Archive for the ‘HostingCon’ Category

HostingCon 2011: Building a Meaningful Content Marketing Program

August 20th, 2011
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Laurie Head, Carrie Jones

AISN's Laurie Head and Carrie Jones of BaileyGardiner present "Content Is King" at HostingCon 2011.

By Laurie Head
AIS Network Vice President, Marketing Communications

The hosting industry’s premiere conference, which was held last week (August 8-10) in San Diego, was the most successful in the conference’s history.  According to HostingCon 2011 organizers, total show attendance surpassed by 13 percent the record mark set in 2010.  More than 1,800 professionals in the hosted services industry gathered in San Diego to learn, network, and talk about the cloud — quite a lot, in fact.

AISN CEO Jay Atkinson and I attended HostingCon for the very first time.  While there, our company was honored to present a session on content marketing.  During that session, Carrie Jones of BaileyGardiner, one of San Diego’s hottest marketing agencies, joined me for an hour’s delve into why it’s important to build a meaningful content marketing program.  We explored why online content is core to what we do as marketers; best practices to develop, optimize and share it;  and how we can achieve quality content without breaking the bank.  Our slide deck and handouts can be viewed in AISN’s Knowledge Center.  I’d love to know your thoughts after you look through it.

Were you at HostingCon too?  What were your impressions of the conference?  Share your comments below or tweet them: @AIS_Network.

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AIS Network to Present “Content Is King” at HostingCon 2011

August 3rd, 2011
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By Laurie Head
AIS Network Vice President, Marketing Communications

If you have to ask what content marketing is, it’s more than likely that you’re not doing it – or at least, you may not be doing it well.  And, if you are not using compelling content to connect with customers, potential customers and your industry at large, well, then your company may not be realizing its full potential as it competes in the 21st century market.

The rules of marketing have changed – due in large part to social media and the ability to share content.

It’s no longer all about boisterously proclaiming your product’s superiority in so many different ways – or about interrupting your customers repeatedly with advertising or other messages.

Rather, you should recognize that what customers really crave is valuable content that will solve their problems and demonstrate how your product, or service, lives in the world.

Wednesday, August 10 at 3p.m.

Let’s face it.  With the exception of a handful of companies, the hosting sector has never particularly excelled at marketing.

As an industry, we don’t articulate clearly the value proposition of outsourced hosting.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  Now is the time for us, as an industry, to start making the connection between how the latest approaches to creating good content and utilizing social media dovetail to help us in telling our individual and collective stories more clearly.

Next week, in our “Content Is King” session at HostingCon 2011 (the premiere conference for the hosting industry), Carrie Jones of San Diego’s prestigious BaileyGardiner marketing agency and I will explain how getting customers to engage with your company’s expanding body of content is one of the most effective ways in which you can:

  • enhance your company’s credibility and visibility;
  • raise the perception that you are an expert in your industry; and
  • build ongoing loyalty/advocacy for your brand.

Even marketing/communications teams that are on a budget can become effective at content marketing, and we’ll give you some ideas and examples to run with.

I encourage you to learn more.  Join Carrie and me for our “Content Is King” session at HostingCon 2011:  Wednesday, August 10, at 3 p.m. in the San Diego Convention Center.

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