Getting Business Performance through Blogging

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Getting Business Performance through Blogging

• Sanford Dickert
• Rawlings Atlantic

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Building better business thru blogs

• We have all heard this
• Built it and they will come
• - quiet whisper from Field of Dreams
• Why would they come?
• Our customers are in control of finding what they
  want
• Ten years of internet services (40 US BB
  penetration)
• google, Yahoo! and MSN are indexing information
• We filter our information after evaluating the
  content
• We need to be attractive

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Beauty in the search engine world

• How are we to do it?
• Search is about relevant content in the
  relevant location
• e.g. Finding a auto mechanic in the Yellow Pages
  
• In making the decision, we
• Read the advert (is this what I want?)
• Cold call the mechanic (does he share my
  viewpoint?)
• Ask friends or references (does he have good
  reputation?)

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Blogging empowers the consumer

• By blogging about the content that is relevant to
  you and engaging with the blogging community
  you address the customer needs to reach a
  decision.
• Read the Advert snippet in the search engine
• Cold Call follow along other posts/comments
• Ask for References how high does the post rank
  in google? who ranks them? who comments?
• Through personal publishing, you identify the
  product the customer comes to you, because you
  offer what they need, when they need it

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Social Media returns the promise

• Blogging can be about defining a space the
  power of personal publishing and becoming the
  expert even if there are others already there
• Politics in 04 showed the power of the web
• Fully 75 million Americans 37 of the adult
  population and 61 of online Americans used the
  internet to get political news and information.
  (Pew Internet and American Life
  Project)
• After Black Friday comes Online Monday

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Does blogging really deliver?

• Backbone Media conducted an extensive survey with
  corporate bloggers, and summarized
• 'Another way to publish content and ideas',
  'Thought leadership', and 'Build a community' top
  three reasons for blogging
• Bloggers received results more quickly on the
  search engine marketing factors 'Increase link
  popularity' and 'Boost search engine positions'
  than bloggers received on 'Increasing sales'.
• Within one month search engine ranking and link
  popularity increased
• 83 saw traffic increase due to blog traffic to
  the site
• Search engine keyword traffic increased with
  posts relevant to the keywords
• http//www.backbonemedia.com

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Rod Smith for Governor Study

• Campaign needed a change of online direction
• Increase awareness
• Focus on Democrat
• Increase membership
• Increase involvement
• Site redesign hid other strategies
• Search engine optimization
• Blog engagement

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Rod Smith for Governor Study

• Campaign needed a change of online direction
• Increase awareness
• Focus on Democrat
• Increase membership
• Increase involvement
• Site redesign hid other strategies
• Search engine optimization
• Blog engagement
• Blog recruitment

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Results?
Search engine placement google from 19th to 3rd
Yahoo! from 10th to 3rd MSN already at
1st Site traffic Tripled average traffic Signups
doubled Keyword cost Reduced paid click thrus
due to higher SE placement All within 30
days Launch was Nov 9th
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Next project employment law

• Employment legal firm working with
  CentralPodcasting.com
• Based in New York and California
• Blog Strategy comment on changes in employment
  law and become a reference for employment law
• Email Newsletters provide weekly or monthly
  newsletters on the state of the law w/ stories
• Podcasting be first to market w/ relevant
  content for podcast consumers
• Search Engine Optimization meta tags, keywords,
  content

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Summary

• Blogging leverages the nature of search engines
• More people talking about you, the better
• Any press is good press
• Immediate performance is not guaranteed, but will
  come over time especially if you interact
• Create the dialogue and engage in link sharing
• Create the attraction by conversing on what you
  are about make the honeypot
• Podcasting, social networks, and blogging are all
  about valued, referential connections

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Thank you for your time!

• Sanford Dickert
• sanford_at_rawlingsatlantic.com
• sdickert_at_centralpodcasting.com
• www.rawlingsatlantic.com
• www.centralpodcasting.com

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Blogging Systems