Start your Blog Camp experience off by hearing from content creator and lapsed journalist, Jeff Cutler. He’s been creating messaging, blog posts, videos, photos and even podcasts for companies and individuals for decades. If you recognize the names Brookstone, UNO’s, Ford Motor Company, Fidelity Investments, IDG, Google and Adobe, you’ve got a taste of the caliber of businesses who have hired Jeff to help with their communications. In this keynote – aside from reminding you to drink your coffee, charge your devices and enjoy yourself – Jeff will try to work you into a frenzy with new methods for looking at the content you already have right in front of you. People are increasingly mobile and ridiculously distracted. Take control of their eyeballs with content that’s interesting, valuable and fun. Learn the easiest way to get a blog post written; the right way to connect with mainstream media; the most important element about your videos; and much more. Finally, you’ll go away with a few strategies that will help you work more efficiently, examples of the companies that do content right, and an equipment list of the gear you can rely on when crafting your own content. This session is worth the price of admission…come armed with your questions, too as Jeff will do his best to solve your challenges.

1. SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE
CONTENT CREATION
The Methods and Mindset forTurning Everyday
Events (and non-events) into News forYour Audience(s)

2. TODAY IS…
• Content creation info
• Methods for success
• Types of messaging
• Examples that have worked for me

3. TODAY IS NOT…
• A magic pill to solve all your content woes
• A roadmap to success
• Hand-cramping (put down your pens)

4. TAKEAWAY
• Understanding of the tools you need, and an
awareness of how, to find and/or create great
content for your organization.

5. BE SOCIAL
• Tweet during the session - use #blogcampboston
• Send me questions viaTwitter @jeffcutler
• BookmarkYouTube.com/jeffcutler - I’ll tell you why
when we’re discussing video styles
Pens, tablets, phones, cameras - do whatever you want with them while I’m up here. Tag me everywhere, please. And realize you can also nap a little if needed…you’ll
get these slides and my notes after this session.

6. WHY ME?
• NESN, UNO’s, Fidelity, Brookstone, Ford Motor
Company, Gulf Oil,Apple, Mattel, EMC, Univision,
NY Press Assoc.,TBS, NPR, NewYork Post, NBC
News, Fox 25 Boston, Hotel Marlowe, Brasserie Jo,
IDG, IDC, Mass Mutual, Mondavi Winery, Roger
Williams University, Northeastern University…and
many more organizations, businesses and people.
ABC stands for lots of stuff. Already been chewed, always be closing, etc. In this class, the ABCs are…

7. FURTHER…
• 21 blogs (now down to six or so)
• Active via social
• Trainer for professional societies and colleges
• Photo, video and news experience
But enough about me…

8. Hold on. It’s a lot to know. You don’t need to know all of it. I find new stuff every week, if not every day.

9. Today’s session - I’m going to take you down a path of content creation...how I do it...what I recommend...some best blog techniques...and we might even
do some creative thinking

10. CONTENT SELLS
• Before someone will buy your product or
service, they need information and content is an
ideal way to deliver information
• When you control that content, you win
(losing control CAN BE bad)
Content SELLS! It gets you an audience. Use content on your blog in a coordinated approach with your other efforts. Direct mail still works. Email still
works. Push people to all your information sources. But before you can put content on your site - let’s define it...

11. WHAT IS CONTENT?
• Words, movies, audio, photos, interviews,
features, tables, charts, whitepapers, maps, polls,
social feeds, RSS of news, curated pieces*
• It’s anything you can share to inform your
audiences about your company and products
Content is ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Simple. This isn’t supposed to make your work life hard. Find the content that is fun to create and share.
Wordpress makes the sharing of anything easy. But before you can identify the right content for your site, you need some info...

15. These are examples of my content…and the overarching goal with these is to focus attention on my skill as a content creator. In your case, you will likely showcase your
product or service…like Blendtec does…

16. BLENDTEC
• https://youtu.be/62g0RBBYC6I

17. MESSAGING
• Like Blendtec, make your message simple and
memorable if at all possible
• World’s best blenders, powerful motor, blend
anything, better than other blenders

18. SIMULTANEOUS QUESTIONS!
• Who is your audience?
• What message/content do you want to share?
• What channels are best to reach your audience
with your messages?
It’s not rocket surgery, but until you know your audience as well as you know yourself, you can’t come up with a message that motivates them. By the way, your audience
is NOT internal…unless…

19. AUDIENCE(S)
• Internal - necessary evil
Take care not to create content for your CEO,
sales staff, etc.
• External
Customers, media, competition, suppliers,
potential employees, resellers, partners, etc.
Who are you? Who is your audience? Are you on the programming side dealing with viewers? Public affairs side or customer service? Other? The second two
questions are a bit bigger...what is your message?...and how can you deliver it? Because....

20. INTERNAL AUDIENCES
SELDOM DELIVER RESULTS
Unless the CEO matches the profile of your typical buyer/customer, your message shouldn’t be tailored to her. Talking only to yourself is the fastest way to fail at
marketing.

21. THE MESSAGE MATTERS
• No matter how you deliver it
• No matter what tools you use
• The critical thing is connecting with your
audience
• ENGAGEMENT is not one-way
THE MESSAGE MATTERS! Content is not a silver bullet. Your message needs to be consistent and on point...On the phone or sharing info via tweets - you’re
still talking with your audience....which brings me to the last point...reaching your audience isn’t a ONE-WAY STREET. It’s a conversation.

22. Only you can choose how you want your blog to function. Broadcast IS an option, but it’s not always the best option if you value engagement...so, let’s look at creating a
plan for your content. Think like an editor...

23. • You know your audience; you know your message;
you have some goals…
Now, where are the resources you need and what
channels will you use for sharing/posting?
READYTO CREATE?

24. YOU’RE NOT ALONE
• Communications, HR, social team, managers, C-
suite executives, marketing, general workforce
• Customers, users, clients
• Bloggers, reviewers, influencers
• Media, columnists, critics
You need buy-in from management. You need the power to enforce deadlines. You need to be able to coerce people into creating content. Remember, a
variety of content types is good and this plays right into your ‘team’. Everyone is comfortable with different types of content. Play to that comfort level...

25. EDITORIAL CALENDAR
Look to the future. Magazines are on a 2-4-month schedule...but they know annual topics. Newspapers have daily meetings, but also a longer-term
framework. Focus on at least a year ahead and fill in.

26. DOTHE MATH
• 52 weeks X two-three posts/wk = 104-156 posts
• Ten people in your org. = 11-16 posts per
person/yr
• 20 people = half that
• Spread the workload and become an editor
Don’t carry the entire burden yourself. Allow others to get involved. *ONE THING - don’t over promise on content. There is no going back.

27. • Conferences, product releases, major corporate
moves, seasons, other regularly occurring events
• You’re a video-services firm, plan content around
every major motion picture release and awards
show
• You’re a restaurant, plan content around food
ripeness, seasons and food festivals
PLAN CONTENT
AROUND EVENTS
Think outside of your fishbowl. Start to see things on a global level so your content has a broader reach and more impact.

28. EXAMPLES
• Boston Marathon and a delivery service co.
• Dropping temps and a dry cleaning firm
• Columbus Day and a metal detector product
• Only things out-of-bounds are disasters and
political hot-button topics
Find a way to connect an event to your company, product or service.

29. GO EVERGREEN!
• Use the Internet to create a list of content
topics that can be used any time
• Google Alerts,Addictomatic, social media sites
Need to fill your blog with information, allow Google and other search engines to do your work for you. Google alerts - who’s using these? Addictomatic?
Anyone?

30. GOOGLE IS KING/QUEEN
• It’s FREE
• It’s accurate...mostly
• It’s comprehensive
Jeff Cutler
Get Active Using Social Media
#SPJRI - Tampa - June 2012
Google has it all covered - if you only open your computer or iPhone or smartphone to one site, make it google. Seriously. Searches everything. Knows
what people are thinking about and talking about. It indexes blogs, online publications, news feeds, and more. Learn how to search!

31. WHY NOT BING?
Bing Is Not Google = BING
With Bing you can search Twitter and Facebook seamlessly...but they have their own search functionality. As an aside........ REALIZE that the landscape
continues to develop. Know how to search is really the underlying message, no matter what engine you’re using.

32. Amazingly powerful. Which brings me to the practice of curation. Who’s curating content? Is it ethical? What’s the best way to do it? It’s great for getting
traffic and readers...if you do it right.

33. TYPES OF CONTENT
• Curated - recap of an event with your take
• Original - just how it sounds, new, original
• Derivative - new/better version of other content
• Review - by influencers, users, journalists
• Announcements - news of company or product changes
• Profiles - of management or employees or customers

34. CURATION AND FAIR USE
• Sharing an example of content or copyrighted
work to share your opinion or create a
derivative work
• Don’t share too much
Fair use is just that. It’s fair to use a certain portion of a work if you’re providing a commentary on it or building on it. Some folks cross the line - Boston
Globe and Gatehouse Media. But for blogs, curation is good. DO NOT STEAL. *Images, thumbnails, etc. OK, let’s talk social support...

35. LET’S BE CREATIVE
• Think about your audience and their preferred
channel.
• Think about channel along with your capabilities.
• Think about budgets and channels.
It’s not always simple. The reality of money and channel are important. In an age where everyone is a journalist or marketer, how are you going to get someone’s
attention? And what type of content are you good at?

36. CHANNELS AND
CONTENT FORMS
• Written - blog, microblog, emails (non-html),
press releases, signs and ads, social media
• Visual - photos, video, graphics, html emails
• Audio - radio, podcasts, jingles, testimonials
Any others? How do you currently get in touch with your customers to educate and motivate them? What is your most effective sales tool? What is your most effective
branding channel? Donut slide…here’s how social channels are used…style examples…

37. SEVEN types of content right in this microblog. Now, we’re all about Wordpress, but that’s the beauty of the WP platform, you can do anything with it. So,
get your people lined up to create your content. How many people are in your company....

38. TOOLS 101
• Wordpress • Blogger • Squarespace • etc. etc.
• Or use a social channel to feed traffic to your
site(s) Examples =Tumblr,YouTube, Facebook,
LinkedIN, Instagram, Pinterest
This is personal preference. There are dozens of ways to get your stuff online. If you like control, get a domain and self-host your stuff. Or at least have
your own site that socked sends people to.

39. CES EPIPHANY
• Video was easy for me.
• People would pay well for it.
• I could do more in the same amount of time.
• 47Videos instead of 12 blog posts.
Every year I would bring notebook and laptop to Las Vegas and kill myself toting it all over. Typing until 2AM, getting up at 7AM. I’d be wiped out…until I decided to try
video. 2014 was my best year ever because I found a better way FOR ME. Your methods may vary depending on staffing and your skills.

40. NOTEBOOKS ARE HEAVY
Find a way to capture valuable content
in a way that works for you.
Content excursion. Summer of 2010, I was hired to create a bunch of content…alone. Audience of environmental professionals, topic was the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. Brought all my tools and post to whatever channel worked best for each piece of content. Audio, Video, Written, Photos, etc.

41. In a couple weeks, I created 25 separate pieces of content for the audience and garnered national attention about the environmental aspects of the Deepwater Horizon
spill…so it can be done. http://commonground.edrnet.com/static/resources/35d0c29799/summary.html

42. While it wasn’t branding, the method was the same. I had a topic to share - here’s how the region has been affected - and that’s what I did.

43. No glamor in living out of a suitcase for two weeks. But it taught me a few lessons about creating content on the fly…and helped me make decisions moving forward
when doing client work.

44. LESSONS FROM
THE OIL SPILL
• Everyone has a story to tell
• Every event is interesting to somebody
• Point ofView is key - fisherman vs.
restauranteurs vs. tourists vs. local
business owners vs. taxi drivers vs. college
professors and environmentalists
I like to use a lot of images and video for my client sites. They bring people in. They’re really sharable on social networks. They work. Research has shown
PHOTO CAPTIONS are read more than blocks of copy. Caption all your photos.

45. BRING AUDIENCE
TOTHE STORY
• Don’t tell the story, have another person share
their experiences via audio or video. It’s much
more powerful than a written description.
• Images and video get more eyeballs than
traditional long-form journalism
I like to use a lot of images and video for my client sites. They bring people in. They’re really sharable on social networks.

50. GADGET BAG
• Zoom H2 Recorder
• DSLR capable of 1080 video
• Laptop - MacBook Air
• Mifi Hotspot
• External HDD
• Headphones with a microphone on them
• Access to online resources
•YouTube, UStream, Flickr, blogs, social networks

51. WHAT’S NEXT?
• Brainstorm with your team
• Create an editorial calendar
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew
• Have fun!
Go do it. The best tool for creating content is actually reading other blogs, talking with humans and sitting down at the keyboard or behind the camera.
Get active.

52. 10 MINUTES
• Coffee, Bloody Mary, whatever you need
• Computer
• Earplugs
• Notebook
Jeff Cutler
Social Media Toolkit
#GLBC March 13, 2014, Lansing, MI
Here’s my 10-minute tip to managing social media. It’s not rocket surgery, but it makes sense if you can build it into your routine. Every single morning.
Before your scrums or editorial meetings. Before checking voicemail...do this.

53. Questions….

54. JEFF CUTLER
• jeff@jeffcutler.com
• JeffCutler.com/contentcreation.pdf
Jeff Cutler
Social Media Toolkit
#GLBC March 13, 2014, Lansing, MI