nick westergaard | branddrivendigital.com | 2015

social spotlight

BRAND DRIVEN digital

Blogging 101Building an Online Content Hub to Position Your Brand’s Expertise

Your Brand’s Online Hub

Photo via Flickr user Velo Steve

Blogging: Social Spotlight

‣ By the Numbers

‣ How Brands Use Blogs

‣ 5 Cs to Building Your Blog

‣ Things to Remember

1

Blogging by the Numbers

156 millionpublic blogs in existence

Source: Dream Systems Media

23% of timeonline is spent with blogs — twice as much as gaming

Source: Dream Systems Media

31% morebloggers today than their were three years ago

Source: eMarketer

60%of businesses have a business or company blog

61%of u.s. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog

Source: BlogHer

81%of u.s. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs

Source: BlogHer

82%of marketers who blog daily acquired a customer using their blog, as opposed to 57% of marketers who blog monthly — which, by itself, is still an impressive result.

Source: Hubspot

B2B Blogsb2b companies with blogs generate 67% more leads per month than non-blogging firms

Source: Social B2B

13xMarketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive roi

Source: Hubspot

Blogs Create Real Customers

Marketers See the Value

Blog Importance Is Increasing

Top Area of Investment

35 v. 6535% actively update their blog at least once a month where as 65% haven’t updated their blog in a year or more!

Weekly is the most popular blog posting frequency

Source: Marketing Charts

2

How Brands Use Blogs

Types of Bloggers

‣ Hobbyist

‣ Professional/Part-Time/Full-Time

‣ Corporate

‣ Entrepreneurs

Source: Technorati

Who Are Business Bloggers?

Blogging Benefits for Businesses

‣ SEO — Google loves new content

‣ Positioning — Your Brand as a thought leader

‣ Customer Focus — Place for engaging, providing

feedback, & creating evangelists

‣ Market Research — Inform product development

‣ Sales — Platform for info relevant to the sales process

‣ Public Relations — Trusted resource by news media

‣ BONUS! Puts Faces with Your Business

Positioning: Manpower

Customer Focus: Southwest Airlines

Customer Focus: Citrix

Market Research: Starbucks

Sales Process (B2C): Disney Parks

Sales Process (B2B): Caterpillar

PR/Branding: GE

BONUS! Sweet Leaf Tea

3

The Five Cs to Building Your Blog

The Five Cs of Building Your Blog

‣ Content

‣ Consistency

‣ Construction

‣ Composition

‣ Connection

CONTENT:

Determine Focus

Photo via Flickr user Otto Phokus

CONTENT:

Define Your Audience

Photo via Flickr user DeaPeaJay

CONTENT:

Tone & Style

Photo via Flickr user nerrisa’s ring

CONTENT:

Flexible vs. Focused

Photo via Flickr user highlimitzz

Photo via Flickr user cliff1066

CONTENT:

Curation Counts

CONTENT:

Features

Photo via Flickr user Rameshng

CONTENT:

Guest Posts

Photo via Flickr user ScottieT812

Photo via Flickr user DafneCholet

CONSISTENCY:

How Often?

Photo via Flickr user Artnow314

CONSISTENCY:

When to Post?

Photo via Flickr user jmrodri

CONSTRUCTION:

Foundation = Platform

Blogging Platforms

‣ Wordpress — .com & .org

‣ Blogger

‣ TypePad

‣ Tumblr

‣ Posterous

Photo via Flickr user Concrete Forms

CONSTRUCTION:

Trimming Interior

Clean Sidebar

Categories & Tags

Widgets That Engage

Pages That Build the Brand

Photo via Flickr user Dorron

COMPOSITION:

Identity

Logo & Consistent Avatar

Photo via Flickr user alan_cleaver 2000

COMPOSITION:

Colors

Photo via Flickr user DaveFayram

COMPOSITION:

Fonts

Photo via Flickr user eshipul

COMPOSITION:

Look for New Ideas

Photo via Flickr user C!

CONNECTION:

Easy Share & Connect Buttons

4

Things to Remember

Top Highest Earning Blogs‣ Huffington Post ($2.3 Million)

‣ Mashable ($560K)

‣ Perez Hilton ($450K)

‣ TechCrunch ($400K)

‣ Smashing Magazine ($190K)

‣ Timothy Sykes ($150K)

‣ Gothamist ($110K)

‣ Tuts Plus ($110K)

‣ Car Advise ($70K)

‣ Venture Beat ($62K)

Responsive Design

Photo via Flickr user UXmash

Participate in #Blogchat SUNDAYS AT 8 PM CENTRAL ON TWITTER

Photo via Flickr user cogdogblog

Things to Remember

‣ Web Analytics (Google)

‣ Time & Resources

‣ Communicate Value Internally

‣ Blog = Your Brand’s Digital Hub

‣ Think Like a Publisher

‣ “Just Push Publish!”

Get Started

Photo via Flickr user Tyler Merbler

Which Blogs Do You Read?

nick westergaard | branddrivendigital.com | 2015

BRAND DRIVEN digital

Questions?blog: branddrivendigital.com podcast: onbrandpodcast.comtwitter: @nickwestergaard