How original photos can help you rank higher in Google Image Search

July 20, 2017

Content distribution, Content gathering, WordPress, Workflow

You have likely heard me debate the topic of whether we should use stock images or authentic and original images. I can be swayed in many debates when a direction that I didn’t think of can actually benefit the consumer. But I just have never gotten to the point to see the benefit for when […]

Why to write content adjacent to your sweet spot on your (corporate) blog

Christoph Trappe

March 29, 2017

Content distribution, Content gathering, Strategies

You hear me talk about the importance of being clear about what your content niche is. This is the content that you are an expert in and that you have a defined audience for and that you share on your (company) blog. Everything we produce and then distribute needs to fit into that category. For […]

[CONTENT CREATION] How many people should own my organization’s editorial calendar?

Christoph Trappe

March 18, 2017

Content gathering, Journalism and Content Marketing

A look at how to manage an organization's editorial calendar.

Why editing for preference is the biggest waste of time in content marketing

Christoph Trappe

February 14, 2017

Change Leadership, Content distribution, Content gathering

Everyone who creates content likely has had an editor who edited for preference only. They change words because they like another word better. Not because it actually makes a difference to the audience or impacts that story’s performance. I even once had an editor who admitted that he edited to “add value, and it’s my job.” […]

Should every blog post have a photo and how to get better ones

Christoph Trappe

January 22, 2017

Content distribution, Content gathering

“A photo is worth a thousand words.” The person who said that first certainly hadn’t heard of irrelevant stock art photography that people now use abundantly on their blogs and websites. Those people in that meeting look oh so happy. Stock art!

Why To Not Just Repurpose Existing Content

Christoph Trappe

January 5, 2017

Content gathering

Here’s a quick video I did on this important topic. You can’t be unique by copying others.

[MARKETING] Why we shouldn’t make up quotes for people in our marketing stories

Christoph Trappe

October 4, 2016

Change Leadership, Content distribution, Content gathering, Creativity, Health, Training

It can seem easier for writers and content creators to write the quotes from “actual people” marketing materials. It’s one way to make sure they stay on message, I suppose. Marketing materials, of course, can include printed pieces, other offline items and all kinds of digital components, including ads, blogs and eNewsletters. And many marketers […]

[STORYTELLING] How to get access to the people with the good stories

Christoph Trappe

May 25, 2016

Change Leadership, Content gathering, Strategies

It’s virtually impossible to share good and meaningful stories if we don’t have access to the people who lived and participated in those stories. That’s why personal storytelling is so much easier than organizational storytelling. We already have access to the person who lived the story – us. When we work in an organization’s communications […]

Organizational storytelling: Should we check the background of people whose stories we are sharing?

Christoph Trappe

May 3, 2016

Change Leadership, Content distribution, Content gathering, Health, Strategies

Storytelling strategies can be full of reasons why not to publish something. In fact, if we want to find a reason to not publish a story that can be a super easy task: We don’t have the time. We don’t want to. I’m not a good writer. Somebody, somewhere may potentially be offended by something in the […]

[STORYTELLING] Cameras on people can help us gather authentic stories

Christoph Trappe

April 26, 2016

Content gathering, Health, Journalism and Content Marketing, Technology

While at a Chicago White Sox game in 2016 my wife pointed out to me that the approaching vendor had two cameras attached to him. One pointed at him and one at the crowd. Of course, I asked him about it. “We are doing a special on vendors and it’ll be on the website. They […]

[EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY] How to get employees to share stories without feeling like braggarts

Christoph Trappe

March 16, 2016

Change Leadership, Content distribution, Content gathering, Creativity, Strategies

Some people don’t share any of their authentic stories – good and bad – and they have reasons for that. Good stories – they don’t want to come off as bragging about themselves. Not so good stories – they are embarrassed and don’t want to feel vulnerable publicly. These are valid reasons and we should […]