Post on 10-Apr-2017
Beginning to Blog for Business
Christine HalvorsonHalvorson New Media, LLC
My blogging “CRED”
3
May 2, 2005
Today…• Developed design and trained bloggers at
many orgs (samples coming up!)• Write 1 blog post a week for private
company
• Write 2 blogs a week NHSBDC—just surpassed 600 posts!
SAMPLE BLOGS…
Today’s agendaGetting Started• Why Blog?• Creating a practice
blog
Planning to succeed
Blogging strategies1. What to write2. When to write
GETTING STARTED
Consult the handout
10 Steps to Business Blogging
Why blog at all?
Blogging—The Grandfather of Social Media
Facebook & Twitter can lead readers to blogs & vice versa
BLOG
LINKEDIN Marketing “collateral”
CONTENT MARKETING
BLOGwebsite
A blog is a website or micro-site
Reasons to blog
Your Company
Here
You own the media
Reasons to blogOn-line portfolio or photo albuminteractive editorial columntelevision stationradio station daily newspapere-newsletter press release distribution centerYour “homebase” online; you own it
• Inexpensive (except your time)
• Show your authority• Cultivate a community of
readers• Keep a journal
Reasons to blog
You’re in control
We’ll discuss commenting a
little later
Leading blog programs(all work basically the same)
1. Wordpress2. EVERYTHING ELSE3. Perfectly fine: Blogger4. Typepad—I love but it’s going
away
Quick tour of Blogger
Practice blogging first!
1) Open a gmail accountGo to Google.com
2) Go to blogger.com3) Log in using your gmail
account and password
Choose a template
All templates are customizableColor schemeColumn widths and number of columns
Tackle these when you’re comfortable—this is ADVANCED
Let’s go live to blogger
To control comments
A word about domain names
WHAT TO WRITE?
The secret to social media success?
Don’t be boring
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The job of every piece of communications you do is..
INTRODUCE YOUR BUSINESS
to people who do not know it and to
REINFORCE POSITIVE IMPRESSIONS
among those who do
• Minimum 1 time per week to start
• Don’t allow fallow periods• More often if...
• You can manage it• Something shaking in
your industry or – business
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Blogging requires constant care & attention
Stuck for ideas…
Answer questions Conduct an interview
Highlight an employee Predict trends
Invite guest contributors Provide demonstrations/tutorials
Create lists (Top 5…) Tell the back story…
• Answer questions• Conduct an interview• Highlight an employee• Predict trends• Invite guest contributors• Provide
demonstrations/tutorials• Create lists (Top 5…)• Tell the back story…
Stuck for ideas? 47
Writing in a series (which will keep you organized and motivated)
Reviews! – Offer your own expert
thoughts on common products or services
Step-by-step tutorials– Announce series– Post one step at a time
Q & A sessions– Use your most frequently
asked questions, or– Invite commenters to ask
Know thy reader
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Before posting anything…
Ask yourself, will it…
• Educate?• Entertain?• Engage? • Enrich?
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2 x week for SEO
Choose Bloggers carefully
They should like to write, or at least not HATE it.
A planDevelop a plan…
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Set aside time
Decide measures of success• Evaluate what
works & build further
• Sweat—it’s your only equity
• Embrace change—it’s the norm
• Experiment: You can’t predict
audience reaction
Publicizing your blogLinked to from your website’s home page
–Perhaps feed from blog to home pageMentioned constantly on Facebook!Include the URL in email & print, including
business cardsAfter 2 weeks, announce to the world
PLEASE LIKEHalvorson New Media
ON FACEBOOK
About
Halvorson New Mediachris@HalvorsonNewMedia.com
Facebook:http:/www.Facebook.com/HalvorsonNewMediaTwitterhttps://twitter.com/ChrisHalvorsonLinkedInwww.linkedin.com/in/chrishalvorsonWebsitehttp://HalvorsonNewMedia.com
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