BLOGS AND YOUR BUSINESS:

BROWN BAG LUNCH SERIES

Learn how to implement Blogs into your day-to-day business. All links can be found at: http://del.icio.us/westervillelibrary/blogs

May 7th, 2008

Westerville Public Library

What is a blog?

Blog is a shortened form of weblog. Originally a form of online diary, mostly

created for personal use.Modern blogs: easily updated and very current

web pages written by one or more authors. New content is added through new entries, or

posts.

“Blogs in Plain English” from the Common Craft show

http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

What Makes Blogs Different?

Easy to Publish— by anyone with a computer. Cheap (or free!) and instantly available to your readers, anywhere in the world.

Easily found— through search engines. The more entries you post, the more people will find you.

Social—the blogosphere (global network of blog posts) is about conversation. Topics link from one blog to another.

Viral—Information can spread more quickly than through a news service.

What Makes Blogs Different? Simple Subscription—With a feed reader,

you can get new blog posts sent to you automatically. This saves time and eliminates having to search for new information by visiting each blog individually.

Linkable—Each blog can link to other blogs, and connections between bloggers with similar interests are easily made.

Parts of a Blog

Site subscription information

Header & tagline

Archived posts

Search box

Parts of a Blog

blogroll

Post details (title, time and date, author)

Parts of a Blog

Labels are also known as tags or categories

Links show what other blogs have been saying about your blog post, or your company.Also called trackbacks.

Parts of a Blog

You can choose whether or not to allow comments on your blog. Some bloggers choose to allow comments, but to approve them before they are posted to the blog.

Internal vs. External Blogs

Internal blogs: Accessible only through company intranet Can be used to test out blogging before going

public Can eliminate or reduce company-wide emails

External blogs: An informal way to publish company news A place to ask for customer feedback and ideas A place to respond to public criticism and

comments A way to interact with customers and clients on

a more personal level

Web-based Blog Platforms

Usually simple to use Free or inexpensive to start up Often have many templates available to

choose from Some examples:

Blogger (www.blogger.com)WordPress (www.wordpress.com)Typepad (www.typepad.com)

Blogger (www.blogspot.com)

Wordpress (www.wordpress.com)

Typepad (www.typepad.com)

Stand Alone Blog Platforms

Installed on your servers Blog platforms only Need own hosting service and domain

name, which are ongoing charges (monthly or yearly)

Examples include:www.wordpress.orgwww.movabletype.comhttp://b2evolution.net/

Blogging Basics

General office email rules still apply (be professional, don’t post anything offensive, etc.)

Blog regularly Focus each blog post on a single topic Post titles are important, so make them

specific. The post title is often present in the permanent link to each post.

Choose a font that is easily readable. Be sure to proofread!

Using Pictures On Your Blog

Copyrighted images should not be used without permission

Don’t simply use images from other websites

Instead: Use photos you have taken or to which you

have the rights Find free-use photos online Purchase photos from a stock photo

website

Where to Find Photos

Free images: Flickr (www.flickr.com)

Advanced search for Creative Commons licensed photos

Creative Commons photos always require attribution Stock.Xchang (www.sxu.hu)

Sometimes requires giving credit to the photographer

Images for purchase (often higher quality) iStockPhoto (www.istockphoto.com)

Small format only $1 each Big Stock Photo (www.bigstockphoto.com)

Help Others Find Your Blog

Link to it from your company’s website Post a notice in your company newsletter Put the address on your business cards Tips for Search Engine Optimization, or

SEO Keep posts short Keep posts on-topic Make your post titles relevant Be mindful of keywords

Is your company ready for a blog?Starting an external blog should be a

carefully planned decision. Blogs are inexpensive to start and

maintain, but they take a lot of time to manage successfully.

Consider how your company will choose to manage its blogs: who will be posting? how often will they post? Are certain topics off-limits? How will you handle comments?

Become Active in the Blogosphere Blogs can influence your company, even if the

company chooses not to blog. Blogs and blog comments can reveal what

people are saying about your company Keep track of what is being said in the

blogosphere Respond to posts and comments on other blogs Unhappy customers often do not contact the

company….they blog. Use blogs to pinpoint and solve problems quickly.

Finding Other Blogs

Technorati (www.technorati.com) Google Blog Search

(http://blogsearch.google.com) BlogPulse (http://blogpulse.com/) Blogrolls (what bloggers are reading) Comments (your blog or others) Search engines (keyword search that

adds the word blog)

Real World Example: Kryptonite Locks Sept 12, 2004: Blogger posted a comment on

a bicyclists blog noting that U-shaped Kryptonite brand bike locks could be picked with a Bic pen.

Other bloggers soon read and linked to the story

Within 2 days, widely-read consumer electronics blog Engadget posted a video demonstration

Kryptonite learned of the problem, but did not address it in the blogging community

Real World Example: Kryptonite Locks By September 17th, the story had made

national news in both the New York Times and the Associated Press.

Finally on September 22nd, the company announced it would replace any affected locks at no charge. This cost the company as much as $10 million, or 40% of its annual revenue.

Marketing director Karen Rizzo, as quoted in Fortune: “I don’t necessarily want to use the word ‘devastating,’ but [this has] been serious from a business perspective.”

Real World Example: Kryptonite Locks Ignoring what your customers are saying can be

detrimental to your company Blogs did not create the problem with the

Kryptonite bike lock, but they spread news of it nearly overnight

Kryptonite’s response time of 10 days might have once been considered fast, but not in the blogging world.

Due to their failure to respond to their customers with the same speed at which their customers were complaining, their public image was tarnished.

Even today, a Google search for “Kryptonite bike locks” easily brings up several sites discussing the vulnerability issue.

At the very least…

“There should be someone at every company whose

job it is to put into Google and blog search engines the

name of the company or brand, followed by the word

‘sucks’, just to see what customers are saying”

--Jeff Jarvis, president of Advance Publications’ online properties

Questions?

Mandy, Adult Services DepartmentWesterville Public Library

614-882-7277 ext 3mall@westervillelibrary.org

Presentation can be found at: www.slideshare.net/westervillelibrary

All links can be found at:http://del.icio.us/westervillelibrary/blogs