This document provides an overview of blogging and how it can fit into a company's marketing strategy. It discusses why businesses should have a blog, including that blogs give companies a personality, share expertise, and encourage continuing education. Statistics show that blogs can help acquire customers. The document also covers determining if a blog is needed, setting goals, assigning blog responsibilities, measuring ROI, content planning, tactics, writing strategies, and measuring results. It emphasizes that while starting a blog only does 20% of the work, blogs have the potential to be a successful marketing channel when done right.

1. The Ins and Outs and Ups and Downs
of Blogging
Where Does a Blog Fit
Into Your Marketing
Strategy?
Presented by
Tom Ciesielka
TC Public Relations
www.tcpr.net

2. Why
a
blog?

3. #5 According to EBiz |MBA

4. Content marketing is the discipline of creating
quality branded editorial content across all
media channels and platforms to deliver
engaging relationships, consumer value and
measurable success for brands.
- Content Marketing Association

5. Why? Intuitive
•
•
•
•
It gives your business a “personality”
Shares your expertise in your “voice”
Gives readers the “why” behind your business
Has duel marketing purpose with “content”
and public relations
• Encourages your “continuing education”

6. Why? Statistically
• 43% of marketers generated a customer from their blog this year.
Hubspot 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report
• 82% of marketers who blog on a daily basis acquired a customer
using their blog, as opposed to 57% of marketers who just blog
monthly. Hubspot 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report
• 86% of B2B small business marketers favor blogs as their most
effective content marketing tactic. B2B Small Business Content
Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America
Excerpts from Real Lawyers Have Blogs
http://kevin.lexblog.com/

7. Website Copy Cat?

8. Cool Cat

9. Three Must-Answer Questions
• How can you determine if a blog really is a
missing piece of your marketing puzzle?
• What business result do you desire?
• Who will write, manage, and promote the posts?

10. Source: Google Zero Moment of Truth 2011

11. Blogging.org
Ignite Spot

12. Measuring a Blog’s ROI
ROI Expressed as a Percentage =
Revenue - Investment
Investment
______________________________________
•
•
•
•
Time spent per post
Measure revenue-related activities
Compare to other business development tactics
Fun factor

13. Stand Alone or Integrate?

14. Difference Between Fun and Foolish

15. Fun with a Purpose

16. Semi-fun

17. Three Step Planning
Mission
Editorial
Calendar
Technology

18. Clear Mission

20. Tactics
• Frequency (?) – As often as there is
something worth writing
• Blog publicity plan
• Blogrolls = alliances
• Link strategically
• When you invest in images, pursue a return
• Guest blogging’s double payback

21. Writing Strategy
• What’s the point?
• Do your posts connect need to marketing
objective?
• Headlines not thesis statements
• Think “living room” not “boardroom”
• Editorial, informational, time-sensitive,
trending topic (pick one, maybe two)

22. Filling the Blank Blog
• Editorial calendar guidelines:
– Features
– Trends
– News
– Surprises

23. Owned Media Measuring

24. Page Views and Twitter Followers

25. Transition Point?
“Arguably, more satisfaction is derived from writing an
in-depth blog, but Twitter allows us to get right to the
point. Is there room for both to co-exist online? … it's
worth taking a look at ... and what [it] means to a
media sphere that's becoming more about headlines
than context.”
Daniel Sieberg CBSNews.com

26. How might your “baby” grow up?
• Discussion and questions

27. Now what?
• It’s where the “right brain” meets the “left
brain” with content marketing
• Started a blog? You’ve done about 20% of the
work to make it successful
• “What do we want? Patience. When do we
want it? NOW!” – Al Franken
• “Small” can be the new “big”

28. Thank You
Tom Ciesielka
TC Public Relations
312-422-1333
tc@tcpr.net