Top Inbound Marketing Reads (March Staff Picks)

This month’s inbound marketing reads are raring to go. Chock full of meaty tips that will help your marketing efforts really take off, you don’t want to miss a single article. From storytelling to Facebook sales funnels and from long-form blog content to social media visuals that wow, you’ll have the right ingredients to give your marketing efforts even more oomph. So let’s get started!

1. 11 Storytelling Formulas to Supercharge Your Social Media Marketing The best marketing campaigns are the ones that tell stories. But it’s not so easy to shift gears from “marketing” to “storytelling.” In this article, Buffer provides 11 formulas to fuel your company’s social media marketing storytelling. From the three-act structure to the Freytag’s Pyramid to Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle, you’ll learn everything you need to know about telling GREAT stories  –  and attracting new customers to your brand. 
2. The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Facebook Sales Funnel
   Source: Neil Patel Blog
   Neil Patel divulges his best Facebook marketing and sales tactics in this detailed how-to guide for building a sales funnel. After laying the groundwork for proving that Facebook is indeed still a very viable platform, Patel guides you through every facet of building a sales funnel that aligns with user behaviors, which are more about socializing with other users than making purchases  –  a critical driver of success on Facebook.  
3. How-to Blogging Guide for Longer (And Better Converting) Content This Flight Media article breaks down why you should include long-form blogs into your inbound marketing mix. Longer blogs generally cover a topic in more depth, which also means they tend to provide more value for readers. As a result, long-form content can really help to get you noticed, build engagement and convert leads into buyers! If you haven’t yet tackled this kind of content, don’t worry. The article walks you through the steps to writing a longer blog. 
4. 10 Risky Brand Comebacks on Social Media That Worked
   Source: Hootsuite blog
   One of the reasons companies avoid getting on social media is having to deal with the backlash that can come from customers who use the channels as a complaint platform. Hootsuite shows you how brands are turning the tables, and using social media complaints as a way to gain exposure, attract new customers, and yes, appropriately deal with haters and complainers. Follow the example of Wendy’s, Tesco, the Discovery Channel and others and get creative with your social media.  
5. 6 Branding Mistakes Undermining Your Company's Image You spend a lot of time crafting your brand in the hopes that it will speak to customers. So what should you do when you make a branding mistake? HubSpot shows you through examples like Colgate, who once tried to release a line of frozen food  –  with miserable results  –  how to rectify your branding mistakes and create an image that aligns with what you have to offer. 
6. Implement These 3 Superior Link Building Boosters in 2017 Does your company have a link-building strategy? If not, there are three easy ways to boost your search engine results page (SERP) ranking. Digital Current guides you through the easy steps in this article, which involve creating linkable assets, leveraging influencers, and “hustling” some links. Commit to building your linking strategy this year, and watch your Google rankings climb! 
7. How 25 Brands Make the Most of Visual Content on Social Media  If your company has built a solid presence on social media by creating consistent posts and delivering valuable content, it’s time to step things up. Rebekah Radice, a leading social media blog and content marketer, shows you how to get even more out of your strategy by optimizing visual content. Radice showcases how 25 brands are using visual content to drive results. You’re sure to get inspired by the likes of Volkswagen, Starbucks, Bud Light and Dunkin Donuts. 
8. How to Easily Leverage Your Content Marketing for Local SEO Local businesses shouldn’t count out content marketing. Just because you rely on local customers doesn’t mean that you can’t deliver great content and attract business. This article provides specific tools to help you create a local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Use the local SEO guide, onpage SEO checklist, SEO content strategy template, the latent semantic indexing infographic, guest blogging template and email pitch template to put your local business on the map! 
9. Animated Visuals: How to Bring Still Images to Life
   Source: SMexaminer; 'Use a GIF to convey feelings'
   Images are a key driver of whether or not a viewer will stop scrolling through their social media feed and land on your post. Social media users are making instant decisions about what to stop and read and what to pass on. Your brand can capitalize on the power of images to capture attention by creating animated visuals. In this article by the Social Media Examiner, you’ll hear an interview with Donna Moritz, a social media expert, who will walk you through how to use these eye-catching visuals in your content.  
10. Increase Conversions by Improving the Clarity of Your Value Proposition Who doesn’t want to increase conversions? Conversions are the guiding light for your business. The more you can increase this number, the better off you’ll be. In this Unbounce article, you’ll see how improving the clarity of your business’ value proposition affects your conversion bottom line. Learn how to differentiate between the unique value proposition and the unique campaign proposition, the importance of information hierarchy, and more.