This document provides best practices for blogging your brand, including positioning your blog as part of your social media strategy, focusing on relevant topics that demonstrate your industry expertise, and using a consistent tone of voice, taxonomy, and imagery that align with your brand. It recommends focusing on lead generation through calls to action on your blog and social media and sharing blog content through email and blog digests targeted at specific personas. The document also provides tips for blog mechanics like formatting, using section headers and lists, and promoting authors, as well as addressing challenges like maintaining a consistent blogging frequency and schedule.

1. Blogging Your Brand:
Best Practices

2. Blog Basics

3. Definition - Blog
“A regularly updated website or web page, written in
an informal or conversational style”
Elements:
• Multiple authors
• Comment threads per post
• Categorization that can align to your taxonomy
• Multi-media

5. Positioning
• Relevant Topics
• Industry Expertise
• Recognizable authors
• Taxonomy
• Tone of Voice
• Formal vs Informal
• Imagery – Playful or Stock Photography?
• Language – Industry speak or “tell it like it is”?
• Call to Actions
• Offers – Hard or Soft Sell?

6. Remember - Part of Social Strategy
Do:
• Fold blog into your
social media strategy
• Map out your personas
• Align on voice / content
/ keywords
• Follow consistent
structure & schedule
Don’t:
• Don’t go rogue
• Don’t stray too far
from your brand
• Don’t post blogs that
negate your thought
leadership (no sales!)
• Don’t be scared of
comments

7. Best Practices

8. The Mechanics

9. Getting Started
• Topics
• Educate the visitor
• Plan in advance
• One topic per post
• Titles
• Keyword strategy
• Long-tail keywords
• length
• Set expectations & value
• Make it Catchy!

10. Format
• Whitespace is ok!
• Distinct branded design is ok!
• Section headers and bulleted lists to break up
information
• Bold key facts or items
• Use imagery where you can
• Show your authors off!
• Leverage multi-media

11. Promote – Lead Generation!
• Calls to Action
• On blog
• Within posts
• Internal Links
• Use your Website
• Share on Social Media
• Email
• Focus on Persons
• Blog Digests

12. Scheduling – Your Biggest Challenges
•Frequency
•Consistency
•Relevancy
•Diversity

13. Examples

24. Recap

25. Remember
• Mechanics
• Keywords
• Visual Appeal
• Positioning
• Tone of Voice
• Imagery
• Your Brand
• Scheduling
• Consistency
• Frequency