Business blogging dec 2011
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Learn blogging best practices - subject headers that stand out, using words that get noticed, and more. You'll leave with a better understanding of how to get as much mileage out of your online words as possible.
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Business blogging dec 2011
- 2. Topics — Introduc)ons — What is a blog? — Why should you have one? • How to generate blog content • How to Op)mize Your Blog • How to Promote Your Blog • How to Measure Your Blog • Best Prac)ces • 4 Case Studies 2
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- 4. What is a blog? — Blog = ‘web log’ — A website or part of a website updated with new content periodic basis. — Usually maintained by an individual or individuals with regular entries of commentary, descrip)ons of events, or other material such as graphics or video. — Long-‐term marke)ng asset that will bring traffic to your business — Can be setup within minutes online using Wordpress or other blogging soQware. 4
- 5. Wordpress — Wordpress.org — Install soQware onto your server — Select theme (template), or create custom design 5
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- 11. Why Should You Have a Blog? — Nearly 40% of US companies use blogs for marke)ng purposes. — Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors — B2C companies that blog get 88% more leads per month than those that don’t — B2B companies that blog get 67% more leads per month than those that don’t Source: Hubspot eBook on Blogging, 2011 11
- 12. Why Should You Have a Blog? — Over 57 million Americans read blogs — Technora) is currently tracking over 70 million blogs — Over 120 thousand blogs are created every day — There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day — 22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs — 51% of blog readers shop online — Blog readers average 23 hours online each week Source: BlogWorldExpo.com 12 12
- 13. Why Should You Have a Blog? — 83% of corporate bloggers saw a traffic increase to their site — 51% took less than 1-‐2 months from ini)al concept to launch of blog — 88% saw a boost in search engine ranking within 3 months of launch — 62% saw an increase in sales within 3 months of launch Source: Backbone Media Business Blogging Survey 13
- 14. Why Should You Have a Blog? 14
- 15. Why Should You Have a Blog? — Blogging boosts your ranking on Google searches – the more blog posts you publish the be`er — Establishes you as a thought leader – helps earn people’s trust and stay top-‐of-‐mind for your community — Gives you a plaborm to place calls-‐to-‐ac)on – you can ask people to a`end a fundraiser or community event, donate, etc. 15
- 16. Genera)ng Blog Content — Brainstorming — Editorial Calendar — Repackaging — Guest Blogging — Cura)on — Events and Calendar — Original Content 16
- 17. Brainstorming — What will my blog be about? — What are the goals of my organiza)on? — What is my area of exper)se? — What are my professional interests? — Who else will contribute on a regular basis? 17
- 18. How OQen Will I Blog? 18
- 19. How Will I Organize My Blog? — Decide on content categories — Look at the calendar — Commit to pos)ng 2-‐3 )mes per week and build from there 19
- 20. Editorial Calendar — An editorial calendar helps plan both the subject ma`er and frequency for blog posts for 3-‐6 months — Maintains balance among different kind of posts — Keeps bloggers on schedule and pos)ng regularly — Provides structure and flexibility 20
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- 23. Repackage Exis)ng Content — Look to your employees and staff — Repurpose internal and external communica)ons materials — Provide resources for the communi)es you serve 23
- 24. Guest Blogging — Generate a list of poten)al guest bloggers — Invite collaborators to write — Keep the focus on their projects and organiza)ons — Maintain the rela)onship by referencing the organiza)on in future blog posts 24
- 25. Cura)on — Research bloggers who are a part of your space — Katya Andresen, Network for Good — Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog — Allison Fine, A Fine Blog — Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog — Sasha Dichter — Many, many others 25
- 26. Cura)on — Research bloggers outside your space — Personal interests — Subjects that might interest the clients with whom you work — Hobbies — Local informa)on — Anything par)cularly well-‐done or inspira)onal 26
- 27. Cura)on — Set up a blog reader to keep current on posts from favorite blogs (e.g. Google Reader, etc.) — Check your reader every morning when you check your e-‐mail — Flag relevant posts 27
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- 32. Cura)on — Share content in a )mely manner — Add insight and value — Make the content relevant for your readers — Start a conversa)on — Always, always, always a`ribute the material and ideas to the original author 32
- 33. Events and Calendar — Focus blog posts on key events in your organiza)on’s calendar year — Incorporate major holidays — Don’t forget seasonal issues that affect your work and your clients e.g. the start of the school year 33
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- 35. Original Content — Start with the basics – introduc)on, mission statement for the blog — Keep it short – 200-‐300 words — Maintain a running list of ideas — Don’t expect perfec)on 35
- 36. Original Content — Voice — Personality — Less formal expression — Opinions — Fun! 36
- 37. Exercise – Part 1 — Brainstorm 4 ideas for blog posts — Brainstorm 4 sources for blog posts for your organiza)on — Read them out loud and we’ll discuss ‹#› 37
- 38. How to Op)mize Your Blog — Need to op)mize to grab people’s a`en)on and rank well with search engines — Search engines scan each page of your website looking for clues about what topics you cover, and at the back-‐ end code for important tags and descrip)ons — Your ranking on the search engine results page is determined by how relevant and authorita)ve your website is determined to be 38
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- 40. How to Op)mize you Blog — Keywords -‐ a cri)cal component to SEO is selec)ng the right keywords. — Select 7 to 10 words or phrases that best describe your business and services. Ensure each page of your website is op)mized around those keywords. — Be specific – child care, not general – nonprofit — For example: — Store sells shoes and wants website to rank for “shoe store” — Be`er bet to op)mize for “red tennis shoes with velcro” 40
- 41. How to Op)mize you Blog — Each blog post should focus on a specific topic, and should include the appropriate keywords. Be sure to engage readers but also op)mize each ar)cle. — Images – make sure image file names describe the picture and that each image has a descrip)ve blurb (alt tag) — Headline tags – Use keywords in your blog post headlines — Internal linking – Within your blog post, link to other pages on your website 41
- 42. How to Op)mize Your Blog — Include social media sharing bu`ons on every post 42
- 43. Blog Op)miza)on Con)nued — Include compelling images that convey the blog post – photograph, graphic, infographic — Eye-‐catching and op)mized )tles capture the readers’ a`en)on and en)ce them to view your post — Be clear and direct – 12 quick )ps … — Create Urgency – Last chance to … — How-‐To’s – How to get started with Facebook ads … — How Not To – Avoid these piballs … 43
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- 45. Blog Op)miza)on Con)nued — Be controversial (but not too controversial) – these posts spark discussion and debate — Be simple, keep )tles brief and concise -‐ A look at Google+ — Be newsworthy – relevant breaking news-‐type post perform well 45
- 46. Blog Op)miza)on Con)nued — Formatng is important – break up blocks of text into chunks, readers scan subheaders, bold text and bullet points. 46
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- 48. Blog Op)miza)on Con)nued — Calls-‐to-‐ac)on — Well constructed blog post should always include in-‐text links to other resources – point these links to events and opportuni)es (ability to donate, a`end an event) — The top and sidebar of your blog homepage can contain call-‐to-‐ac)on banners or bu`ons 48
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- 50. Blog Op)miza)on Con)nued — Solve a problem – people share a post with others because of the insight it provides to solve a problem — Use metaphors as a valuable way to generate more interest in a subject — Be entertaining – have fun — Take a stand – be clear, direct and defini)ve – be the expert on your topic 50
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- 52. Exercise – Part 2 — Think about 7 to 10 keywords that are most relevant to your organiza)on and the services you provide. — Read them out loud and we’ll discuss ‹#› 52
- 53. How to Promote Your Blog “A blog is much easier to promote if it has been op)mized for success.” Hubspot eBook on Blogging, 2011 53
- 54. How to Promote Your Blog — As discussed before – compelling )tles, images, make it easy to share — Leverage your exis)ng connec)ons to create new rela)onships – reach out to influen)al bloggers in your field to a`racted their a`en)on through men)ons on your blog and social media — Create an opportunity for them to share your blog posts across their networks — Create link-‐building opportuni)es 54
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- 60. Promo)ng Your Blog Con)nued — Social sharing – we discussed the sharing bu`ons, but you also need to publish your post to Facebook, Twi`er, LinkedIn and Google+ — Events and Presenta)on – if you are presen)ng refer your audience to your blog for further info 60
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- 66. Promo)ng Your Blog Con)nued — Update all your business materials (business card, email signature, etc.) to include your blog url — Run a contest to a`ract a`en)on – have readers like you on Facebook in order to be eligible, use your email list — Blog directories –submit your blog to the top directories (bestoQheweb.com, bloggeries.com, blogged.com, etc.) — Social Bookmarking – submit your posts to social bookmarking sites (Digg, Reddit, Tumblr) — Create a video and post to YouTube (link to the blog) to reach a different audience 66
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- 71. How to Measure Your Blog — Visitors – the count of people who actually read your blog content, but be`er to look at data by individual blog ar)cles — Leads – analyze at what rate these “leads” convert to customers/donors/volunteers (compared to other marke)ng channels) 71
- 72. Measuring Your Blog Con)nued — Subscriber Count – Look at how many people subscribe to your blog 72
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- 75. Measuring Your Blog Con)nued — Tracking Inbound Links – when another website links to a page on your website that’s an inbound link. — Blog posts normally are great at genera)ng inbound links — Look at how many inbound links your blog posts a`ract – different topics will vary the number of inbound links they drive 75
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- 78. Measuring Your Blog Con)nued — Monitor social media shares – look at the historical social media shares for your blog posts to determine what types of posts get the most short-‐term traffic from social media 78
- 79. Exercise — Write sample blog post 79
- 80. Best Prac)ces — Create relevant, valuable content and determine the best methods to publicize it — Write about your industry, best prac)ces, answer ques)ons — Ask readers what they to read about, and the format (e.g., text vs. video) — Connect your blog to your website 80
- 81. Examples — Katya Andresen — Capstone Connect — Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilita)on Hospital — Adopt-‐a-‐Pet.com 81
- 83. Why It Works — Individual vs. Organiza)onal Blog — Strong Images — Broad topics — Useful How-‐to 83
- 85. Why It Works — Strong Organiza)on — Clear content categories — Different voices from around the organiza)on — Eclec)c, oveat posts show personality — Varied and interes)ng content 85
- 87. Why It Works — Targeted Audience – Parents of Children with disabili)es — Excellent Cura)on — Go-‐to Resource in its community 87
- 88. Adopt A Pet 88
- 89. Why It Works — Highlights the work of others — Many guest bloggers — Informa)on rich posts — High frequency 89
- 90. Thank You! Bridget Gibbons bridget@gibbonsdigital.com Gibbonsdigital.com 90