Daniel Kehrer – Director of Content, Dex One; CEO & Editor in Chief, BizBest Media Corporation
11/17/2011
By Amanda Belo
Daniel Kehrer has built and managed four small businesses, and proved successful with a vast writing career. In his current role as director of content at Dex One, Kehrer is eager to spread the word about the marketing services company’s newest business resource, Marketing Matters.
Marketing Matters is the sister publication of ShopTalk: Social Media, also part of Dex One. The blog is a niche publication for those in local business and covers a wide range of marketing topics designed to help readers succeed.
“Marketing Matters publishes original, action-oriented advice and information on marketing,” said Kehrer. “Our focus is always on providing profit-boosting, time-saving articles that will help a business grow.”
The blog discusses a range of topics, Kehrer said, such as traditional marketing, mobile marketing, branding, customer relations and competitive intelligence. In comparison, ShopTalk is focused solely on social media marketing and is aimed at “connect[ing] with customers by using today’s most effective marketing tools and tactics.”
Kehrer is also the founder, chief executive office and editor in chief at BizBest Media Corporation, a publishing company he founded in 2001. This business venture is what ultimately led him to Dex One.
“In 2006, BizBest sold a block of content to Business.com, and I took a position there as head of content development and strategy. …I came to Dex One when it acquired Business.com.”
Kehrer is a strong believer in the importance of content in digital media and feels that he and his team have succeeded in connecting to their audience.
“For someone who is passionate about the crucial role content plays in today’s digital world, I see my position at Dex One as an ideal challenge. …My content team within Dex One has learned how to leverage flexible, low-cost technologies and publishing platforms to engage our audience of local businesses.”
Going more in-depth with audience engagement, Kehrer said to sustain interaction there must be a variety of ways to communicate.
“My approach to keeping audiences engaged – in both the consumer and B2B realms – is to think in terms of content ecosystems rather than single publications or platforms.” An example he used was blogging, which he said is the most powerful and important social media platform.
“A blog is the foundation of your content. It is the publishing system and base camp from which you re-publish, repurpose and feed your content into all those [other platforms],” he said. “It is the center of your content ecosystem universe.”
Kehrer does find a challenge in what he referred to as “the digital revolution on covering effective marketing strategies for businesses.” He said because digital media is changing everything so fast, businesses want to know how they can get the most out of digital marketing tools.
“Since we focus exclusively on marketing for local business, we can offer in-depth advice and practical solutions from the real world.”
Kehrer noted that even with the negative aspects of online journalism, there has still been a splurge of good content.
“Some people seem to fear the dumbing down of journalism because of the Internet, but what is overlooked is that high-quality content is in greater demand than ever before.” He added that technology has provided the opportunity for quality journalism to be more powerful, flexible, accessible and economical.
Kehrer also feels a responsibility to the media business and its evolution and is doing his part by going back to school for his master of business administration, where he is studying ways to create new media industry models for the future.”
“Media business models are changing, and everyone involved, including journalists, must find a way to contribute value in these new models.”
Pitching Tips
Kehrer is interested in all topics related to small and local business operation.
“I’m interested in all topics related to operating a successful small or local business, with special emphasis on products, services, trends and ideas in marketing for local businesses, including social media marketing.”
Avoid long-winded pitches and be sure to provide a way to find out more information.
“Two pet peeves that I’ve been encountering for years – and still amaze me – are rambling pitches that don’t get to a specific point,” said Kehrer. “And I can’t understand emails or calls that do not provide a Web address or some kind of link for me to find out more information.”
Kehrer said he gets many pitches that he would like to follow up on.
“I’m forced to write an email query or make a phone call I might not have time to make.”
Send all pitches via email. Kehrer can be found on Twitter at @bizbest.