Blogging for business
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Blogging For Business
John [email protected]@textbroker
Blog LandscapeBlogs have come a long way from personal pages and basic formats.
Blogs have grown 14% per year.
Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr have a combined unique visitor count of approx. 80 million.
Leverage Your Content!
Phase 1, Start A Blog. Phase 2...
Phase 1 Using the right blog tool for
your business
Phase 2 Topic management and
appropriate post intervals How to create compelling
and engaging content Tracking your blog posts and
ensuring success Leveraging your staff for
content contribution Retaining your blog readers
for future visits
The Right Tool For the Job
Hosted or On-Site?– Blogger,WordPress.com,
Tumblr, etc.
Subdomain vs Directory– blog.domain.com vs
domain.com/blog
CMS already in place?– Drupal– Joomla– Custom CMS– Custom blog software
Custom Blog Software
WordPress Installation
CMS Integration
Choosing a Platform
Self-hosted blogging platforms:– WordPress
• Most common platform• Very customizable• Plug-ins add functionality
– Movable Type• Includes many functions,
like anti-spam, RSS and trackbacks, that are plug-ins in WordPress
– CMS software• Prepare for better site
integration
Phase 2: Structuring For Success
The 5 Ws of Structure– When: Planning an
editorial calendar– What: Creating
compelling and engaging content
– Who: Finding and managing writers
– Where:Tracking blog posts and ensuring success
– Why: Retaining your blog readers for future visits
• Plan large or multiple campaigns
• Promote special events
• Avoid writer’s block• Ensure resource
availability• Brainstorm ideas
Editorial Calendars
Editorial Calendar:Social Media Calendar
Social Media CalendarTwitter Activity
Company Name: Facebook Activity
Who We are in 120 Characters: Linked In Activity
Who We're Talking To: Blog Activtiy
What We're Talking About:
Sunday Saturday
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
End-of-Month Tasks: Review Measurement Data & Review Website Content for Accuracy
Friday
Month
www.theloudfew.com
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Editorial Calendar:Parade Magazine
Keys to Engaging Content
• Audience
• Attitude/Branding
• Goals
• Keywords/Headlines
Audience
It’s not about you.
Audience
Who is your audience?
-Check demographics, locations (Google Analytics & Ad Planner)-Understand motivation for visiting and buying-Look for social signals (Likes, Re-tweets)-What are their needs?
Google Ad Planner
Google Ad Planner: WordPress.com
Google Analytics
Google Analytics: textbroker.com
WordPress: JetPack
Highlights
Page viewsPost viewsReferrersKeywordsChoose time frame
Blogs Love Social
Your Site
You Like Me, You Really Like Me!
A Real Example
Attitude
Now it’s about you.
Attitude: Outdoor Outfitters
Attitude: Tire Companies
Attitude: Branding Questions• What are your advantages? • What’s your history? • Who are the owners or
founders of your company?• How do they influence
communication and presentation? • How do you want to be seen? • What has created a positive
impact in the past? • What are your competitors
doing? • Do you want to be like them or
take a contrasting tone?
Branding Guidelines: American Heart Association
Branding Guidelines: Best Buy
Goals
What should the piece do? • Establish as a leading source? • Review an item?• Raise awareness about an
issue?• Get someone to buy or sign
up for a newsletter?
Should there be a call to action (buy now/ subscribe here) in the text?
Are there sub-goals, like increasing brand awareness?
Base keywords off of your audience’s preferences and your piece’s goals.
Items that are written starting from the keyword can lack focus and easily become stilted.
Keywords inspire snappy, pertinent headlines. Headlines can be re-worked after the content is finished for a stronger correlation between article and title.
Keywords
Headlines
“Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them what you just told ‘em” (accredited to CBS’s Paul White)
Copyblogger recommends the Four “U” Approach to headline writing:• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?
Headline Examples
SES (Search Engine Strategies Conference) does a great job with headlines:
Preview the SES San Francisco Speaker Lineup• Useful/Ultra-specific: Speakers are the highlight of the conference• Unique: Previews feel exclusive
SES San Francisco - Early Bird Expires Friday, July 13• Useful/Urgent: discounts and savings with expiration date• Ultra-specific/Unique: early bird savings
Only One Week Left until SES San Francisco• Urgent: Timeliness adds pressure to read
Share your toolbox by communicating what we've worked on to your writers:
-Audience-Attitude/Branding guide-Editorial calendar -Goals for the piece-Keywords-Headline
The Recap
Besides your prep work, consider including:
•Person: Is this piece written as the company (we at Company Name) or as an independent third party?•Should the piece address the reader directly?•Anything to avoid
• Mentioning other sites, brand names, negativity, searching
•Anything that this particular piece should include that’s not covered in the attitude or the goals?
Guidelines
Every Coach Needs A Good Team
Tapping Internal Resources
Make it easy for employees to share stories
-Set interview times-Dictation software-Contests for written
submissions
Where To Find Additional Support
Writing Sites+Set quality for set prices+Options to work directly with writers for a set price+Quick turnaround+Simple approval process-Can’t talk to writer beforehand“Scout” or “Tryouts”
Freelancers+High quality+Personal attention-High price-Long negotiations-No backups“Free Agents”
Bidding Sites+Wide variety of quality with minimal filters+Wide variety of prices-Long negotiations-Sort through multiple offers-Unclear timelines“Sports camp”
Retaining Readers
RSS Feed
Voracious readersSocial media feeds
Social Media
Large reachEngage community
Email Newsletters
More personalBetter tracking
Conclusion
• Understand as much as possible about your audience
• Reflect your brand with your attitude • Set goals for each piece of content• Generate keywords and titles from goals• Writing sites keep the process efficient• Post to your blogging platform• Follow up with comments and social media
Congratulations on your successful business blog!