Marchant, StephanieIMC 619 Week 9

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Summary of Blogging Experience

Traditional marketing places a key message in front of an audience, content marketing begins a discussion with that audience.

There’s more to it than content.  Content brings only a percentage of the value to a company’s blog.  The remaining value derives from blog promotions.  If a blog entry is posted – and enhanced with visual aids, statistics, relevant links, keywords, and calls-to-action – there is still no guarantee the audience will ever see the content.  Reach an audience by developing a blog promotions strategy that is followed with every post.

The fact is, blogging is fast becoming an extremely important strategy for any online marketer. An effective blog can:

drive swarms of traffic to your main website, generate more product sales, create an additional stream of advertising income, be a great customer service tool, and much more!Blogs have an informal, conversational style, and readers can join in by

commenting on each post. Blogs can be chatty, informative, opinionated and often humorous, and it's this "human" aspect of blogs that draws many people to them.

With an effective business blog, you can: Humanize your business. Because a blog is much more informal than other

websites, you can write posts in your own voice and give your business more of a human face. This helps reassure prospective customers that there's a "real person" behind the website who'll take care of their needs. It also allows you to inject much more of your own personality into your online business than your main sales site could do.

Improve your customer service. Your blog can act as a kind of interactive FAQ, allowing your customers to submit questions and you to answer them. You can also provide product updates, how-to articles, and other information of relevance to your customers. Prospective customers who see your blog will be encouraged by your commitment to good customer service.

Give your target market the information they're looking for. With its automatic archiving feature--by date and category--a blog is a fantastic content-management system. It's easy for you to post new information on a regular basis, and it's easy for your visitors to find the information they want. With a well-written, regularly updated blog, you can become a reliable resource in your industry and build a following of loyal readers who depend on your content. These people will be your best potential customers.

Drive traffic to your sales website. If you already have a website, a blog can give your traffic levels a real boost. For starters, your blog will attract new visitors that you can then redirect to your main sales website through links and special offers. But an even more effective technique is to use strategic keywords and links to specific sales pages to dramatically improve the search engine rankings of both your blog and your main website.

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Build your credibility and establish yourself as an industry expert. You can give your credibility a real boost by regularly posting valuable and relevant information on your blog. It's a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area, and allow your visitors to feel much more comfortable buying from you.

Promote your products or services. You can actually sell products directly from a blog, or you can use your blog to mention new products and direct visitors to your sales website.

Generate extra income. There are now several advertising programs available, such as Google AdSense, that allow you to monetize your blog and generate an extra revenue stream.

Some things to consider when creating a blog: Images can be supported with keyword hashtags on Pinterest and Instagram,

and tremendously boost engagement on those channels.  (SEO Web First, 2013) Text-based images combine a visual component with a key message and provide excellent promotional content.

Tailor the messages to fit the audience and optimal posting style of channel.  Review the contents of every blog post, and for each individual key point or subheading, create a separate social media update for each of the social media channels employed. Most social media posts have a small window for viewing, depending on the channel. (GroSocial, 2013) Tweak the content of the social media updates created and repost them later.  Take advantage of using blog image(s) on platforms that focus on images.  This step should result in several unique status updates around one blog post.

Join groups that target the desired audience, such as those found on LinkedIn. Often people join groups that include members from their same industry.  Joining groups within an industry is important for idea generation and staying on top of trends, but not for building viewership.

On a personal note, a blog allows people to see a more private side of a company and get to know them as something more than a business entity. It gives businesses the chance to interact with clients as friends. Blogs create communities of like-minded people. Here, businesses can write their thoughts, allow clients to comment and share theirs. Blogging gives companies an opportunity to talk about what they do in an honest and transparent way. This creates community, not just customers, and that’s an important ingredient in fostering engagement. (Powell, 2010)

A blog may be a great personal and professional marketing tool, but there are some downsides. For one, a blog requires consistent and constant attention and time - lots and lots of time. A company should do regular postings that are interesting and current. (Kerr, 2013) Blogs are a relatively new marketing tool and should be respected as one. Posts should be made carefully to provide meaningful content; too much can clog a blog. Less is more. Also, patience is a virtue with this new technology. Even though postings are almost instantaneous, tangible results can take time. (Mather, 2011)

Besides writing about your own company, a blog is an excellent opportunity for your business to write about important topics in your industry and establish yourself as

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an expert or thought leader. Do you spend a lot of your time educating your customers? Share that knowledge and write a series of blog posts. Many customers research products online long before they buy. By posting good, valuable content potential customers will likely find you first.

A blog post is the perfect vehicle to start a conversation with your audience in order to capture more internet marketing leads. You can encourage visitors to comment on your blog by asking for their opinions within the blog post itself. Make sure to respond to comments and try to use the commenter’s name for a personal touch.

A blog provides the ideal content marketing platform, perfect for storytelling, compatible with visual content, and powered by a long life cycle.

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Building Buzz for a Blog

As soon as I published a post, it automatically fed to my Facebook wall, complete with a thumbnail image. A distribution was created so that each post also goes to Twitter or to my entire e-mail list. This supplemented the Facebook post with email messages to people who are not on Facebook but may be interested in the topic of the latest blog post. I used the blog title as the subject of the e-mail message and repeated it as a hyperlink in the email and thanked them for taking the time to read it.

In addition to using Facebook, I linked my WordPress account to Twitter, Google+, Klout, and LinkedIn to promote my blog. There is also link in my email signature inviting people to read the latest blog post. This simple practice reminds them I have a blog, and may intrigue them enough to click the link.

In that way, even someone like me, with a relatively small group of contacts and friends. They are qualified by the fact that they have already identified themselves as potentially interested in what I have to say.

Figure 1 Screenshot of WordPress Dashboard for Blog

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Of particular note are the number of followers. I was surprised to discover 51 followers on Twitter and 457 followers (out of 476 friends) on Facebook. Nice to know my friends support me. I should have employed the use of hashtags through Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. By using a keyword hashtag, my blog might have had farther reach with those people who are already actively searching for the topic. This is something I will pay more attention to in the future.

Blog Posts for Stephanie Marchant

10/21/2013 What is Emerging Media?10/23/2013 Emerging Media: Marketers, It’s Time to Move (Forbes Article)10/24/2013 Would the phrase “Diversified Communication Channels” be a suitable

replacement for “New” or “Emerging” Media?10/25/2013 How to engage and created community on emerging media platforms10/25/2013 Applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Marketing10/31/2013 Using emerging media for emerging marketing segments11/01/2013 Is the Hispanic audience being overlooked?11/07/2013 There’s an app for that11/10/2013 Does anyone read the right rail?

rmort27: I’m definitely used to paying less attention to the right side of a page. Simple because of the common misconception of the right hand side of the page or the misusage of it. But research shows that the right rail side of a page accounts for up to 20 percent of its available pixels so it would be foolish to completely abandon it for ads. The sidebar can be a good place to feature secondary content.I found some additional suggestions of how to successfully use the right side of a page:1. Give your sidebar a clean design2. Keep sidebar content clear from banner ads3. Have content that is actually usefulGreat post!

11/10/2013 Building a better mousetrap11/12/2013 Using the Power of Bitstrips for Good11/16/2013 Bringing the Outside Online11/16/2013 Combatting Slactivism11/16/2013 How Social Media Can Help Save the World11/20/2013 Sasquatch is real11/25/2013 If Zombies Attack, Move to New Zealand

Joe Barnes: Nice title! Interesting post. Thank you. Games are in. Good story and interesting angle.

11/27/2013 Dear Diary: Today I walked the dog…

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11/29/2013 Would a Blog Entry Convince You to Buy?Natalie Wills: Vacations aren’t cheap and before laying out a lot of money for a cruise, I would search and read for as much information as possible. Just as companies can learn a lot from unofficial blogs, so can consumers. If the blog has a large following, then I’m going to trust that there’s credibility to the blog. As with any large purchase, it’s always “buyer beware.” The ultimate decision will be up to me and I alone am responsible if I choose a cruise that turns out badly. Unofficial blogs can be supported by advertising, so that’s something to watch for; on the other hand, they can be honest and objective too. Research, research, research. Listen, read, watch videos, and then decide for yourself. It’s your money and time you will be investing.

12/07/2013 Talk is cheap, food porn is worth a thousand clicksMusingsofnoelle: When I saw the phrase “Food Porn” I had to read more, as I cannot cook and therefore always depend on others to feed me new and tasty dishes. Because humans are so visual, pictures of the food always helps consumers make decisions at restaurants, as well as wets their appetites for the meal to come. I would love to check out Starry Kitchen and find it amazing that someone cooking and serving food out of their apartment could rank higher than a real restaurant on Yelp. Pretty impressive!Texty2002: Love the description of ‘Food Porn” too! I have to confess it’s my one addiction. To feed (no pun intended) my addiction, I cruise Pinterest, Yelp and follow at least two restaurants that exists in towns where I DON”T LIVE. Yep, I have a problem. For the record, I follow Wow Bao – a Chinese dumpling chain in Chicago because they are incredibly clever in their marketing and use of social media (and they have good dumplings), And I follow Pret a Manger, a great chain cafe that’s popular in Europe. They have a few places here in the states and they are sooo good.

12/12/2103 How to find anything on the Internet12/16/2013 Banking on social media12/19/2013 Are SmartPhones Smarter than Humans?

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ReferencesGroSocial. (2013, February 2). The Pros and Cons of Using Twitter in Your Social

Marketing. Retrieved from GroSocial Blog: http://www.grosocial.com/blogposts/pros-and-cons-of-twitter

Kerr, D. (2013, July 24). Fortune 500 companies give social media a thumbs-up. Retrieved from CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57595401-93/fortune-500-companies-give-social-media-a-thumbs-up/

Mather, O. &. (2011). Does investing in social media create business value? New York.Powell, R. (2010, September 23). How to Use Blogging as a Marketing Tool. Retrieved

from The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Use-Blogging-as-a/124530/

SEO Web First. (2013, July 5). Using Hashtags - Pros & Cons for Businesses and Personal Users. Retrieved from SEO Web First: http://www.seowebfirst.com/blog/hashtags/