Bastille Marketing

1
Bastille Marketing
Storming the Marketing EstablishmentThrough
Social Media

• Jenni Brand
• Founder CEO
• June 15, 2009

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Who is Jenni Brand?

• Founder CEO of Bastille Marketing
• A Social Media Consultancy www.bastillemarketing.c
  om
• Social Media Consultant for five years with New
  Media Strategies
• Helped brands establish, manage and maintain a
  positive presence within the online landscape
• Worked with numerous Fortune 10, 50, 100, 500
  companies
• Non-profit/Govt, CPG, Fashion/Retail,
  Travel/Tourism, Financial, etc
• 10 years in traditional marketing sales
• Fields of grocery retail marketing, radio sales,
  non-profits, energy
• Extra-curricular activities include
• Speaking circuit seminars on Social Media
• Two blogs contributor to others (Blondes I-View,
  Bastille Marketing)
• Event planner (DCs 1st Annual Cupcake Contest,
  Wedding, Charity Events)

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What Well Cover Today

• Blogging for Beginners - An Overview
• What is a Blog?
• Whats the Big Deal with Blogs?
• Who are Bloggers?
• How to Choose the Right Blog for You
• Which platform, what type
• Setting Up Owning Your Blog - The Bells
  Whistles
• Youve Got a Blog - Now What?
• Examples Resources

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What is a Blog?

• According to the Wikipedia definition, a blog is
  a type of website, usually maintained by an
  individual with regular entries of commentary,
  descriptions of events, or other material such as
  graphics or video.
• A blog is basically a streamlined website that
  has easier technology and is designed to
  facilitate a two-way conversation.

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What is a Blog? (contd)

• Bloggers are those who write (called posting)
  original articles for the blog and/or oversee the
  editorial process of a blog.
• Commenters refer to the online public who read
  and interact with the blogger(s) by leaving a
  comment on a blog post.
• Content is a common term for the information
  written on the blog.
• Blogosphere is a term for all blogs as a family
  and their interconnectivity - a social network
  of all blogs. It is common practice that blogs
  link to each other and share or comment on each
  others posts.
• Syndication/RSS Feeds - Syndication means the
  ability to make blog content available for other
  bloggers to use and publish, typically at no
  cost.

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Blogs Why the Hype?

• There are more than 133 million blogs with 1.5
  million created weekly.
• 94 million US blog readers and 23 million
  American bloggers. Nearly 1 million blog posts
  every 24 hours.
• 95 of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter
  blogs.
• Blogs in 81 languages and 66 countries.

Resource Technoratis State of the Blogosphere
2008
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Blogs Why the Hype? (contd)

• 20 of bloggers think newspapers will be obsolete
  by 2018
• 50 think blogs will be primary news source by
  2013
• 37 have had a blog post quoted in the
  traditional press

• 61 learn about products services from other
  blogs
• Only 1/3 turn to TV/Print as a source of info

Resource Technoratis State of the Blogosphere
2008
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What the Average Blogger Looks Like
Resource Technoratis State of the Blogosphere
2008
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What the Average Blogger Looks Like (contd)
Educated, financially stable, 25-49 y.o.
Resource Technoratis State of the Blogosphere
2008
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Who Reads Blogs?

• 42 of internet users have read a blog(s)
• 33 read blogs regularly
• 11 read blogs daily
• Resource Pew Internet American Life Project
  July 2008 (Aaron Smith) http//www.pewinternet.org
  /Commentary/2008/July/New-numbers-for-blogging-and
  -blog-readership.aspx
• 8 of Americans have a blog
• 46 of blog readers saying that they visit the
  same blogs regularly
• 54 surf for new and different ones
• 43 of blog visitors notice ads on blog websites
• Resource Synovate 2007 http//www.synovate.com/ne
  ws/article/2007/08/new-study-shows-americans-blogg
  ing-behaviour.html
• 28 of US blog readers have taken an action based
  on a blog post
• Resource Edelman, Corporate Guide to Global
  Blogosphere http//www.micropersuasion.com/2007/01
  /edelman_study_b.html
• http//www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/edelman/whitepaper
  010907/index.php

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What Makes Blogs Special?

• Everyone is Welcome - No matter your internet or
  technical abilities everyone can blog. The free
  platforms make it easy and available to all.
• Conversational Content - Blog content is designed
  to be an opinionated, two way conversation. It
  is based on personal interests, expertise, etc.
  This applies to a corporate or organizational
  blogs.
• Reader Interaction - Blogs by nature invite
  reader commentary. It is recommended to allow
  comments, with or without an approval feature.
• Freshness - Frequent posting is necessary to
  attract readers, create stickiness, gain
  credibility, and rank in search engines. No less
  than once weekly.
• Interconnectivity - Blogs create communities by
  reciprocal linking, blog rolls, blog networks,
  etc.
• RSS Technology - Real Simple Syndication allows
  for content to be instantaneously updated to
  other blogs, blog readers, etc.

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The Anatomy of a Blog
Resource MintBlogger.com - http//www.mintblogger
.com/2008/07/understanding-blogger-template-part-1
.html
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The Anatomy of a Blog (contd)
Clean design easy navigation
Topic Tabs
Subscribe Feature
Follow Me Buttons
About Tab
Advertising Tab - easily could be a Donate Tab
Date Author - linked to bio
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The Anatomy of a Blog (contd)
Easy to Share via Twitter
Clean design of blog post
Picture insert yet not cluttered (pls credit all
photos!)
Interactivity - recent comments frequent
commenters encourages time spent on the page
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The Anatomy of a Blog (contd)

• Hyperlink to Authors Bio and Post Archive
• Comments visible - link to full list
• Blog community badges
• Blogroll

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The Anatomy of a Blog (contd)

• A guest post with featured blogger bio picture

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The Anatomy of a Blog (contd)
Social Sharing Features Find Me Functions on
Mashables Summer of Social Good blog
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Which Blog Platform to Choose?
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Setting Up Owning Your Blog

• How to Select a Blog Name
• Make it Easy to remember spell
• Make it Relevant to your business
• Make it As close to your name or acronym as
  possible
• Make it the same as the URL
• Make it Letters only no numbers, punctuation,
  etc.
• Dont use blog in the name - its redundant
• Secure the Domain Name
• Use a free service, but buy the domain name
• www.bastillemarketing.com, not www.bastillemarketi
  ng.blogspot.com
• Google or GoDaddy.com - very simple instructions
• Buy the .org, .com, .net, etc - its worth the
  10/year for people to find you easily!
• The Intersection of Blogs and Print
• Incorporate your blog into ALL print pieces
  Wherever your website is printed, so should be
  your blog
• Put it in your email signature (Read our blog
  www.associationABC.com)
• Resource http//www.problogger.net/archives/2006/
  02/16/choosing-the-domain-name-for-your-blog/

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Youve Got A Blog! Now What?

• Know the Rules of the Game Before You Start
  Playing
• Read up on similar blogs, or blogs written about
  blogging
• Spend Time Introducing Yourself Online Creating
  Loyal Followers
• Communicate often on topic - even if its in an
  informal tone
• Share Useful Content from media, industry, other
  blogs
• Determine Your Key Consumer Audience Target
  Them!
• Remember that they are Consumers before Members
• Remind them of the WIIFM - Whats in it for them
• Connect with Key Influencers in the Social
  Mediasphere Your Industry
• i.e., Social Media Influencers
  ChrisBrogan.com, Mashable, TechCrunch
• Link to them Share news from their blogs leave
  comments on their posts (remember to sign your
  name URL)
• Coordinate/integrate With Traditional
  PR/Marketing Efforts
• Company news can be a blog post if its
  compelling info and offers original content
  (interviews, etc) beyond the press release
  information
• Recruit Internal Bloggers
• Solicit people from within the organization to
  be bloggers
• Develop an editorial calendar - STICK TO IT!

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Examples of Non-Profit Govt Agency Blogs
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Additional Resources

• Blogging Terms - http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List
  _of_blogging_terms
• What Not to Do on a Blog (Tips) -
• Coding Horror - http//www.codinghorror.com/blog/a
  rchives/000834.html
• Use It - http//www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.htm
  l
• Blogs about Non-Profits NP Blogging -
• Frogloop - http//www.frogloop.com/
• Beths Blog - http//beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/
• Non-Profit Tech Blog - http//www.nonprofittechblo
  g.org/
• How-to Tips on Good Blog Design -
  http//www.blogdesignblog.com/blog-design/how-to-b
  log-design-style-guide/
• Technoratis State of the Blogosphere (Education
  Stats) - http//technorati.com/blogging/state-of
  -the-blogosphere/
• Mashable - The Social Media Guide -
  http//mashable.com/
• Social Media Tools 101 - http//www.interactiveins
  ightsgroup.com/blog1/socialmediabeginnersguide/soc
  ial-media-tools-101/
• Social News for NonProfits - http//www.idealistne
  ws.com/

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Questions?

• Thank you.