Your Blog – The Center of engagement and results

Presented by Jim Gilbert, CEOGilbert Direct Marketing, Inc.

Direct Marking ROI – Return on Intelligence

Two case studies to present: Consumer – The Fresh Diet B2B – The Gilbert Direct Marketing Blog

We’re going to have to move quickly to get thru both.

Q&A

Let’s begin…

A class on SEO and writing How to set up a blog I assume you know all this already. Right? And don’t expect that I follow all the rules you

may have learned about blogging: I still use WP hosted blog (Gasp!) I don’t write specifically for SEO (But I know my

audience and the keywords they think in) I don’t monetize with adwords, space sales etc. (I

get yelled at a lot about this.) But to me blogging is about the “Give to Get”

What NOT to expect

I will show you exactly how I built these two blogs from ground up

The types of content I use to engage? The places I promote my clients blogs And how those places drive traffic back! Perspective from a direct marketer

◦ Everything I do is to build engagement, time on site, multiple channels.

◦ Goal is to drive business

OK what to expect

Why do you blog?◦ Fun?

◦ Business?

Are you?◦ A Professional marketer?

◦ A professional blogger (quit your day job?)

About you?

Some quick questions…

Perspective:

The 9 Immutable laws of

Social Media marketing…

Brand + time = revenue.

The more time a consumer spends with your brand and your products, the more likely they are to buy.

Engaging customers/prospects in social media channels increases brand/time.

Social and all channels/time increases likelihood of purchase

Immutable Law of SMM #1

Brand + Channels = Revenue.

The more channels a consumer interacts with your brand in, the more likely they are to buy.

Offering multiple engagement channels allows for consumer self selection of preferred channels.

Being in the right social media channels based on your market increases channel interaction.

Immutable Law of SMM #2

Brand + time + channels = advocates.

Consumers spending time in multi channels breeds customers more likely to become brand advocates and influencers.

This is the new multichannel marketing model for the 21st century.

Social media creates brand advocates and turns peers into your best salespeople.

Immutable Law of SMM #3

Right:◦Engage, Engage, Engage

◦In all channels

So what’s your goal?

The Strategy – Engagement Circle

Keep your readers engaged via all channels.

Your content pushed out to social media sites.

Links back to content on your blog.

The engagement cycle

Case Study #1 The Fresh Diet

High end gourmet meals delivered to your door daily.

Costs $1,000 plus per month. Regional player with no social media

presence a year ago. Major expansion and growth.

About The Fresh Diet

Put a human face to a nameless faceless entity!

Drive engagement (get consumers involved!)

Drive traffic Inform new Promote

About The Fresh Diet - Goals

Engage via content

The Human Face

Engage via content

Articles(duh!)

Engage via content - Contests

•Contests drive engagement get customers to speak up

•(reinforce how they feel about brand)

•Let’s face it. We live in the age of peer to peer sales.

•People love to buy, but hate to be sold!

•Social media allows customers to find you

Customers find you

People are talking!

Engage via content Contests

CONTEST EXAMPLES:1.Tell us your worst diet ever (win a free

week)

2.Tell us your favorite meal

3.Tell us why you chose The Fresh Diet

Of course all testimonials, favorite meals, worst diet responses were published on the blog and other social media sites.

Engage via content

ContestResults

Engage via content

ContestResults

How much is that worth to prospects coming to your blog?

Engage via content

And we do a ton of other content:

• Testimonials

• Commercials being shot

• Food being prepared, kitchen

• Etc, whatever we can think of.

• Essentially we “Open the Kimono”

Engage via content

Engage via content

And just plain silliness

The Marketing Circle

Once a post is up we:• Post it to face book• Tweet it

•Don’t forget the #hashtags•All our Fresh D Tweeps, retweet it

• Each post links/drives people back to the blog

The Marketing Circle

The more we post and tweet

The larger our FB and Twitter followers grow!

More followers = More traffic

The Marketing Circle

Posts also get sent to:

to name a few

Tracking results…

•Most posts have CTA.

•Special offer posts

•Special offer tiles

• Posts via bit.ly

• Referrers in our google analytics reports

• Sales funnel “how did you hear about us?”. Call center and web.

• WordPress (refferers too)

• Newsletter sign ups

• Make sure RSS, Blog updates via email, and newsletter sign ups are prominent.

How we track results

•Our website•Our email newsletters•Marketing collateral

Other key traffic drivers

Next Case study…

Moving on…

Case Study 2

B2B

The GilbertDirect

Marketing Blog

Started blog in November 2008 after I got downsized

50K page views in first year◦ Not the biggest, but solid, loyal following

New “solid” client every 6 weeks How to’s, News, Opinion, Controversy An experiment and outlet for my writing.

Quick Background GDM

Still breaking all the rules you learned today◦ WP hosted (Double gasp!)

◦ Need to convert to self hosted but at this point worried about SEO juice.

◦ Half of views come from search

◦ Long posts, and rants

◦ Controversy!

Use blog as main website:◦ Only thing not there is portfolio of work

◦ Need to figure out how to do that

Quick Background GDM

Build credibility Build a following DM/SM Thought leadership (a byproduct, not by design)

Generate clients Have fun! (take stress off)

Goals of GDM Blog

Article based.

Content relevant to target audience

More rules broken: WP widget based (limiting, but living with it) RSS Link to newsletter Facebook link Twitter feed Have posts emailed Only e-com link is to my other company No call to action No self promotion!

◦ I get yelled at for no ebook, not selling stuff, etc.

Set up

Promoting the blog

Main Referrers

Main Referrers

60% of my traffic comes from Linkedin

Linkedin Strategy for B2B

First started blog:• Used Linkedin Q&A to ask peoples opinions of blog.

• Initial traffic came from there

• Joined groups (allowed up to 50)

• Direct marketing groups

• Joined Complimentary groups – web, design, product merch, apparel, entrepreneur and startup

• Diverse pool of potential clients!!

Linkedin Strategy for B2B

First started blog:

•Used Linkedin announcements asked my connections to review my blog.

• Used Linkedin discussions the same way

• Excellent source of feedback

Linkedin Strategy for B2B

First started blog:

• Posting articles/posts to “News” section of Linkedin drove large amounts of traffic to my blog.

Linkedin Strategy for B2B

Phase two:

• Created Linkedin groups to build reputation as thought leader and drive blog traffic.

• Direct Marketing Questions & Answers

• Social Media Marketing Questions & Answers.

• Commented on other relevant blogs

• Offered guest posts, sought out guest posts on other blogs.

Favorite posts:◦ Happy Holiday’s Your fired

◦ Direct mail is a green business

◦ USPS and no postal increase in 2010

Fun Posts and controversy

30 years of marketing, advertising, direct marketing

Direct and social media marketing agency

Author for Catalog Success and eMarketing & Commerce Magazines (content!)

Adjunct Professor, direct marketing, MIU

Board Member (Marketing VP), Florida Direct Marketing Association

About Jim Gilbert

Copy of this presentation available

Bonus – Copy of 9 immutable laws of SMM to anyone who comments on my blog, or tweets about my presentation today #wcmia

http://gilbertdirectmarketing.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/thanks-for-coming-to-my-presentation-at-wordcamp-miami/

About Jim Gilbert

Jim Gilbert

Gilbert Direct Marketing Inc.

Contact info:561-302-1719

jimdirect@aol.com

Blog http://gilbertdirectmarketing.wordpress.com/Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/gilbertdirect

Thank You