The holidays are in full swing. Marketers around the world are drafting New Year’s resolutions for bringing success to their brands and leveling up their own skill sets.
For some teams, December ends in a flurry of activity (amid actual snow flurries). Other teams enjoy a low-key lead-up to the end of the year.
Whichever rings true for you and your organization, ‘tis the season to look ahead at how you want to learn and grow in the new year.
(‘Tis also the season to load up your device with interesting stuff to read while stuck in TSA gridlock.)
Whether you’re wondering how to get on Alexa’s good side with voice search optimization (VSO) or you simply want to have something — anything! — to say about artificial intelligence (AI) when people ask about it, we’ve got you covered.
Turn on those holiday tunes and enjoy this Rudolph-approved roundup featuring must-reads on some of the most asked-about topics in content marketing.
1. For Putting the Finishing Touches on Your Holiday Content
There’s nothing like a little last-minute marketing mayhem before your team heads home for the holidays. If you’re not done decking the digital halls this year, don’t worry — you still have plenty of time to get inspired and get going.
But there’s so much more to holiday content creation than wrapping your evergreen assets in wintery colors and glittery bows.
Peruse our guide, “7 Successful Holiday Marketing Campaigns to Inspire You,” for a fresh batch of festive ideas. It’ll teach you how to create genuinely unique marketing messages that humanize your brand as you help your audience get in the spirit of the season.
2. For Landing on Siri’s ‘Nice List’
By this point, everyone from your best friend to your Aunt Marge uses some kind of voice assistant.
Over the holidays, it can be funny to observe how folks actually interact with Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant.
(During my family’s Thanksgiving cook-a-thon, our in-laws loved that they could just yell STOP at our Google device. At home, they have to mind their manners. Alexa, cancel the oven timer… pretty please?)
If you want your brand’s content to steal the show during voice search — whether it happens amid kitchen chaos or in a conference room — check out our article, “Understanding Voice Search for Search Engines.” You’ll learn all about how voice search works and leave with actionable optimization tips and VSO best practices.
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3. For Fueling Your Dinner Table Conversation (When the Topic Turns to AI)
In the marketing world, 2023 will go down in history as the year of generative AI. And that means every marketer can expect at least one inquiring friend or relative to bring it up at the next holiday soirée.
But if you’re starting to dish out broken-record responses anytime someone asks you about how AI has impacted your work, it may be time to brush up on new perspectives.
Can robots spot the work of other robots? Now there’s a new angle you can get some conversational mileage out of! Read “The Trouble with AI Detection Tools: A Content Writer’s Insights” to fill up on some food for thought.
4-6. For Kicking off Your First Team Meeting of the New Year
Ever since my team of content writers started a No Book Book Club, our monthly meetings have never been more engaging. How does it work? One person sends around an article, podcast episode or video for the others to review, along with some questions for consideration. Then we all discuss our thoughts during the next team meeting.
We’ve covered topics ranging from color, food and creative ideation to why stories are more trustworthy than data. I always love learning something new and hearing everyone’s perspectives on subjects we can all relate to.
Interested in starting your own No Book Book Club? There’s no better time than the new year for sharing new ideas with your team! Here are a few suggestions that might spark interesting conversations:
- If you work with a remote team, read “The Results Are In: Most Marketers Prefer Remote Work — But It’s Not Perfect.”
- If you want to analyze successful marketing campaigns (and compare decor ideas and furniture hacks at the same time), check out “IKEA Marketing Strategy: 7 Tactics and Takeaways.”
- If you want to swap podcast recommendations and brainstorm how to launch a series of your own, consider “8 Types of Podcasts: The Complete Guide to Audio Content Marketing.”
7. For Making 2024 the Year You Finally Get a Leg up on Your SERP Competitors
If there’s one thing on your CMO’s wish list, it may very well be SERP domination. Your team has been making small gains for a while now, but isn’t it annoying how a few of the same competitors keep popping up in position zero?
What if you could reverse-engineer their SEO strategies to identify opportunities for your own success?
Well, you can! To find out how, read our comprehensive guide on the topic: “How to Perform a Complete SEO Competitor Analysis.” This article is packed with recipes for success you’ll just have to try for yourself. After all, Saint Nick won’t be the one to make that SERP domination wish come true.
Cheers to a Happy and Successful Holiday Marketing Season!
You know you’re not supposed to show up to a holiday gathering empty-handed. Now you can bring along newfound knowledge on some of the season’s hottest topics in marketing.
(But still, you should probably pick up a bottle of wine, too.)
