BLOGGING 101
EFFECTIVE WEB WRITING FOR PR


          Matthew Chandler
  Vice President of Content Strategy
   Raidious Digital Content Services
          www.raidious.com
        chandler@raidious.com
OVERVIEW

• Purpose     • Analytics

• Content     • Media   Releases

• Promotion   • Suggested   Reading
PURPOSE


• Audience

• Goals

• Personae
GOALS

• Corporate    information

• Industry   insights

• Customer     engagement

• Customer     service

• Research

• Conversions
CONTENT


• Lean    forward experience

• Information, not    documents

• Edit   ruthlessly
ORGANIZING CONTENT


• Inverted   pyramid

• Topics   & subtopics

• Limit   of 3 text sizes
STYLE

• Personal

• Simple, short      sentences

• Active   voice

• Bulleted   lists

• Images, video, charts    &
 graphs
LINKING


• Always    contextual

• Link   titles

• Improves        SEO

• Avoid “Click     here”
BRANDING


• Relevance      to core target

• Stick   to brand personality

• Brand     standards

• All   sites sell
EDITORIAL CHAIN


• Writing

• Editing

• Publishing
PROMOTION

• Link   exchange

• Comments     on other blogs

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Feedburner
ANALYTICS

• Trackbacks

• Google Analytics

• Feedburner   stats

• Cotweet/Hootsuite

• Plugins
MEDIA RELEASES


• Audience      • Distribution

• Life   span   • Use
Courtesy Shift Communications http://www.shiftcomm.com/
MEDIA RELEASES

Typical media release                            Web-based information
No headings after the title                      Broken into sections with bold headings

Long paragraphs                                  Very short paragraphs, bulleted lists, tables, graphics

                                                 Links to full report, additional information, other
No links                                         relevant pages on the site, relevant people

Full page, looks like a paper document Fits into the template of other information
                                       pages on the site
Name and phone number of media relations         Clearly indicates who each person named is;
specialists, often without saying who they are   links to email or information about the person
                                                 Adapted from “Letting Go of the Words”
EXERCISE


• Redact    sample media release into web/social-friendly blog post

• Publish   in Wordpress blog

   http://prsa.raidiouscontrol.com/wp-admin
 http://www.ereleases.com/press-release-sample.html
SUGGESTED READING
•   Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Janice
    Redish 2007)


•   Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our
    Work, Our Lives, and Our Future (John Blossom 2009)


•   Content Strategy for the Web (Kristina Halvorson 2009)


•   The Chicago Manual of Style 15th Edition (University of Chicago
    Press Staff 2003)


•   The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition (Strunk and White
    2008)


•   Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become
    (Peter Morville 2005)
SUGGESTED READING

•   Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to
    Web Usability (Steve Krug 2005)

•   Prioritizing Web Usability (Jakob Nielsen 2006)

•   The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design
    for the Web (Jesse James Garrett 2002)

•   Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man: Critical
    Edition (Marshall McLuhan 2003)

•   The Macintosh Way (Guy Kawasaki 1990)
SUGGESTED READING



http://bit.ly/bbnZED
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS

Matt Chandler
Vice President, Content Strategy
Raidious

Email: chandler@raidious.com
Web: www.raidious.com

Twitter: twitter.com/mattchandl3r
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattchandler

Google: google.com/profiles/mattchandl3r
Reader: google.com/reader/shared/mattchandl3r
RAIDIOUS

Raidious is an interactive marketing and communications
company built to produce content and manage dialog for
brands.

We make, manage, monitor, moderate and measure
content for brands.

We make the content that makes digital marketing work.

                  www.raidious.com
THANK YOU

PRSA Social Media Bootcamp

  • 1.
    BLOGGING 101 EFFECTIVE WEBWRITING FOR PR Matthew Chandler Vice President of Content Strategy Raidious Digital Content Services www.raidious.com chandler@raidious.com
  • 2.
    OVERVIEW • Purpose • Analytics • Content • Media Releases • Promotion • Suggested Reading
  • 4.
  • 5.
    GOALS • Corporate information • Industry insights • Customer engagement • Customer service • Research • Conversions
  • 6.
    CONTENT • Lean forward experience • Information, not documents • Edit ruthlessly
  • 7.
    ORGANIZING CONTENT • Inverted pyramid • Topics & subtopics • Limit of 3 text sizes
  • 8.
    STYLE • Personal • Simple,short sentences • Active voice • Bulleted lists • Images, video, charts & graphs
  • 9.
    LINKING • Always contextual • Link titles • Improves SEO • Avoid “Click here”
  • 10.
    BRANDING • Relevance to core target • Stick to brand personality • Brand standards • All sites sell
  • 11.
    EDITORIAL CHAIN • Writing •Editing • Publishing
  • 12.
    PROMOTION • Link exchange • Comments on other blogs • Twitter • Facebook • Feedburner
  • 13.
    ANALYTICS • Trackbacks • GoogleAnalytics • Feedburner stats • Cotweet/Hootsuite • Plugins
  • 14.
    MEDIA RELEASES • Audience • Distribution • Life span • Use
  • 15.
    Courtesy Shift Communicationshttp://www.shiftcomm.com/
  • 16.
    MEDIA RELEASES Typical mediarelease Web-based information No headings after the title Broken into sections with bold headings Long paragraphs Very short paragraphs, bulleted lists, tables, graphics Links to full report, additional information, other No links relevant pages on the site, relevant people Full page, looks like a paper document Fits into the template of other information pages on the site Name and phone number of media relations Clearly indicates who each person named is; specialists, often without saying who they are links to email or information about the person Adapted from “Letting Go of the Words”
  • 17.
    EXERCISE • Redact sample media release into web/social-friendly blog post • Publish in Wordpress blog http://prsa.raidiouscontrol.com/wp-admin http://www.ereleases.com/press-release-sample.html
  • 18.
    SUGGESTED READING • Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Janice Redish 2007) • Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives, and Our Future (John Blossom 2009) • Content Strategy for the Web (Kristina Halvorson 2009) • The Chicago Manual of Style 15th Edition (University of Chicago Press Staff 2003) • The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition (Strunk and White 2008) • Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become (Peter Morville 2005)
  • 19.
    SUGGESTED READING • Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Steve Krug 2005) • Prioritizing Web Usability (Jakob Nielsen 2006) • The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web (Jesse James Garrett 2002) • Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man: Critical Edition (Marshall McLuhan 2003) • The Macintosh Way (Guy Kawasaki 1990)
  • 20.
  • 21.
    QUESTIONS, COMMENTS Matt Chandler VicePresident, Content Strategy Raidious Email: chandler@raidious.com Web: www.raidious.com Twitter: twitter.com/mattchandl3r LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattchandler Google: google.com/profiles/mattchandl3r Reader: google.com/reader/shared/mattchandl3r
  • 22.
    RAIDIOUS Raidious is aninteractive marketing and communications company built to produce content and manage dialog for brands. We make, manage, monitor, moderate and measure content for brands. We make the content that makes digital marketing work. www.raidious.com
  • 23.