blogging for business
TRANSCRIPT
BLOGGING FOR BUSINESSSPONSORED BY CORNERSTONE BANK, EUREKA SPRINGS DOWNTOWN NETWORK | MAIN STREET EUREKA SPRINGS & THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE EUREKA SPRINGS BUSINESS COMMUNITY
WHAT IS A BLOG?• Web + Log = Blog
• A site on the web that is continuously updated to give information or start conversations
• Something Google loves
WHY BLOG?Reasons To Blog
• Product Info
• Service Info
• Become an Expert
• Stay Connected to Customers
Advantages of a Blog
• Cheaper than a Newsletter
• Easier to Update
• Easy to Syndicate
HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE?• Short posts can take minutes: Photos, updates, statuses
• Longer posts can take up to 45 minutes
BLOGGING PLATFORMS• Wordpress.com – Self Hosted Site
• Wordpress.org – Wordpress free site
• Blogger
• Tumblr
• Typepad
HELP! WHAT DO I BLOG ABOUT?• Lists – people LOVE lists
• New Products
• Customer Stories
• You
• Tutorials – How to do something, use something
• Tips & Tricks
• Reviews
• Link Round-Ups
• Current Events/About Our Area
HELP! WHAT DO I BLOG ABOUT?• Recommendations
• New Staff
• Controversial Issues
• New Ideas You Have
• About Running Your Business
• About Your Life – You are LIVING the DREAM
BLOGGING BEST PRACTICES• Research - Follow Blogs in Your Industry
• Look at What Your Competitors are Blogging About
• Develop a List of Potential Blog Topics
• Use Google External Keywords Tool to Find Your Most Searched Keywords
• Write What You Know
WHAT MAKES A GREAT BLOG POST?• A Kick Ass Headline – Grab Attention First Thing
• An Opening Sentence that Bursts Off the Screen
• Break Your Post Into 3 Sections
• Introduction – Introduce the topic• Details – Who, What, Why, Where, When• Finalize – Send them off with a wow
• Link to internal posts and external posts
• Use photographs
• Use video
A NOTE ABOUT KEYWORDS• Don’t write strings of keywords – Google will bust you
• Write in real sentences just like you were taught in school using keywords
• Bold your keyword in your sections and text, but don’t over do that
A NOTE ABOUT IMAGES• Use them
• Take your own – show your world
• If you use others, credit them
• Use multiple images in a post
• Need to edit on the fly? PicMonkey.com
TAGS & METADATA – THE DETAILS OF A POST• Title: Include the Title of Post
• Meta Description: 160 Character Description of Your Post
• Keywords: No More Than 10
• Tags: Words Used by Search Engines to Identify Posts
GRAMMAR POLICE• Spellcheck
• Proof
• Fix Mistakes
HIT PUBLISH!• Publish Your Post!
• Push to Facebook Page, Personal Facebook Profile, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Respond to Comments
• Establish a Regular Schedule of Blogging – The Key is Consistency to Become an Expert
• Let’s Look At Some Lovely Examples!