If there’s one thing we at Bold Digital Architects understand very well, it’s that talent isn’t hindered by borders. In this day and age, where the entire world is at your fingertips and most of what we do happens online anyway, it would be a shameful waste of opportunity to look for skilled team members in a radius smaller than 6,371 km.

By tapping into the global pool of talent, we were able to assemble an amazing team of creative marketers all over the world, from Israel to Croatia, from Romania to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Idyllic as it may sound, managing a fully remote team comes with a few challenges, as well. The secret ingredient to virtually any team’s success is communication and collaboration to get those synergy juices flowing. However, when the team is spread across different time zones and different work cultures, that can be a difficult task.

Luckily for us, there are tools out there that help us communicate better, collaborate easier and get the job done with stellar results. I’d like to take this opportunity to share my experiences with you; possibly help you overcome any potential fear and inspire you to bring in your next team member from across the planet!

Here are my picks for the top five tools for remote team collaboration:

1. WhatsApp (Groups)

I want to start with WhatsApp groups because in our line of work, it all begins with a solid plan – and you need the combined brainpower of your team members in order to have a solid plan come together.

Whether we’re discussing the next blog post with our clients, that new keyword we want to push for or how to handle content distribution across the social media plane, the job gets done quickly and efficiently through the groups on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is a great app for multiple reasons:

• Everyone is already using it. That means no onboarding, no tutorials and training, no getting used to, no “I didn’t know we could do that with this tool”.
• It’s available on both mobile and PC. The PC version works great and it’s easy to continue the conversation on the go, or wrap it up at the desk. Transferring photos and videos, for example, is a breeze with WhatsApp, which has proven super useful when preparing social media content (however not that WhatsApp does take the quality down so apply with caution).
• Groups are easy to set up and moderate, and the discussions are easy to follow and follow up on.

2. Asana

After agreeing on a plan and making sure everyone’s tasks are properly communicated, it’s important to use a collaboration platform to track the progress. We love us some Asana here, as this tool makes it easy to ensure that everyone knows what the next steps are. Obviously, you can use the free version of the tool, but we’ve opted for the Premium version as the additional features really bring a lot of value to the table.

In our case, we’ve set up an entire content calendar project with custom fields that different members of the team can edit. Everyone from the AMAZING content writers, editors, SEO manager, account managers, to the designer and finally – client, can track the progress of the project and give their thoughts and opinions.

So, for example, the SEO manager will update fields like Meta Text, LSI Keyword or Main Keyword, while the content author will fill up the fields like Author, Type of Content or Description. If we’ve already agreed on a title for our next blog post, we can notify our designer to prepare the visuals, and he can simply update the task to let everyone know that part of the work is done.

It truly is a group effort which results in properly streamlined work, where everyone can understand where we stand with a task at no more than a glance.

3. Zoom

It’s one thing to plan, map out and prepare a project, but executing it is a whole different beast. The content that we are creating for our clients needs to be relevant, easily digestible and speaking clearly to the target audience. But most importantly – it needs to be fresh and original.

In order to avoid the echo chamber that is the Internet – we do our best to invite relevant speakers, opinion-makers, and trendsetters (which are often our clients to begin with) for a short chat, to use their knowledge and firsthand experience to create compelling content that really brings that extra “oomph” to the reader.

Among the best tools for audio/video chats (and our favorite) is Zoom, mostly due to how widespread and simple to use it is. Installation is virtually non-existent, the interface super intuitive and the quality of the audio is (and I say this without fear of overstating) unmatched. It’s a welcome addition to every content creator’s arsenal.

4. Google Docs

Now it’s time to get to the actual writing and for that, we really enjoy the advantages and little perks of Google Docs. Even though it may seem identical to Microsoft’s Word on the surface, there are many little advantages that, when added up, make a mountain of a difference.

First and foremost – it’s a lot simpler to use. All you need is a browser and you can use it anywhere, on any device and on any network. Docs is essentially free to use, but I do recommend going for one of the paid G Suite versions if you’re really serious about improving your remote team’s collaboration perspective.

Perhaps the key advantage is in how Docs handles collaboration. Docs allows you to create a document and invite other team members to work on it, suggest changes and edits, or to add their own copy. You can forget about countless versions of the same file getting lost going back and forth through an email chain. There is just one file and a URL that allows you to access it from any device and from any network.

Speaking of access, it’s also important to stress that Google Docs handles permission management and sharing with ease. With just a few clicks you can organize who has access to what and to what extent. It’s all very seamless and user-friendly.

Last, but definitely not least, is its integration with Grammarly and its own, AI-powered spelling and grammar checker. Regardless of how pro you are and how many thousands of words you may have under your belt, you’re bound to mess up here and there. Sometimes you’ll be pressed on time, sometimes you’ll be exhausted from other tasks, sometimes you’ll just unexplainably fail (we still love you, though, Damir!), and in those situations, having a little AI-powered help goes a long way.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have another pair of eyes proofreading your content, which you definitely should (we organize proofreading through Asana, by the way), but getting rid of the obvious mistakes helps cut down on time and makes the entire content creation process faster.

5. Google Drive

At the end of the day, all that content needs to sit somewhere where it’s easily accessible to every team member. Given that we enjoy Google Docs, it’s only natural to have Google Drive as our default storage option. Together with Docs, it’s part of the G Suite, so you know what you can expect from it – a seamless experience, access from any device, plenty of storage and a place to securely store all your content. It’s basically a must.

With the right tools, everything is possible

Making it work with a fully remote, global team might sound as an intimidating task at first, but with the right people, the right mindset and the right tools – it’s a lot better than anything you’d be able to accomplish locally. For me, these five tools are irreplaceable and make collaboration for a remote team a joyful event. Hopefully, they will be an essential part of your arsenal tomorrow, as well.

It’s an exciting time for marketers as we’re approaching a busy fall season teeming with events dedicated to the industry specialists (and all others who are interested).

I love attending conferences as it’s an opportunity to zoom out and reflect. You’re shown by an example. I think that when you travel (business or pleasure) it changes you, puts life into perspective, triggers growth, self-belief, and strength in your mind.

However, since we can’t always be on the go and can’t always attend conferences, I picked out five of the most interesting marketing get-togethers worth visiting this year and arranged them by order of occurrence for your convenience. Here goes.

This was a very practical talk that I plan on implementing ASAP. I’m also excited to say that Marcus will be interviewing on my podcast so stay tuned.

1. Hubspot’s Inbound

Organized each year by our beloved HubSpot, Inbound is my ultimate favorite conference. It’s like a Disneyland for marketers. This major conference focuses pretty much everything marketing teams and c-levels in companies across the board need to know in order to step up their growth game. Taking place in Boston, Massachusetts, from September 3-6, it will feature over 250 educational sessions on the newest trends in marketing, sales, and customer success.

Inbound is a great place for reflecting from new perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in the field of marketing, especially found in one’s own business. This is why I’ve kept returning to it for years now – this will be my fourth year attending it.

Taking timeout between sessions at Inbound 2018

This year’s event will feature some well-known names such as the accomplished journalist Katie Couric, actresses Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jennifer Garner, and John Foraker – who with Garner co-founded Once Upon a Farm, as well as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, just to name a few.

2. Hawkefest

Hawkefest is an unusual e-commerce industry event that will take place on the Houdini Estate in Hollywood on October 3. This “anti-conference”, as the organizers call it, will have a circus tent for its keynote speeches. In addition to interacting with industry peers, the guest will experience immersive entertainment activities, gourmet cuisine, and a top-shelf open bar.

The participants will share their thoughts and experiences about a range of topics covering:

• fundraising and finance
• company culture
• marketing
• product
• operations
• technology
• emerging industries, and more.

High-profile speakers include True Religion’s CEO Chelsea A. Grayson, VynerMedia’s Chief Media Officer Jeff Nicholson, and many others.

3. B2B Marketing Forum

On October 16-18, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington D.C. will welcome on its soil “leaders, innovators, and people who make things happen”. There they will discuss the latest trends in B2B marketing and share their success secrets.

This is where the B2B magic will be happening.

Over 1,000 attendees will partake in workshops on topics such as:

• content strategy
• demand generation
• email marketing
• marketing strategy and planning
• storytelling
• sales and marketing alignment.

If you choose to attend this event, you’ll have the pleasure of hearing such individuals as Neen James, an accomplished author named top 30 leadership speakers by Global Guru for several years.

She will join the crowd with other keynote and featured speakers like Ann Hadley, MarketingProf’s Chief Content Officer and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Cliff Lewis,

the Executive Creative Director at Godfrey, Jay Baer, the president of Convince & Convert, and many more.

4. SMX East

Taking place on November 13-14 at the New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, SMX East is a conference generally oriented toward search marketers. That said, it offers plenty of valuable content and experiences to everyone with a desire to learn more about the topic. In over 90 sessions, visitors will have the opportunity to get a deeper understanding about SEO, SEM, CRO, attribution, analytics, content, mobile, and other matters related to generating more traffic and higher-quality leads, increasing conversions, making stronger sales, and more.

This year’s event will bring two brand new content concentrations:

• agency operations and management
• local search marketing for multi-location brands.

Some of the noteworthy speakers include Google’s Search Advocate Daniel Waisberg, Microsoft’s Senior Program Manager Frédéric Dubut, as well as SparkToro’s CEO Rand Fishkin.

5. Digital Marketing World Forum

On November 25-26, RAI Amsterdam’s Elicium Center (Europe’s largest conference center btw.) will become the hub for exchanging ideas concerning the future of digital marketing technologies.

Marketing specialists and enthusiasts will get a chance to discuss topics including:

• content and digital brand strategy
• data and disruptive tech
• e-commerce
• UX and CX
• influencer and social media marketing.

At the Digital Marketing World Forum, you’ll find experienced folks from big companies, such as Monika Matuszevska – the Digital Manager at L’Oreal, Marene Arnold – Mastercard Netherlands’s Marketing and Communicating Director, Booking.com’s Content Strategist Sade Laja, and Diogo Miranda – TomTom’s Head of Social Media and Advertising.

Final thoughts

Whichever conference(s) you choose to attend, I hope you enjoy and bring home some useful experiences and insights, as well as valuable connections. And who knows, maybe we’ll even run into each other!

Image credits:

https://giphy.com/gifs/community-call-response-bhTJKZWkeKwiQ
http://mpb2b.marketingprofs.com/

This article by Sarah Pritzker first appeared on Youtubetomp3shark.com.

What do the Volkswagen Phaeton, Microsoft’s Zune media player, and Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water have in common (aside from the fact that most people have never even heard of these products)? They were all good products that made one fatal error: poor marketing.

That’s right. In today’s overstimulated society, you can have a great product to sell, but if you don’t market yourself properly, you’ll end up as just another one of those forgotten fails. The good news is that there are lots of experts only too glad to share their marketing wisdom with today’s eager business owners.

Of course, you want to start out knowing that there is a demand for your product, that you’re targeting the right niche audience, and that your messaging is clear, honest, and inoffensive. But, then what? That’s where the experts come in. So, whether you’re selling the world’s fastest running shoes, a revolutionary technology, or a service that just can’t be beat, pull up your chair, and learn from the best.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #1: Use inbound marketing like a boss

Everyone talks about inbound marketing, but few actually take the time to learn enough about the subject to really make a difference. That’s why this video is my first recommendation. We all know how important inbound marketing is, but how many of you really know what it is, how to do it properly, and where to go next?

This video really takes you in-depth into the topic, walks you through the stages of attract, convert, close, delight, and more. One thing to note, this video is an hour long. You can listen to it on a faster speed to cut down on the length, but the value you get from it is really worth the time investment. And remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #2: Piggyback on other people’s successes…and failures

Smaller businesses (or bigger businesses that haven’t grown into themselves yet) don’t always have the budget that billion dollar corporations do for marketing, but they really don’t need it. One of the easiest ways to propel your business forward when you’re just getting started is to market your brand off of the coattails of another, bigger company’s actions.

Now, there are plenty of examples that you can find to use a larger business’ success to make some noise (posting a useful guide on a successful blog, offering a free trial from an established Facebook page, etc.), but if you really want to be creative (and get noticed), why not take advantage of a company’s faux pas? 99designs did just this perfectly. A few years back, Gap tried rebranding by launching a new logo. Long story short, the logo was terrible, and fans were appalled. Gap took a lot of heat, got loads of bad press, and took a dive in their stocks as well.

But 99designs, a small logo design company, saw this as a golden opportunity and ran with it. They launched a competition urging designers to help Gap out by coming up with a better logo design they could use instead of the flop. Now, people were already talking about the Gap blunder, so when the competition launched, tens of thousands of people already tapped into this buzzfeed eagerly jumped into the competition, giving 99designs huge coverage. That’s smart marketing.

In this video, Randy Komisar, a wildly successful venture capital partner and entrepreneur, talks about how he used failure to propel himself and many other companies forward to even bigger successes than before. Take a look.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #3: Better their lives in some way

We can’t have a marketing roundup without including something from the master, Steve Jobs. In this video, Jobs gives over his million-dollar message to any company out there: marketing is about values. Everyone wants to solve their problems, and your job as a marketer is to prove to the consumers that your product does just that. And the way the big dogs make this happen (and the way even little dogs can become successful in their own niches) is by showing that they care and that they’re there to make your lives better in some way.

Jobs goes through the big brands and products and shows us their secrets, show us how they promote betterment not statistics, numbers, or specs. Nike doesn’t tell us their sneakers are made of premium grade rubber. They SHOW us how great athletes are, their prowess, their power. And those athletes wear Nike. Show people that your brand can make their lives better, and you’re golden.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #4: Link out to other credible resources

Another marketing giant of today, Neil Patel, gives beginner marketers a great and super simple tip to start building your audiences. It’s a really short video, only a few minutes long, and in it, Neil talks about this idea: linking out to credible resources. He even says that you should link out to competitors when it is relevant. What?! I know it seems really counterintuitive to drive traffic away from your site and to a competitors’, but here’s the logic.

Your brand is new, and nobody knows who you are or what you’re about. You post an article on your blog, and you offer good information. Hey, this guy knows what they’re talking about. You add in a link to a useful tool that your competitor has. Wow, they’ve even got a tool I can use. Suddenly consumers are getting to know you, and what they’re getting to know is that you’re someone who they can turn to for useful information, helpful tools, and genuine value.

So yeah, that’s worth all the linking out you do big time. What’s more, many people will appreciate the attention and link back to you in one of their articles, giving your site more attention and credibility. Bottom line, linking out to credible resources (even competitors) builds trust, reliability, and value.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #5: Utilize educational marketing to position your brand

Something interesting has occurred over the past few years. Consumers are no longer going to websites to see what the brand has to say about their product. Instead, customers are looking elsewhere for their information. They’re going to review sites, they’re scouring the internet, they’re doing research. While this might not seem like a big deal (after all, customers are still buying products at the end of the day), this is actually a major shift that marketers need to address.

These days, consumers don’t want to be sold to, they want to be informed. They want to be given information, so they can make their own choices based on education. So, the smart marketer will give consumers the information they’re looking for to make a good decision on their own. Enter education marketing.

By giving over the information consumers are looking for, this does several things:

1. Establishes you as an authority
2. Shows customers that you’re there to help
3. Lets you give over your message sincerely
4. Creates buyer trust
5. Creates a deeper relationship with your customers. After all, you’re not the seller, you’re an educator

Here’s a short video clip that helps explain the concept perfectly. With educational marketing, you answer questions and give genuinely useful and good content. Use all the tools in your toolbox (blog posts, ebooks, videos, etc.) and give over as much valuable information as you can. And then they’ll come running with wallets open!

Marketing Strategies for the Win #6: Use emotions

Most people go through life sort of on autopilot. We get up, go to work, do our thing, come home, take a shower. Rinse, repeat. There isn’t much that shocks us out of our status quo, but one thing does. Emotions. Complex emotions are what separate us from other species (sorry cat lovers, read the studies), they’re what make our days good or bad, humdrum or meaningful. Emotions make things, experiences, and people stand out in our minds.

And that’s what brands need to take advantage of. The power of emotions is so compelling that major companies use them to propel their brands forward. Coke is the perfect example of this. The brand sells a fizzy drink that’s terrible for our health and rots our teeth, but that’s not what people think of when they hear Coke. Check out their commercials and this video that explains them. You’ll see a lot of these messages:

• Friendship
• Happiness
• Relaxation
• Holiday festivities
• Success
• Spreading joy
• Sharing
• Family

Coke isn’t selling a drink, they’re selling positive values. And that’s something everyone wants to buy.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #7: Leverage influencers marketing

Influencers are major players in the world, and marketers would do well to take advantage of them. These players tell thousands, if not more, people what’s cool, what’s new, and what’s worth buying. In this quick clip, Neil Patel shows us how and why to leverage brand influencers for marketing success.

Marketing Strategies for the Win #8: Social media marketing, a new twist

Gary Vaynerchuk takes the idea of social media marketing and totally spins it on its head. I mean, he has a fabulous delivery whenever he speaks, but this video gives you one of the biggest key factors in marketing success. In fact, this is probably the best message any marketer (heck any person) can hear to influence their marketing campaign success.

In this video, Gary tells you all about his secret power: it’s called optimism. He doesn’t just take a head in the clouds type of mentality. Really, he talks about how to use all the marketing techniques, all the business opportunities, all the technologies, and everything that comes into your hands properly. Oh yeah, and then he talks about social media marketing and what a valuable tool it is when used properly. Check it out.

There you have it. Eight of the best marketing tools and tricks you can use (along with helpful videos in case you can’t stand reading this again and again) to make your business boom.

I see a lot of growing buzz around podcasts and podcasting in general. It’s kind of interesting and yet weird seeing as I’m a self-proclaimed audio freak and have been listening to podcasts and audiobooks for years. Being an early adopter feels slightly rewarding in a sense that podcasts, this relatively unknown thing I’ve been consuming for quite some time, are coming into their own, and deservedly so.

But podcasts are far from a “thing” or a fad that’s taken the Internet by storm. There’s a rock-solid foundation for their success that makes perfect sense on the largest of scales, and one that marketers can effectively leverage. Oh boy, do I have a lot of revelations for you.

To podcast or not to podcast

Let’s start with the background of podcasts. If you haven’t noticed, we are living in an audio era. Audio content has quietly become an indispensable part of the way we interact and consume content, particularly among young(er) demographic that comprises the bulk of the listenership. I’ve been experimenting and pushing my own Real Life Superpowers podcast. Besides being a passion project of mine, I find it’s the most direct channel for aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders to consume content. (the goal of my podcast is to help listeners get inspired, and uncover and tap into their unique capabilities – real-life superpowers, if you will).

And you know what? It constantly amazes me just how big podcasts are. For the past few months, I’ve been closely working with Trinity Audio, a contech (content technology) startup that’s helping publishers leverage voice tech and audio by turning readers into listeners. I get to hear all kinds of crazy numbers. For instance, did you know that the podcast audience doubled in between 2014 and 2018 in the US? Almost 200 million (!) Americans are familiar with podcasting, out of which 90 million are monthly listeners, according to 2019 Infinite Dial Study by Edison Research and Triton Digital. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that they’re my largest international audience as well.

I’m often asked why podcasts particularly? What makes them so enticing? As a marketer, how can you leverage podcasts? It’s not like they’re the first association with marketing like content marketing or social media marketing are. There are quite a few ways podcasts that can help your marketing strategy, beginning with understanding the “schematics”.

First off, podcasts are an easily digestible media form in various shapes and sizes, which plays a major role in why they are one of the fastest growing digital formats. The average podcast last about 45 minutes (I try to keep mine around that mark, a few minutes more or less) and about 85% of people who listen to podcasts listen all the way through, according to Edison Research. So, there’s an opportunity to build up your recognition and give your brand a voice (pun intended).

Then, there’s content for literally any topic. Whether it’s an overview of daily headlines, an interview, solo, or a panel show, fiction or non-fiction storytelling (murder mystery, comedy, politics, sports, etc.) or a hybrid of any given type, you can bet there’s a podcast for it. With such broad interests and availability, you can position yourself to be the source of actionable insights and useful information

Arguably the most important fact is that podcasts help facilitate one key aspect of modern user behavior: multitasking. It’s really easy to multitask while listening to an episode, and in a way, it’s a habit in the making. On average, US podcast listeners listen to seven podcasts per week.

Image credit: Edison Research

That addiction-like focus makes podcasts ideal for on-demand, content binge consumption that poured over from other digital media (i.e. ‘Netflix and chill’). They’re the perfect medium for a customized and highly personal connection with your target audience which has its own terms: listening to what it wants when it wants.

With the growing audience, there’s more incentive to create quality content and jump in with your own show. Let’s face it – if there’s anything we marketing professionals know how to “sell”, it’s content. There’s always some valuable information to share.

Quick shoutout to advertising

It’s true that podcasts are young and fairly basic in terms of what they can offer to advertisers. However, you need to keep in mind that an average podcast ad is 90 seconds (longer than traditional ads) but ad revenue is rising. The medium presents a fast-growing ad opportunity: advertising rose 86% YoY in 2017 to $315 million, per IAB. The research predicts even stronger returns in the years ahead, forecasting that podcast revenue will surge to $659 million by 2020.

When it comes to content distribution, one of the most effective and popular strategies is applying ego baits. It’s by no means a novel strategy but one that’s been increasingly getting attention and recognition in the past few years, especially with the social media boom. As such, it deems a closer look for its potential and effectiveness.

Ego bait does exactly what it says:

plays to the self-importance of the other side.

The concept has a somewhat misfortunate name as it actually sounds worse than it is. While you’re in fact stroking someone’s ego by saying nice things about them, ego baits are more about networking than anything else. In essence, it’s the type of content that features industry experts and influencers. Sometimes, you’re simply taking advantage of knowing influential or smart friends whose words have merit. However, more often than not, you’ll just be reaching out to experts to get their take on the subject.

The focus is on crafting content with the aim of appealing to your target’s ego. In return, that recognition earns you back a link, social share, or any other form of usable content. Thus, ego baits in their pure form have a certain level of reciprocity – you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Say nice things about someone and they’ll likely do the same. Just remember there are limits as to how far you can go without being sycophantic – that’s the wrong ego you’re catering to (I’ll brush up on that later on).

Ego baits also work without aiming at an individual to satisfy the element of reciprocity. This category of ego baits is called link baits and pertains to use of content that targets an entire audience. What you do is typically find a trending topic and then generate kickass content that’s genuinely valuable and/or different from what everyone else is doing. Don’t worry, I’ll get to those as well.

“What do I get out of ego baits?”

I’m glad you asked (sort of). While stroking someone’s ego may seem a one-way street at first, there’s a lot in it for you as well:

• You attract traffic to your site naturally as people start sharing your content on different platforms, connecting to it on personal or professional levels.
• The above also adds to the SEO aspect of your website and helps increase your positions in SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages), as it’s a direct signal to Google that your content is of value.
• With more traffic to your site and more link sharing, your company or brand gets more recognition and mentions, building awareness and even forming a tighter community.

Ego baits are super close to that beloved “win-win” scenario where both sides profit: one side gets exposure (not necessarily to the same audience they’re used to, which is always a plus) while the other gets great, lasting content, as well as the possibility of reaching out to a different audience.

Image credit: Semrush

“How do I use ego baits for content distribution?”

Another great question, if I may add. Content that compels people to link out to it comes in various shapes and sizes – that’s what makes ego baits so effective. I’ll mention a number of types that showcase the power of ego baits: getting lots of traffic, backlinks, social shares, and increased brand visibility – all the things necessary to deliver more relevant traffic to your content.

1. Expert roundups

One of my personal favorites, expert roundups feature expert opinions on specific topics. By default, people take experts’ words with more credibility and trustworthiness due to their status as authoritative figures in their respective industries. Focus on a certain issue, challenge, or a trend and get their views on it. Not only are you building valuable links and shares, but also associating yourself with credible and influential people while they are creating great content for you. Talk about being efficient, right? Just make sure to point out there’s a guaranteed link to the expert’s site and/or social media when you insert their feedback in your roundup. Here’s an example where yours truly shared a bit of wisdom:

After I provided the quote and the post was published I was approached again and asked to share the post to my social media networks, which I did (and now I linked it here as well for all of you to see. See what I did here? I’m sneaky that way).