blogging for business

Blogging For Business

John Dolpiesjd@textbroker.com@textbroker

Blog LandscapeBlogs have come a long way from personal pages and basic formats.

Blogs have grown 14% per year.

Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr have a combined unique visitor count of approx. 80 million.

Leverage Your Content!

Phase 1, Start A Blog. Phase 2...

Phase 1 Using the right blog tool for

your business

Phase 2 Topic management and

appropriate post intervals How to create compelling

and engaging content Tracking your blog posts and

ensuring success Leveraging your staff for

content contribution Retaining your blog readers

for future visits

The Right Tool For the Job

Hosted or On-Site?– Blogger,WordPress.com,

Tumblr, etc.

Subdomain vs Directory– blog.domain.com vs

domain.com/blog

CMS already in place?– Drupal– Joomla– Custom CMS– Custom blog software

Custom Blog Software

WordPress Installation

CMS Integration

Choosing a Platform

Self-hosted blogging platforms:– WordPress

• Most common platform• Very customizable• Plug-ins add functionality

– Movable Type• Includes many functions,

like anti-spam, RSS and trackbacks, that are plug-ins in WordPress

– CMS software• Prepare for better site

integration

Phase 2: Structuring For Success

The 5 Ws of Structure– When: Planning an

editorial calendar– What: Creating

compelling and engaging content

– Who: Finding and managing writers

– Where:Tracking blog posts and ensuring success

– Why: Retaining your blog readers for future visits

• Plan large or multiple campaigns

• Promote special events

• Avoid writer’s block• Ensure resource

availability• Brainstorm ideas

Editorial Calendars

Editorial Calendar:Social Media Calendar

Social Media CalendarTwitter Activity

Company Name: Facebook Activity

Who We are in 120 Characters: Linked In Activity

Who We're Talking To: Blog Activtiy

What We're Talking About:

Sunday Saturday

Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:

Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:

Author: Author: Author: Action:

Author:

Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:

Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:

Author: Author: Author: Action:

Author:

Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:

Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:

Author: Author: Author: Action:

Author:

Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:

Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:

Author: Author: Author: Action:

Author:

Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:

Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:

Author: Author: Author: Action:

Author:

End-of-Month Tasks: Review Measurement Data & Review Website Content for Accuracy

Friday

Month

www.theloudfew.com

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Editorial Calendar:Parade Magazine

Keys to Engaging Content

• Audience

• Attitude/Branding

• Goals

• Keywords/Headlines

Audience

It’s not about you.

Audience

Who is your audience?

-Check demographics, locations (Google Analytics & Ad Planner)-Understand motivation for visiting and buying-Look for social signals (Likes, Re-tweets)-What are their needs?

Google Ad Planner

Google Ad Planner: WordPress.com

Google Analytics

Google Analytics: textbroker.com

WordPress: JetPack

Highlights

Page viewsPost viewsReferrersKeywordsChoose time frame

Blogs Love Social

Your Site

You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

A Real Example

Attitude

Now it’s about you.

Attitude: Outdoor Outfitters

Attitude: Tire Companies

Attitude: Branding Questions• What are your advantages? • What’s your history? • Who are the owners or

founders of your company?• How do they influence

communication and presentation? • How do you want to be seen? • What has created a positive

impact in the past? • What are your competitors

doing? • Do you want to be like them or

take a contrasting tone?

Branding Guidelines: American Heart Association

Branding Guidelines: Best Buy

Goals

What should the piece do? • Establish as a leading source? • Review an item?• Raise awareness about an

issue?• Get someone to buy or sign

up for a newsletter?

Should there be a call to action (buy now/ subscribe here) in the text?

Are there sub-goals, like increasing brand awareness?

Base keywords off of your audience’s preferences and your piece’s goals.

Items that are written starting from the keyword can lack focus and easily become stilted.

Keywords inspire snappy, pertinent headlines. Headlines can be re-worked after the content is finished for a stronger correlation between article and title.

Keywords

Headlines

“Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them what you just told ‘em” (accredited to CBS’s Paul White)

Copyblogger recommends the Four “U” Approach to headline writing:• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?

Headline Examples

SES (Search Engine Strategies Conference) does a great job with headlines:

Preview the SES San Francisco Speaker Lineup• Useful/Ultra-specific: Speakers are the highlight of the conference• Unique: Previews feel exclusive

SES San Francisco - Early Bird Expires Friday, July 13• Useful/Urgent: discounts and savings with expiration date• Ultra-specific/Unique: early bird savings

Only One Week Left until SES San Francisco• Urgent: Timeliness adds pressure to read

Share your toolbox by communicating what we've worked on to your writers:

-Audience-Attitude/Branding guide-Editorial calendar -Goals for the piece-Keywords-Headline

The Recap

Besides your prep work, consider including:

•Person: Is this piece written as the company (we at Company Name) or as an independent third party?•Should the piece address the reader directly?•Anything to avoid

• Mentioning other sites, brand names, negativity, searching

•Anything that this particular piece should include that’s not covered in the attitude or the goals?

Guidelines

Every Coach Needs A Good Team

Tapping Internal Resources

Make it easy for employees to share stories

-Set interview times-Dictation software-Contests for written

submissions

Where To Find Additional Support

Writing Sites+Set quality for set prices+Options to work directly with writers for a set price+Quick turnaround+Simple approval process-Can’t talk to writer beforehand“Scout” or “Tryouts”

Freelancers+High quality+Personal attention-High price-Long negotiations-No backups“Free Agents”

Bidding Sites+Wide variety of quality with minimal filters+Wide variety of prices-Long negotiations-Sort through multiple offers-Unclear timelines“Sports camp”

Retaining Readers

RSS Feed

Voracious readersSocial media feeds

Social Media

Large reachEngage community

Email Newsletters

More personalBetter tracking

Conclusion

• Understand as much as possible about your audience

• Reflect your brand with your attitude • Set goals for each piece of content• Generate keywords and titles from goals• Writing sites keep the process efficient• Post to your blogging platform• Follow up with comments and social media

Congratulations on your successful business blog!