Top 10 Strategic Marketing Benefits to Using a Blog

TOP 10 MARKETING (AND PR) BENEFITS TO USING A BLOG Presented by: Paul Chaney Marketing Director Bizzuka, Inc.

What is it?

My FAVORITE definition “ Blogs are simply living and breathing internet sites… upscale chatrooms… constantly growing newsletters. They invite interaction and get people involved. They create energy and synergy. They live and breathe and grow and take on a life of their own.” --David Crockett, Realtor/Broker, The Crockett Team

Blogging is not just the TECHNOLOGY

It’s about the PEOPLE using it

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING Blogs are search engine magnets

PRINCIPLE: Frequently-updated, Keyword-optimized, Thematically-relevant posts = Better Returns on Google

Blogs are primarily text-based

Blogs contain SE-friendly code

Blogs tend to get crawled more quickly

Blogs are natural link builders

DIRECT COMMUNICATIONS Blogs make your company “real”

From BOND… … to BOURNE

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING Blogging is about starting conversations

“ It’s become an expectation that if you have a business, you have a blog. Consumers are looking to find a community around your service. They’re looking to have conversations with you about the products they’re using.” – John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing

It’s a CONVERSATION

“ Markets are Conversations” & “ Participation is Marketing”

We no longer TARGET AUDIENCES , we PARTICIPATE in COMMUNITIES .

BRAND BUILDING Blogs help you tell the story of your brand

Differentiate yourself from the competition

Position your focused message in the hearts and minds of your target customers

Deliver your message clearly and quickly

Project credibility

Strike an emotional chord

Create strong customer loyalty

-- Steven Yoder, Get Slightly Famous

COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATION Blogs set you apart from the competition

POSITION YOU AS AN EXPERT Blogs build your credibility

Demonstrate leadership in the industry

Provide a connection to their audience and peers

Start a wider conversation with their marketplace

Use the Web to demonstrate their value message

-- Backbone Media

Write about what you know

Write about what you’re interested in

Write about industry trends and breaking news

Research, research, research (RSS feeds)

MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS The press calls you, not your competition

After much personal research and experience, I've found that a genuine, helpful, humanized blog, combined with the art of cultivating and building relationships, can forge real connections, shape perception, improve customer service, and also enhance brand loyalty, reach, and resonance. The truth is that a thoughtful and well-cultivated corporate blog can yield many benefits that not only help PR, but also enhance every facet of corporate communications along with improving sales cycles, customer service and ultimately loyalty. Blogging is about extending a voice, connecting people, and nurturing relationships. This is the only foundation for which any blog strategy should be built. Brian Solis www.briansolis.com

The big challenge for PR pros centers on time. Take the time to learn this new media form. Just like TV is not print, and radio is not speaking, social media is unique. It has its own particular nuances that PR pros need to learn in order to be successful. Taking the time to learn must be paramount to acting now. Otherwise we risk leading our companies and clients into a course destined for failure. Geoff Livingston www.nowisgone.com

I continue to meet PR professionals, who call themselves professional communicators, who still don't know what a blog is, and who wouldn't know a tweet from a teepee. The revolution started a long time ago, and you can't give your clients good advice if you aren't way ahead of them. My advice: Go to the Ad Age Power 150 list and look at the top 50 blogs. Pick out five to read on a daily basis for a month. Follow the links in their posts; follow them on Twitter, ask to join their networks on LinkedIn. Read "The New Influencers," by Paul Gillin; “Meatball Sundae” by Seth Godin, and “The Long Tail.” And don't pitch me if you haven't read my blog. :>) B L Ochman www.whatsnextblog.com

The PR business has long put a premium on strong media pitching skills, especially at the junior and mid levels. All you need to do is scan the help wanted ads and you will see what I mean. However, pitching is on its way to becoming a lost art because the landscape is changing rapidly. Communities like Facebook, the blogosphere and digg are becoming even more influential than certain traditional media outlets. Their relevance to PR pros is rising and the industry is responding by wisely trying to beef up its new media acumen. To thrive in this new distributed environment, the PR community must step out in front of the curtain, become a bit more technically adept and participate transparently as individuals in online communities. We will have to openly collaborate and add value to the network and help the companies we represent do exactly the same. Steve Rubel www.micropersuasion.com

EXPLOITING MARKETABLE NICHES Blogs are niche market penetration tools

LEAD GENERATION Blogs have bearing on your ROI

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS Use blogs for intranet and project management

Search engine marketing Direct communications Relationship marketing Brand building Competitive differentiation Positioning as expert Media and public relations Exploiting marketable niches Lead generation Internal communications

Paul Chaney Internet Marketing Director Bizzuka, Inc. (www.bizzuka.com) www.conversationalmediamarketing.com www.twitter.com/pchaney www.linkedin.com/in/paulchaney