Content marketing may seem like a challenge to get started and maintain, but it helps create a connection with your customers that benefits both of you in the short and long term. Image via Getty Images

For startups and established companies alike, content marketing is king. It is one of the most well-respected methods for growing brand recognition, establishing a reputation for expertise in a field and engaging your target market.

In fact, according to Mailchimp, businesses with blogs obtain 67 percent more leads than other companies and 88 percent of consumers credit branded videos for convincing them to purchase a product or service. Even better, one of the biggest benefits of content marketing is that it allows you to capture the attention of your audience without a hard sell.

So, what is content marketing? Coursera provides a simple definition: content marketing is the marketing strategy of creating articles, podcasts, videos, infographics, and other types of media to engage and retain potential customers. But let’s dig a bit deeper. In order for this content to be effective, it needs to be relevant and valuable. The content should help establish your organization’s reputation as an expert in the field, but it should be primarily focused on addressing the needs of your audience in one way or another.

What are some things to focus on when developing a content marketing strategy? Begin with the end in mind. What are you trying to gain from this strategy? Are you looking to increase brand awareness and build your list? Working to generate immediate sales? Build partnerships? Establishing your goals will guide the rest of your planning and implementation going forward.

Know your audience

It is also critical that you have a thorough understanding of your audience. For starters, this involves understanding your market’s demographics, needs, common communication vehicles, and preferred content formats. In regard to your strategy, you also need to understand what stage of the customer sales journey you are trying to appeal to. Are they ready to buy, or just at the ‘getting information’ stage? Or perhaps you want to connect with existing customers to retain their business and generate referrals.

Keep concise and organized

To make the most out of your strategy, make sure the content is engaging. You may have the answer to your customers’ challenges, but if it is presented in a way they cannot connect with, you will lose their attention. Work to create content that is relatable and easily digestible. As you continue to develop your content, find a way to serve it up in an organized manner and deliver it on a consistent basis.

Track analytics

Also, you want to make sure you are tracking the performance of your content. Analytics will help you understand if and how your content is being engaged with, providing guidance on what to adjust, what to scrap and what to do more of. There are several tools available that will provide these metrics, but before you look to spend on something new, it is helpful to understand the resources you already have through your site metrics, email platforms, etc.

Finally, make sure your content isn’t outdated, and check for broken links or statements that contradict your other content.

Content marketing may seem like a challenge to get started and maintain, but it helps create a connection with your customers that benefits both of you in the short and long term. At the end of the day, many businesses find content marketing is a strategy they cannot live without in today’s fast-paced environment.

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Katherine Rupp is marketing director of LevelField Financial, a Houston-based financial services company.

LevelField Financial is planning a nationwide expansion following a recent acquisition. Photo via Getty Images

Houston financial services firm announces acquisition, plans to grow

M&A radar

A Houston-based financial services company has made a recent strategic acquisition that gives it a new banking status.

LevelField Financial, which is creating a platform that combines traditional banking and digital asset products and services, announced this week that it is acquiring Burling Bank, an FDIC-insured, Illinois state-chartered bank. According to the company, once it receives regulatory approval, "LevelField will be the first full-service bank to offer fully compliant traditional banking and digital asset services."

The financial terms of the deal's transaction, which is expected to close later this year, were not disclosed.

The combined company will be able to provide traditional banking services, as well as LevelField's digital asset management. Burling Bank's senior management team will join LevelField's leadership, per a press release. They will focus on serving the bank's existing clients and growing the banking business nationwide.

"We conducted a broad review of banks in the U.S. to find the ideal institution with both an existing business and a management team who are aligned with our vision; we exceeded our expectations with Burling Bank. With this acquisition, LevelField will become a traditional bank, albeit one serving customers interested in the digital asset class," says Gene A. Grant II, CEO of LevelField Financial, in the release.

"We are thrilled to have the Burling executives join our leadership team, and together we intend to deliver fantastic customer service and well-designed products to customers who have an interest in accessing the digital asset class through a traditional bank," he continues.

Founded in 2018 by former banking executives, LevelField's leadership believes "the future of money is digital and that banks will continue to be a trusted provider of financial services," according to the website. This acquisition comes ahead of the company's plans to expand nationally.

"LevelField's strategic approach presented a tremendous opportunity for the bank to expand beyond our local footprint and serve customers with shared interests across the nation," says Michael J. Busch, Burling Bank president and CEO. "Together, we will continue to provide superior service and demonstrate that we truly understand the expanding and unique needs of our customers. Additionally, through the carefully developed suite of products we can address our customers' interests in digital assets and introduce them to LevelField's safe, simple, and secure platform."

Want to work for one of the top startups in Houston? These ones are hiring. Photo via Getty Images

Here's which of the 2022 Houston Innovation Awards finalists are hiring

Growing biz

After scouring Houston for the best of the Houston innovation ecosystem and evaluating dozens of companies, InnovationMap and Houston Exponential have announced the finalists that will be honored at the 2022 Houston Innovation Awards. But which of these companies are growing their teams?

Turns out, almost all of them have open positions — some planning to double their teams over the next year. In fact, the 30 companies that make up the cohort of finalists are looking for over 150 new employees — some have these positions open now and others are seeking these new team members over the next 12 months.

Click here to get your tickets to the 2022 Houston Innovation Awards Gala.
Let's look at how many new hires these top startups are looking for.

Double-digit growth

When it comes to the awards finalists looking to scale their team by 10 or more new employees, five companies are looking to enter this type of hiring spree. Blue People, a finalist in the BIPOC-Founded Category, is hiring 25 new employees. The company was founded in 2015 in Mexico and relocated its primary operations to Houston in 2020. Blue People, which develops software innovation for tis clients, has over 150 employees — seven of whom, including C-level executives, are based in Houston. Some of the company's new hires will be based in town.

Another company that's also relocated its operations to Houston recently and is growing its team significantly is Venus Aerospace, creator of a hypersonic spaceplane capable of one-hour global travel. Venus, a finalist in the New to Hou category, currently has a team of 60 people and is based out of the Houston Spaceport. The company is hiring an additional 20 people.

Fast-growing B2B Software finalist Solidatus — a data management software solution — has 16 open positions, including five in the US. According to the company, they hope to have reached a headcount of about 140 within the next 12 months — up from their current 110 employees.

NanoTech, a Green Impact finalist and materials science company, is looking to nearly double its team of 20 to add an additional 15 new employees.

Competing in the People's Choice category, LevelField Financial — a financial service platform that serves customers interested in the digital asset class — is looking to hire 10 people to join its team of 19 employees.

Steady as she grows

Six Houston Innovation Awards finalists are in the process of adding more than a few new team members. Rivalry Technologies, a finalist in the B2B Software and People's Choice categories, is hiring seven people to join its team of 13. The company created a mobile ordering solution — called sEATz — for arenas and recently rebranded and expanded to provide the technology to other industries.

Founded in New Orleans and relocated to the Houston area last year, Fluence Analytics has a total of 30 employees and is looking to hire an additional six new team members. The company, which created a real-time analytics solution for the chemicals industry, is also a finalist in two categories: Hardtech and New to Hou.

Biotech company Cemvita Factory — both a Green Impact and People's choice finalist — has already scaled to employ 75 team members. Now, the company is hiring an additional five more.

Encina Development Group — circular chemicals company for the consumer products and packaging, pharmaceuticals, construction, and other industries — is also looking to add five more team members to its 30 employees. The company is a finalist in the Green Impact category.

Another Green Impact finalist is IncentiFind, a database for green building incentives that's transforming real estate, is hiring five new employees to almost double their team of eight.

INGU, a New to Hou finalist, is a pipeline inspection solution to achieve Net Zero and ESG compliance for the water and oil and gas pipeline infrastructure. The company is seeking five new team members to join its 19 employees based in Houston and Canada.

Seeking selectively

The following awards finalists are looking to grow their teams by just a handful or so — between one and four — of new hires:

Find out which of these employers take home the win at the November 9 gala at the Ion. Click here to RSVP.

Here are two of the latest updates on new appointments from two Houston organizations. Photos courtesy

2 Houston organizations announce strategic appointments across finance and research

short stories

Two Houston innovators have new roles they're excited about this summer. From new academia to bitcoin, here's who's moving and shaking in Houston innovation.

Rice University names vice president for research

Ramamoorthy Ramesh joins Rice to lead research. Photo via Rice.edu

Rice University named Ramamoorthy Ramesh, a condensed matter physicist and materials scientist with more than 25 years of experience, as vice president for research. He most recently chaired energy technology and taught physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is expected to start his new position on August 15. He follows Yousif Shamoo, who served as in the position for eight years, and Doug Natelson, has acted as interim since June.

“Ramesh comes to Rice with a distinguished research career and a wealth of experience and knowledge in various types of research enterprises,” says newly inducted Rice President Reginald DesRoches. “I am confident he will be a transformational leader who can strengthen Rice’s reputation as a center of increasingly impactful and broad-based interdisciplinary research that retains a deep commitment to pedagogy and the student experience.”

In addition to his extensive leadership at Berkeley, Ramesh was the founding director of the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, deputy director of science and technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and associate laboratory director at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, per a news Rice release.

“Building upon its rapidly rising research portfolio, Rice has the potential to further strengthen and expand its engagement with public and private funding agencies and be the science and technology beacon for the world,” he says in the release. “I look forward to helping make that happen and to engaging on behalf of the university at various state, national and international fora of relevance to the Rice research enterprise.”

Bitcoin expert joins Houston financial firm

Lisa Hough has a new title. Image courtesy of LevelField

Houston-based LevelField Financial has named Lisa Hough as the company’s head of business development. The financial services firm focuses on uniting digital assets and traditional banking services onto one platform. Hough, with her background in bitcoin and energy trading, will focus on expanding LevelField's market presence and report to Gene A. Grant, II, founder and CEO of the company.

“Lisa is the perfect addition to LevelField's veteran banking and financial service executive team. Her experience will meet our clients’ wants and needs, which are well-managed and regulated investment products that blend established and emerging digital assets,” says Grant in a news release. "Lisa's ability to connect with clients will enable them to rapidly build a well-informed perspective on digital assets.”

Hough has a decade of experience in natural gas trading and risk management at energy trading organizations, including Vastar Resources, Enron, and PG&E National Energy Group, and is a frequent speaker at global finance and energy conferences.

“My passion is to educate and connect all people to bitcoin because it is the only form of property that can be held by every human on earth, regardless of property rights,” she says in the release.

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Houston femtech co. debuts first holistic wellness suite following rebrand

work perks

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously Work&Mother, debuted new lactation suites and its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas this month.

The 1,457-square-foot Work& space features three lactation rooms and five wellness suites, the latter of which are intended to offer employees a private space and time for telehealth appointments, meditation, prayer, and other needs. The hybrid space, designed by Houston-based Inventure, represents Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions to landlords for tenants.

Work& rebranded from Work&Mother earlier this year. The company was previously focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents, equipped with a hospital-grade pump, milk storage bags, sanitizing wipes, and other supplies. While Work& will still offer these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allows the company to also "address the broader wellness needs of all employees," according to an announcement made on LinkedIn.

"We are thrilled to bring Work&Mother and Work&Wellbeing to The Plazas," Jules Lairson, co-founder and COO of Work&, said in a news release. “This partnership brings every stakeholder together – employees, employers and landlords all benefit from this kind of forward-thinking tenant experience. We are excited to launch our Work&Wellbeing concept with MetroNational to ensure that all employees have their wellness needs met with private, clean, quiet spaces for use during the workday.”

The new space is available to all tenants across Memorial City Plazas, comprised of three office towers totaling 1 million square feet of Class A office space. In addition to the lactation and wellness suites, the space also features custom banquettes, private lounge seating and phone booths.

“As a family-owned and operated company, MetroNational is deeply committed to fostering a workplace that supports both productivity and the well-being of all our tenants,” Anne Marie Ratliff, vice president of asset management for MetroNational, added in the release. “Partnering with Work& reinforces this commitment, enhancing our workplace experience and setting a new standard for tenant amenities.”

Work& has five Houston locations and several others in major metros, including New York, Austin, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami. According to its website, the company will also introduce a Work&Wellbeing suite in New York.

Abbey Donnell spoke with InnovationMap on the Houston Innovators Podcast about why she founded the company and its plans for growth in 2021. Click here to learn more.

9 Houston universities make U.S. News' list of best grad schools 2025

Top of the class

Nine Houston universities have climbed through the ranks in U.S. News & World Report’s recently released report of the best graduate schools nationwide for 2025. Several graduate programs also appeared among the top 10 in a Texas-wide comparison.

U.S. News published its annual national "Best Graduate Schools" rankings on April 8. They look at several programs including business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, and many others.

For the 2025 report, the publication added new Ph.D. social sciences and humanities program rankings in English, history, political science and sociology for the first time since 2021. U.S. News also ranked graduate economics and psychology programs in the social sciences and the humanities for the first time since 2022.

Among the newcomers are Houston Christian University and Texas Southern University.

Here's how the nine local schools ranked, statewide and nationally, and how they compared with last year's national ranking:

University of Houston

  • No. 4 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 72 nationally
  • No. 5 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 81 nationally (down from No. 63 last year)
  • No. 5 best law school in Texas; No. 63 nationally (up from No. 68)

The University of Houston Law Center has the No. 9 best health law program in the nation, and ranked No. 15 for its legal writing program. The university's part-time MBA program ranked No. 38 nationally

University of Houston, Clear Lake

  • No. 12 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 166 nationally

The Clear Lake branch of the University of Houston tied for No. 166 for its part-time MBA program.

Houston Christian University

  • No. 21 best graduate education school in Texas; tied for No. 234-258 nationally

University of Texas Health Science Center

  • No. 1 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; No. 33 nationally (up from No. 45)
  • No. 2 best graduate nursing program in Texas; No. 41 nationally (down from No. 31)

Prairie View A&M University, Northwest Houston Center

  • No. 5 best graduate nursing program in Texas; No. 104 nationally (up from No. 117)
  • No. 7 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; tied for No. 143-158 nationally

Rice University

  • No. 2 best graduate business school in Texas; No. 29 nationally (unchanged)
  • No. 3 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 26 nationally

Rice's entrepreneurship program is the 9th best in the country, and its part-time MBA program ranked 13th nationally. The George R. Brown School of Engineering earned nods for its No. 10-ranking biomedical engineering and environmental engineering programs.

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

  • No. 5 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; No. 76 nationally

South Texas College of Law Houston

  • No. 7 best law school in Texas; No. 138 nationally

Out of the 11 law programs ranked by U.S. News, the South Texas College of Law performed the best for its trial advocacy (No. 12), dispute resolution law (No. 23), and legal writing (No. 51) programs.

Texas Southern University

  • No. 10 best law school in Texas; tied for No. 178-195 nationally

More specifically, TSU has the 64th best trial advocacy law program in the nation, U.S. News said.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

VC firm partners with Rice Nexus to open first global office

strategic partnership

Luxembourg-based venture capital and advisory firm MoreThan Capital (MTC) has established its first global office at the new Rice Nexus in Houston’s Ion District as part of a strategic partnership aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and growing Houston as an innovation hub.

MTC has committed to offering its “time, mentorship, industry expertise and global connections” to Rice Nexus. The state-of-the-art Rice Nexus, which opened earlier this year, aims to support and provide resources for ventures that are looking to scale and have "artificial intelligence (AI) as a central pillar of its innovation strategy," according to a statement from Rice.

“The Rice Nexus is a launchpad for world-changing ideas, and this partnership with MoreThan Capital is a key step in realizing that vision,” Sanjoy Paul, executive director of the Rice Nexus, said in a news release. “By combining Rice’s research and entrepreneurial talent with MTC’s global network and mentorship, we are creating an unparalleled engine for innovation that starts in Houston and reaches the world.”

MoreThan Capital has over 100 limited partners, including senior executives and professional investors, based in more than 35 countries.

“Establishing our first global office at the Rice Nexus within the Ion District is a significant milestone for MoreThan Capital,” Guillermo Ruiz, general partner of MoreThan Capital, said in a news release. “We are dedicated to partnering with top-tier academic institutions like Rice University and aligning with organizations that share our core values of trust, engagement and impact.”

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Rice Nexus announced its partnership with Google Public Sector to launch the new Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.