Blogging on Fire!Tin Dizdarevic - Zemanta

Blogging on Fire!BASICS

• Setting up and optimizing your blogging platform

CONTENT

• Content Strategy

ENGAGEMENT

• Find your audience and engage with them

MEASUREMENT

• Bare Bones Analytics

• Social Media

Blogging on Fire!CONTENT

ENGAGEMENT

MEASUREMENT

Blogging is the MOST effective Content Marketing Strategy for Small Business.

Content Marketing = MEDIA

Storytelling - Exclusivity - Rhythm

Why would I read your blog?

• Thought Leadership

• News

• Spotlight

• Report

1hr Content Marketing

• Setup infrastructure in 1hr

• Spend 1hr per day/week blogging

• Spend 1hr per month analyzing reports

Blogging on Fire!

Set up and Optimize your Blogging Platform

- WordPress (self-install) or WordPress.com

- Other options (Blogger, TypePad, MovableTypeother CMS platforms)

- Find a web host that offers excellent support for your blogging platform.

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!Setting up Plugins/Tools

- Basic- Setting up WordPress (Theme, Akismet, User Mgmt)- Blog Roll- Dedicated Email Address (GMail, etc.)- Photo Sharing Service (Flickr, Picasa, etc.)- Commenting Platform (Stick with WP/Akismet or consider Disqus, et al)

- Analytics- Google Analytics

- Social Media- Twitter Tools- AddThis

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!

Creating a Content Strategy

- Who’s writing?- Double check, triple check- Split up the responsibilities (by expertise, by availability, etc.)- Outsource?

- Style/Voice- Design your blog to match your overall branding.- Create styling/copywriting templates for bloggers to follow.- Aside from guest posts, stick with same voice for the posts.

Blogging on Fire!CEO/Owner

Provide overall company vision as well as personal thoughts.

Product ManagerWrite about new product updates,

upcoming features, ask for feedback.

Marketing ManagerAnnounce new initiatives. Promote team members. Write about press mentions. Follow overall marketing

strategy

Dedicated BloggerFill in the gaps, develop new series. Prod team

members for blog ideas

Sales ManagerAnnounce new customers, interviews

with existing customers

Blogging on Fire!Creating a Publishing Schedule

- Create regular series:- Customer Profiles- Influencer guest posts and interviews- Product highlights- News (mentions, product/service changes)- Lists!

- Highlight trends in your space:- Respond/Republish relevant stories

- News:- Mentions in the media- Product/service changes

Blogging on Fire!

Creating a Content Strategy - Outsource

- Influential blogger in the field- Content marketing services (Contently)- Go cheaper? Is it really worth it?

Perfect Post

• One page of text

• Simple language (SEO)

Perfect Post

• One page of text

• Simple language (SEO)

• At least one image

Perfect Post

• One page of text

• Simple language (SEO)

• At least one image

• Links to explanations

Perfect Post

• One page of text

• Simple language (SEO)

• At least one image

• Links to explanations

• Further reading (internal & external)

Perfect Post• One page of text

• Simple language (SEO)

• At least one image

• Links to explanations

• Further reading (internal & external)

• Easy to share

Perfect Post• One page of text

• Simple language (SEO)

• At least one image

• Links to explanations

• Further reading (internal & external)

• Easy to share

• Call to Action!

Blogging on Fire!

Examples of Posts - Influencer Interviews

- Create a set list of questions that you can reuse- Allow for flexibility- Best is in person > skype > phone > email- Record the interview for use as video as well- Take into account resources to transcribe and edit the interview

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!

Examples of Posts - Industry Trends

- Quotes from relevant recent media coverage- Links to blogs by influencers in your space- Your organization’s stand on these trends

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!

Examples of Posts - Customer Profile

- Highlight your best customers- Show how they are using your organization’s services or products (ideally with a video)- Use direct quotes from the customer- Allow them to write their own post in their own words- Can be reused as case studies or can reuse existing material

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!

Examples of Posts - Lists

- Quick links to 10-15 stories of note

Blogging on Fire!

Blogging on Fire!Engaging Your Audience

SLOW DOWN!

- Potential Audience- Look at your competition- Find users on Twitter and Facebook

- Take advantage of resources like Technorati to ID audience and influencers

- Influencer Outreach- Link to stories by influencers- Reach out to them to let them know of the link- Comment on the original post

Blogging on Fire!

Engaging Your Audience - Encourage Comments

- Challenge Them- Finish off with a concrete question

Make sure you have the resources to react to comments when they come in! No crickets, please!

- Embed a poll

Blogging on Fire!Engaging Your Audience - Embedding Polls

Blogging on Fire!

What if no one is reading?

Consider Distribution Services, such as Outbrain, BlogGlue and.... Zemanta.

Blogging on Fire!Measurement

- Post Retweets/Likes/+1 (total reach)- Comments (holy grail of engagement)- Facebook Likes - General Social Media Sentiment- Social Media Measurement Tools - Crowdbooster, Klout, HootSuite Reporting

- Visits/Visitors- Time spent on blog- Traffic coming from known sources (own web site, social media, partners, mentions, influencers)- Organic traffic

Blogging on Fire!Measurement

- Post Retweets/Likes/+1 (total reach)- Comments (holy grail of engagement)- Facebook Likes - General Social Media Sentiment- Social Media Measurement Tools - Crowdbooster, Klout, HootSuite Reporting

- Visits/Visitors- Time spent on blog- Traffic coming from known sources (own web site, social media, partners, mentions, influencers)- Organic trafficNeed

Context

Blogging on Fire!

Measurement

- Brand Sentiment- Sales?- Conversation?- More Educated Customers?- Drop in Support Requests?

Resources• Zemanta Business

Blogging Series

• HubSpot - Tremendous resource for online marketing

• Content Marketing Institute

• SEO Myths & WP Magic - Casie Gillette

• 15 Must Have Tools for Better Blogging - Contently

• Ultimate Guide to Corporate Blogging- OpenView Partners

Get in Touch!SlideShare:

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Twitter

@zemanta | @tdizdarevic

Email/Web

tin@zemanta.com |zemanta.com