New content platforms — think Quora blogs and Medium — mean new branding opportunities. Which seem most promising to you and why?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
1. Medium
“I’m seeing interesting results from experimenting with Medium because the site has high-quality visitors. I’m wary about all of these branding opportunities though; not all make it easy to send traffic back to your own website, which can make converting your interactions into sales very difficult. Make sure your branding efforts lead prospects to the right places.”
Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting
2. LinkedIn
“LinkedIn is beginning to drive meaningful traffic to publishers through its new emphasis on content, and I think it’s only the beginning. It’s already a much bigger network than Quora and Medium, so it’s not a bad place to start.”
Derek Flanzraich, Greatist
3. Quora
“Quora can be great for brands to meet potential customers who are actively looking for a solution to a problem. Quora is about asking questions. Finding potential customers at the time they are looking for your solution makes it much more likely they will use and enjoy your product.”
Adam Lieb, Duxter
4. Vine
“Vine, as well as Instagram’s new short video feature, empowers users to create moving content that often drives brand opportunities. Videos made by consumers are like a new form of advertising. Those videos also reach many consumers all at once in an organic way. These platforms are tremendously exciting for me to track as they scale, and it’s neat to see how users put them to use in new ways.”
Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.
5. Branch
“With Branch, you create new content from conversations among people in your community. Use it to host a digital panel discussion of experts or engage customers in a conversation about their needs. Best of all, Branch conversations can be embedded on your own site so you can retain your own branding and calls to action while drawing from the Branch community.”
Michael Mayernick, Spinnakr
6. Video Content
“I’m most bullish on video platforms for the next wave of content innovation. I believe YouTube, Instagram, Vine and others still offer huge opportunities to deploy video content to the masses. And as more people are using smartphones and tablets, they are looking for content that is simpler, richer and easier to consume. That’s why I believe video is the next content frontier.”
Eric Koester, DCI
7. Contently
“Contently is a platform that connects brand publishers with freelance journalists to produce original, high-quality content. Brands sometimes can get stuck creating robotic content, and this platform eliminates that mishap. By focusing on storytelling, Contently helps brands hone in on the opportunities to fully engage their community in an innovative way.”
Lauren Perkins, Perks Consulting
8. Moz Community
“In the SEO industry, being active on the Moz Community is valuable. Not only can you gain new insights and advice, but you can also reach out for feedback from industry peers. You could even potentially pick up some social followers from staying active in the Moz Community.”
Phil Laboon, Eyeflow Internet Marketing
9. Stack Exchange
“Stack Exchange is a great resource for questions on topics ranging from Web development to cooking! The best answers for different topics rise to the top through public voting. If you are consistent in posting quality content, the platform highlights the fact that you’re an expert in a topic.”
Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches
