In a recent episode of Message Points, I shared an in-depth article discussing the reduced impact of SEO. Well, I found another one - only this one was written in 2017!

If people were beginning to see SEO go from "everything" to "some things" six years ago - what other unnoticed changes are hurting their content strategies?

If SEO is losing some stream, then what does Google care about?

Think about how long gated content has been a strategy. If you were to examine all of the gated content that's been produced in the last several years, how much of it do you think consumers found to be incredibly valuable?

If you're like me and you believe that number is low, how likely are those consumers going to open your gated content? Is there something you can do to help inspire them to fill out that form, or should you just take gated content out of your content strategy?

Finally, in the era of The Great Resignation and a renewed focus on happiness in the workplace, companies have to incorporate a communication strategy into their job posts. Otherwise, job seekers wanting marketing jobs may not apply due to a few red flags.

We discuss all of this and more on this week's Message Points.

JeffBullas.com - 5 Reasons Why Your Business Shouldn’t Just Focus On SEO
Mina Mesbahi - Gated content usually disappoints people
Mary Keough - Red Flags for marketing job seekers
Guy Kawasaki - ​Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

Many of the content marketing rules of today's consumers apply to website design and messaging.

Studies show that consumers will make quick judgments about your company based on website design.

Clint Mally helps his clients build Squarespace websites that help grow their businesses. He brings an impactful combination of content marketing and web design knowledge that provides companies with a formula for creating meaningful experiences for the user.

Join us as we go beyond the basics and dive deeper into a design strategy that fulfills the expectations of your audience. You'll learn design tips and get new ideas to help you optimize your website through a focus on people.

Clint's website - ClintMally.com
Clint's podcast - The School of Content
Clint on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/clintmally/

SWEOR  - First Impressions Study
Tech Radar - Websites at 30

Today's episode of Message Points is all about disconnects and how to solve them. For example, there is a disconnect between the common beliefs about SEO and what's happening today. Many brands believe people follow them on social media because of their great content, but that isn't entirely true. Communicating the same way with everyone can cause a disconnect between you and your audience. And asking the wrong interview questions can disengage your podcast audience and your guest.

Morgan Hines on robotic-sounding messages
​
Andy Crestodina on why people follow and share on social media

Sara L. Parker on the New SEO for SaaS

Tofe Evans shares five bad podcast interview questions

We spend a lot of time talking about engagement, conversation and inspiration on the digital side of marketing, but what about face-to-face interactions?  When you think about it, they involve breaking some of the same barriers that exist in digital interactions:
​

• People who don't want to be sold
• People who already have anxiety about brand intentions
• People who seek a memorable experience

So, what does it take today to maximize engagement success in a presentation, a sales meeting, a virtual session or an exhibitor booth conversation?

Anders Boulanger is the CEO of Engagify - a company that helps marketing teams capture and hold attention through conversations and presentations. He is also the Founder and CEO of Infotainers, which features a team of professionals that help people generate persuasive dialogue at marketing events.

He'll talk to us about how we have to approach in-person communication to succeed in some of our most critical business engagements.​

Engagify website

Anders on LinkedIn

Forbes: Brands Need to Step Up Their Game to Win Over Millennials 

Forbes: With Brand Loyalty Fading, Customer Experiences Now Determine Business Fate

What can the architecture space teach us about building a company with a healthy culture that inspires its employees and a customer-centric message that resonates with its employees?

Jeff Echols knows the answers, and they include leading and communication from a place of empathy, not ego. It involves choosing the right words to tell your story and deliver your message. You also have to really define what it means to differentiate yourself in your industry and know what customers are saying about you when you're "not in the room."
​In this episode, we discuss these concepts and more, including:

• Can the internal company culture impact the effectiveness of marketing and communications?
• How does a triangle represent a strong company structure?
• Can an employee "fire" a manager?
• How can attempts to stand out backfire or fall flat?

Jeff on LinkedIn
Jeff's website - echoEngagement
Podcast - Context and Clarity 
Podcast - Build Your Brand 

Book: The Loyalist Team
MIT Sloane Management on Broken Culture Syndrome