The document discusses how blogging can be beneficial for businesses. It provides examples of successful business blogs and outlines strategies for starting and maintaining an effective business blog, including establishing an online presence, building community, tracking analytics, and visualizing content. The key message is that blogging allows businesses to humanize their brand, engage customers, and potentially increase profits when done consistently and strategically.
Emergent Methods: Multi-lingual narrative tracking in the news - real-time ex...
Blogging for Business - Sweet for all sizes
1. Blogging for Business:
Better than cupcakes?
Katie Laird
klaird@schipul.com
www.schipul.com // www.happykatie.com
Katie Laird
klaird@schipul.com
www.schipul.com // www.happykatie.com
http://flickr.com/photos/kjellander/305301902/
2. What we’ll talk about...
• Business Blogs in action
• What the heck is micro-Blogging?
• The power of Visualization
• Blog fodder, tips and tricks
Blogging for Business, Blogging for the People
25. In 140 characters or less...
What are you doing right now?
www.twitter.com
26. The (new) Art of Community Building
A chance to connect and be generous
• Share your brain candy and link love
• Promote community and friends’ events and news
• (secondarily) Promote your events, content and news
• Give live outline of events or presentations
• Tell Katie where the speed traps are :)
• Say thank you!
27. Want to know who is talking about you on Twitter?
Follow the Micro-Blogging buzz
www.tweetscan.com
www.summize.com
www.twitscoop.com
28. Do more with less...
Feed your Tweets into other sites
32. Track the conversation and find out!
www,technorati.com/watchlist
Powerful Social Media search
engine watches for your terms and
updates you
www.google.com/alerts
Email updates for your
company name and keywords
http://alerts.yahoo.com
Yahoo! alerts you of any
occurrences of defined terms
and names
33. Tracking the online conversation...
Further online Reputation Management
Google Trends search:
www.google.com/trends
Technorati search:
www.technorati.com
34. Tracking the online conversation...
How do you compare to your competition?
www.blogpulse.com
Great visuals to track you and
your competition’s online
activity and Buzz
37. Tracking the online conversation...
Timeliness and sincerity mean everything
• Draft response strategy beforehand
• If you need to say you’re sorry:
mean it and back it up with visible action!
• A crisis is NOT the time to start a Blog
• Respond personally and publicly
44. Create your Personal Brand
• Keep it consistent EVERYWHERE
• Create an Avatar
• Add important links / personal
brands to your email footers
• Promote your employee Personal
Brands (www.schipul.com/
happykatie)
Happykatie!
45.
46. Let’s Get Blogging!
• Set up a fast template
Blog
• Start simple - match
branding graphics later
• 5 posts before ‘launch’
www.typepad.com
www.blogger.com
www.wordpress.com
47. Let’s get Blogging!
Wordpress Template Sites
http://topwpthemes.com/
http://www.nattywp.com/
http://www.wpthemespot.com/
49. Let’s get Blogging!
Make your life easier: desktop Blog utilities
http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/
50. Let’s get Blogging!
Badges of honor - make your brand portable
• Let your visitors take your brand
http://www.librarything.com/extras.php
with them
http://www.flickr.com/badge.gne
• Easily embedded / shared
graphics that show interests or
affiliation
• Cooler than a boring logo and
much more interactive
51. Keep up the Blogging magic
• Write regularly (2x week optimal)
• Comment regularly
• LINK LOVE!!!! At least 1 link a post
• Reach out to other Social Networks
to grow community
• Use images as much as humanly
possible
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kt/120468504/
52. Keep up the Blogging magic...
Random Blog post ideas
• Invite guest Blogger to write on industry or event topics
• Interview clients, organization speakers, management team (podcast)
• Post photos from recent company event or outing
• Tips & Tricks for your business or industry
• Quote of the Day (with links)
• Community or industry organization events and info
• ‘Favorite Helpful Links’ series http://www.flickr.com/photos/gla/438729143/
53. Keep up the Blogging magic...
Blog post cheats (b/c life gets busy!!)
• Round up of news snippets and links to
other Blogs
• Social bookmarking links - automatically
updated!
• Liveblog a conference (you’re taking notes
anyway...) www.ma.gnolia.com
• Ask your Community to create content for
YOU - contests, giveaways
54. Qualified traffic is good – link regularly, link well
http://flickr.com/photos/poagao/367128550/
56. Visualization tools
Embed rich media for higher readership
• Use other free online social networks to
host or discover Rich Media:
• Video:
• www.youtube.com
• www.vimeo.com
• Photos:
• www.flickr.com
• Audio:
• www.seeqpod.com
57. Visualization tools
Create your own Rich content
• Jing (www.jingproject.com/) - free
desktop image and video recorder
• Picasa (www.picasa.google.com) - edit
images and video with easy uploads
• ComicLife (http://plasq.com/comiclife/)
- have fun with your images and graphics
59. Follow up with your Community
• Respond to comments and emails
fast and openly
• Get to know your visitors and their
sites (participate)
• Be generous with your links and
props - it comes back to you
• Set up a Blog Roll
• Keep up with those Google Alerts
61. What is Success?
• Define your goals ahead of time:
www.intensedebate.com
• Hits to your Web site / special landing page
• Number of comments or link outs
• Links from Influencers
• Answers to online polls
www.polldaddy.com
62. How do you know it’s working?
• Define your goals ahead of time:
• Newsletter sign up
www.mailchimp.com
• Raised funds (www.chipin.com)
• Number of ‘favorites’ or ratings
• Trackbacks from other Blogs
64. Stick with your strategy and tweak as needed
• High traffic time?
• Post topics particularly hot?
• Who are your top referrers?
• How are they consuming your info?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8136496@N05/2327243497/
65. Tracking your success....
Statistics are available, numbers work...
Google Analytics (free and track your PPC)
www.google.com/analytics
66. Tracking your success....
Stats just a click away...
Built-in Blog utility traffic meters
www.typepad.com // www.wordpress.com
69. Tracking your success....
The Human Bottom Line
• Who are you connecting?
• What relationships are you building?
• Are you crossing online and offline
marketing to reach the masses?
• Are you having fun and getting
smarter?
www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/2561315154/
www.carolinecollective.cc
70. Quickie Social Media To-Do’s
1. Read blogs
(find them on www.technorati.com)
2. Set up an RSS Feed Reader
(www.google.com/reader)
3. Join Facebook (www.facebook.com)
4. Join Flickr (www.flickr.com)
5. Track the buzz about you
(www.google.com/alerts)