Content Insights Blog

We love the concept of "engaging," but we hate to see it become business jargon. So, when Content Marketing Institute (CMI) challenged our own Colleen Jones to define it, she decided to reclaim the word from the buzz. She says...

"Engaging content draws me into the moment. It gets me to think—but not so much that my head hurts. It leads me to see a need I didn’t see before, to view an old topic or idea in a new way, or to consider a different and better solution. It’s unique. It subtly disrupts my way of thinking without interrupting me like an ad. And, engaging content doesn’t feel like I’m being 'marketed to.' Why? Because it focuses on me, not the marketer."  Read More >

Curation is certainly a hot topic among content strategists. But what does it mean, and how do you do it successfully? Robert Scoble, one of the web's most respected curators, says it's all about understanding people's passions, seeing patterns that others might overlook, verifying and expanding those patterns ... and keeping a close eye on Twitter.

Learn more from Howard Rheingold's interview >  Read More >

Jon Kolko, creative frontman for frog design, thinks design is about more than decoration.

"Good design is design that changes behavior for the better. I think it needs to take into account the context of the environment, of the human condition, the culture, and then attempt to make the things you do—make us do them better, make us do better things. It encourages us to change the way that we live.”  Read More >

What's the connection between clarity, creativity, and influence? Advertising legend William Bernbach sums it up:

"The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know what you're saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting, and you won't be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly."  Read More >

Ian Alexander calls these types of content traffic and trust content. Most companies need both types. He notes

"The implied value of these services/deliverables are very clear. Getting visitors to your site is not at all the same as keeping them there. Inversely paying for good trustbuilding content without a comprehensive search strategy that includes SEO is also shortsighted."  Read More >