small business blogging
DESCRIPTION
Tips, tricks and resources for small businesses looking to start or improve their blog.TRANSCRIPT
+Better
Blogging for Small
Business
The Why, How and When of Blogging and Social Media for Small Business Success
Presented to Stroller Strides FranchiseesJuly 14, 2012
Melanie Sheridan . Sheridan Marketing and Media . [email protected]
+*Why Blog?
What are the benefits to small
business blogging?
+
Customers!
*Why Blog?What are the benefits to small business blogging?
HubSpot 2012 State of Inbound Marketing
+
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – help people easily find you
*Why Blog?What are the benefits to small business blogging?
Infographic source: http://blog.riseinteractive.com/2012/05/29/an-easy-guide-to-seo-infographic/
+*Why Blog?What are the benefits to small business blogging?Not everyone uses each social networking
platform, but everyone uses a search engine
-Word of mouth and internet searches are the two most popular ways small businesses are found (82% and 66% respectively)
-Small Business Search Marketing Survey by American Express OPEN
+*Why Blog?What are the benefits to small business blogging?Most useful way to have all your information
in one spot – creates a central hub
+*Why Blog?What are the benefits to small business blogging?Obvious and clear call to action
+*Maintaining A Blog
HubSpot 2012 State of Inbound Marketing
Get readers to your blog and keep them coming back
+*Maintaining A BlogGet readers to the blog and keep them coming backFrequency vs. regularity of posts
-No magic formula, but monitor stats to help measure ROI
HubSpot 2012 State of Inbound Marketing
+*Maintaining A BlogGet readers to the blog and keep them coming backContent is king!
-Look to your industry for inspiration. Blog post ideas can come from anywhere.
+*Maintaining A BlogGet readers to the blog and keep them coming back Photos and videos
-Pictures really are worth a thousand words
-Whenever possible, show, don’t tell
Apps: iMovie, Videolicious, Reel Director, Animoto, Viddy (check for Android counterparts)
+*Micro Blogging
HubSpot 2012 State of Inbound Marketing
Other social media sites to help
distribute your content
+*Micro BloggingOther social media sites to help distribute your content – the spokes of your blog wheel hub
-There are many, many micro blogging platforms. Figure out which ones your customers use most and go there. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are very user friendly and can easily be used on the go.
+*Getting Started
Things to do first when starting a
blog
+*Getting StartedThings to do first when starting a blog
Determine where to host your site. TypePad, Wordpress and Blogger are most popular; each have pros and cons, research before choosing
Create thorough ‘About Me’ and ‘Contact Me’ pages (About.me is a good place to start for a static page)
Decide which other social media sites you’re going to use and place those icons prominently at the top of the page
Learn the basics of SEO, keywords and anchor text
Set up analytics for your site (Google, SiteMeter, Get Clicky)
Set up alerts (Google Alert, Social Mention)
+*Getting StartedThings to do first when starting a blog
Set up an RSS feed reader (great for content inspiration, industry news)
Find mobile apps to stay productive on the go
Look into third parties for automating content (HootSuite, Sprout Social)
Set up your HTML email signature (Wise Stamp, Cool Geex)
Tag your blog posts wisely and use relevant keywords
Look at other blogs/websites you love, take note of the features, fonts, colors etc. that you like for when it’s time to design your site; it will help the design process go more smoothly
+*Resources-Links, articles and websites mentioned
My Pinterest boards for Social Media, Marketing, Blogging and Small Business Success
Small Business blogs
Small Business Twitter chats
Blog about blogging
Small business Twitter chats
http://bit.ly/StrollerStridesResourceList
Follow this link to Google Docs for a printable list of resources
+*Sheridan Marketing & Media
Where to find Melanie Sheridan:
Linked In
Twitter @MelanieMedia
Skpe meladramaticmommy
Thank you!Melanie Sheridan . Sheridan Marketing and Media . [email protected]
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.