IGNITE THE CONVERSATION
Using Blogs as a Marketing Tool

WHAT IS A BLOG?

At it’s core, a blog is nothing more than a
content management system.

http://blogsessive.com/blogging-tools/10-beautiful-wordpress-websites/

Blogs are nothing to be afraid of!

WHAT MAKES A BLOG?
• A specific topic
• Frequent updates
• Comments
• Conversational tone
• Strong personality
• RSS – the ability to subscribe

WHAT MAKES A BLOG?
• A specific topic
• Frequent updates
• Comments
• Conversational tone
• Strong personality
• RSS – the ability to subscribe

WHAT MAKES A BLOG?
• A specific topic
• Frequent updates
• Comments
• Conversational tone
• Strong personality
• RSS – the ability to subscribe

Without fresh content, a blog
ceases to be relevant

WHAT MAKES A BLOG?
• A specific topic
• Frequent updates
• Comments
• Conversational tone
• Strong personality
• RSS – the ability to subscribe

Without comments,
why not just have a
static webpage?

WHAT MAKES A BLOG?
• A specific topic
• Frequent updates
• Comments
• Conversational tone
• Strong personality
• RSS – the ability to subscribe

http://www.proctoracademy.org/chucks_corner/

WHAT MAKES A BLOG?
• A specific topic
• Frequent updates
• Comments
• Conversational tone
• Strong personality
• RSS – the ability to subscribe

BLOGS & MARKETING STRATEGY

MARKETING FRAMEWORK
1. SET STRATEGY: What are your higher level goals?
What does success look?
2. PLAN TACTICS: What types of communications will
we use to achieve our goals and how will we
measure results?
3. EXECUTE COMMUNICATION: Communicate with
your audience with planned tactics.
4. ASSESS RESULTS: Did we achieve our goals? What
can we do better next time?

MARKETING FRAMEWORK
1. SET STRATEGY: What are your higher
level goals? What does success look?
2. PLAN TACTICS: What types of communications will
we use to achieve our goals and how will we
measure results?
3. EXECUTE COMMUNICATION: Communicate with
your audience with planned tactics.
4. ASSESS RESULTS: Did we achieve our goals? What
can we do better next time?

MARKETING FRAMEWORK
1. SET STRATEGY: What are your higher level goals?
What does success look?
2. PLAN TACTICS: What types of
communications will we use to achieve
our goals and how will we measure
results?
3. EXECUTE COMMUNICATION: Communicate with
your audience with planned tactics.
4. ASSESS RESULTS: Did we achieve our goals? What
can we do better next time?

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teachandlearn

PLANNING
- Select a blog as your medium
- Coordination with other staff
- Time commitment
- Hiring/training bloggers
- Editorial calendar
- Media production
- Marketing plan

MARKETING FRAMEWORK
1. SET STRATEGY: What are your higher level goals?
What does success look?
2. PLAN TACTICS: What types of communications will
we use to achieve our goals and how will we
measure results?
3. EXECUTE COMMUNICATION:
Communicate with your audience with
planned tactics.
4. ASSESS RESULTS: Did we achieve our goals? What
can we do better next time?

EXECUTE
Schedule in advance
Stockpile Posts
Baby Sit Bloggers

MARKETING FRAMEWORK
1. SET STRATEGY: What are your higher level goals?
What does success look?
2. PLAN TACTICS: What types of communications will
we use to achieve our goals and how will we
measure results?
3. EXECUTE COMMUNICATION: Communicate with
your audience with planned tactics.
4. ASSESS RESULTS: Did we achieve our
goals? What can we do better next time?

EXAMPLE

Do Something Different
http://norwich.typepad.com/fall2007

SET STRATEGY
Keep enrolling students engaged throughout
the summer, with the goal of reducing summer
sugar-off.
Convey important information
to deposited students and
their families

PLAN TACTICS
— Blog format selected/set up
— Coordination with admissions
counselors for questions,
videos and new student
profiles
— Coordination for updating,
copy editing and video editing.
— Marketing plan created
— Measurement Plan created

EXECUTE COMMUNICATION
Online June 2007 - August 2007.
The publication was updated
every day, as planned.
Marketing included placement
on the institutional home page,
the admissions main page, and
in email communications.

ASSESS RESULTS
20,000 hits over three months, against a
target audience of 650.
Anecdotal evidence from counseling staff

SUCCESS!
Updated Daily
Information the audience
wanted
It featured “people like
them”

KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Blogs are a way of managing and publishing
content. They don’t have to be student journals,
but they do have expectations.
- Blogs are ubiquitous – they aren’t cutting edge.
- The biggest expense associated with a blog is
the time commitment – make sure you have a
plan going in!

YOUR HOMEWORK
- Read Groundswell
- Start a personal blog
- Listen to what people
are saying on blogs
about your institution
- Make a list of five ways
you could implement
blogs on your
institutional website

Karlyn Morissette www.dojo-web.com
DoJo Web Strategy www.karlynmorissette.com
karlyn@dojo-web.com www.twitter.com/karlynm