The document outlines the significance of blogging for brand development, emphasizing its role in attracting and converting visitors through strategic content creation and consistent branding. It details essential elements such as audience understanding, persona mapping, and alignment with social media strategies while advising against common pitfalls like inconsistent messaging and neglecting audience engagement. Upcoming sessions in March will cover best practices and measurement for success in blogging.

1. Overview:
Blogging Your Brand

2. Powerful Tools at Your Fingertips

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. Attracting Visitors
• Search Play
• New, recent content
• Ranking on search engines
• Shareable via social media

6. Converting Visitors
• Content Play
• Promote offers (CTAs!)
• Position as Thought Leadership
• Build relationship

7. Your Brand

8. Know Your Audience
• Content
• Personality
• Offers
• Taxonomy
Personas!

9. 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?

10. Why is it Important?
• What are your goals – why do this?
• Think Inbound – Attract Visitors & Convert to
Leads
• Reports say that 25% of your list will go bad
each year
• Blogging will attract visitors
• Lead with brand to get the IDEAL visitor

11. 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

12. Framework & Approach
• Get working on those personas
• Identify your goals
• Lead with Attracting or Converting?
• One blog or two?
• Find those authors
• Plan and integrate into your digital content
editorial calendar
• Repurpose content
• Cross promote via other social channels

13. Gotchas
• “Set it and forget it” – no measurement
• Diversity of Topics
• Diversity of Authors
• No Consistent Keyword Strategy
• Scheduling

14. Recap – Blogging Your Brand
• Valuable tool to attract visitors (and convert them)
• Incorporate into your digital content calendar &
promotions
• Align to your brand
• Be authentic
• Be strategic
More in March:
• Best Practices & Who’s Doing it Well: March 11th
• Measure for Success: March 25th