Content Strategy - Blogging for Small Business

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LEANNE ROSS CONTENT FOR BUSINESS @aCupOfLee

Transcript of Content Strategy - Blogging for Small Business

Page 1: Content Strategy - Blogging for Small Business

LEANNE ROSSCONTENT FOR BUSINESS

@aCupOfLee

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ACUPOFLEE.COM

WHY ME?▸ Chartered Institute of Public Relations▸ A decade in-house and in-agency▸ Multiple award winner ▸ Industry blogger▸ Freelance subcontractor▸ Startups, SMEs, Social Enterprises

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ACUPOFLEE.COM

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY▸ What a Content Strategy is▸ The benefits content can bring to your business▸ Tips on how to create and promote your branded

content▸ Specific examples from my work▸ The key evaluation tools to measure RoI for your

business

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DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS SOUNDS COMPLICATED, BUT IT’S NOT. IT’S WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE; COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC. JUST IN A DIFFERENT PLACE - ONLINE. Leanne Ross

ACUPOFLEE.COM

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NEW BUSINESS OLD BUSINESS

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CONTENT STRATEGYContent Strategy sounds like jargon.

All it means is that you create enough useful “stuff” online so you can attract customers and journalists to you, rather than you having to seek them out (“Inbound Marketing”).Content Plans sound complicated.

They are merely calendars of content types, messages and channels to ensure you stay balanced, focus and useful.

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“USEFUL STUFF” AKA BRANDED CONTENT

Brand Blog

Search Engine

Optimisation

Instagram

LinkedIn

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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CONTENT▸ We know why we like viral videos▸ Being useful as well as the entertaining▸ Useful works equally because of the way the brain reacts when

we learn something new▸ And then the brain wants more so it makes you seek out more

useful stuff▸ People who are looking to build their own profile online benefit

from curating and sharing your useful information to grow their own audience

▸ That’s why practical advice is the content people love to share the most

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BLOGGING FOR BUSINESS

ACUPOFLEE.COM

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“SHOW, DON’T TELL.” BLOGGING ALLOWS YOU TO SHOW YOU KNOW YOUR PRODUCT, YOUR SERVICE & YOUR CUSTOMERS INSIDE OUT, WHILE OFFERING THEM MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE INITIAL TRANSACTION.

Leanne Ross

ACUPOFLEE.COM

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STARTING A BLOGEase of Use

Search Engines

Love It

No HTML

Scheduling

Blog Functions

Built In

App

Themes

Multiple Users

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DATA MINING▸ Use Google’s goldmine of FREE knowledge▸ AnswerThePublic.com ▸ Google Search Operator e.g. “How to * PR”▸ Research articles with “Magazine + PR”▸ Buzzsumo, Buzzfeed, Reddit▸ Google Alerts▸ Remember the customer journey, not just your product

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• Lists (“listicles”) especially “hyperlocal” e.g. The Top 10 Places To Eat in Belfast

• Case studies / testimonials from customers, suppliers or partners• Demo videos, How-To articles, FAQs with answers• User Generated Content (like encouraging customer photos with a product using a hashtag) • Interviews with industry leaders or Behind-The-Scenes with staff or offering guest posts from other people/brands• As with press releases, any kind of company news or general industry news and your opinion on topical issues• Customer newsletters can also be adapted into blog posts• Your personal journey or the company back story• Round up articles of successes, or failures, what you’ve learned, “What Not To-Do” lists, etc.• Short templates or guides through to longer eBooks• Podcasts, live chats/Q&As or live streaming - works well at conferences or events• Infographics with statistics, facts and quotes• Photographs from events, awards, photo calls, etc.• Humorous “memes”• Running polls, surveys or quizzes through Facebook/Twitter or SurveyMonkey • Repurposing any reports, uploading presentations to Slideshare for social sharing, and then explaining the learning behind it• Courses, webinars, online training - much more time intensive to produce but if applicable to your business can be lucrative

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RECENTLY REVIEWED DATA FROM 5,000 ONLINE BUSINESSES FOUND THAT 85% HAD INCREASED WEBSITE TRAFFIC FROM CONTENT CREATION WITHIN 7 MONTHS OF STARTING Hubspot

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BUSINESS BENEFITS OF BLOGGING

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SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION▸ Algorithm = useful + popular

(+ technical)

▸ Keywords (long-tail)

▸ Upload ALT-named-images

▸ Metatag each post

▸ Social Media shares

▸ Links back to your articles

▸ Avoiding duplication

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WHAT BLOGGING DID FOR ME

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UTILITYBEAR.COM

CONTENT FOR ECOMMERCE STARTUP

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ACUPOFLEE.COM UTILITY BEAR .COM

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NEWSJACKING INSPIRATION

▸ www.daysoftheyear.com▸ www.wincalendar.com▸ Google!

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WHAT ‘NOT’ TO WORRY ABOUT▸ How often you blog▸ What time or day you blog▸ How long or short your blog is▸ What keywords to include▸ Finding imagery to use▸ Finding someone to do it for you

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MEASURING SUCCESS▸ Google Analytics - traffic▸ bit.ly - track social shares▸ Moz Toolbar - ranking ▸ Survey results▸ Email sign-ups▸ Sales!

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WITH MOBILE OPTIMISED WEBSITES, ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS AND SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS MORE PEOPLE CAN FIND YOU ONLINE AND PURCHASE FROM YOU THAN EVER BEFORE. MAKE IT WORTH THEIR TIME IN A TIME-POOR WORLD. IN THE END, THE SINGLE GREATEST THING YOU CAN DO TO AID YOUR SEO AND CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS TO SALES IS TO SIMPLY AND CONSISTENTLY CREATE GOOD ONLINE CONTENT FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Leanne Ross

ACUPOFLEE.COM

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CONNECT▸ Blog: www.aCupOfLee.com▸ Twitter: @aCupOfLee▸ Facebook.com/aCupOfLee▸ Linkedin.com/leannerossbelfast▸ Email: [email protected]▸ eBook Coming Soon!