supercharge your small business blog:
DESCRIPTION
A beginner's guide to successful business blogging.TRANSCRIPT
Supercharge
Your Small Business
Blog
A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Business Blogging
Nikki Little | Identity
Confession TimeBlogging is hard work!
But…Hard work reaps REAL RESULTS.
Both B2B & B2C brands said “creating
article/blog content”
is the most effective social
marketing tactic.
(2013 eMarketer study)
Why should your small business have a blog?• Showcase expertise/build online
reputation.• Manage your own publishing hub.• Promote your company & leaders.• Generate business leads.• Media/guest post opportunities.• Presentation/speaking opportunities.• Content for social channels.• Build relationships with influencers &
other bloggers.
One ThingTo keep in
mind…
The content landscape has shifted over the years.
Many brands are producing content, so yours MUST stand out.
HOW TO GET STARTED
First steps: Establish goals & choose your platform.
Blog platform options:• WordPress (my fave!) –
Customization, self hosting, own domain name.
• Blogger – Good for text, less customizing, own domain name.
• Tumblr – Great for images, own domain name.
• Medium – A “beautiful space for reading and writing”, less customizing, nice user interface.
• LinkedIn – Blog right within LinkedIn on profile page (good for execs).
Pro Tip #1:Your blog should be part of your
website.
Pro Tip #2:Install analytics &
use to measure success.
Additional first steps:• Audit existing content (what can
be turned into blog posts?).• Determine voice and tone.• Determine authors.• Create content guidelines for
contributors.• Determine posting frequency.• Create content calendar.
Pro Tip #3:Empower employees to
contribute to blog success.
Employees are often a brand’s strongest proponents.
How to get employees involved:• Share blog strategy and content
guidelines with them. • Invite them to contribute ideas and
content. • Give them suggested copy to share posts
on their personal social networks.• Listen to them – help them work through
post ideas. • Create an email template they can send
to contacts to share new posts. • Provide rewards/incentives for
sharing/contributing content.
CONTENT INSPIRATION
Content generation ideas:• Your customers/clients: What questions
are they asking? What do they care about?
• Your employees.• Keywords relevant to your
company/industry (use Google AdWords Keyword Planner and KeywordTool.io).
• Company news/announcements.• Events/philanthropic efforts.• Your company culture.• Hot industry trends (add your unique
perspective).
Content generation ideas cont.:• Customer stories/testimonials.• Forums – what questions are people
asking about your company/products/services?
• News and blogs related to your industry (build off their content – don’t copy).
• Book reviews, recaps of conferences/events/webinars/seminars.
• Content idea generator sites (Portent’s Content Idea Generator, Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator).
• Google autocomplete and related searches.
8 Elements of a Rockstar Business Blog
Important Elements:
1 Frequent and unique content
2 Photos and video
3 Email and RSS subscription options
4 Commenting and sharing options
Important Elements:
5 Responsive design
6 SEO elements
7 Calls to action
8 Content promotion strategy
PROMOTING CONTENT
Content promotion opportunities:• Personal and company social networks. • Email signature.• URL in online profiles.• Business cards.• Comment on other blogs.• Paid ops: AdWords, LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter
ads.• Guest blogging. • Share with relevant groups/people online (be
selective – don’t spam!).• Link to previous posts within content.• Use for new business follow ups/customer
retention.• Include in e-marketing campaigns.
PostMeasureAnalyzeRinse
Repeat
Your Recipe For Success:
Tips From the Identity
Team…
Think like journalists. Dig up the stories people will gravitate toward and invest in emotionally. Find real life examples to validate tips/advice you offer.
Courtney Howell, @CourtneyLHowell
Don’t write for your company. Write for your audience. Latch on to news/industry trends. And pay attention to what competitors are blogging about.
Meaghan Priebe, @MegPriebe
Embrace your core business competencies and let those guide your content strategy. And clearly define your customer demographic.
Sarah Ambrose, @sarambrose
Final Pro Tip
Social media is like an engine. It needs fuel to run.
The best fuel is great content.
Social media is like an engine. It needs fuel to run.
The best fuel is great content.
Your Turn!Questions/Com
ments?
