroes…just for one day.”

It’s been quite a week. I want to take a moment to honor the sad event of the last week before we jump into our usual Content Campfire.

Certainly, gathering around one another during times of loss helps us cope with tragedy. I’m extra thankful for social media this week because it’s allowed us all to share our grief in so many unique ways.

It’s difficult to write words about David Bowie. He was so much more than words can say. For all of us who felt outside, he was our hero. His genius inspired us. His death overwhelms us.

If you’re sad today just remember this: Earth is over 4 billion years old and you were lucky enough to be on it during the same time as David Bowie.

Rest in peace, you magical being.

Content Campfire is my small contribution to help you and your team become better at content marketing. I take the posts that were standouts for me each week and share them with you.

Content marketing beginners often find it hard to know where to start. The more advanced peeps can struggle with finding the right tone in their content. Here’s to all of us learning something new everyday!

1. CROCS SCREWS UP DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE IN A BIG WAY

When tragedies happen, peculiar things start occurring with some not-so-aware brands and their marketers.

Crocs made a gigantic error in judgment with their cringeworthy tweet “honoring” David Bowie. It illustrates just how fast things can go wrong if you employ inexperienced people who don’t truly understand your brand, your audience and of course, the sensitivity required when an icon (or anyone else) leaves this world.

Crocs screws up David Bowie tribute

While Crocs did delete the post after 20 minutes, the backlash was swift and everlasting. Beware the screen grab!

Other brands paid tribute in very poignant ways (examples in the article), thereby proving that you can mourn the death of David Bowie without actually trying to sell people your stuff.

2. 10 PREDICTIONS FOR SEO AND WEB MARKETING

I didn’t want to get too far into the new year without sharing Rand Fishkin’s (Founder of Moz) predictions for 2016. He actually goes through last year’s predictions to see how he did and then discusses what’s on the horizon.

Some of the things I’m excited about?

  • Mobile will barely cut into desktop’s usage and its growth rate in developed countries will slow. “Mobile isn’t killing desktop. It’s killing all our free time.”

  • Twitter will figure out how to grow again.

  • Social content engines will become a force.

  • The rise of adblocking is going to trigger attempts at legislation and incite more sites to restrict adblocking users.

  • Content marketing software for the non-enterprise will finally emerge. (yay!)

3. YOUR BRAND’S GUIDE TO DEALING WITH THAT CUSTOMER THAT JUST CALLED YOU AN ASSHOLE ON FACEBOOK

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” – Mike Tyson

Jerks come knocking on every business’ door (virtual or bricks and mortar). It’s never been more important to have a solid strategy to deal with them. You likely have a conflict resolution process within your store and now it’s time to apply those processes to social media.

When you’ve built up a loyal following of engaged fans, they often come to your defense when jerks come around. They’ll also help out customers that legitimately need help, and they will bring these people to your attention as well.

Reputation management is the result of community management done right.

4. 10 WAYS TO TURN VISITORS INTO CUSTOMERS

Online or off, visitors do not equate to sales. This in-depth list (with “how to” examples) will help you get more proficient at understanding your customers needs to capture more leads and sales.

  • Implement live chat
  • Offer something for free
  • Illustrate signs of social proof
  • Demo videos
  • Leverage visitors’ FOMO (Fear of missing out)
  • Install an exit overlay
  • Sway competitor’s customers with smart comparisons
  • Redesign your “About Us” page for conversions
  • Track your visitors’ movements
  • Always be (A/B) testing

5. 3 TYPES OF CONTENT FOR YOUR SALES PIPELINE

There’s a whole lot of naysayers out there claiming “Content marketing doesn’t sell.” And you know what? That’s just fine because it leaves all the business to us!

Content should attract, educate, guide your target customers. For those buyers who are ready to pull the trigger, you don’t want to be left standing there while someone else closed them.

According to the Customer Lifecycle, the sales pipeline has seven steps:

1. Attract Traffic
2. Capture Leads
3. Nurture Prospects
4. Convert Sales
5. Deliver & Satisfy
6. Upsell Customers
7. Get Referrals

Content is and should be the helping hand that guides your would-be and current customers — even when you’re not around. Specific types of content are needed for each stage of the buying process.

6. THE CONTRARIAN GUIDE TO ONLINE MARKETING

So-called “Best Practices” may not be right for your business. By rebutting some of the most commonly used phrases in marketing, Marketingland suggests how generalized advice gets regurgitated and in some cases, isn’t applicable to the person (or business) reading it.

Every aspect of online marketing is examined and it’s worth a look to see if anything jumps out:

  • Analytics
  • SEO
  • Email
  • CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)
  • Paid Search (PPC)
  • Content Marketing
  • Social Media

Things change so often in online marketing, it’s always good to examine commonly used tactics just to make sure you’re doing what’s right for your business.

7. 9 THINGS THAT MAKE GOOD EMPLOYEES QUIT

When you consider all of the costs associated with employee turnover – including interviewing, hiring, training, reduced productivity, lost opportunity costs, etc – here’s what it really costs an organization:

  • Entry-level employees: 30-50% of annual salary to replace them.
  • Mid-level employees: 150% of annual salary to replace them.
  • High-level or highly specialized employees: 400% of annual salary to replace them.

It’s pretty incredible how often you hear managers complain about their best employees leaving, and they really do have something to complain about–few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.

Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.

This can be avoided with a fresh perspective and some extra effort on the manager’s part.

First, you need to know the 9 worst things that managers do that send good people packing.

8. RARE LIVE VIDEO: DAVID BOWIE – THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD +MORE – SNL 1979

On December 15, 1979, David Bowie was the featured musical performer on NBC’s "Saturday Night Live." If viewers were expecting a standard Saturday Night Live musical performance, they were in for a shock.

Accompanied by two iconic performers, the late Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias, Bowie appeared onstage in a Bauhaus costume to sing The Man Who Sold The World. What followed is what many would say was one of the top performances on SNL…ever.

Joey Arias was interviewed this past weekend about this performance. Bowie called Nomi and asked if he would consider performing with him and invited Arias to join as well. Bowie gave them $1,000 each to go buy costumes from French designer Theirry Mugler. The result was magnificent. (If you want to hear that interview click–> here).

Fred Armisen paid tribute to Bowie on this week’s SNL and talked about how this particular performance influenced his life. (If you want to see Fred’s tribute, click–>here).

Along with "The Man Who Sold The World," Bowie and band did "TVC15" and "Boys Keep Swinging." Each song included a different costume and stage designer Mark Ravitz created a pink poodle housing a small TV monitor in its mouth to broadcast the last song as it was performed.

Perfection!

The full column from Kruse can also be found at: http://www.krusecontrolinc.com/content-campfire-noteworthy-nuggets-january-18-2016.