MSPC Rewind: Our Most-Read Blog Posts of 2019
By Adam Greenwald | January 8, 2020
In 2019, MSPC explored a wide range of content marketing topics that ranged from working with subject matter experts and redesigning magazines to measuring content performance and knowing the difference between content marketing and advertising. Below are our 12 posts that got the most love last year.
11 Subject Matter Expert Content Creation Tips
Your company’s subject matter experts (SMEs) have the information that customers and prospects want. But translating expertise into content is not without its challenges. So how do you get experts to translate their ideas into content that people can and will read?
MSPC senior content director Evelyn Hoover shares her 11 tips for SME content creation.
How a Magazine Redesign Can Benefit Your Association
Your magazine should help establish your organization as a thought leader in your industry or field, providing direction, education and vision for your audience or the potential audience you’d like to reach.
MSPC senior art director Bret Ryan explores what your organization can get out of redesigning and relaunching your magazine.
The State of Live Streaming Social Video
Which audiences interact with live video on social? What streaming platforms are gaining steam? Who should invest?
Get answers to these questions and more as MSPC senior digital content analyst Adam Greenwald investigates the state of live video on social media.
5 Best Types of Content Marketing for Great Storytelling
Your aunt who tells the best stories is always everybody’s favorite person to sit by at the family gathering, and the same is true with content.
Content that tells a good story, no matter the type, is always the most engaging for your audiences. They will sit with your content and make themselves comfortable. A former MSPC content director shares five examples of the most effective types of content marketing.
A Decade of Delta Sky Magazine
Did we know how to secure Serena Williams and Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence for our cover? Not really. Our company had many areas of content expertise—but celebrity wrangling (an art and a science in and of itself) was not necessarily in our wheelhouse. But we figured it out.
MSPC editor in chief Sarah Elbert shares how Sky has taken off in the 10 years since MSPC began publishing Delta Air Lines’ inflight magazine.
Content Marketing Dashboards: Measuring Content KPIs with the King
Content marketing and measurement go together like peanut butter and bananas—better known as Elvis’s favorite sandwich. Like the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, you want your content marketing to ignite and grow your audience, build trusted relationships and drive profitable action. So how do you measure content marketing KPIs?
MSPC senior digital content analyst Adam Greenwald takes a look at how content marketing dashboards measure content performance and ROI.
Content Marketing vs. Advertising: What’s the Difference, Again?
You can use content as advertising, but rarely can you use advertising as content. Why the bleep not, you ask? Because advertising is about what marketers want you to feel, and content shows up in the areas you care or are curious about, naturally.
Telling someone how to feel isn’t natural, which is why you shouldn’t try to pawn advertising off as content.
MSPC content director Kayla Knudson shares her guide to understanding the differences and similarities between advertising and content marketing, plus the secret to multi-agency collaboration she swears by.
Why Always-On Organic Social Media Strategy Still Matters
A mutually beneficial relationship between both paid and organic strategy can take your brand’s social media content to the next level. Knowing what your organic social media audience—the people who are actually looking to connect with you—engages with can help build look-a-like audiences for paid distribution and inform what content a brand should be putting paid dollars behind.
MSPC associate content director Emily Den Boer explores how relying on an always-on organic social media strategy is crucial for brands, especially if there is a major algorithm shift.
What a Mathematical Formula Can Teach You About Good Writing
The Flesch-Kincaid readability test puts a hard number on what good communicators already know: Be clear. Be concise. Don’t use a long word when a short one will do. If in doubt, cut it out.
MSPC senior content director Molly Bennett illustrates how a complex readability test is a reminder of the simple lessons we all learn about communicating effectively.
The Content Marketing Winds of Change (and Secret Sauce)
It’s increasingly clear, particularly when it comes to younger generations, that people want to align themselves with companies that are interested in making an actual connection with consumers. Companies that do the right thing, whatever that might mean to them. Companies that, yes, produce authentic content.
MSPC senior content director Sarah Elbert discusses the shift in the magazine industry and how important it is to make connections with consumers.
How to Find Writing Inspiration and Ideas for Content Marketing
Don’t settle for content you know will give you a pang of dissatisfaction every time you see it in print or online. Because the right ideas for content marketing are out there—and you’ll know it when they appear.
Here are five ways to find sources of inspiration for writing and content creation ideas from MSPC senior content director Molly Bennett.
Finding Subject Matter Experts for Your Content Marketing
Content, be it webinars, blog posts, e-books, videos, etc., can be used by businesses to explain the features and functions of their products or services. Tapping subject matter experts (SMEs) is a great way to develop content that delivers value to customers. However, for small businesses with tiny staffs and even some larger organizations, finding a respectable SME to write or present can be a challenge.
MSPC senior content director Evelyn Hoover talks about the importance of finding and developing subject matter experts and how companies can tap into that network to develop content that delivers value to customers.
Read next: MSPC Rewind: Our Most-Read Blog Posts of 2018
