Native advertising and content marketing have become so widespread that governing bodies like the IAB are starting to contemplate issuing standards and best practices for the industry. In a recent IAB town hall meeting, attendees reached a collective agreement that core values like preserving reader trust are paramount to the continued success and scalability of this movement. I’ve outlined this and nine other themes to consider when shaping a content or native ad strategy. Whether you are a marketer, publisher or agency, considering these themes will increase your chances of executing a content-driven strategy with success.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PostRelease, a leading innovator in native advertising technology, has announced it is changing its name to Nativo to reflect the growth, evolution and expanded capabilities of the advertising platform. The original concept behind PostRelease, a play on the phrase "press release," was to automate the insertion of sponsored posts in communities and blogs. The technology now enables the automated placement of a wide variety of sponsored or promoted content into any type of site across desktops, tablets and mobile devices. The new name reinforces the platform's focus on enabling native advertising.

The rise of the term Native Advertising seems to be causing quite a stir. This may very well be in creating a label that’s inherently in conflict with itself. The main problem is with the word “Advertising.” However, the concept of “Native” is headed in the right direction in regards to addressing context for audiences, rather than the unwanted interruption of ads. Before anyone gets cranked up, let me explain a few things. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. There are all kinds of reactions to the term Native Advertising, but I find most of them to be surface. We need to look deeper to how the model could work – without deception or trickery. Or any illusory benefits will fade fast. And marketers who don’t consider this will find themselves on the short end of the stick.

I’ve been a publisher for 13 years now. Today, I spend my time teaching brands how to become publishers. I love publishing and have a number of close friends who now run mini-publishing empires in industries that range from mechanical systems to design engineering to convenience stores. In this post, I’m going to share with you secrets that my publishing friends just don’t want you, the non-media company, to hear. Don’t get me wrong… you’d learn about these publishing tips at some point… but even using a few of the points below may send a shudder down the spine of the leading trade media company in your industry. I believe each one of these tips are game changers for your content marketing program.

According to Toprank CEO Lee Odden’s recent SES London session, content marketing at its very minimum needs to include: brand leadership, customer empathy, storytelling and creativity. Here are three reasons why some of that creativity should be visual, regardless of your brand or industry.

So your business plan is ready and working and you're rearing to start your dream venture. Or maybe you've just started one and you're desperate to crank your marketing efforts up a few notches. Meet Content Marketing, the current "It" girl in marketing circles, and the new best friend of successful entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Businesses have been using content writing as a way to attract visitors to their Websites and promote sales for a while now. Though the methods of content creation and posting have changed and adapted with the evolving nature of the Internet over the last few years, content still plays a valuable role in an overall marketing strategy.

For those working in marketing, I’d like to think that most are implementing a content marketing strategy. If not, I hope you have one planned for this year. Those already executing a successful content marketing strategy know there’s a pretty good chance that your competitors are as well. However, if you’re not, there’s big chance you will be left behind in the marketing race.