Blogging 101:breaking into the blogosphere

Presented by:Megan McMahon (@meganmcface)

@LikeableMediaHarper Collins Training Session #3 Presented by #Likeable

what’s in store…

• Why Blog?• Blogging Platforms• 5 Reasons You Should Be Blogging• Reading Other Blogs

what’s the point?

• Connect with the consumer in a more casual level• Talk directly with consumers/readers via comments• Expand on and explore relevant topics

There are over 200 million US-based blogs. In addition to providing a platform for expanded, easily updatable content,

blogs have another important purpose:

B.L.O.G. = BETTER LISTINGS ON GOOGLE

(and Bing too!)

the facts

• Great way to disseminate info in the voice of your company• Produce content to be shared across social platforms• Every blog post is share-friendly for bookmarking sites

blogging basics

• Provide valuable content for your target audience• Write consistently (at least twice a week)• Provide a truly interactive atmosphere

4 platforms

• Wordpress• Tumblr

• Posterous• Blogger

Wordpress• Variety of themes and plug-ins for use on your own or as a WordPress hosted blog

• Free, upgrades automatically, + high performance

• Over 1200 free themes available to use

-Arras, LightWord, Pixel are a few popular ones

Tumblr

• Ultimate micro blogging platform combing blogs and Twitter

• Users can follow other users or keep their log private

• Options to post text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio, video

Posterous

• Send an email to post@posterous.com and a blog is created for you

• Content can be auto-posted to any social network that is linked to your account

• Ability to manage a group blog (without everyone having an account)

Blogger

• Easy to use with instantaneous setup

• Owned and operated by Google

• Offers free domain name hosting

The Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Be Blogging

1. Extend the Conversation

• Dive into topics and trends even deeper than you would on Facebook + Twitter

• Chance to be transparent and give and “insider look”

• Share in-depth ideas, practices, and stories

2. Attract Future Customers

• Blogs will influence purchase decisions – give a behind the scenes look at new releases

• Give buyers a place to research and interact with you

3. Attract Future Employees

• Give the opportunity for people to look into your corporate culture

-life at the company-how ideas are formed-exciting things that are happening

4. Position Yourself as a Leader

• Blogging allows you to share an intelligent commentary for what’s happening in your space

• Opportunity to stand out from competitors

• Give everyone a voice!

5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Regularly updated blogs lead to great SEO

• Content will work long after it’s been published

• More eyes on your blog = more customer conversation surrounding it

5 Places to Read Other Blogs

best uses / tips

• Connect more deeply to your target audience

• Position yourself as a thought leader in your industry

questions?

Next up…

Online Video:what’s it worth?

what’s in store?

• Basic Tips• Using YouTube• Best Practices• Going Viral

video tips!

• Content is more important than production quality. A good flipcam will do.

• Short and sweet is almost always better. A good rule of thumb is 30-90 seconds per video.

• Have fun. Video is a great way to showcase your brand’s personality.

• Answer people’s comments.

YouTube is...

…the largest video-sharing site with 20 million users and 100 million videos posted a day.

best practices

Your style showcased in a short clip (personal brand)

Optimized for quick and easy sharing (tags)

User friendly and easy to understand (how to)

To the point (don’t ramble aimlessly)

Under 1-2 minutes (always)

Believable and authentic (even comedy)

Exciting to your audience (Give away a prize-VALUE!)

create a YouTube channel

subscribe to other relevant channels

use a flipcam (or iPhone?)

• Doesn’t need to be fancy, it needs to be RELEVANT

your content

Make it relevant! Short, sweet, and filled with interesting content.

publish regularly

• SHORT + SWEET! = more frequent posts

• Helps search & builds your fan base

integration!

• Utilize all of your social network channels to promote new videos

-still tracks views-get more

feedback

answer people’s comments

• Let your customers know that they are being heard on all fronts – not just on Facebook and Twitter

• Encourage feedback on your videos to get to know what your viewers want to see

how important is virality?

• Instead of virality focus on relevancy!

• Not about reaching the MOST people, its about reaching the RIGHT people.

• Create videos on what your target audience wants to hear without trying to go viral

questions?

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Or, email me anytime megan@likeable.com

thank you!