How to Market with a Blog

Jason King BA (Hons) Cert DMPMarketing Consultant

Jason King Consultancy

Today You Will Learn:

• The Foundations of Blogging• How to Leverage Social Media to Market your

Blog• The Importance of Engagement• How SEO & Content Marketing can Boost

your Blog’s Visibility• The Creative Elements of Composing a Blog

• Over 16 years Sales, Marketing & Business Development Experience

JK Consultancy Specializes in:• Social Media• Digital Marketing• Integrated Marketing Solutions• Micro-Businesses & SME’s

About Me

Agenda

• Introduction to Blogging

• How to use Blogging as a Marketing Tool

• The 5 main Benefits of Blogging

• The 5 key Elements of Blogging

Blogging Schedule

Before you start Blogging, create a schedule:

Date Topic Objective

11/09/2013 How to guide for baking a cake

Increase subscriptions

18/09/2013 How to decorate a cake

Promote new product

ALWAYS set an ObjectiveChoose TOPICS in advanceBlog ONCE a week initially then at least TWICE a week

Introduction to Blogging

• Why Blog?

• Cost-Effective Marketing• Build Credibility & Trust• Differentiation Strategy• Demonstrate Expertise• Engage with Customers

• SELL

Introduction to Blogging

• Always Start by asking:

• What questions do my customers ask?• What problems can I solve?• Will my blog benefit my customers?• What does my customer want to read?

Blogging – The Steps to Success

Connect & Engage

Solve Customer Problems

Build Credibility & Trust

Forge Relationships

Sell

How to use Blogging as a Marketing Tool

Your Small Business blog can be used as a Marketing tool to:

• Promote your company expertise• Gain credibility and trust• Forge relationships with industry leaders• Solve customer problems

5 Main Benefits of Blogging

1) Cost effective

2) Lead generation tool

3) Increase website traffic

4) SEO

5) Differentiation strategy

5 Key Elements of Blogging

1) Engagement

2) Social Media

3) Be found – SEO & Content Marketing

4) Guest Blogging

5) Creative

Engagement

• Subscriptions

*Provide the tools for readers to subscribe

*Build a Database

• Aim for comments

*Ask questions

*Invite feedback & constructive criticism

*Be slightly controversial – go against industry norms

*Be Remarkable

Why Market via Social Media?

• Cost-effective• Potential reach• Utilise existing network• Expand your network• Shareability

Shareability

• Include share buttons on your Blog for:

*Twitter *LinkedIn*Facebook

*Pinterest *Google + *Tumblr

*Reddit * *Digg*Stumble Upon

Hotsuite

•Auto-schedule your blogs•Post at Optimum times of the day•Post to multiple Social Media Accounts simultaneously

Alternatively use Buffer or Social Sprout

Twitter

• Focus on your headings – 140 Characters• Change the wording of headings• Establish the optimum time of the day to

post• Re-Tweet older blogs

LinkedIn

• Automate your Blog to your LinkedIn account

• Post to multiple LinkedIn Groups• Comment on other posts on LinkedIn• Respond to all comments

Google +

• Increase your SEO on Google• Post on Google + Communities – This

needs to be done 1 at a time• Copy & Paste your Blog to Blogger

Facebook

• Use Facebook Insights to measure the most/least effective Blogs

• Install a Tab on Facebook using Woobox or Short Stack

• Draw attention to the tab in posts & on your Facebook profile image

Search Engine Optimization

• Use relevant keywords• Conduct Market Research to establish

Keywords• Monitor the keywords used by your

competitors• Enter meta data AKA Tags – Use

Wordpress or consult with your web designer

Guest Blogging – The Benefits

• Position you & your small business as independent thinkers & thought leaders

• Dramatically improve your potential reach• Improve your credibility• Promote your company specialist areas• Differentiation Strategy resulting in gaining

a competitive advantage

Guest Blogging – Platforms to Consider

• Industry leaders in your field – Yes your competitors! – They’ll be thankful for the fresh material

• Industry Associations• B2B platforms – specifically built to host

material from a range of B2B companies• Magazines, Newspapers (local also) –

Online & Print• Industry specific websites

Creative - The 5 Crucial Elements

1) Headings

2) Videos & Podcasts

3) Branding

4) Share buttons

5) Be creative

Headings

• Use as few words as possible• Ask a question • How to guides• Use a number – 5 top tips for.... (people

know exactly what they’ll be reading)• Bold writing with larger text• Pick slightly controversial topics – go

against norms

Videos & Podcasts

• Videos = Increased Engagement• Market your Blog (Vlog) on You Tube• Podcasts – Interview Industry Leaders,

Influencers & Customers

Branding

CONSISTENCY CONSISTENCY CONSISTENCY!• Logo

• Colours• Text• Font

• Language• Images & Graphics• Layout & Format

Be Creative

• Have fun with your blog, be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Move The Needle

Move The Needle

Conduct Market Research with Prospects & Customers and ask:

“What would you type into a Search Engine to find a company like ours?”

Use the findings to establish the keywords to use in your blog

Homework Assignment

1) The Importance of Engagement 2) How to Market your blog on Social Media 3) Help your Blog be found using SEO & Content

Marketing techniques 4) Using your Blog as a Differentiation Strategy to

gain a Competitive Advantage 5) The Creative Elements of your Blog

5 Key Takeaways

 www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org 

Thank You!

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