How Buffer Achieves Continuous Growth Through Content Marketing

How Buffer Achieves Continuous Growth Through Content Marketing In the world of content marketing, there are few startups out there that have it more figured out than Buffer. With an average of 1900 shares per post, they have to be doing something right. For Buffer, though, content marketing is more than a mere marketing tactic – its a channel for growth. In fact, its their primary channel for growth. In the early days of Buffer, co-founder Leo Widrich was known for conducting  an  aggressive guest blogging campaign as a way to stimulate early growth. It worked, and now Buffer has a dedicated team of two carrying the torch forward. We caught up with Content Crafter Kevan Lee to see if we could learn more about the secrets to Buffers success. 1. Tell us about yourself. Why did you start  doing content marketing? I have the privilege of creating content for Buffer. My daily duties include writing helpful blog posts about social media and productivity, sending emails to our awesome customers, and sharing updates on the Buffer social media accounts. I’ve been writing in one form or another ever since I can remember. My journey took me to journalism school, traditional marketing, and then content marketing. I’ve been blogging, sharing, and creating online for the past eight years. 2. How big is your content marketing team? We’re fortunate at Buffer to have a team of 26 who can all write amazing stories and create awesome content. Our content marketing team of two – me and Courtney, our head of content marketing – love being able to lean on others for help as we fill our calendars with content and stories. On a day-to-day basis, the two of us take the majority of the content tasks, with helpful advice from Leo, our co-founder and the original voice on the blog. 3. What has been the most noticeable effect for Buffer from content marketing? Early on, we gained all of our new customers from content marketing. I believe it was right near 100 percent of new users who arrived via the content marketing tactics that Leo employed–guest blogging being one of the main routes. 4. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to your team’s workflow, communication, and content creation? Our challenge is one I love havingthere are so many different things we want to do and just not enough time to do them all! As as a team of two, we’ve chosen to focus on the aspects that have the biggest impact on our goals. As the team grows, we’d love to explore some additional avenues for content. 5. Do you set specific goals as far as to what your content marketing would look like, and what kind of measurable results you’d get? We’ve tried to identify the biggest opportunities for growth in our metrics, e.g. low traffic and high conversion where we can see great growth by bumping up the traffic side. Specifically, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on email marketing. Since making this a goal, we’ve seen great growth in this regard, doubling our signups month-over-month this summer. We’ve put an emphasis on email marketing. Since making this a goal, we’ve seen great growth6. What were you hoping would happen once you began content marketing? When I began content marketing, I was simply hoping to have an outlet to write, to help others, and to share online. I think all of those wishes have been fulfilled, and more. I think the element that took the longest to happen was feeling that I was helping others, simply because it takes a bit of an audience to get to that point. From day one at Buffer, I was so encouraged by the response and the feeling of helpfulness that comes with the Buffer blog. 7. What changes have you noticed in content marketing over the past year or so? We’ve noticed a big push toward visual content. On the Buffer blog, we’ve tried to stay ahead of the curve in this regard by creating an original image for every post we publish. It’s interesting to note that as we’re seeking stories to share via Buffer’s content suggestions, the ones with image stand out well above those without. Visual content is so much easier to share. We’ve noticed a big push toward visual content. Visual content is so much easier to share.8.What changes and trends do you think will occur in content marketing in the upcoming year? I expect marketers will continue to find new avenues to deliver their content. Visuals have been a huge step forward. Maybe the next will be SlideShare or micro-videos or snippets. Or maybe it will swing the other way where the longform, in-depth posts will be the ones that get the most attention. It seems that as content permeates the web that consumers are interested in separating the signal from the noise. That’s one area where I’m particularly interested to push forward. 9. What are the most common mistakes you see people making when it comes to content marketing? It might sound cliche, but I think that one of the most important reminders for content creators is to be helpful.  And this extends to the motivation behind a piece of content: Is it designed or written to help others or is it designed and written to bring in traffic or make a sale? You can tell the type of content that is based on the latter. Interestingly enough, content that is helpful will end up meeting the other goals, too.

Places-in the Bay Area Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Places-in the Bay Area - Research Paper Example Places too can be defined by nature of their occurrence, the people residing in them or the biology of the area which is inclusive of flora and fauna. Commerce and business are too ways of defining a place, while cultural reference gives an area its originality and unique features. The candid manner in which a place is defined determines the understandability of the place by the intended audience. In defining a place, various elements are put into consideration. Therefore, this paper while seeking to define The Bay Area, will address the cultural, social, geological and biological history of the place. In essence, how the place came into existence is important in understanding the kind of flora and fauna. Moreover, its location in the map helps to define the place by the very nature of its placement. In conclusion, the essay will give the full picture and relative understanding of Bay Area of San Francisco. The Bay Area of San Francisco is located in the northern region of California . The geographically diverse region, rich in business is extensively a metropolitan place, offering home to a staggering 8 million inhabitants. In the Bay Area, cities such as San Francisco, occupying the most part of the region, Oakland and San Jose contribute to its huge population and rich commerce industry. However, what puts Bay Area on the financial map and at the same time giving increasingly winning it popularity is its lifestyle, liberal nature of its politics and the high-tech industry. Hosting the famous Silicon Valley, the Bay Area has been the center of attraction for investors and technology experts. Moreover, the area is an attraction site, owing to its rich culture. The geography of the area, defined in the simplest language as easy to understand makes it easy for new visitors to trace their location. Some geographers hold that although many people find the area to be as big and very confusing, the reality is quite opposite. The complexity of its nature makes the who le picture understandable, yet it is a small and compact place. Barringer and Ryan (Web) points out that by the fact that the life of the city resonates in various levels, the city life is morally binding to the people. In defining San Francisco Barringer and Ryan â€Å"It has spectacular landscapes, it is prone to earthquakes, it is a coastal town with a thriving gay culture†Ã‚  (Web). Surprisingly, a number of cities of the Bay Area are thronged with the gay culture, a recent development in its moral culture that has exploded among the youth. People generally listen to rock music, with night clubs and blaring music filling the nights of the cities. These are the kinds of images triggered by the mention of San Francisco to any individual who has ever set foot in the area. The bay area has a rich history, dating to thousands of years ago. Geologists trace the origin of the bay area to melting of ice bergs. Estimated to date back 12,000 years ago, the melting of the ice raised the sea level. Subsequently, this brought into existence the San Francisco bay. Without any known economic importance, the bay remained unknown, with only about 20,000 Native Americans residing in villages formed in the area in the 1700s. what was an unknown region started receiving quite some attention in the year 1776, when a Spanish expedition led by Anza established a presidio right in front of the entrance to the then San Francisco Bay. Such visits

Food Safety Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Food Safety Management - Case Study Example The first one was to focus on the causative agents and determine the preventive measures of food poisoning. Secondly, the report is supposed to contain the characteristics of food poisoning and foodborne infections. Therefore, this investigation will help determine the primary cause of the incident among the guests. The hotel provides catering services in a number of occasions that include weddings, conferences and other meetings. One of the primary concerns is to ensure that the clients are provided with quality and safe food. However, there are a number of issues in the hotel industry like food poisoning and contamination and the hotel has to ensure that it curbs them. Food contamination may occur when harmful microorganisms are introduced to the foods. It is brought about by handling of the foods poorly as Lawrence, Dobmeier, Bechtel, & Holstege (2007) points out. Most significantly, food contamination can emanate from pathogens or chemicals introduced to the foods during the preparation process or storage. Moreover, handling of food with dirty hands is the leading way globally through which microorganisms get into food. In this case, some bacteria like E. coli can be transferred to food. In addition, there is cross-contamination between food and unclean kitchen tools. Further, fresh fruits can be contaminated by washing them with dirty water containing faecal matter from animals. Food poisoning can cause illness and to some extent death when not contained in time. Mostly, growth of bacteria in food when cooked or poor handling worsens the situation. To reduce  food poisoning  occurrences, a number of conditions have to be met. It is important to understand that food contains bacteria naturally and microorganisms are likely to grow if they are within a conducive environment (Hennekinne, De Buyser, & Dragacci, 2012). Therefore, be the food handlers’ must be responsible to ensure that they do not provide a conducive environment for

Scales in Music

Scales in Music â€Å"Life is like a piano, the white keys represent happiness and the black show sadness. But as you go through lifes journey, remember that the black keys also create music† â€Å"Unknown† Music was and will always be universal, personal, and close to millions of hearts anywhere in the world. Music would not have been created if it wasnt accompanied by musical instruments and the uniqueness of all the different scales that were and are used today in music. â€Å"A musical scale is a series of notes differing in pitch to a specific scheme.† Music is a universal language that people understand and is never outdated. Scales were originally formed in the early Medieval and Renaissance periods which date back to 500 AD. Everything was created in the early western classical music periods even though only primarily one scale was typically used during that time frame up until the Modern period. Two of the most common scales are called Major and Minor. Back in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, Major and Minor scales were used and coming from one specific term called â€Å"Church modes† or Gregorian modes. There are eight different types of Church modes: â€Å"The Lydian, Hypoaeolin, Hypolydian, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, Hypodorian and Aeolian.† One example of a Church mode would be a Gregorian scale. In natural major scales, typically the first solfege note begins and ends with Do. A typical Gregorian scale starts on Mi. The Gregorian model/scale is used for the piece â€Å"Song of Prayer†. This is an example of the Gregorian scale because the key starts on something else besides Do. The Gregorian scale itself starts and ends on a half step. Typically for most scales, there is a whole step between the first and second note. Every scale has their own sequence of half steps, whole steps and even thirds as well. â€Å"The Pentatonic scale dates back to Greece, and the word Pentatonic derives from Greek and means pente, meaning five.† â€Å"The Tonic meaning tone.† When you put both names together you get pentatonic and its referred to as a five-note scale. Its also quite similar to a Pentascale which is also a five note scale. The Pentatonic scale was also believed to be used in the past in ancient times. For example, Claude Debussy, who was very well known as an influential composer in the Romantic Period, used Pentatonic Scales in his own original pieces. One of his works, â€Å"The Sonata for Cello and Piano† used a Pentatonic scale in the key of D minor which was composed in 1915. When Major scales get transposed, they change into its relative Minor scale. For Minor Scales, there are 3 different types of scales: A Natural Minor, A Harmonic scale and a Melodic scale. All three scales are very different but still are very similar to each other. A Natural minor Scale is a sequence of whole and half steps where all the keys are all pure natural keys that are not sharped or flattened. A Harmonic minor scale is written just like a Natural scale but written with one added accidental. Accidentals are symbols which are: sharps, flats and naturals that ended on the musical staff by accident. A melodic minor Scale is just like a Harmonic minor scale except it has two added accidentals on the 6th and 7th note of the scale. The Minor scales are very commonly used in music and the easiest scale to incorporate is the Natural minor. The natural minor scale is also known Aeolian scale and its the complete opposite of a natural major scale. The qualities of the chords, the sound of the keys, and the whole and half pattern of notes are completely different. The sound of the natural minor scales are less high pitched than natural major scales. The tones of a natural minor scales are more darker and have a gloomier sound when you play the scale. For example, Green Days song â€Å"Holiday† is played in F minor and if you listen to the song you would automatically hear that it has a gloomy sound to the composition. When it comes to playing different scales and switching up the keys to make songs sound more unique, thats when you have your Harmonic minor scale. â€Å"The Harmonic minor scale derives its name from the harmonic function created by its 7th degree.† The Harmonic minor scale has a really pretty and soothing sound to it. Whenever I play the E harmonic minor scale, I think the scale sounds heavenly. Also, â€Å"The raised 7th gives this distinctly minor sounding scale a sense of authority.† Another example of a Harmonic minor scale would be â€Å"Easy Please Me† by Katy B, its solely based on the harmonic key in B flat minor. It doesnt really sound heavenly but It definitely has more out-there sound and is completely unique. The last type of a minor scale is the most complicated one out of all of them. The Melodic minor scale is quoted as the most commonly used minor scale. The Melodic scale is also quoted as the most complicated minor scale in Music Theory. The Scale has a nickname called â€Å"The Jazz Scale.† The Melodic minor scale has a raised 6th and 7th note in the scale to satisfy the harmonic part of the scale. One reason why the Melodic scale is difficult is because it creates conflict with the other scales. Another reason why the scale complicates things is because its in many different keys all at one. One example of the scale would be â€Å"Chelsea Bridge† by Billy Srayhorn because of its chords that sound dark and creepy. The first and most common scale that would come to peoples minds would be the major scale. The Major scale is one of the four most commonly used scales in music today. Major is always mentioned in any type of scale;Major Pentascales, Major Natural Scales, Major Triads etc. The Major scale is referred to as the joyful and happy tune when you play any major scale. For Example, in Taylor Swifts song â€Å"Ours†, Its a crush worthy song that makes a person smile about the guy that their missing. The song is played in C major. Another Example of a Major key is Taylor Swifts Song â€Å"Safe and Sound† featuring the Civil Wars. Despite its sound, its still written in major key even though its actually more on the gloomier and deeper side rather than the piece sounding cheerful. The song was written in G major. Imagine writing a song for key thats easy to read and then writing a song for a key thats so uncommon you have never heard of it. â€Å"The Octatonic Scale is a eight note scale that consists of starting off a scale with half steps rather than whole steps.† The Octatonic Scale is the one scale that has a fully Diminished sound to it and thats why its also called â€Å"The Diminished Scale†. One of the three modes of a Octatonic scale is a OCT (0,1) which starts off a half step to first and second note of the scale. The Second mode of the scale is an OCT (1,2) which is similar to the first mode because it starts off with a half to the first and second note as well. The last mode is called (Oct 0,2) which its pattern starts off with a whole step rather than half. In conclusion, Music has always been there for me and anyone else who loves creating and listening to music. Imagine if the world had no music, all of us would have a heart attack. Its really fascinating and wild how the generations have passed down music. Its interesting how much there is to learn in music despite how challenging it is. In the end, Its worth the stress to learn but to remember to never forget what you love the most: Music.   Works Cited Musicopoulos. Melodic Minor Scale. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . The Freakiness of Melodic Minor. The Ethan Hein Blog. 31 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . OctaveBox. OctaveBox. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . Feist, Jonathan. Music Education Information and Articles. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.  . The Eight Gregorian Modes. Modes. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.  . Teorà ­a. Music Theory Web. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . Music Discipline Modes of the Major Scale. Modes of the Major Scale. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.  . The Community of Jesus | Christian Community | Benedictine Monastery. The Community of Jesus. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. .

Observations in All Our Kin Essay -- Carol Stack

Carol Stack finds herself in a curious place as a young white woman venturing into a black neighborhood in hopes of alleviating negative stereotypes and bringing illumination into a semiosphere that is altogether ignored or even despised. While she defined her purpose as the attempt to â€Å"illustrate the collective adaptations to poverty of men, women, and children within the social-cultural network of the black urban family† (28), her methods are not merely those of an outside observer spouting back information, but truly that of an actively engaged participant. Staying true to the guidelines of participant observation studies, Stack did not attempt to isolate or manipulate the culture she saw, and instead of donning the lab coat, as it were, and playing the role of the experimenting scientist, or simply sneaking in, Stack was very human in her interactions and dealings, participating as actively as possible in peoples’ real lives in The Flats. (Hedrick). Twenty years ago, Stack sought to explain why the impoverished area was not subject to conventional judgment and evaluation by describing the primary differences between that society, and the more affluent culture that defines the standards. To say, for example, that the average black household is unstructured would be a misstatement. On the contrary, these households are elaborately structured, but in a more fluid manner than the conventional home. Typically, these subcultures are negatively defined – or judged by what they are not. Through this lens, The Flats appears to be a disheveled mess of rats scurrying for the next scrap of food. Walking into this situation, Stack had to prove the notion that â€Å"distinctively negative features attributed to poor families, that they are fat... ...their lifestyles or values, but merely funnel greater sums of money into bottomless, self-destructing pits† (23). If this is true, then certainly the American Dream wins out for virtue. Indeed, throwing money at a problem absolutely does not make it go away – but when families are legitimately struggling to make ends meet and goods are scarce, when they’ve established these complex chains of organized networks and trades, and when they can empathize with others in their situation and see the big picture beyond their own, one is left to wonder why Stack’s voice hasn’t been heard more widely, and why the residents of The Flats are still left to fight against the current in their own comparatively competent culture of exchange, and networks of all their kin. Stack, Carol B. All Our Kin : Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York: Basic Books, 1983.

Relationship Between Management and Leadership

Strategic management refers to the coordination of material, human, financial and technological resources of an organisation to enable it and all its stakeholders to achieve their stipulated goals in an effectively and efficiently. Leadership is the process of organising, supporting and directing the individuals in an organisation with the aim of influencing them to work in pursuit of the goals and missions of an organisation. The two terms are inseparable and are therefore used interchangeably in strategic management. Strategic management and leadership are closely linked hence making it difficult to differentiate between the two. Strategic management involves proper planning, organisation of activities, controlling of the organisations activities so that the missions and goals can be met effectively and motivation of the employees and other stakeholders for the success of the organisation (Adeniyi 36). All these activities are impossible without a proper leadership in the organisation. The leaders are delegated with the duty of setting the goals of an organisation and making decisions on the best way of achieving them. They also organise the resources and staff group activities in the best way possible for proper performance. The leaders correct and monitor the activities going on in the organisation to ease the process of goal attainment. It is the duty of leaders to motivate the employees so that they can perform their duties with the interest of the organisation at heart. They make decision on the best leadership style to be implemented in the performance of the various activities so as to meet the expected results. Under strategic management the employees work just to comply with the goals directed by those in the authority. Although the employees achieve their expected goals, it is evidenced that majority of them comply externally and fail to internalise the goals into their own value system (Adeniyi 20). Leadership comes in at this point to ensure that the employees internalise the goals through enhancement of private acceptance which is achieved by increasing the willingness of the followers. The management can enhance this by electing leaders who are in close contact with the employees thus can easily influence them as they work. It is also possible to increase willingness by electing employee’s representatives who will attend the meetings on behalf of the other staff thus involving every individual in the process of decision making. Management and leadership have a variety of impacts on the strategic decisions made by the organisation. Proper management enables an organisation to become more efficient since it enhances the adoption of various forms of management skills that facilitate coordination, communication and participation of all the members at all levels of performance (Adeniyi 32). In majority of organisations the CEOs have adopted the management styles that magnanimously equip the employees with a wide range of information thus ensuring that all the stakeholders contribute effectively in the growth of the organisation. The leadership style plays a major role in the organisational behaviour and activities. Authoritarian leadership style is only effective when applied on a new employee since they are learning and have to follow certain directives. It is also beneficial when the managers have to make an emergency decision and has no time for consultations. Managers utilising participative leadership style are good strategic decision makers since it involves all the stakeholders in the process of decision making though the final decision is maintained by the authority. This leadership style helps in improving the performance since every individual makes the efforts to be informed, knowledgeable and skilful to compete effectively with the others as well as give viable suggestions which are of benefit to the entire organisation. Laissez faire leadership style has a positive impact in those organisations that emphasise on creativity, invention and innovation. This is because the leader gives directives of what ought to be done and the employees take the initiative of analysing the situation and make a decision on what ought to be done and the way to do it. This type of leadership is important in identification of potential future leaders since some tasks require the workers to work together to achieve the set targets. A leader among the workers can be identified by fellow workmates to ensure that the entire task is completed effectively. According to Lussier& Achua (79) proper management and utilisation of the right leadership styles have a great contribution in self motivation and embracing change. Self motivation is essential in the growth of an organisation since it enables the workers with dependency personality to be inspired so that they can effectively work with the independent minded workers for the benefit of the organisation. Self motivated workers embrace creativity, invention and innovation since they focus on meeting their goals other than putting emphasis on reward and recognition. The level of technology is changing drastically and all the organisations have to respond positively to these changes for good performance. This is achieved through proper management and leadership strategies which offer training to employees thus equipping them with the necessary information required in achievement of their goals. Although autocratic leadership is not the best in management, there are certain situations in which it can be utilised effectively. It can be used when training new employees so that they can know the procedures to follow, when the organisation is under pressure to produce large volumes, when the time for decision making is limited, when an employee attempts to challenge the authority unnecessarily and also in poorly managed departments (Lussier& Achua 111). The managers have to utilise their power without consulting and even use punishments in these situations for effective running of the business. Bureaucratic leadership style can also be used when everything in the organisation must be carried out in accordance with a certain policy or procedure such as in the police force. It is effective if the organisation performs tasks by following a certain routine over and over again, if they have to meet certain standards, if the employees are using delicate and dangerous equipments which have a strict procedure of operation and also in tasks that involve handling cash. Banks, police force, security firms and micro finance institutions are a good example of those firms that have to employ bureaucratic style for proper performance Democratic leadership is essential if the employees have to be at par with the issues affecting their work and if they are delegated with the responsibilities of problem solving and decision making. It should be applied if it is essential for the employees to be informed on the matters affecting the business, if the leader wants to share the problem solving duty with employees, if the problem at hand requires lots of input for a solution to be obtained, when one wants to encourage team building and when the managers intend to change their ways of operation. This style can be applied in a manufacturing firm that intends to improve on quality of the product. Another common style is the laissez faire leadership. It is adopted in those companies that have creative, inventive and innovative individuals who enjoy working with full freedom and are delegated with the duty of making decisions, determine goals and solve the problems by themselves. It is effective in organisations with highly educated, experienced and skilled employees, if the employees are committed to their work and have self motivation which enables them to successively run their errands. It can be employed by managers with trustworthy employees or when working with experts and specialists hired from outside to (Lussier& Achua 78). Proper strategic management goes hand in hand with the leadership style applied by an individual. For an organisation to successfully meet its goals, the managers have to employ the right leadership styles so as to enhance the employee’s self motivation. The various leadership styles should be applied in the right situations to avoid conflicts, immature resignations, absenteeism and other irresponsible behaviours by the employees.

Unrequited Love A Tale of Two Cities, and Cyrano de Bergerac

The phrase â€Å"you win some, you lose some† can pertain true to many different situations including love. In the novels, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, the respective characters Sydney Carton and Cyrano de Bergerac experience a loss. This loss comes in a form of unrequited love, where they are both unable to be loved by the one they recognize as their true loves. Due to their experiences with unrequited love, both Sydney Carton and Cyrano are led to the discovery of their own inner strengths as well as self-sacrifice. Both Sydney and Cyrano are very smart and talented characters. Despite being smart and talented, they are still able to learn additional things about themselves through their†¦show more content†¦Here, he himself proclaims how he wants to make sure everybody knows of his presence. The confidence is seen; when Sydney is in England, he slogs a grey cloud overhead and most people would never notice if he is there or not, but as he comes to France, that changes and he wants to make sure everyone knows that he is there, just in case they have to prepare themselves. Contrastingly, Cyrano is a confident gentleman from the beginning. He is a character that is given respect by everyone – including his enemies and he is sure that everyone knows not to insult, in particular, his nose. In this excerpt, the warning is being passed along about Cyrano’s nose: â€Å"[First Cadet]: Hark ye, Monsieur de Neuvillette: You are to know [t]here is a certain subject – I would say, [a] certain object – never to be named [a]mong us: utterly unmentionable! [Christian]: And that is? [Third Cadet]: (In an awful voice) Look at me!... (He strikes his nose three times with his finger, mysteriously.) You understand? (Rostand 91) The Cadets are passing along the warning to the newcomer – for they fear his safety because they have experienced his wrath. This expresses the respect for Cyrano and, in addition, the confidence of Cyrano can be seen because he is so confident that he can take on whomever insults him, without even knowing who. But, Cyrano learns that his lover, Roxane, is in love with another man, Christian. As seen in the previous passage, the warning is