Best Practices for Beginning Blogging

Bastille Marketing Jenni Brand Founder & CEO January 26, 2010 Storming the Marketing Establishment…Through Smart Social Media

Who is Jenni Brand?
Founder & CEO of Bastille Marketing
A Digital Strategy Consultancy www. bastillemarketing .com
Social Media Consultant for five years with New Media Strategies
Helped brands establish, manage and maintain a positive presence within the online landscape
Worked with numerous Fortune 10, 50, 100, 500 companies
Non-profit/Gov’t, CPG, Fashion/Retail, Travel/Tourism, Financial, etc
10+ years in traditional marketing & sales
Fields of grocery retail marketing, radio sales, non-profits, energy
Extra-curricular activities include:
Speaking/Training seminars on Digital Strategy/Social Media
Two blogs; contributor to others (Blondes I-View, Bastille Marketing)
Event planner (DC’s 1st Annual Cupcake Contest, Wedding, Charity Events)

What We’ll Cover Today
Blogs: Why The Hype?
What the Average Blogger Looks Like
Who Reads Blogs?
What Makes Blogs Special?
Which Blog Platform To Choose?
The Anatomy of a Blog
Setting Up & Owning Your Blog - The Bells & Whistles
You’ve Got a Blog - Now What? 8 Key Steps to Success
Examples & Resources

Blogs: Why the Hype?
There are more than 133 million blogs with 1.5 million created weekly.
94 million US blog readers and 23 million American bloggers. Nearly 1 million blog posts every 24 hours.
95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs.
Blogs in 81 languages and 66 countries.
Resource : Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008

Blogs: Why the Hype? (cont ’ d) Resource : Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008
20% of bloggers think newspapers will be obsolete by 2018
50% think blogs will be primary news source by 2013
37% have had a blog post quoted in the traditional press
61% learn about products & services from other blogs
Only 1/3 turn to TV/Print as a source of info

What the Average Blogger Looks Like (cont’d) Resource : Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008 Educated, financially stable, 25-49 y.o.

Who Reads Blogs?
42% of internet users have read a blog(s)
33% read blogs regularly
Resource : Pew Internet & American Life Project July 2008 (Aaron Smith) http://www. pewinternet .org/Commentary/2008/July/New-numbers-for-blogging-and-blog-readership. aspx
8% of Americans have a blog
46% of blog readers say they visit the same blogs
54% surf for new and different ones
Resource : Synovate 2007 http://www. synovate .com/news/article/2007/08/new-study-shows-americans-blogging-behaviour.html
28% of US blog readers have taken an action based on a blog post
Resource : Edelman, Corporate Guide to Global Blogosphere http://www. micropersuasion .com/2007/01/edelman_study_b.html
http://www. nxtbook .com/nxtbooks/edelman/whitepaper010907/index.php

Which Blog Platform to Choose?

The Anatomy of a Blog Resource : MintBlogger.com - http://www.mintblogger.com/2008/07/understanding-blogger-template-part-1.html

The Anatomy of a Blog (cont’d) Topic Tabs Subscribe Feature Follow Me Buttons Clean design; easy navigation About Tab Advertising Tab - easily could be a Donate Tab Date & Author - linked to bio

The Anatomy of a Blog (cont’d) Easy to Share via Twitter Picture insert; yet not cluttered (pls credit all photos!) Interactivity - recent comments; frequent commenters; encourages time spent on the page Clean design of blog post

The Anatomy of a Blog (cont’d)
Hyperlink to Author’s Bio and Post Archive
Comments visible - link to full list
Blog community badges
Blogroll

The Anatomy of a Blog (cont’d) Social Sharing Features & Find Me Functions on Mashable’s Summer of Social Good blog

Setting Up & Owning Your Blog
How to Select a Blog Name
DO: Make it easy to remember & spell
As close to your name or acronym as possible
Relevant to your core business
Use letters only; no numbers, punctuation, etc.
Make the name the same as the URL
DON’T: use “blog” in the name - it’s redundant
Secure the Domain Name
Use a free blog service, but buy the domain name
www. bastillemarketing .com , not www. bastillemarketing . blogspot .com
Google or GoDaddy.com - very simple instructions
Buy the .org, .com, .net, etc - its worth the $10/year for people to find you easily!
Resource : http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/16/choosing-the-domain-name-for-your-blog/

Step One – Before You Start
Learn The Rules Of The Game Before You Start Playing
Read up on similar blogs, or blogs written about blogging
Listen & Learn From Your Competitors
Do Your Homework – Find Out Who Your True Audience Is
Your key customer might not be your ‘marketing’ target
Determine Your Content Niche
Corporate blogs should not be general in nature
Decide Your Comment Policy
Will you allow comments (YES!)
Will you moderate them (YES!)
Will you require a name or allow anonymity?
What behavior would necessitate a ban on a commenter?
Be sure to publish your comment policy
You’ve Got A Blog! Now What? 8 Key Steps

Step Two – Develop a Strategy AHEAD OF TIME
The Old Rules Still Apply:
Who – Who is going to write and who is the <true> audience?
What – What are we writing about?
What is interesting to our audience and relevant to our business?
Where – Where should the content be posted?
Is it really blog-worthy or just Corporate News?
When – When will we post?
Define the posting frequency (every Tuesday? Every day at 3pm?)
Why – Why are we doing this?
Develop and then stick to the goal/mission of the blog.
How – How is this going to run smoothly?
Be sure to develop a process/procedure with accountability. The blog can’t go silent because someone goes on vacation or leaves the organization.
You’ve Got A Blog! Now What? 8 Key Steps (cont’d)

Step Three – What is Success?
Define Success For The Blog – Whatever That Might Be
Traffic, comments, post frequency
Develop Reasonable Parameters
100K UMVs in the first month is NOT reasonable
Measure Regularly
Weekly, Monthly
Benchmark Against Similar Blogs
This may not mean benchmark against your competitors
Step Four – Work in Tandem with Marketing/PR Depts.
Coordinate/Integrate With Traditional PR/Marketing Efforts
Successful blogs work WITH the overall marketing strategies, not OUTSIDE of them
Incorporate Your Blog URL Into ALL Communication Pieces
Wherever your website is printed, your blog should be as well
Add it to your email signature (Read our blog: www.xyz.com)

Step Five – Getting Ready to Launch
Develop An Editorial/Content Calendar - STICK TO IT!
Be sure to incorporate flexibility for breaking news
Create and stockpile ‘canned’ content for when life throws a curveball (a 2-hour fire drill; snow or sick days, etc)
Canned content can be interviews with staff, members/consumers, company factoids (not history; anecdotes)
Recruit Internal Bloggers
The blogging staff should be limited – 2-4 people
Solicit people from within the organization to be bloggers
Loyal members, fans make excellent guest bloggers (serve as terrific testimonials)
Determine The Blog’s Voice
Casual; Professional, etc – Just be sure it has a HUMAN element
Multiple Authors CAN still have ONE voice

Step Six – The Big Debut!
Prepare An Introductory Post
Introduce the bloggers (include pictures/hobbies, etc)
Define the Voice
Set the tone
Explain the ‘rules’ (frequency of posting, the comment policy, etc)
Spend Time Introducing Yourself Online & Creating Loyal Followers

Step Seven – Write For Your Audience, Not To Impress The Execs
Communicate Often & On Topic – Even If It’s In An Informal Tone
It’s Not All About YOU
Remember Your Readers Are People And Consumers Before Members
Remind Them Often Of The WIIFM - What’s In It For Them
Share Useful Content From Media, Industry, Other Blogs
Be Authentic
Your Blog is Written by Humans - Let Your Human Nature Show!
NOTE: Press Releases Are Rarely Good Blog Posts
Company news can be a blog post if it’s compelling info and offers original content (interviews, etc) beyond the press release info
Let Your Readers Know You Are Listening
If your readers are calling for action; acknowledge them!
Let them know the outcome – where change is the result or not

Step Eight – Behind the Scenes, Start Networking
Connect With Key Influencers/Blogs In The Social Mediasphere; Your Industry
i.e., Social Media Influencers = Chrisbrogan.com, Mashable, & Techcrunch
Link To Them
Share News From Their Blogs
Leave Comments On Their Posts
Remember To Sign Your Name & URL
You’ve Got A Blog! Now What? 8 Key Steps (cont’d) Resource : BastilleMarketing.com: http://www.bastillemarketing.com/2010/01/social-media-strategy-basics-10-keys-to.html

Examples of Non-Profit & Gov ’ t Agency Blogs

Additional Resources
Blogging Terms - http://en. wikipedia . org/wiki/List_of_blogging_terms
What Not to Do on a Blog (Tips) -
Coding Horror - http://www. codinghorror .com/blog/archives/000834.html
Use It - http://www. useit . com/alertbox/weblogs .html
Blogs about Non-Profits & NP Blogging -
Frogloop - http://www. frogloop .com/
Beth’s Blog - http: //beth . typepad . com/beths_blog/
Non-Profit Tech Blog - http://www. nonprofittechblog .org/
How-to Tips on Good Blog Design - http://www. blogdesignblog .com/blog-design/how-to-blog-design-style-guide/
Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere (Education & Stats) - http: //technorati .com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/
Mashable - The Social Media Guide - http: //mashable .com/
Social Media Tools 101 - http://www. interactiveinsightsgroup .com/blog1/socialmediabeginnersguide/social-media-tools-101/
Social News for NonProfits - http://www. idealistnews .com/

Questions?
Thank you.
Jenni Brand [email_address]

Best Practices for Beginning Blogging

by Jenni Brand on Jan 27, 2010

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