The document provides tips for creating unique online content to engage audiences and drive organic search results. It recommends getting to know your audience and yourself, capturing ideas as they happen, using the right tone for different channels like blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and creating an editorial calendar to plan content posting. The key is bringing your own perspective to topics that interest your audience and engaging them in conversation.

1. Building Your Voice by Creating Unique Content Gordon Dymowski

2. Goals of Today's Presentation Learn the best strategies for making online content appeal to readers and online audience. Jump start creative thinking on how you (as individual or as business) engage with your audience online Drive organic search results through creative content

3. About Gordon Non-profit/small business communications consultant Blogger/writer – Comic Related, Baker Street Blog, Chicago Now Job Stalker Current work – Sears Holding, Chicago Red Cross, Greater Southwest Development Corp http://linkd.in/gordondym

4. How many of you, as part of your networking/marketing efforts…. Cold call? Have a web site? Blog? Use Linked In to connect? Tweet? Use a Facebook Page?

5. Are you finding that…. Potential customers don’t seem to engage with your corporate mission? Your written online content doesn’t quite sparkle? Driven more by keyword content & frequency than by actual information? Not getting any followers/traction on your social media efforts? Any specific problems that you have?

6. Creating unique content means…. Creativity is less about « great » writing and more about writing to your audience and subject Allowing content to drive your mission, goals, and interests Thinking like a « community organizer » - using efforts to build a small group of potential advocates and « fans »

7. Know Your Audience Web site analytics – and your current audience – can help you determine areas of focus

8. Know Yourself What is your/your company’s « brand » (both in marketing and personality/experience) What is your perspective? What are you bringing to the table? What are your goals? What do you hope to accomplish?

9. Capture Ideas As They Happen Post-It Notes Small Bound Notebooks Evernote Springpad Have some method of grasping ideas “on the go” – it’s not about how you do it; just that you do it

10. A Note About SEO Keywords are important, but make sure they’re within a specific context Don’t want to depend on keywords to make up bulk of your content Tagging is similar – you can have too many tags and too many keywords

11. Take the Right Tone Think of online content as starting/maintaining conversation with audience Be open to trying different kinds of approaches in content creation Humor and commentary can act as strong methods of engaging online readers

12. Know Your Channels - Blogs Use RSS reader like Google Reader to keep current on industry, as well as find articles for reaction Reach out and comment on other blogs of interest Integrate other media from flickr, YouTube, Internet Archive (archive.org)

13. Know Your Channels - Twitter Think « headline » when writing your tweets Leave 20 characters for retweeting Use platform like Hootsuite/Tweetdeck to track conversations of interest/Twitterchats

14. Know Your Channels - Facebook Personal/Fan page updates are longer than Twitter, but similar principles apply Posting on behalf of business, but keep conversational tone Share photos & video – encourage fans to share

15. Know Your Channels – Linked In Build professional credentials & « brand » via updates Use groups & others’ updates to find and share articles of interest Maintain a primarily professional tone

16. Always remember: Never cross –post across your social media streams – play to each channel’s strengths!

17. Build an Editorial Calendar Determine frequency of posting on each channel Look at « seasonal » issues in business – holidays/highlights/peak periods of interest Assemble document that indicates postings per month

18. Putting it All Together You’ve done market research into topics that interest your audience – you know what they would like to know You’re learning what will engage your potential audience in a conversation You’re also bringing your own perspective to creating content about your business Creating unique content is less about a specific method and more about bringing your/your company’s perspective to a given subject.

19. Questions? Contact Info: Gordon Dymowski http://www.gordondymowski.com [email_address] 773-809-4473