Many brands are left scratching their heads after releasing a flood of content. Could the videos, articles and social engagement have been delayed and parsed out as a campaign gradually? Should the content just be dispersed with the belief that the digital world is so vast that someone will engage with the content and the marketer's brand? The content would have a better chance of sticking, they predict, if only there were a way to extend its shelf life.

I joined Twitter in 2007 and spent the next two years explaining to friends and colleagues why they HAD to be on it, as well as discussing why it was going to be a critical content platform for marketers. Not only would it be the top way to engage with customers and influencers online, but it would also be key to finding them in the first place. That was then. Now, there's speculation on the death of Twitter, which usually centers on Wall Street sentiment like earnings (Twitter's stock has been downgraded) and standard platform health metrics like new user …

If you're a content marketer and you haven't conducted a survey with your prospects or customers yet, you're missing out. Here are three reasons why content marketers should incorporate surveys into their overall strategy.

Every day, at least 1.5 million blog posts are published. So what makes you think anyone is going to read yours? The consumers of content have plenty of options to choose from when they go searching for their information. While that reality is enough to discourage some brands from getting into the content game, I'd argue that now is precisely the time to dive in with both feet. But you'll need to be bold.

The media mix has never been noisier. The growing number of brands pouring content into paid, owned and earned channels (and everything in between) has left consumers inundated with messages everywhere they turn. With more competition than ever before, the only content that rises above the noise is the highest quality content: content that your audience connects with in the same way that they would connect with a great song, film, or television series. But producing this type of content is a significant undertaking, and commands an equally strategic investment in how it's delivered. As a result, brand marketers are …