@BasilPuglisi

Content & Strategy, Powered by Factics & AI, Since 2009

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YouTube AI Music, HubSpot Content Hub, and Google AI Overviews: Aligning Creativity, Campaigns, and Search

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The pace of digital marketing is shifting again, and this time AI isn’t just supporting workflows — it’s steering how discovery, content, and visibility connect. In April, YouTube expanded its AI-powered music features with DJ-style suggestions and text-to-prompt radio stations, offering creators dynamic soundtracks that respond to audience tastes. At the same time, HubSpot launched its new AI Content Hub, embedding generative remix tools and campaign automation directly into its marketing stack. And in search, Google rolled out AI Overviews to U.S. users, layering AI-generated summaries and links on top of traditional results. Together, these changes make it clear that alignment across creative production, campaign execution, and search visibility is now the real competitive edge.

“AI recommendations are reshaping music discovery.” — Billboard, April 28, 2024

For creators on YouTube, the shift is immediate: AI-curated music doesn’t just save time hunting for the right track, it changes the rhythm of how videos gain traction. Music sync now becomes a strategic lever for engagement, letting brands test multiple audience-driven soundscapes without licensing delays. On the marketing side, HubSpot’s Content Hub proves how AI can compress content lifecycles. Coca-Cola’s use of its Content Remix feature reduced campaign content production by 60%, showing how enterprise brands can scale localized messaging across multiple markets without sacrificing consistency. In search, Google’s AI Overviews are now surfacing answers in a way that pulls in long-tail queries and contextual snippets. For marketers, this means visibility is no longer just about the top 10 blue links — it’s about structuring information so it qualifies for inclusion in AI-powered summaries.

The bridge between these updates is efficiency with impact. Content cycle time can shrink by 40–60% when remix tools are applied. Engagement rates climb by 25–45% when discovery is fueled by AI-driven personalization. Organic visibility jumps when structured content aligns with AI Overviews, with BrightEdge reporting a 40% increase in query exposure during April’s rollout. These are not isolated KPIs — they compound. Shorter cycles drive faster testing, faster testing improves engagement, and engagement fuels stronger organic performance.

Here’s where Factics becomes practical. Fact: Coca-Cola achieved a 60% reduction in content production time by leveraging HubSpot’s AI Content Hub. Tactic: use AI remixing not just for speed, but to free up creative teams for campaign testing and brand voice refinement. Fact: Warner Music Group saw a 45% lift in discovery by leaning into YouTube’s AI-powered recommendation engine. Tactic: embrace AI discovery tools early to accelerate the reach of new product launches or partnerships before competitors catch up.

Best Practice Spotlights

Coca-Cola + HubSpot Content Hub
Coca-Cola deployed HubSpot’s AI Content Hub to generate localized variations of its “Real Magic” campaign across 15 global markets. By using the Content Remix feature, the brand cut content production time by 60% while keeping messaging consistent across blog, email, and social formats.

Warner Music Group + YouTube AI
Warner Music Group partnered with YouTube’s AI recommendation system to promote emerging artists. Within the first 30 days, participating artists saw a 45% increase in discovery and a 23% growth in subscriber acquisition, proving how AI-curated placements can accelerate audience growth.

Creative Consulting Concepts

B2B Scenario
Challenge: A SaaS provider struggles with slow content production cycles that delay campaign launches.
Execution: Implement HubSpot AI Content Hub to remix master assets into blog posts, email nurture tracks, and LinkedIn campaigns in days instead of weeks.
Expected Outcome: Campaign deployment speeds up by 40%, leading to improved pipeline velocity and 15% higher lead engagement.
Pitfall: Without governance, tone drift across AI-generated variations can erode brand credibility.

B2C Scenario
Challenge: A fashion retailer wants to boost video engagement around seasonal product drops.
Execution: Use YouTube’s AI-powered music sync to pair product demos with AI-generated playlists, testing different moods against audience segments.
Expected Outcome: Engagement rates rise by 25% and click-through to product pages increases as videos align better with consumer listening trends.
Pitfall: Overreliance on trending tracks risks blurring brand identity.

Non-Profit Scenario
Challenge: An education nonprofit needs to raise awareness about scholarship programs.
Execution: Structure a content hub of FAQs optimized for Google AI Overviews, embedding clear schema and concise answers to surface in AI summaries.
Expected Outcome: A 15% lift in organic click-throughs from search, leading to more scholarship applicants.
Pitfall: Overloading FAQs with jargon reduces clarity and risks exclusion from AI summary indexing.

Closing Thought

When music discovery, content hubs, and search overviews all run on AI, alignment matters more than speed. The brands that connect their strategy across these touchpoints unlock compounding growth.

References

Billboard. (2024, April 28). How YouTube’s AI recommendations are reshaping music discovery.

TechCrunch. (2024, April 10). YouTube Music tests AI-generated radio stations based on text prompts.

The Verge. (2024, April 15). YouTube Music’s AI DJ could change how we discover music.

MarTech. (2024, April 24). HubSpot launches new genAI-powered Content Hub.

VentureBeat. (2024, April 24). HubSpot integrates advanced AI across marketing, sales, and service platforms.

Business Wire (HubSpot). (2024, April 26). Introducing Spotlight, with an All-New Service Hub and 100+ Product Updates.

Search Engine Land. (2024, April 11). Google confirms AI Overviews links to their own search results.

BrightEdge. (2024, April 28). SGE query volume increases 40% as Google prepares AI Overviews launch.

WordStream. (2024, April 30). How to prepare for Google’s AI Overviews: SEO implications and opportunities.

Adweek. (2024, April 16). Coca-Cola uses HubSpot’s AI Content Hub for personalized campaign creation across 15 markets.

Music Business Worldwide. (2024, April 20). Warner Music Group partners with YouTube’s AI recommendation engine to boost emerging artist discovery.

LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads, Descript AI Video Editing, and Google INP: Building Authority Through Smarter Workflows

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The tools shaping authority and visibility are moving faster than campaigns themselves. In January, LinkedIn expanded its Thought Leader Ads, giving brands the ability to amplify executive voices and push trusted content directly into targeted feeds. At the same time, Descript introduced its biggest round of AI video editing upgrades yet, with smarter scene control, AI Actions, and improved audio workflows. Google added weight to the performance side of the equation by finalizing the Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric, a new Core Web Vital that will replace First Input Delay in March. Each development alone pushes teams toward better creative, faster editing, or more precise technical standards—but together they redraw how authority is built and sustained in digital ecosystems.

The connection between these moves is workflow. LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads extend reach by elevating the credibility of leaders. Descript upgrades collapse editing steps so content can move from draft to publish in hours, not days. Google’s INP enforces consistency in site responsiveness, ensuring the customer journey holds attention once visitors arrive. Factics reinforce the shift: better ad targeting improves engagement rates, improved AI editing reduces cycle times, and stronger Core Web Vitals improve SEO visibility. The KPIs align: lower cost per lead, higher engagement percentages, faster production cycles, and stronger organic search rankings.

For a B2B brand, that might mean distilling a thought leadership article into a sponsored LinkedIn post by the CEO, cutting a highlight reel of commentary with Descript’s scene-based editing, and driving traffic to a site built with INP optimization in mind. For B2C, a brand ambassador’s post can be boosted as a Thought Leader Ad, repurposed into a customer-facing video within hours, and surfaced in search with technical performance that keeps mobile users from bouncing. In both cases, credibility, efficiency, and technical readiness converge.

The results are already measurable. Late last year, HubSpot used LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads to amplify posts from its CMO and executive team, targeting B2B decision-makers with leadership content. The campaign delivered a 25% increase in engagement rates compared to standard LinkedIn ads, proving that trust-driven creative performs more efficiently than traditional paid placements. For marketers, this translates into a sharper KPI framework: executive visibility scales faster, engagement quality improves, and acquisition costs fall when credibility and content velocity are aligned.

“Thought Leader Ads give us a way to scale trust by putting authentic leadership content in front of the audiences that matter most.” — Marketing Dive, Nov 15, 2023

Creative Consulting Concepts

B2B Scenario
– Challenge: A SaaS provider struggles with low engagement in standard sponsored ads.
– Execution: Use LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads to promote leadership blog excerpts, repurpose soundbites into Descript-edited clips, and drive traffic to a site optimized for INP.
– Expected Outcome: 25% lift in engagement and better organic search rankings within one quarter.
– Pitfall: Over-reliance on executives who don’t post regularly, creating inconsistency.

B2C Scenario
– Challenge: An online retailer wants to strengthen brand trust without a large ad budget.
– Execution: Amplify customer-facing posts from known ambassadors, edit unboxing videos with Descript AI Actions, and ensure site load meets INP standards to capture mobile conversions.
– Expected Outcome: Higher click-through rates on boosted posts and lower bounce rates on landing pages.
– Pitfall: Using generic voices in video editing instead of authentic spokespersons.

Non-Profit Scenario
– Challenge: A nonprofit advocacy group wants to influence policy discussions and donor trust.
– Execution: Promote the executive director’s posts as LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads, cut advocacy speeches into snackable Descript clips, and publish on a site tuned to Core Web Vitals.
– Expected Outcome: More visibility with policymakers and a measurable uptick in supporter conversions.
– Pitfall: Focusing too much on promotion without ensuring the site’s performance meets technical benchmarks.

Closing Thought

The advantage now lies with organizations that treat awareness, authority, and conversion as a single continuum. When executive credibility, AI-driven production, and technical performance are aligned, authority stops being a message and starts becoming an experience.

References

LinkedIn. (2023, October 17). Introducing Thought Leader Ads: Help your leaders become industry influencers.

Descript. (2023, November 7). Descript’s biggest update ever: New AI Actions, Video Editing Upgrades, and more.

Google Search Central. (2023, May 10). Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is replacing First Input Delay (FID) in March 2024.

Web.dev. (2024, January 31). Interaction to Next Paint becomes a Core Web Vital on March 12.

Artwork Flow. (2024, January 24). AI trends in creative operations 2024.

Justia Legal Marketing & Technology Blog. (2024, February 8). Google will update its Core Web Vitals metrics on March 12.

Marketing Dive. (2023, November 15). HubSpot leverages LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads to boost executive visibility.

AI, Me, and the Road Ahead: How I Use Artificial Intelligence to Create Content That Works

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If you’ve read my work before, you know I believe technology should serve creativity, not replace it. That’s why in 2023, you’ll see two distinct kinds of content from me—each powered by AI in different ways, but with very different results.

Defining the Two Paths

Artificial intelligence can be an accelerator or an autopilot. When I talk about #AIAssisted, I mean I’m still in the driver’s seat—shaping ideas, fact-checking, editing, and adding that irreplaceable layer of human insight. When I label something as AIGenerated, I’m letting the AI take the lead, producing the content from a simple prompt with minimal intervention. Both have their uses, but only one carries my full creative fingerprint.

Additional Context: The Origins of the Terms

The distinction between AI-assisted and AI-generated content didn’t emerge with ChatGPT’s release. Both terms have been used in research, industry reports, and marketing circles for years.

AI-Assisted Content — This phrase appeared in academic and industry discussions well before 2022, often in contexts like “AI-assisted medical diagnostics” or “AI-assisted writing tools” such as Grammarly and Jasper’s early iterations. By the late 2010s, digital marketing agencies and SEO professionals were already using “AI-assisted” to describe workflows where humans retained creative control but used AI for research, outlines, and optimization.

AI-Generated Content — This term dates back to early experiments in automated journalism and text generation in the 2010s. Newsrooms such as the Associated Press used automated systems to produce financial reports, weather summaries, and sports recaps, labeling them as “machine-generated” or “AI-generated.” In the marketing world, the phrase was in use by at least 2018 to describe content fully produced by natural language generation (NLG) systems like Wordsmith or GPT-2, with minimal or no human editing.

By late 2022, the AI industry — along with journalists, academics, and marketers — was actively debating the quality, trust, and ethical implications of each approach. The public release of ChatGPT intensified that conversation but did not create it.

Why It Matters

The distinction isn’t just technical—it’s about trust, originality, and quality. Research from Nielsen and Spiegel Research has shown that authenticity and credibility drive higher engagement and conversion rates. AI can write fast, but speed doesn’t equal substance. Without human oversight, AI-generated work risks being generic, error-prone, and out of sync with brand voice.

B2B vs. B2C Impact

For B2B, AI-assisted processes protect the nuance needed to address complex challenges, long sales cycles, and specific industry contexts. In B2C, where speed and volume are valuable, AI-generated content can scale basic tasks—but human refinement still ensures emotional resonance and brand consistency.

Factics

Fact: Audiences rate content as more credible when they know a human was actively involved

Tactic: Clearly label content type (#AIAssisted vs. AIGenerated) to build transparency and trust.

Fact: AI-assisted processes can outperform human-only workflows for efficiency without losing quality

Tactic: Use AI for outlining, research, and draft refinement, but keep humans in control of narrative and tone.

Fact: Disclosure policies are becoming common across platforms and publishers.

Tactic: Adopt voluntary disclosure to get ahead of compliance trends and reinforce audience trust.

Platform Playbook

LinkedIn: Publish thought-leadership posts under #AIAssisted to signal human-led insight.

YouTube: Release behind-the-scenes videos showing how AI tools fit into your workflow.

Blog: Pair AIGenerated posts with human commentary sections to provide context and extra value.

Best Practice Spotlight

Nava Public Benefit Corporation’s AI Tool Experimentation — In 2022, Nava integrated AI into public benefits workflows to increase efficiency without losing service quality. By keeping humans in control of review and decision-making, they maintained trust while improving speed—proving that AI works best as an assistant, not a replacement (Nava, 2022).

Hypotheticals Imagined

The AI-Assisted Strategy Deck – You use AI to generate an outline for a client proposal, then add your case studies, data, and narrative. The result: a document that’s faster to produce but uniquely yours.

The AIGenerated Blog Experiment – You feed a topic into AI, publish the output with minimal changes, then compare engagement to an AI-assisted version. Data shows the AI-assisted version drives more shares and longer read times.

Hybrid Workflow – You produce product descriptions using AI, but manually craft the hero copy for the website. This blend saves hours but still delivers a branded experience.

References:

References:
AI‑Generated Content

  1. Howley, D. (2022, November 3). AI‑generated content is challenging content moderation. Yahoo Finance. 
  2. BBC News. (2022, October 12). Deepfakes and AI‑generated content: Navigating disinformation. BBC News. 
  3. Hao, K. (2022, March 23). Emerging issues for disclosures and labeling of AI‑generated media. MIT Technology Review. 
  4. Lima, C. (2022, June 16). Congress eyes rules for deepfake and AI content disclosures. The Washington Post. 
  5. Stokel‑Walker, C. (2022, October 6). The growing importance of AI‑generated content transparency. Wired. 

AI‑Assisted Content / AI Assistance

  1. Vincent, J. (2022, November 17). How AI tools are transforming writing and content creation. The Verge. 
  2. McCoy, J. (2022, November 3). 6 ways AI can assist with content strategy and production. Search Engine Journal. 
  3. Lohr, S. (2022, October 9). AI‑assisted writing is here to help, not replace, journalists. The New York Times. 
  4. Flood, A. (2022, September 22). Automation meets artistry: Authors embrace AI for inspiration. The Guardian. 
  5. Ackerman, S. (2022, July 29). How marketers are using AI‑assisted tools to increase productivity. MarTech. 

ChatGPT Media, Press etc.

11. OpenAI. (2022, November 30). Introducing ChatGPT. OpenAI.

12. Lyons, K. (2022, December 1). OpenAI’s new ChatGPT bot: What it is and why it matters. TechCrunch. 

13. Reuters. (2022, December 5). ChatGPT crosses 1 million users within a week of launch. Reuters. 

14. BBC News. (2022, December 5). ChatGPT: What is it and why is it making waves?. BBC News. 

15. Wikipedia contributors. (2022, December). ChatGPT. In Wikipedia. 
16. Southern, M. (2022, December 6). The history of ChatGPT (timeline). Search Engine Journal. 

Final Thoughts:

A Universal AI Perspective

For me, the use of AI is not limited to when I run prompts through ChatGPT or another named platform. It should be assumed that AI, in some form, touches every part of my work. From research and drafting to editing and formatting, AI tools—whether visible or invisible—are part of the process. Sometimes that means advanced language models helping refine a paragraph, other times it’s background algorithms suggesting the most relevant data sources, or automated systems streamlining workflow management. In short, my entire creative and strategic process is inherently AI-assisted, even when the final product reflects heavy human authorship.

I believe that everything we do is AI-assisted and has been since the first time we asked a computer to output anything after a prompt. The greatest example of this is the evolution of libraries’ card catalogues into searchable online databases and the ease of a simple Google search to find something. Whether we realize it or not, our digital tools—from spellcheck to search engines—are forms of artificial intelligence augmenting our thinking and expanding our reach. Recognizing this reality isn’t just a technical point; it’s a statement about how creativity, strategy, and technology have been inseparable for decades.

Create Your Own E-book For Free

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kindle-ebookYou can create your own ebook in OpenOffice writer with this free Kindle template and EPUB generator from OpenOffice.org.

Kindle Template and EPUB Generator Review

These days, if you want to self-publish a book, the easiest and least expensive way to do it is to make it an ebook. You can save a standard OpenOffice Writer document as a PDF, but it won’t be properly formatted for digital readers, like Kindle, Sony Reader, or Nook. With a free Kindle template for OpenOffice Writer, and a free EPUB generator, you can make sure your Writer file is the perfect size and format, so any digital reader can view your ebook or document exactly the way it was meant to be viewed. Use the free Kindle template and EPUB generator with OpenOffice Writer to take lecture notes that you can read on the go, publish your own digital magazine, or distribute an informative pamphlet. Anyone with a digital reader or other mobile device will be able to read your document easily, and without a lot of scrolling.

Kindle Template by RanRutenberg

Download this free Kindle template from OpenOffice.org to create an OpenOffice Writer document that will display perfectly on a Kindle screen. Standard Writer documents are designed to print on an A4 letter sized sheet of paper. A4 pages are too large to be properly displayed on a 6 inch wide Kindle screen. This free Kindle template formats any OpenOffice Writer document to print on an A6 sized sheet of paper, and it includes custom margins that make it the exact size of the Kindle’s screen.

EPUB Generator by Przemyslaw Rumik

PDF files can be viewed on a digital reader, but the best way to save a document for Kindle viewing is to save it in a digital reader format. EPUB files can be viewed on a Nook, Sony Reader, and Apple iOS devices like iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. EPUB files can also be converted to the Kindle MOBI format with a free conversion program or web site. With this free EPUB generator for OpenOffice Writer, you can ensure that your document is compatible with any digital reader or mobile device. Simply download the extension from OpenOffice.org, install it, and click “Publish to EPUB” on any Writer document to start the conversion process. You will need to have installed additional XSLT filters. These can be installed by selecting “XML Filter Settings” from the OpenOffice “Tools” menu. If you want to publish an ebook, digital magazine, or save a document for easy viewing on your digital reader or mobile device, you can do it for free with a Kindle template and EPUB generator from OpenOffice.org. ebooks can be viewed by almost anybody, either online, or on a mobile device with an Internet connection. Download the free Kindle template and EPUB generator from OpenOffice.org, and you can easily turn your OpenOffice Writer document into an ebook perfectly formatted for digital readers like Kindle, Sony Reader, and Nook.

Citations:

Jen Heller Meservey is a freelance writer for Downloadhaus who loves discovering new software and being more productive with freeware apps. Downloadhaus.com brings you the latest free, open source apps with no waiting times or download queues. Connect with Jen Heller Meservey on LinkedIn.

What Digital & Social Media Marketers Can Learn from Business Consultants [Opinion]

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In the last five years I have heard some wild claims about who makes the best marketer – those claims have ranged from PR professionals, who ‘should be the only people to do it’, to Social Media, to ‘it takes a Sales Professional to provide the best internet marketing.’

I’d like you to think of Digital Assets in the form of a building:

  • The windows are Social Media – transparency of course
  • The walls are the advertising efforts – the place to display and show
  • The doors are the PR – as media attention helps get people to walk through the door
  • The shelves, displays and racks are the event planners – presentation and onsite execution
  • The Roof is the website – it covers everything else

However, the missing element is the foundation or the business itself. The digital and social media industry has gotten a lot of bad heat on not being effective and I would argue that has happened because the keystone has been missing, the Business Consultant.

I warn almost everyone that I interact with to look for the red flags when meeting a PR, Web, SEO, Social Media, Event Professional, etc. The best way to know if that have any clue what they are talking about will come with the first interaction. Do they start talking to you about their business and products, or do they ask you about yours?

The world is filled with overnight talent and businesses that offer these services and I say talent because most are very good at their niche, unfortunately it seems to end there. Think of it like a great marksman sent off to war to be a sniper without any military training. The ability to hit a target does not translate to being an effect solider, especially in terms of the bigger picture.

The transformed business consultants that are working as project managers and on the rare occasion can provide Web Development, SEO, Social Media and more are carrying with them the greatest lesson the marketing industry can learn, success goes beyond the view, comment and call!

Traditional marketing and advertising was all about visibility and the connection point, the advertising was a success when the consumer connected with your name, product or service.( i.e. someone visited the website, opened the email, opened the text message or called your phone, that is marketing success in the traditional context). The ability to convert that experience into a sale was the business owners problem. This is the reason businesses fail continuously and why corporate leadership is completely in the dark with the digital environment.

How Can We do Better or Demand Better?

Take the Business Consultant approach, inquire about the business model, the products or services, why the target market is the target market. Take the campaign backwards, go from the conversion or sale to the campaigns and tools to reach consumers. Build the model on the business and remember the best in any industry become the best from exploring. Sometimes it’s easier to create new then fix broken.

Why “NO” is so important to the Profession of Digital & Social Media Marketing [Opinion]

The overnight rush of Web developers lead to overnight SEO providers and then the flood of Social Media Marketers. Which in turn lead to every PR, advertising and marketing agency claiming to offer services they knew nothing about to save their revenue streams. The industry changed so fast that quantity quickly overtook quality.

“NO” is crucial to not just the digital and social industry but the recovery of our economy! I was sitting in a session at BlogWorld, it was about monetization, each of the three presenters had the same story the “advertisers found us” and “I spent nothing on advertising”.

I had to go to the mic, this is such a common carless comment that I had an ethical obligation to set straight.

The question: “You said that advertisers found you and that you spent nothing on advertising, but I want you to think of what the cost was… you might not have purchased advertising but clearly you spent time and money to build your…”

All three faces quickly had a look that you couldn’t quite place, perhaps it was horror? Then Lou Mongello of Walt Disney World Radio jumped to answer, “Oh it was so expensive, it cost me time, I had to sell my house and I spent money on all sorts of things”.

Lou Mongello then went on to explain that part of his success came from having his families support and the understanding of sacrifice to accomplish the long term goal.

Don’t Go In Unprepared

Here is the crucial point of this article, because so many enter into digital and social media services unprepared with misrepresentation of their own business model, they are ill equipped to help their clients with the same problem. In the need to create profits they become like AOL, they leap into every adventure without any thought of their clients business model or worse their own long term business model.

Learning to say “NO” allows you to take on clients that will be successful with your talent or service, it garnishes long term revenue for your business and a reputation for growth. It’s not easy being picky in the beginning, or when times are tough, but it is successful! Even more importantly, it keeps others from wasting their life savings on an idea or business that they are underfunded, underequipped or worse ignorant about from losing their time and money. It also prevents the overwhelming false, false from becoming the digital and social media industry. The Social Media Marketer did not intentionally fail you, the web developer did not build a crappy website or fail to generate valuable SEO, the business was flawed and directed to fail from the beginning and the digital and social industry should not take the blame for that.

Pick your clients carefully, for the benefit of them, yourself and our industry.

Author:

@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

Sources:

#140conf in New York City June 19th – 20th 2012 [Event]

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This year the #140c will be hosted at the 92nd Street Y at 1395 Lexington Avenue in NYC.

The History of the #140conf

In its fourth year running, this conference has had no shortages of experts with a plethora of educational and trending information to provide attendees. Each year it simply gets better and better.

In 2009, #140conf hosted events in:

2011 found #140conf spreading even further across the globe with events held in more locations than before.

There have also been a number of #140conf Meetups which have taken place across the United States, and outside of the states including places like the UK, Kenya and Israel.

In addition, check out the writers panel from #140conf 2011 that featured Debre Eckerling from @WriteOnOnline, Jeanne V Bowerman @jeannevb and Tracey Jackson @traceyjackson4.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIKqAJmGmE]

With many more impressive panels the 2011 #140conf was a rousing success. This year is shaping up to top them all.

Jeff Pulver Speaks

In April, 2012, Jeff Pulver shared a talk in Des Moines Iowa and he had some very compelling things to say about how we act and interact on our social networks. Are you YOU on your social networks? Are you who you think your friends and consumers think you should be? If you are anything but yourself you are not really connecting with those most important when it comes to marketing yourself or your brand. Jeff put it out there pretty well when he asked:

Are you you? Are you connecting to the person who you are? Are you true to yourself? If you Tweeted yourself would you talk back? Would you friend yourself?

I can relate to this as it is very similar to my previous article “Who are you?”

Societal communications are occurring now on a global level. Jeff reminds us that while the communication line is open, we have plenty of social media users who are more than happy to be brash, rude, insensitive, and that perhaps these people are being themselves. But we also have others who are the veritable shrinking violets, who are unlikely to ever be heard on a grand scale. And then we have our social leaders. Those whose Tweets and Status shares compel us, attract us. In most cases, those people have a strength we admire. Each of us have our own strengths when it comes to how we voice our feelings, how we communicate. In each of us is our true voice that when shared with the Twitterverse, or asserted on a Facebook status will have its own selling point, for those with a similar voice, opinions and assertions.

Inspire others whenever you can, because you can.

This Year’s #140conf NYC

The turnout for this year’s conference is expected to be attendees from 17 countries and 31 states.It is already expected to be the largest worldwide gather of entrepreneurs and professionals who are interested in the effects of real-time on people and businesses.

The focus will be on how the internet has the power to change lives and all attendees should expect to leave with a new outlook on how real-time interaction on the web can be used to grow your business or personal life, or even to do something intrinsically meaningful such as activism in charities you support. The options are almost endless.

The schedule is a fast paced and very unique one. It is the intention of the organizers to supply the perfect platform for as wide of a demographic as possible. Everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts or engage with attendees and speakers. Individual talks will be limited to ten minute excerpts and panel discussions will run for 10 to 15 minute sets.

Conference speakers will be arriving in NYC from all over the world. Speakers from the Pacific, South America, Europe, Asia, Canada and of course many from the United States.

Register Today to Be a Part of This Event

Interested in having your voice heard at a future #140conf event? We are always looking for new voices to introduce to our community. Just drop a note to Jeff Pulver. Interested in leveraging the influence of the #140conf NYC community? we are looking for companies interested in sponsoring this event.

The #140conf events –Tweetups, Conferences, Parties and Roadtrips – present an opportunity to consistently broaden your social media knowledge, whether for its own sake, or for application in communication, business, news, politics, philathropy or just about any other sphere. You always meet the most interesting and creative people at these events, and each time, Jeff’s mix of speakers,  their topics and perspective leave you substantially more informed and meaningfully inspired.

– Ian Aronovich – @GovtAuctions

Don’t miss this years @140conf #140conf in NYC!

Author:

@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

Sources:

Amazon Self-Publishing for Beginners

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Cover of "Kindle Wireless Reading Device,...
With all the new blogs and recent news articles urging writers to publish their eBooks on Kindle, the topic is probably one you’re at least familiar with by now. As most people know, Amazon has leveled the playing field for authors by making the process of publishing eBooks as simple as a few mouse clicks and a couple of file uploads.
Before the recent self-publishing revolution began, the difficult part was getting your book in the hands of readers to begin with. However, that’s the exact same challenge that independent authors face when publishing for the Kindle as well. It turns out that making your book available is much easier than getting people to actually buy it or be interested in reading it!
This low entry bar also creates a new challenge for debut Kindle authors – since anyone and everyone can now publish whatever they want, that’s exactly what is happening. The result? A fair amount of low quality eBooks and a highly competitive environment for unknown authors.

Learning to Stand Out in the Crowd

So how do you stand out in such a crowded and popular new marketplace that is open to anyone? What does it take to attract the type of author publicity that helps build a brand and sell more eBooks?
Here are a few eBook marketing ideas that have proven effective for many debut authors using Kindle to publish:

  1. Write and distribute a press release after you’ve launched your eBook. If you are not familiar with press release writing, outsource it and consider paying for distribution. Include quotes, contact information and hook in readers with a strong headline. Remember, you have a tiny window of time to capture the interest of readers who are likely skimming headlines and you must find a clever way to set your story apart from all the others. The main idea of a press release for your book is to generate curiosity and get people excited about the story you have to tell.
  2. Encourage book reviews. This is probably the most obvious way to promote books or anything else, for that matter. It’s probably the first one that comes to mind as well. Alas, it is also going to be the hardest form of promotion to land as a debut author. Don’t let that get you down though. Reach out to book review bloggers, fans from social media or anyone else who might be willing to share their thoughts on Amazon or elsewhere on the web!
  3. Start living and breathing social media life into your author platform. Just remember that you are not limited to Twitter and Facebook. Find the communities centered around readers and books. GoodReads is a great example and it offers tons of innovative ways to share and promote your writing. Get started by setting up an author profile and adding your eBooks. Next, experiment with groups, quotes and book giveaway contests. There isn’t a better online community for finding passionate readers.

These fundamental tips should give new authors a viable starting point. As with any type of marketing, your ultimate goal should be to determine who your target audience is and find out the best ways in which to engage them and turn them into loyal readers.
Author:
AshlyLorenzana is a freelance writer, published author and passionate blogger who lives in the Portland, OR area. Her interests include social media, online marketing and digital publishing. You can follow her on Twitter @ashlorenzana
Sources:

  1. 9 WaystoUseSocialMediatoLaunchABook
  2. PromotingYourBookOnlineThroughSocialNetworking: GoodReads.com
  3. AnatomyofaSuccessfulPressReleaseforBookPromotion

 

Four Secrets Every Freelance Writer Should Know

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Finding the right balance between writing what you want and writing for a living can be a difficult challenge for freelance writers. There may not be a good target market for the style and subject you would prefer to write about, but there is an endless supply of work for social media, technology and business experts, online. Here are four ways you can increase your chances of finding the right balance and earning enough money.
1.     Finding the right publisher
You can choose to write material and seek a publisher to sell your work to, or you can agree to write what a publisher requires. The two sets of work are often miles apart in subject choice unless you are one of the lucky writers who happens to live in an online social networking and SEO world.
However good your own work is, if you cannot find a suitable publisher, you will not be paid for your work. Your research hours may have reduced your pay per hour too far. Also, you need to consider the constant flow of rejections and your underlying stress levels.
If you are given an assignment you must complete on time or preferably, sooner, so you can guarantee payment. Of course, it must meet the brief offered and be suitable work for the personality with the check book.
2.     Finding jobs that pay enough
The jobs are out there and you need to find out how to locate them if you want to earn enough to extend your standard of living, at the very least.
Often the work offered by organizations will be mind-numbingly boring, but there is enough of it to ensure you can pay your bills. There isn’t always sufficient work in the area of your expertise, so you will spend time online researching the subject so you can write as an authority, taking care not to copy work directly from another source.
3.    The competition is fierce
You are not the only writer out there who has found they can work from home to avoid long car chases and the endless office politics that prevented real work at the office.
You are in competition with many countries where English isn’t the first language, but they can write for figures you wouldn’t dream of taking for a job. Just because others will work for the price of an expensive coffee each day, it doesn’t mean you should try to compete. You need to fight with your skills to not only write to the brief, but to ensure you meet all deadlines and are easy to work with.
4.   The editor is not always right
Editors vary in how they wish to see a finished product. If you write for several editors you will need to remember and apply each individual’s choice of style and composition. Otherwise, you run the risk of your work being returned for a re-write.
Even when editors are wrong in their choices, you must still apply to their terms and not fight an editor over your preferred alternative to writing sentences, paragraphs or layout. If they prefer short sentences while you maintain that long sentences make for better English, you will lose out in the long term. You might win the battle, but you won’t win the war which means they won’t offer you further work if you become a nightmare to work with.
Author:
Tim Brookes is the Managing Director of Storage Concepts a UK-based mezzanine floor & suspended ceiling company @storageUK
Sources:

The Two Things Every Piece of Web Content Should Lead With

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When you’re crafting Web content, it can often feel like there are so many factors to consider, so many things to get caught up with, that it’s hard to ever prioritize what really matters most. You think about the style of your writing, specific conversion goals you’re working towards, promotional strategies for helping you to bring more eyes to your content—and yet one of the simplest parts of writing good Web content is often one of the most overlooked: do you know what your Web content should always begin with?
The secret about good Web copy is that it should always begin by stating who should read it and why they should read it. It’s that simple.
Why You Want to Say Who Should Read It
Whatever you’re writing, start by saying whom it’s for—Bloggers? Copywriters? Business owners? Stay-at-home moms? Whatever audience you’re targeting, let them know. Here’s why:

  • Shows That You Know:  Addressing your audience builds credibility. When readers see you’ve put the planning and thought into creating content to meet their needs—and that it does—they begin to trust that you’re a worthy source of information.
  • Addresses the Right Audience: While of course you want people to be reading your content, the fact is that not everyone will find it helpful or interesting. But by stating your audience upfront, you automatically target those individuals who are most likely to find value in what you’re saying.
  • Increases Effectiveness: Here’s the biggest reason to state your audience: it makes your content more effective. You’ve got to know your audience in order to reach them, and this is true in any industry, whether construction or travel, transportation or fashion.

Why You Want to Say Why They Should Read It

The very next question in a reader’s mind after knowing Web content is for them is this: what’s in it for me? Here are the benefits of answering that question:

  • Engages Your Audience: Writing to a specific audience is only half the battle—it’s just as important that you engage with them. And in terms of Web content, when readers know what’s in it for them, they are much more interested and willing to respond.
  • Communicates Value: Saying why someone should read your content is basically the same thing as sharing the benefits it offers. Maybe your content is going to answer a question or explain a topic thoroughly; maybe it will show how to do something or provide life-enriching stories that touch readers’ hearts. Whatever the case, make the benefits clear to communicate value.
  • Sets up Expectations You Will Meet: Giving readers a reason to read your content and then delivering on that reason gives them satisfaction, as well as the sense that you are someone who meets expectations. Likewise, it helps them track with you as they’re reading, staying interested throughout your writing.

Tips & Examples for Putting This into Practice

Maybe you’re reading the above tips and wondering what this looks like in actual Web content. Should every webpage start with the same, “This page is for X and you should read it Y”? Not exactly. Here are some tips for putting the two most important parts of content leads into practice.

  • Address the Reader Early: Begin your post by talking to the audience you’re addressing, kind of like this post does by starting with “when you’re crafting Web content.”  As soon as you see that, you know this post is for Web writers and by the end of the first paragraph, you know what it’s going to give them—the two key elements to starting any piece of content.
  • Use Your Title: Sometimes you might use the title to state your audience and why they should be reading, like Jacqui MacKenzie does in “How to Write Great Web Content If You’re Not a Writer.” In it, she says whom she’s writing to and why they should care all in that initial title phrase: non-writers, to learn how to write great Web content.
  • Through an Interesting Intro: Some webpages and online articles are most powerful not through a super-direct title but through a more vague or nuanced one, used to build interest and anticipation. In Craig E. Yaris’s post, “The Need to Blog,” for example, the title alone doesn’t give his specific audience or intention away. Will this be about why people should blog? Why they need to blog? What to do about it? He opens with a story that leads into a more clear audience and purpose statement in the fourth paragraph, phrased as a question, “But, where does the average small business owner find that good information to write about?”

What other strategies have you used or can you think of for implementing these two important keys to beginning Web content? Or if these ideas are new to you, how could they impact the effectiveness of your Web writing?
Author:
Shanna Mallon is a writer for Straight North, a leading Chicago SEO firm. She writes for clients in various B2B industries, from broadcasting equipment suppliers to flame resistant apparel. Check out the Straight North blog! @straightnorth
 Sources:

BlogWorld and New Media Expo 2012 NY [Event]

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The BlogWorld Social Media Conference and Expo returns to New York again this year from June 5th through 7th as a must-attend social media networking and educational event. They are expecting thousands of attendees from over 50 countries with more than 200 speakers for the event. With a great trade-show planned this may be the only industry-encompassing event that will help bring together those in the content creation and publishing businesses together.

BlogWorld Speakers

There will be many notable speakers attending the BlogWorld Social Media Conference and Expo in 2012.

Greg Cargill –  VP of Client Services for Social & Media, Blitz

Greg’s professional career is focused on helping celebrities, brands, and products develop awareness through strategic and internet partnerships. Greg and his team at bigMethod have worked with some of the world’s largest brands such as City of Hope, Harley-Davidson, and Honda. They have successfully brought these organizations to the online social media marketing landscape. bigMethod was recently aquired by Blitz agency.

Greg will host a session called What Makes Big Brands Spend Money on Your Blog. He will share key points such as:

  • What makes brands decide to spend money on a blog
  • How much do they spend?

Linus Chou –  Product Manager, Google

Product manager for Google Analytics, Linus Chou focuses on social attribution as well as real time analytics products. Before arriving at Google, he was an engineer for display advertising at Amazon.com.

Linus will host a session called Measuring Social Media Using Google Analytics. His key points will be.

  • Always measure ROI
  • Understanding  how social channels are generating conversions for your business
  • Learn the difference between upper and lower funnel social channels and what that can mean for your social media marketing campaigns.

Katie Richman – Director of Social Media Strategy , ESPN / espnW

Director of Social Media Strategy for ESPN Digital Media, Katie Richman is part of the startup team that is building ESPN’s women’s sports business. Katie began her career in 2001 with MTV Networks Brand Creative and moved onto Oxygen Media in their startup days as well.

Katie will be hosting a session titled Creation, Curation and Collection: Getting to know Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr with key points focused on providing a good understanding of tastes, metrics and segmentation options as well as information on cutting edge platforms.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone who publishes online can benefit from the knowledge shared at this event. Content creators, publishers, bloggers, podcasters, radio and WebTV broadcasters will benefit from new understanding on topics such as trending strategies, best practices, and trusted techniques to improve content creation and monetization.

Author:

@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

Sources: