get business blogging
TRANSCRIPT
Get Your Business Blogging
Who We Are
Amanda O’BrienInbound Marketing [email protected]
Hall Web Serviceswww.hallme.comwww.hallme.com/blog
• 10+ Years in Business• Online Suite of Tools
Got Questions?
• Use GoToWebinar “Chat” or “Ask a Question”• Twitter with @hall_web
What is a Blog?• Reverse-chronological order
• Easy to update
• Personality
• A journal of activity
• A series of thoughts
• Comments
• Archived
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bunny/61386068/
How are Blogs Used?
• Personal Blogs• Professional Bloggers• Business Blogs
How Businesses Use Blogs:
• Launch New Products
• PR
• Demonstrate Expertise
• Disseminate Information
• Answer Common Questions
• Transparency
• Form relationships
Benefits of Blogging
• Don’t have to be tech savvy
• Easy to update
• Establish authority in an industry
• Network with others in your field
• Expand Brand Awareness
• Communicate with sales leads
• Create personality for your business
Other Benefits of Blogs:
• More content for your site
• SEO optimized
• Great source of links
• Indexed quickly by Google
• Google will revisit your sitemore frequently
• Social Media hub
Getting Started
• Which Software?
– Wordpress, Blogger
– Movable Type, Typepad
• Create (or choose a theme)
• Integrate Plugins
– SEO plugins
– Multimedia Sharing
– Social Media Sharing
Technical Considerations
Finding our Niche
• What makes you different?
• Focus on a certain subject
• Narrow your interests
• The more focused, the less competition
• Long tail search terms
• Potential for monetization
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paullikespics/2466050750/
Start Blogging!
• Title – Short, catchy, clickable
• Content – Concise, clear, lots of formatting
• Media – Photos, Videos
• Categories/Tags – Aid in organization
• Publish – Just do it!
Essential Aspects to a Post:
What to Write About?• Appeal to a Need
– “Ten Secrets to Saving Money with Accounting Software”
• Resource
– “100 Best Sites for Researching Accounting Software”
• Respond to News
– “What Washington's New Family Leave Act Means to You”
• React to Another Blog Post
Writer's Block?
• Shed Mental Barriers
• Take a Walk
• Don't Take it Too Seriously
• Just Start Writing
• Write During an Assigned Time
• Browse the Web a Bit
Sometimes it'll be tough,but you just need to write!
Comment on other blogs• Less commitment than writing a blog
• Establish yourself as an expert
• Link love
• Start relationships
• Build subscribers
• Show support of good work
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/missmiah/4191979465/
The Magic of RSS
• A blog, unlike a website can announce itself
• RSS to email
• Feed Readers
• Google reader
Measuring Success
• Increased Traffic
• Comments left on Blog
• RSS Subscribers
• Inbound links
• More conversation about your brand/company through the blogosphere
Know What You Want,So You Can Know When You Get It
• Keep up to date
• Make an editorial calendar
• Keep on-subject
• Keep it short
• Provide value
• Show personality
REMINDERS!
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/439462046/
• TMI
• Lambast the Competition
• Get (too) Political
• Forget to Update
DON'T
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenr/2275553683/
Learn More!
• SEO Vision Blog - http://www.hallme.com/blog
• Webinars – Every Tuesday at 2PM EST http://www.hallme.com/webinars
• Email Me: [email protected]
• Follow us! http://twitter.com/hall_web
• Probblogger 29 Tips, Tutorials and Resources for New Bloggers