19 Tools to Create Social Media Content

Are you looking for new ways to create content?
Interested in tools that can help you?
In this article, you’ll discover 19 tools to create and share content on social media.

#1: Convert Long Form Content to Slides

Presentations are great for readers who need a little more time to digest bigger pieces of content. They also let you introduce your business in a more visually appealing way. Break your content into slides and share your professional presentations with these tools.
SlideShare

LinkedIn’s SlideShare gives you a platform to build, upload, and edit presentation decks and share them on social media. The list of sharing sites includes Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and of course LinkedIn. Email, links, WordPress shortcodes, and iframe embedding are also available to share your work.
Cost: Free

SlideBoom
SlideBoom can convert your PowerPoint presentations to Flash so you can share them with colleagues, prospects, and customers. As private or public, SlideBoom lets you share your presentations with just the right audience.
Cost: Free and paid versions

Convert your PowerPoint presentations to Flash with SlideBoom.

Prezi
Prezi is available for your desktop or as an online editor. It makes creating an effective presentation a snap. Browse the knowledge base or upload your own presentations. You can add animations and share your content on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Cost: Public accounts are free and will be viewable, searchable, and reusable. Pro accounts run from $5-$20 per month.

Create dynamic presentations with Prezi.

SlideSnack
SlideSnack is a presentation-sharing tool that lets you easily upload presentation slides accompanied by voice overlays. You can share them with Blogger, Facebook, WordPress, My Webs, Weebly, Jimdo, Tumblr, Hi5, Orkut, and YouTube.
Cost: Free

Upload slides and add voice overlays with SlideSnack.

#2: Present Your Business on Video

Video is perhaps the most important medium for sharing and presenting content online. YouTube is the top dog with over 1 billion unique users each month, but other top video-sharing services look to take some of the market share.
Could your bustling business benefit from these top online video tools?

PowToon
PowToon features a user-friendly presentation interface and minimalist design. You can use it to create branded video and share it with prospects and customers.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

PowToon lets you create branded video that you can share on
your social channels.

Magisto
Magisto lets you synchronize audio and visual aspects to make an emotional connection with the viewer. Share your videos on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, or your own blog.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

Magisto lets you turn images and video into short movies.

WeVideo
With WeVideo, you get worry-free cloud access to your media, Ken Burns-style animations, voiceover capabilities, and a library of licensed music to make video editing stress-free. Sharing capabilities include Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

WeVideo is a cloud-based video editor.

Wideo
Wideo works in tandem with your marketing strategy to create videos in minutes. You can create professional videos online and share them on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. If you prefer to have Wideo create your video, graphic designers are on hand to assist with your marketing needs.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

You can create video in minutes with Wideo.

Share Your Video Content
Once you create your video, here are some places to upload and share it:
YouTube
Just about everyone is familiar with YouTube for its public and private video upload freedom, customizable thumbnails, and monetization capabilities. An incredible 300 hours of videos are uploaded every minute, and according to a recent report from Digiday, there is something for everyone.
Cost: Free and paid versions available
Vimeo
Vimeo’s platform is similar to YouTube and is ideal for video sharing, discovery, and sparking creativity. You can get inspired by individuals and businesses that are passionate about video.
Cost: Free and paid versions available
Dailymotion
Live and on demand, Dailymotion is the place to watch videos of sporting events, hilarious bloopers, fashion shows, and more.
Cost: Free
Metacafe
With a youthful tone and appearance, Metacafe showcases short-form videos, gaming, television, and music.
Cost: Free

#3: Show Your Story With Infographics

Give your content a huge boost with infographics, which encourage engagement. According to Content Desk, an infographic is 30 times more likely to be read than a purely text article.
In fact, the state of visual content has grown in importance from key marketing decision-makers worldwide, supported by a recent report from eMarketer and the communications firm Lewis. They report that 94% of marketing decision-makers produce visual content.
The reasons behind the popularity of visual content may come as a surprise. According to the study, the top reasons for visual content production are not its aesthetic appeal, but its ability to encourage engagement, the social media requirements, and the customer’s reduced attention.
There are easy and affordable ways to stand out visually on social media. With minimal training, these top infographic websites let you create and share craveworthy content.

Easel.ly
Easel.ly lets you easily edit and customize infographic templates. You can share your new canvas immediately on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Cost: Free

Easel.ly lets you edit and customize a variety of
infographic templates.

Piktochart
Piktochart lets you create innovative, design-intricate infographics complete with icons, images, charts, and interactive maps. Once finished, save and publish your newly minted content directly to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube, and even convert long-form infographics to multi-slide presentations on SlideShare.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

Design innovative infographics with Piktochart.

Canva
With Canva, you can quickly create infographics, along with presentation covers, social media images, online advertisements, flyers, and more. Canva lets you share your work on Facebook and Twitter.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

Choose from Canva’s library of design sizes and styles.

Visme
With Visme, you can easily create beautiful presentations, infographics, reports, web content, and wireframes all in one place. Share your content online as a URL or on social media, embed it on your website, or download it for offline use.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

Visme lets you create presentations, infographics, reports, 
web content, and more.

Share Infographic Content
Here are some platforms where you can share your infographics:
Cool Infographics
Cool Infographics is free to marketers in the design community who want to submit their work to a forum for review. In addition, the service lets you self-publish, connect, and discover visual content. It’s a way to drive more traffic to your business.
Cost: Free
Submit Infographics
Do you have an infographic you’re proud of and want to submit it for review? On Submit Infographics, you can publish and share branded designs to be stored in the site’s visual content library, which is available for the viewing pleasure of the site’s large audience.
Cost: Free and paid versions available

#4: Build Buzz With Quizzes

Want to gain interaction? Try a quiz!
Personality quizzes are fun for readers and informative to marketers. Marketers should expect to see an 80% completion percentage, so set your sights high. If your results drop below the 80% mark, consider shortening or reworking your message.
Pro tip: If you want to build your email list, remember to give your readers the option to have their results sent directly to their inbox. Quizzes give readers an incentive to share information such as email addresses, and give marketers another way to collect audience data.
Start building and sharing your own quizzes with these five sites.

BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed is one of the most popular quiz-sharing websites to date. The site’s editorial style makes it easy to create, view, and share quizzes. You can share your content on practically every device and network.
Cost: Free

BuzzFeed lets you create, view, and share your own quizzes.

Playbuzz
Playbuzz is a digital publishing platform where you can create content and embed quizzes directly on your website. The goal is to share stories that people love, and it seems to be working. Playbuzz is one of BuzzFeed’s biggest competitors. Just as with BuzzFeed, Playbuzz lets you share your content on practically every device and network.
Cost: Free

Playbuzz lets you choose from a number of quiz formats.

Quizworks
With Quizworks, you can choose from multiple question types, view statistics, and get access to sharing tools that allow you to engage with your audience in a highly shareable way on Facebook and Twitter.
Cost: Free and paid options

Quizworks lets you create an online quiz in minutes.

Qzzr
Qzzr is an exciting tool that lets you create personalized quizzes based on your website’s look, feel, and language. Qzzr’s sharing capabilities include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can also embed code directly to your blog or website.
Cost: Free and paid options

Qzzr lets you customize your quizzes to fit your website’s 
look and feel.

4screens
4screens is a responsive platform that lets you create quizzes, polls, and surveys. You can engage with readers and track leads in real time on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or from the embedded quizzes on your website.
Cost: Free and paid options

4screens lets you track leads in real time.

#5: Share Your Voice With a Podcast

Podcasting is bigger than ever. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, podcasts have become a required accessory for any long road trip or gym session. In fact, the podcast audience is now close to 60 million people in the United States, and according to Edison Research, podcast listening grew an impressive 23% between 2015 and 2016.
Podcasting will continue to grow and become easier for marketers to create, edit, and share. Try these top tools and make your podcasting dreams a reality.

Audacity
Audacity is open-source audio software that lets you record audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs, and add your own audio effects to cut, copy, and mix your own podcasts.
Cost: Free

Audacity makes it easy to record audio for your podcast.

Podbean
Podbean lets you create and share professional podcasts in minutes without any programming knowledge. You can publish directly to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Instagram accounts. You can also listen for free, or upload, publish, manage, and promote your podcasts with one of Podbean’s paid plans.
Download availability: iOS and Android
Cost: Free and paid options

Podbean makes it easy to create, manage, and 
promote your podcast.

Share Podcasting Content
Here are some places where you can upload and share your podcast:
SoundCloud
You can record and upload audio content to SoundCloud. You can share your work privately or publicly to blogs, sites, and social networks such as Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Foursquare.
Download availability: iOS and Android
Cost: Free
Podomatic
Podomatic lets you create and discover thought-provoking podcasts and share your favorites with your friends on Facebook.
Download availability: iOS and Android
Cost: Free
Archive
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of free books, movies, software, music, websites, images, concerts, and podcasts. You can upload content, donate, watch, and listen.
Download availability: Web only
Cost: Free
Stitcher
Stitcher boasts the ability to stream the latest in news, sports, talk, and entertainment radio anywhere, on demand. Stitcher is the easiest way to discover the best of over 65,000+ radio shows, live radio stations, and podcasts. You can “stitch” together your favorite shows into customized station playlists and save them for easy access later.
Download availability: iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire
Cost: Free

Conclusion
Achieving higher reader engagement is all about knowing your audience. After you get a better grasp of your readers’ habits and online routines, you can begin to target them properly in ways they want to interact.
Consider this: According to Salesforce, almost a quarter of all adults online are on at least two social media networks. It’s no surprise that each social networking site is unique in its audience and content, making it crucial to diversify your marketing strategy to interact with your customers where they are in the medium that best fits the network.
Whether you’re looking to convert outdated or overused content, or think a complex piece of content would be best served in bite-sized pieces, don’t miss out on an opportunity to reach a larger audience by presenting content in a new way.

What do you think? Can you use these five content formats and multiple tools to reach your audience and improve engagement? Please let us know in the comments below!

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Social Media Invite Emails That Are a Marketing “Do”

 Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, the list of social media networking sites continues to grow. And, once you’ve created your account on the latest social network, or even if you have an established account, how do you get people to find it? Email marketing, of course! Sending an email invitation asking readers to follow your business on a social network may not seem intuitive, but it can be an effective and easy way to grow your following. Your email list is full of people interested in your biz, and getting them to interact with you on social media can help build your relationship with them and keep your business top of mind.

Before we jump into some excellent social media email invite examples, here are a few tips for creating an effective invite. Now it may seem obvious, but always make sure (in any email you send) to include a link and/or a call-to-action button that entices readers to follow you. Also, make sure the email is:

• Informative – Let your readers know what they’re going to get or find if they do start following your business on social.
• Easy to read – Remember to include all the social sites you’re on and link to each one – Some people prefer different social sites.
• Short – Just like any invitation, give important info, make the copy fun and personable and that’s it. Keep readers focused.

Now that we’ve discussed some tips, let’s take a look at a few “do” examples:

The Container Store – The Container Store’s social invite email focuses purely on their social networks, so it’s easy for readers to know what to do. It’s short, fun and shares the different things one can expect to find at each social site (i.e., time-saving tips). Plus, they include calls-to-action in the form of a “Go” button!

Zulily – Zulily created a charming graphic for their social invite email email which calls out each of their social networks. They also have a catchy headline: “Calling all social butterflies.” Plus, they provide a compelling reason to follow them on each social site (i.e., get inspired, share & shop).

CETFA – This non-profit included a single, funny and attention-grabbing image in their social invite email. They share their new social sites, plus the ones they’re established on and they give reasons why to follow them on each one.

The most important thing to keep in mind when creating a social media invite is to answer the following questions: “How can I provide value to my readers and followers?” and “What’s in it for them?” Then, keep followers coming back for more with engaging posts and conversations.

Looking for a little more on this subject? Jay Baer, the social media guru and author of the best-selling book Youtility, has a popular keynote entitled Why Email is Madonna and Facebook is Lady Gaga. Baer talks about how email and Facebook marketing are really very similar. Check it out for more inspiration.

Have you used email invitations to grow your following on social media? Share your experiences or invites in the comments.

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Landing Pages Defined in 60 Seconds [Animated Video]

 

You’ve probably heard us talk about landing pages a lot around here.
There is a good reason for that.
When executed correctly, a landing page is a powerful tool that helps you gain new subscribers, sell your products, and more.
But what exactly is a landing page?

Watch our short, fun video about landing pages

With help from our friends at The Draw Shop, we whipped up 12 definitions from our new Content Marketing Glossary into short, fun whiteboard animated videos.
Here’s our video for the definition of a landing page:

Animation by The Draw Shop

And for those of you who would prefer to read, here’s the transcript:

A landing page is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt a certain action or result. Think of a golf course … a landing page is the putting green that you drive the ball, or prospect, to.
Once on the green, the goal is to put the little white ball in the hole in the grass. Likewise, the goal of the copy and design of a landing page is to get the prospect to take your desired action.
The goal could be to sell a product. It could be to get email newsletter sign-ups. It could be to download an ebook. Watch a video. Sign a petition.
The variety of landing page goals is endless, but the important thing to remember is to have one goal per landing page.
One page, one goal. Nothing more.

Share this video

Click here to check out this definition on YouTube and share it with your audience. You’ll also find 11 additional Content Marketing Glossary videos.

Learn more from the Content Marketing Glossary

We’ll feature the rest of the videos soon, but if you’d prefer not to wait, you can watch all the videos now by going directly to the Content Marketing Glossary.
If you would like to learn more about landing pages, visit these three resources:

• Landing Pages: Turn Traffic into Money
• The Savvy Marketer’s Checklist for Seductive Landing Pages
• 3 Surprising Stages of Successful Landing Pages

By the way, let us know if you have any definitions you’d like us to add to the glossary! Just drop your responses in the comments below.

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50 unique ideas for your next email

As a business owner, you’re juggling a lot of day-to-day to tasks and may not have time come up with ideas for your next email or promotion.

We’ve put our creative noggins together to create a full year’s worth of quirky and engaging email ideas. Each month centers on a specific theme. Within that month, you’ll find four out-of-the-box email ideas for your small business. Each month also contains a marketing tip to get your creative mojo flowing.

January

This month, celebrate all things quirky by sending out emails around nontraditional holidays.

Peculiar People Day

Celebrating all the unusual, out-of-the-box thinkers that make the world so colorful, Peculiar People Day is the perfect time to get creative. Use this unique day to highlight an unusual or eccentric product that your company makes. It falls on January 10 each year.

Dress Up Your Pet Day

People love their pets. They love dressing them up even more. Encourage your customers to dress up their pets and enter your photo contest. It works especially well for pet stores, but any business should feel free to join in on the fun. The holiday is January 14.

Compliment Day

On January 24, compliment your customers on Compliment Day like Kara’s Cupcakes does:



Or, take a minute to compliment your staff by sending an email invitation to a team-building event like this marketing agency did.

Celebrate Opposite Day

Convince your customers to try something new on Opposite Day. Ask customers to give a product that they wouldn’t normally use a chance. The holiday falls on January 25.

A small business can stand out by sending emails for nontraditional holidays. You don’t have to be literal with all holidays—no need to install a bar to celebrate Margarita Day but you can get creative. For instance, a plumbing business could send an email about Peanut Butter Day and drains moving as slow as peanut butter. It will stand out in your readers’ minds. Check out this site for a full list of bizarre holidays.

February

With Valentine’s Day smack-dab in the middle of the month, focus your efforts on lovey-dovey notions in February. Any business can send emails for Valentine’s Day, not just restaurants and florists. Think creatively for Valentine’s Day content; here we’ve assembled some great examples and ideas.

Generate more email interest

Borrow an idea from zulilly, the mom-centered discount shop. The company sent an email asking customers to “Tell us which brands make your heart flutter, and we’ll tell you when they’re on zulilly.” It capitalizes on the holiday and asks customers to sign up for more emails.

“Fall in Love” partnership

Team up with other vendors in your area and create a shopping event around Valentine’s Day. Ten shops in Brooklyn joined forces and launched the “Fall in Love with Brooklyn” event. Customers were invited via email and given a map to hit all of the participating shops.

Create a shopping guide

Send your customers a list of romantic gifts they can pick up at your business. Apparel and lifestyle retail brand Free People created a “Valentine’s Gift Shop” — a curated collection of items that would be great for best friends or better halves.

Introduce a QR code

Valentine’s Day marketing doesn’t have to focus on flowers and champagne; the holiday comes with anxiety too. Capitalizing on the uneasy feelings of the holiday, Isobar, a UK cell phone company, sent an email to customers asking, “Does he love you?” The campaign contained a QR code that took customers to a promotional website. Try something similar that combines Valentine’s Day with a QR code. They work for some businesses and not for others, so only use if appropriate.

March

Emails around sporting events always draw a crowd. This month’s ideas prove that you don’t need a sports-themed product to capitalize on the craziness that is March Madness. Before using March Madness in any marketing or advertising, make sure you check the legal guidelines to avoid any trouble. Many sporting and other events have very specific usage guidelines.

Run a March Madness promotion

Offer a special March Madness deal. When you think basketball, you probably don’t think office supply store, but online office supply store Shoplet sent customers a list of ten customizable office supplies that connect with the tourney.

“This month, leverage the excitement behind March Madness,” Nicholas Womack, a business developer at Shoplet, says. He encourages other businesses to make a creative connection between their business and the big event.

Start a bracket

Bracketology is all the rage during March. So create a bracket for your brand like we did here at VerticalResponse with our Subject Line Slam Dunk contest. You can ask customers to vote for their favorite products and then pit the winners against each other in a knockout tournament-style battle. Announce the winner with a discount on that product.

Run a photo contest

Send an email to your customers asking them to participate in a March Madness photo contest. Or, try a “Young Basketball Star” competition and ask parents to send in pictures of their kids playing ball.

Video contest inspired by a world record

Did you know there’s a Guinness World Record for the longest time to spin a basketball with one hand? There is. The record is 10 minutes and 33 seconds. Use this awesome record to inspire a video contest. Email your customers and ask them to shoot a video of this rare talent.

April

This month get in touch with your inner videographer and add videos to your email marketing. Need a reason to make a video? Here are a few to get you inspired:

Celebrate YouTube

In April of 2005, the cofounder of YouTube recorded himself at the zoo and uploaded the site’s first video. Tell your customers that you’re honoring this digital anniversary by creating your first video. Pick a topic like thanking your customers, sharing your first product, profiling your first employee or remembering your first office location.

How-to videos

Give your customers simple tips or a few creative suggestions on how to use your products. A boutique could create a video with styling recommendations, while an auto shop offers up simple car care advice.

A video about your services

Bring your products or services to life with a video and email the link to your customers. Shorts company Chubbies is know for their inventive and humorous videos. To showcase a pair of American flag shorts, they sent a pair into space and recorded the momentous event.

Behind the scenes

Give your customers a glimpse at what it takes to create your products or introduce your staff. A behind-the-scenes video is an excellent way to connect with your subscribers on a personal level and nurture your relationship.

May

Celebrate your unique company this month by creating emails about all of the great things your business does.

Start a company newsletter

If your company doesn’t send out a newsletter, start one this month. It’s a fantastic way to keep your customers in the know. You can include a variety of topics in your newsletter. Brag a little when your company wins an award, offer a behind-the-scenes tour or introduce new managers.

Sending a company newsletter is a fantastic way to keep readers up to date on everything happening in your company. Be sure to send it on a regular basis so your readers come to expect it. And we like to keep them fairly short so that our audience can get what they need without having to commit too much time.

Celebrate milestones

If your company hits an anniversary or lands a big client, tell your customers about it. You could include the info in a company newsletter or send your customers a coupon in celebration. Either way, your customers will appreciate the update.

Offer a history lesson

Email your customers a piece of your company’s timeline. Include a call to action button that takes them to your site to learn more. Of course, you’ll have to have a complete timeline created on your site before sending the email. Here’s a good example.

Celebrate mom

Everyone knows a mom who deserves some recognition. And no matter what kind of business you have, you can pay tribute to, or celebrate moms everywhere. You can do a “Bring Your Mom In” special or a “Moms get a special percent off” deal. Arts and crafts retailer Michaels held a Mother’s Day crafting event.

A recap of the year

May might seem like an unexpected time to send a “Year in Review” email, but this kind of promotion can get lost in the holiday hubbub. Instead, send one out in May and invite customers to a friends-and-family sale in honor of all your company has accomplished this year. Big box retailers use this kind of promotion a lot, but it can be effective for a small business too.

June

Ah, warm weather is arriving (unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere of course). Use this seasonal change to propel your email marketing this month.

Celebrate National Trails Day

Include a list of local trails in the June edition of your company’s newsletter to celebrate National Trails Day, which is June 7. Remember, customers appreciate helpful, usable content, and a newsletter is a good place for it.

Send a summer discount code

Summer is a terrific time to give your customers a little incentive to buy. Menswear company Bonobos encouraged its customers to stock up on summer essentials and offered a discount. Don’t forget to create a clear call to action in your email.

Welcome summer and new guests

Send an email that not only welcomes the warm weather but also welcomes new customers, too. If a customer has bought a new product or signed up for a new service in the past six months, applaud their actions with a well-crafted welcome email.

Summer giving

Team up with your local food bank this summer and get your customers involved. Send an email asking them to bring in canned goods like KinderCare Learning Centers did.

Remember dads and grads

Dads and grads rule in June. Offer special deals for dads and grads and get more customers in your doors in this traditionally slower summer month. Give grads something to spend all their graduation money on or their new found job earnings toward!

July

If you’re in the U.S., get a little patriotic. Use the Fourth as a catalyst for a series of emails.

The perfect Fourth of July party

This holiday is all about getting the crew together for a backyard barbecue. To help your customers host a rockin’ independence party, offer some tips to create the best gathering possible. You can also offer a Fourth of July discount.

Recognize a vet

You don’t have to wait for Veterans Day to honor a vet. Devote a section of your newsletter to your employees who are also vets. Offer a “Vets in the Spotlight” section that talks about their service and their role in your company.

Remember the first walk on the moon

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in July 1969. In honor of this patriotic event, host a “Biggest Accomplishment Competition.” Invite your customers to add their biggest accomplishment to a growing list on Facebook. Give the biggest accomplisher a company-specific prize.

Made in America email

Take pride in your American-made products by offering a discount. Along with a coupon code, use this opportunity to tell your company’s story and praise the employees who help create your products.

August

It’s all about creating useful content this month. Here are a few ideas you can use to create “tips and tricks” emails.

A watermelon-centered email

August 2 is Watermelon Day. Yes, Watermelon Day. Think up a way to connect your product to this fruit-loving celebration.

Ring in “Work Like a Dog Day”

Celebrate this funny holiday, which falls on August 5, with an email about how productive your product or service can be. Try something like, “Today is Work Like a Dog Day, but you shouldn’t have to work that hard. Here are three tips to be more productive using our products.”

Tips to use your product better

Create a useful email that will help your customers get more out of your product or service. Try sending a how-to email once a month with a useful tip that helps your customers and your business. Serving your customers instead of always selling to them creates loyalty that lasts.

Celebrate Relaxation Day with a reorder email

August 15 is Relaxation Day. It’s a great day to send a reorder email out. Encourage your customers to relax by stocking up on your products. Send something similar to this reorder email from 1-800-CONTACTS.

September

It’s back-to-school time. Use this month to market to both parents and students.

Offer a back-to-school discount

Recognize this is an expensive time for parent shoppers by offering a discount. Corel, a software company, offered a 40 percent discount to customers on its email list. If you offer a service such as a salon, spa or car mechanic, tailor your message for stressed parents or college-bound students

A favorite teacher contest

Everyone has a favorite teacher, so invite your customers to participate in a favorite teacher contest via email. Put a call for nominations on Facebook, and then have your customers vote on their favorite entrants. Award the winners with a prize package from your company.

Last chance sale

If a deal has a deadline, customers are more likely to act fast. While you can use the last chance sale throughout the year, it makes sense to try and cash in on this busy time of year with a last chance sale.

Dorm decorating tips

Don’t forget, college students are returning to dorms, too. Offer helpful tips for the college-bound group. For example, offer tips to create dorm decor that suggests a few products from your shop. Or offer ideas on how to cook ramen in a dorm room, pizza or restaurant deals, or a back-to-school oil change before they set off.

October

From smartphones to social media updates, use this month to spin a few digital inventions into marketing emails.

An email celebrating email

In October of 1971, the first email was sent. Honor this big event by sending an email recognizing this milestone, and ask customers to refer a friend via email. Groupon, the discount site, offers an incentive with its refer a friend program.

Send out a survey

Email an online survey like Prynt, a photo-printing company, did. Tell the recipient how long it will take to complete the survey, too. You can also offer an incentive to participate.

Retro social media posts

When did your company first start using social media? Create an email that showcases your first posts and ask customers to join a conversation about how social media has grown through the years.

It’s important to balance creativity with communicating your core message. Use creativity in certain places such as in subject lines, images or a fun theme, but keep the important information in the email easy to see and read.

November

Let your email marketing reflect the season by creating emails that focus on being thankful.

Create a testimonial email

Incorporating testimonials into your emails, as clothing brand Athleta does, shows your customers that you value their opinions. Also, having a customer attest to the quality of your products often has a major influence on the buying decisions of other customers.

Generate an email stuffed with facts

Thanksgiving is all about the food, particularly turkey. Create an infographic that offers some interesting turkey facts. Think of a way to create an infographic that connects to your business and the holiday.

Focus on cause marketing

Team up with a charity and create emails that center around your do-good spirit. Paper Culture, an eco-friendly stationary and invitations shop, has involved their customers in their efforts to support the environment. They plant trees for every order. And they even let their customers dedicate the trees if they want.

Ask for feedback

After a customer makes a purchase, send a thank you email and ask for feedback. Online comments can bolster the reputation of products. Asking for a product review through email is a good way to nab positive reviews. Here’s an example from Garrett Popcorn.

December

Embrace the gift-giving season with holiday-themed marketing.

Take advantage of National Cookie Day

Celebrate this holiday by offering some holiday cookie recipes in your company newsletter like this bakery did, or give away a free cookie when customers come into your business.

An email full of gift ideas

Coming up with gift ideas is hard. Take some of the pressure off your customers by offering a series of holiday gift ideas. Rather than send one long email with a dozen options, break your emails into smaller, more specific topics. This email from Nike focuses on gifts for runners.

Email a holiday greeting card

You can go as simple or as elaborate as you’d like with a holiday card. You can use free card-creating sites like Punchbowl.

Be a holiday time-saver

During the holiday season, everyone wants the gift-giving process to be easy. Remind your customers that your company has plenty of time-saving ways to purchase a gift. For example, Staples reminds customers that they can reserve an item online and pick it up in the store.

With this guide, you won’t be scratching your head for email topics this year. While we’ve listed over 50 email topics for you, there’s no limit on creativity. Have some fun and see what kind of quirky ideas you can come up with too. Always double check holiday dates to ensure you send your email for the right holiday at the right time. Otherwise, you might be creating your own funny holiday!


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Video Content: Super Fun! Super Effective.

 Content creation is such a huge slice of the Internet marketing pie. Ever had someone cut a piece of a pie, and then joke that the rest of it is their piece? When content creation does that, it's not joking.

Google updates its algorithms all the time,
This isn't news, but the changes aren't complicated to understand, either. Basically, it's all about providing value to site visitors. And what do site visitors want? Quality content. BAM! Just like that, you understand it.

And in today's day and age of digital media, it's not all about written articles. Multimedia content opens a whole world of possibility to marketers and audiences. If you do it right, you can score viral levels of attention for your website with video content. 

Not convinced? Check this out...

The Benefits of Video Content

There are SO MANY benefits to using video content, but here are the top three to be aware of:

1. You Can Target Multimedia Search Engines Like YouTube

When we hear "search engine," the names that come to mind are Google, Bing, or Yahoo. It's true that people find videos through those means, but more often than not, people bypass these search engines to search directly in the likes of YouTube or Vimeo.

If you don't have anything to show for their search, you're missing out on some potential traffic. You can see just how much you'd be missing out on in this snippet of an infographic from a Marketing Tech Blog post:

As you can see, YouTube is the second-biggest search engine (after Google) with more than 4 billion views per day. It's another way for people to find you, so why not take advantage of that?

2. People TRUST Video Advertisements and Recommendations

Yep, that second half of the infographic snippet above is bang on, too. Whether it's because they don't think scammers and spammers would bother with video production, or it's the human element that the visuals and audio can give to video content, consumers trust it.

Videos starring yourself (or a friend, if you're a little camera shy) can be the easiest of all to make, and the most endearing to an audience. Got a webcam? Or a phone with video capability? Then you're most of the way there! More about that in the "how to" section below...

3. It's Just Way More Interesting

People need to be entertained. They're fussy. Even when they want some boring information about a boring product, they want it to stand out and entertain them. Some brands are fantastic at it. 

Here are two boring products with fantastic interesting videos to draw attention to their product and brand:

"Purina Friskies" Cat Food:

"PooPourri" Air Freshener: 

Two boring products, cat food and air freshener, but I have seen these videos passed around friends just for entertainment. That's lot of exposure to people who weren't even searching for those products, but might need them either now or in the future. And that kind of video stays with you for a lot longer than a boring ad.

With the Internet constantly at people's finger tips, they're like a lazy emperor sitting on a throne, waving his hand absent-mindedly as he commands some poor visiting performer, "Entertain me, or I will cut off your head and move on without a second thought."

You need to catch consumers' attention as they watch videos on their iPads, sitting on their "thrones." So the next question is: How?

How to Create Video Content People Actually Want to Watch

The best way to tell you how to do it is to answer four basic questions about video content production.

1. Where Do I Start?

Everything must start with a concept! For some, this is the most fun part. For others, it's a dreaded mission akin to getting that dastardly ring to Mordor. Either way, the best advice I can give you is to look around for inspiration. 

YouTube Searches for Concept Research:

• Funny ads
• Your niche name
• Your product type (e.g., cat food)
• Your product type reviews
• "How-to" videos related to your niche

See what comes up, and just watch the videos that naturally stand out to you, not the ones that are boring. What makes them interesting? Do they still have enough information about the product? Think about what you would ideally like to create.

Obviously it doesn't have to just be a narrative video. You might want to just review a product, or create a how-to, but this research should still give you ideas for how you could add an interesting touch to your videos. 

2. What Do I Use to Record my Own Video?

You basically have 4 main options for filming your own videos. They vary in quality and cost but they're all great options to get some video content going.

• Webcam
  • Great for product reviews, or for how-to's if your webcam is portable, like a laptop cam.
• Phone camera
  • Super portable, great for filming in any location without hassle, especially for short clips or "vines."
• Your own camera
  • Own your own camera already? Great! Get some use out of it, play around with what you can do around the house or neighborhood...
• Hire a videographer for a more professional video
  • This is obviously the most expensive option (unless you invest in a professional-grade camera of your own), but if you're already making some cold hard cash, it can be worth investing in this to get one or two key brand-promoting videos in circulation on the web.

Video production doesn't have to be hard or complicated. You just need to play around with a little trial and error to get your head around what you're filming.

After all, I hear that Albert Einstein was a pretty smart dude, and he said himself, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." It's not about being Steven Spielberg straight away: it's about giving it a go and finding your groove over time, and having some fun along the way.

3. To Stock Footage or Not to Stock Footage? That is the Question...

If you don't want to do any of your own filming, you can always use some stock footage. I need to warn you though, that stock footage can look really, really bad... If it's too obvious, then you're losing a lot of the genuine nature that video content can bring to your brand as it starts to look outright fake and boring.

I'm not saying you can't use stock footage, I'm just saying I want you to do it right.  Make sure that it's high quality... While perusing the Interwebs, as the kids these days call it, I came across this stock footage video:

This video was made by the stock footage site dissolve.com, which makes it another great example of entertaining brand promotion. 

The footage itself is fantastic and beautiful, and you could use similar stock footage with amusing and obvious narration to make a point about your brand and why it's awesome. 

Other good stock footage sites include...

• Getty Images
• Shutter Stock
• (or if you're on a budget...) Stock Footage for Free

I think the ultimate rule with stock footage is to not use it too seriously. If you are using it in a light or comical way, or even an inspiring story (being careful not to be cheesy or cliché) then it can be really great. 

The bonus with stock footage is that you only have to do the audio. For this you have three main options:

• Record it yourself: Again, a phone or webcam mic will do in a pinch.
• Hire a voice actor to do it: You can find them on sites like Fiverr. 
• Use royalty-free music and subtitles for the message you want, either throughout, or just a title at the end to make your point.
  • Once again, be careful not to be too cheesy or cliché.
  • It's a good idea to use royalty-free music in the background of narration too, not just when using subtitles.
  • You can find royalty-free music by searching for it in Google, but you'll either have to pay for it, or hunt around to find something that's free AND good, which can take a little while... I know because I've done it myself!

4. What Do I Use to Edit my Videos?

Video editing can be the most daunting part for some people. I use Adobe Premier Pro personally, but that requires a bit of money and effort to get and learn to use properly. If you want something simple that won't break the bank, here are two great options for you:

• YouTube's Video Editor
• WeVideo

Alternatively, you can hire a video editor to do this for you. A cheaper option would be to use a freelancer, once again from a website like Fiverr. 

If you have a little more spending money to play with and you're after something really professional, even if you filmed the footage yourself on your phone, use a service like Candidio. These guys are really friendly. They gave me a Skype tour of what they have to offer, and I have to say it looks pretty darn good! 

Any of the above options are fine. None of them are "right" or "wrong"; it all just depends on your budget and preferences.

The No. 1 Tip for Video Creation

I want to leave you with my own personal number one tip for creating great videos...

Just have fun!

It sounds silly, I know, but I can't stress this enough. Not only will it keep you motivated to keep working on your videos; it'll keep your videos interesting. If you find it boring, chances are others will too. If you have fun with it, chances are that will show through in the final product. 

Life is too short to make bad videos. So have fun, and make great ones instead. Get some friends to help you out with ideas. Make a day of filming, and do some bloopers for you and your friends to watch with a cold beer or two at the end of the day.

Interview someone who's passionate about the topic of your niche. There's likely someone in your local community who will have a job that aligns with your niche topic, or some students who study it. 

Whatever you do, just give it a go, get something up, and see if you can't get some nice new traffic opportunities for yourself.

A quick final note: Just like with your written content, it pays to do a little keyword research for your title to make sure that people can find it easily in YouTube or even via Google. You can easily do that using the keyword research tool in AffiloTools here. If you're not very familiar with keyword research yet, or it's something you struggle with, there's a free lesson for you here. 

And of course, feel free to comment below if you have any tips for video content that I haven't covered. We'd love to hear 'em!

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