do's and dont's of business blogging
DESCRIPTION
Friday, June 5 Dave Rigotti spoke at Social Media Breakfast Toledo #3 on the "Do's and Dont's of Business Blogging".Dave provided an in-the-trenches overview on how to get started blogging and how to maximize your blog's effectiveness on your business or organization.Along with presenting case studies on how organizations have successfully incorporated blogs into their marketing mix, Dave answered common questions such as:* Should I blog?* How do I get started?* What should I write about?* How do I integrate a blog into my current marketing efforts?* How do I maximize effectiveness?* How do I measure effectiveness?* What are some resources for getting started?TRANSCRIPT
Do's and Don’ts of Business BloggingDave RigottiJune 5, 2009
1
“WIIFM”
Learn basics of blogging
Link current marketing
Maximize and measure effectiveness
Links to most used resources
Learn from real corporate blogs through case studies
2
Should I blog?
Useful Unique Updated
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1211/592835533_9795acd412_m.jpg 3
How do I get started?
1. Designate a blog leader
2. Identify an audience
3. Use WordPress
4. Get key people on board
5. Start and and continue creating great content
6. Establish tone and frequency4
What should I write about?
Anything your readers might like
Avoid the constant “pitch” blog
REMEMBER: It’s a direct, two-way communication
5
How do I integrate my current marketing efforts?
Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin
Include current marketing content on blog
Include blog in current marketing
6
How do I maximize effectiveness?
11 plugins every WordPress blog should have
1. All in One SEO Pack2. Google XML Sitemaps3. Popular Posts 4. Subscribe To Comments5. Twitter Tools6. WP125 7. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
Ask for readers to participate
http://www.bloghighlight.com/wp-content/uploads/wordpress/wordpress-plugin.gif
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How do I measure effectiveness?
Exposure is good
Engagement / action is better
Make sure you’re measuring the right
things!http://www.classicleaners.com/Tape_Measure.jpg
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What are some other tips?
Publish RSS in full-text, not summary
Tell stories and facilitate a conversation
Make it easy to comment
Encourage company-wide engagement
Legality of content
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What are some resources?
Software: http://wordpress.org/, http://wordpress.com/
Webmaster Centers: http://www.bing.com/webmaster, http://www.google.com/webmasters/, http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
Webhosting: http://www.liquidweb.com/, http://mediatemple.net/
Theme: http://diythemes.com/thesis/
Further Reading: http://www.problogger.net/, http://weblogtoolscollection.com/, http://www.dailyblogtips.com/
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Case Study #1: FreshBooks
http://freshbooks.com/blog
Similar design Value-add content Great use of content
type (text, pictures, video)
Easy to subscribe to Overview of FB and
the blog 11
Case Study #2: 37signals
http://37signals.com/svn/
Single out products in sidebar
Human component Lots of interesting
content Recent tweets Clear search bar Easy to comment 12
Case Study #3: Aptera
http://aptera.com/blog/
No connection with main site
No events on calendar
No search No most popular
posts Sporadic post dates 13
The takeaways.
1. Not for every organization
2. Two-way conversation
3. Create great content
4. It’s ok to ask, if you’re willing to give
5. Engagement is better than exposure
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Thank you for your attention.
Please continue the discussion on the Ning community and my blog or Twitter.
T: @drigotti
B: http://daverigotti.com
L: http://www.linkedin.com/in/daverigotti
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About the author.
Dave Rigotti is a writer, speaker, and Internet marketer. He’s work(s/ed) with some of the most well-known and influential brands in the world, conducting search engine optimization and developing marketing communication strategies. In July, he will be joining Microsoft as a consumer-focused marketer on Bing (formerly Live Search), Microsoft’s search engine. Read more by clicking here.
Blog: http://daverigotti.com
Twitter: @drigotti
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