A beginner's guide to successful business blogging.

1. A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Business Blogging
Nikki Little | Identity

2. Confession Time
Blogging is hard
work!

3. But…
Hard work reaps
REAL RESULTS.

4. Both B2B & B2C
brands said
“creating article/blog content”
is the most
effective social
marketing tactic.
(2013 eMarketer study)

5. Why should your small business
have a blog?
• Showcase expertise/build online
reputation.
• Manage your own publishing hub.
• Promote your company & leaders.
• Generate business leads.
• Media/guest post opportunities.
• Presentation/speaking opportunities.
• Content for social channels.
• Build relationships with influencers &
other bloggers.

6. One Thing
To keep in mind…

7. The content landscape has
shifted over the years.

8. Many brands are producing
content, so yours MUST stand out.

9. HOW TO GET STARTED

10. First steps: Establish goals &
choose your platform.

11. Blog platform options:
• WordPress (my fave!) – Customization,
self hosting, own domain name.
• Blogger – Good for text, less customizing,
own domain name.
• Tumblr – Great for images, own domain
name.
• Medium – A “beautiful space for
reading and writing”, less customizing,
nice user interface.
• LinkedIn – Blog right within LinkedIn on
profile page (good for execs).

12. Pro Tip #1:
Your blog should be
part of your website.

13. Pro Tip #2:
Install analytics & use
to measure success.

14. Additional first steps:
• Audit existing content (what can be
turned into blog posts?).
• Determine voice and tone.
• Determine authors.
• Create content guidelines for
contributors.
• Determine posting frequency.
• Create content calendar.

15. Pro Tip #3:
Empower employees to
contribute to blog success.

16. Employees are often a brand’s
strongest proponents.

17. How to get employees involved:
• Share blog strategy and content guidelines
with them.
• Invite them to contribute ideas and
content.
• Give them suggested copy to share posts
on their personal social networks.
• Listen to them – help them work through
post ideas.
• Create an email template they can send
to contacts to share new posts.
• Provide rewards/incentives for
sharing/contributing content.

18. CONTENT INSPIRATION

19. Content generation ideas:
• Your customers/clients: What questions are
they asking? What do they care about?
• Your employees.
• Keywords relevant to your
company/industry (use Google AdWords
Keyword Planner and KeywordTool.io).
• Company news/announcements.
• Events/philanthropic efforts.
• Your company culture.
• Hot industry trends (add your unique
perspective).

20. Content generation ideas cont.:
• Customer stories/testimonials.
• Forums – what questions are people asking
about your company/products/services?
• News and blogs related to your industry
(build off their content – don’t copy).
• Book reviews, recaps of
conferences/events/webinars/seminars.
• Content idea generator sites (Portent’s
Content Idea Generator, Hubspot’s Blog
Topic Generator).
• Google autocomplete and related
searches.

21. 8 Elements of a Rockstar
Business Blog

22. 1 Frequent and unique content
2 Photos and video
3 Email and RSS subscription options
4 Commenting and sharing options

23. 5 Responsive design
6 SEO elements
7 Calls to action
8 Content promotion strategy

24. PROMOTING CONTENT

25. Content promotion opportunities:
• Personal and company social networks.
• Email signature.
• URL in online profiles.
• Business cards.
• Comment on other blogs.
• Paid ops: AdWords, LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter
ads.
• Guest blogging.
• Share with relevant groups/people online (be
selective – don’t spam!).
• Link to previous posts within content.
• Use for new business follow ups/customer
retention.
• Include in e-marketing campaigns.

26. Your Recipe For Success:
Post
Measure
Analyze
Rinse
Repeat

27. Tips From the
Identity Team…

28. Think like journalists. Dig up
the stories people will
gravitate toward and invest in
emotionally. Find real life
examples to validate
tips/advice you offer.
Courtney Howell, @CourtneyLHowell

29. Don’t write for your
company. Write for your
audience. Latch on to
news/industry trends. And
pay attention to what
competitors are blogging
about.
Meaghan Priebe, @MegPriebe

30. Embrace your core business
competencies and let those
guide your content strategy.
And clearly define your
customer demographic.
Sarah Ambrose, @sarambrose

31. Final Pro Tip

32. Social media is like an
engine.
It needs fuel to run.
The best fuel is
great content.

33. Social media is like an
engine.
It needs fuel to run.
The best fuel is
great content.

34. Your Turn!
Questions/Comments?

35. Nikki Little
Account Manager, Social Media
Identity
@nikki_little
nlittle@identitypr.com