Speak the words 'social media' and many newcomers envisage staple sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

But did you know content can also be social? In this guide, we'll explain why this important facet of online marketing is often unfairly lumped in solely with SEO (search engine optimisation) and offer guidance on how best to incorporate the content your produce into your social networking efforts.

Content has been king for the best part of two decades now and its popularity shows no signs of relenting.

Businesses that subscribe to content marketing attract roughly three times as many leads as those that don't and enjoy a conversion rate almost six times higher than non-adopters.

And while you've certainly got to be in it to win it, unlike a primary school egg and spoon race, simply taking part won't earn you any medals. Producing sufficient levels of tailored, effective and engaging content in a timely manner are commonly cited as some of the biggest challenges for marketers, particularly in the field of B2B.

Content shouldn't be confused with copy, however, and while the likes of video, visual and other types of rich media are on the up - written articles remain a steadfast favourite for newcomers and veterans alike.

In this guide, I'll tap into the experience I've gained after spending the best part of a decade in the field as a professional writer and reveal my one sure-fire method for producing better content that attracts leads and delights your prospects.

If you've paid any interest to the world of digital marketing in the past few years, you're likely to be as sick as I am of the phrase 'Content is King'. However, the role content plays in SEO for property companies is undeniably important. 

In this section of our guide, we'll delve into the affect content can have on where your site appears in search results, discuss best practice and address some of the most popular misconceptions surrounding the field.

Online marketing has undergone a sea change in the past few years. Producing and disseminating quality content is now one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your peers and increase your chances of being found by your target audiences.

However, producing enough content to make a dent in terms of search and even finding stuff to talk about is commonly reported to be a major challenge, particularly for businesses at the smaller end of the scale.

In this guide, we'll introduce you a technique that could help take some of the pressure off and recommend some top sources that'll help you discover content to attract and delight your key audiences.

Strategically planned content is more crucial than ever in order for businesses to hold their own against online competitors. To make your content do the hard work for you, you need to make every word countand including the right keywords is vital.

In this guide, we'll explore how you can use Google Keyword Planner to inform and optimise your content by getting a handle on what it is exactly that people are searching for. 

May the best brand win

A significant amount of how you manage your online reputation is determined by the brand values you want to get across to your audience.

Getting people to recommend your brand through word of mouth, social reviews and referrals is one of the key aspects of creating a relatable and successful image. Social promotion will help you engender trust, loyalty, and popularity from your customers.

In this guide, we'll examine how to ensure your brand values help portray your company ethics in a way that creates a bond with your intended audience on both a physical and a psychological level.

Content marketing is the marketing buzz word for 2013 and with good reason. The convergence of Google updates that penalise spammy content (and reward sites with a good stockpile of quality stuff) alongside the exploding popularity of social media means that more and more organisations are starting to behave like publishers.

The quality of your content has become one of the key things that differentiates you from your peers in the online world and it's therefore unsurprising that there's a growing amount of competition for the attention of prospects. However, not everyone has the time to churn out eye-turning content, nor the budget to outsource their efforts. And here's where the strategy of content curation can come in handy.

For small businesses, marketing is a key concern and finding the time, resources and tools to properly promote yourself can be a never-ending struggle.

Thankfully, the last decade has seen a sea change in the way we interact with the online world. With connection speeds growing and the ever-increasing proliferation of internet-capable devices, more people than ever are routinely turning to the web as part of their purchasing process.  

This changing behaviour has opened the floodgates for small businesses looking to attract leads through a process commonly referred to as inbound marketing. But how does this new discipline work and what are the best ways for SMEs to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the web?

Content marketing is a burgeoning field and unless you've been living under some kind of virtual rock, this increasingly popular discipline has probably caught your attention.

Despite the growing need for quality content to appease search engines, engage website visitors and attract those all-important inbound links, not all organisations have the resources, inclination or budget to churn out content like a publishing house - and that's OK.

For those of you in this situation, we've put together a handy guide that'll help you track down the best content marketing services on a local, national and international level.