Blogging for Beginners

Bastille Marketing Storming the Marketing Establishment…Through Social Media Jenni Brand Founder & CEO June 15, 2009

Who is Jenni Brand?  Founder & CEO of Bastille Marketing – A Social Media 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 circuit; seminars on 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 Blogging for Beginners - An Overview  What is a Blog?  What’s the Big Deal with Blogs?  Who are Bloggers?  How to Choose the Right Blog for You – Which platform, what type  Setting Up & Owning Your Blog - The Bells & Whistles  You’ve Got a Blog - Now What?  Examples & Resources

What is a Blog? According to the Wikipedia definition, a blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. A blog is basically a streamlined website that has easier technology and is designed to facilitate a two-way conversation.

What is a Blog? (cont’d)  Bloggers are those who write (called posting) original articles for the blog and/ or oversee the editorial process of a blog.  Commenters refer to the online public who read and interact with the blogger(s) by leaving a ‘comment’ on a blog post.  Content is a common term for the information written on the blog.  Blogosphere is a term for all blogs as a family and their interconnectivity - a ‘social network’ of all blogs. It is common practice that blogs link to each other and share or comment on each others’ posts.  Syndication/RSS Feeds - Syndication means the ability to make blog content available for other bloggers to use and publish, typically at no cost.

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)  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 Resource: Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008

What the Average Blogger Looks Like Resource: Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008

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

Who Reads Blogs?  42% of internet users have read a blog(s)  33% read blogs regularly  11% read blogs daily 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 saying that they visit the same blogs regularly  54% surf for new and different ones  43% of blog visitors notice ads on blog websites 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

What Makes Blogs Special?  Everyone is Welcome - No matter your internet or technical abilities; everyone can blog. The free platforms make it easy and available to all.  Conversational Content - Blog content is designed to be an opinionated, two way conversation. It is based on personal interests, expertise, etc. This applies to a corporate or organizational blogs.  Reader Interaction - Blogs by nature invite reader commentary. It is recommended to allow comments, with or without an approval feature.  Freshness - Frequent posting is necessary to attract readers, create stickiness, gain credibility, and rank in search engines. No less than once weekly.  Interconnectivity - Blogs create communities by reciprocal linking, blog rolls, blog networks, etc.  RSS Technology - Real Simple Syndication allows for content to be instantaneously updated to other blogs, blog readers, etc.

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) Clean design; easy navigation Topic Tabs Subscribe Feature Follow Me Buttons Date & About Tab Advertising Tab - easily could be a Donate Tab Author - linked to bio

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

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)  A guest post with featured blogger bio & picture

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

Which Blog Platform to Choose?

Setting Up & Owning Your Blog How to Select a Blog Name  Make it: Easy to remember & spell  Make it: Relevant to your business  Make it: As close to your name or acronym as possible  Make it: the same as the URL  Make it: Letters only; no numbers, punctuation, etc.  Don’t use “blog” in the name - it’s redundant Secure the Domain Name  Use a free 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! The Intersection of Blogs and Print  Incorporate your blog into ALL print pieces; Wherever your website is printed, so should be your blog  Put it in your email signature (Read our blog: www.associationABC.com) Resource: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/16/choosing-the-domain-name-for-your-blog/

You’ve Got A Blog! Now What?  Know the Rules of the Game Before You Start Playing – Read up on similar blogs, or blogs written about blogging  Spend Time Introducing Yourself Online & Creating Loyal Followers – Communicate often & on topic - even if its in an informal tone – Share Useful Content from media, industry, other blogs  Determine Your Key Consumer Audience & Target Them! – Remember that they are Consumers before Members – Remind them of the WIIFM - What’s in it for them  Connect with Key Influencers 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)  Coordinate/integrate With Traditional PR/Marketing Efforts – Company news can be a blog post if it’s compelling info and offers original content (interviews, etc) beyond the press release information  Recruit Internal Bloggers – Solicit people from within the organization to be bloggers – Develop an editorial calendar - STICK TO IT!

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-me Social News for NonProfits - http://www.idealistnews.com/

Questions? Thank you.

Blogging for Beginners

by Jenni Brand

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