Creating and Promoting Compelling Content Through Blogging

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Creating & Promoting Compelling Content

Through Blogging

Scott OffordTwitter: @offordscott

@offordscott

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Why Add Content?● Gain authority & visibility in search

engines● Get noticed by key influencers● Get in front of your ideal prospects

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Considerations in Creating Compelling Content● Time● Talent● Team● Topic

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Create Compelling Content

What makes content compelling?

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What Makes Content Compelling?● Aligned with the marketing goals of

the company● Created with a target audience in

mind● Relevant, inspiring or influential,

desirable, timely and sharable● Marketed and distributed through

appropriate channels

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Benefits of Content Compelling● Has a greater potential to be found by

search engines● It is valuable information for sales

prospects ● It answers questions that potential

customers might have● It makes the company look like an

expert in their niche

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Before Getting Started...● Define your goals● Understand your audience● Get your team members’ buy-in

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Define Goals

What is the purpose of the website?What action should a website visitor take?

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Define ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ Goals● Specific● Measurable● Attainable● Relevant● Time-bound

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Determine Success MetricsWhat will count as a ‘conversion’?● Subscribe to newsletter● Download a PDF● View a case study● Fill out a contact form● Request a quote

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Example Goals● Position the

company as the experts in the industry in Wisconsin through blogging within six months.

● Grow website visitors by 15% in the next year and decrease bounce rate by 10% via landing page optimization.

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Develop Buyer Personas

Personas represent the different customer types within a targeted demographic,

attitude or behavior set.

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Creating a Buyer Persona● What Does a Buyer Persona Do?It

ensures content will be more focused on answering questions that prospects or customers might have.

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Creating a Buyer Persona● Why Create a Buyer Persona?It’s

easier to come up with content ideas when you have a clearer, defined vision of how your customers might think.

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Creating a Buyer Persona● How Do I Get Started? Ask yourself

“What would a prospect or customer type into a search engine when looking for a solution to a problem or need?”

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A Brainstorming ActivityBuyer PersonasPersonas represent the different customer types within a targeted demographic, attitude or behavior set

Task: Identify 2 or 3 buyer personas by asking these questions:

o What are the buyers’ concerns, drivers or questions?

o What are the answers to the buyers’ questions?

o In the companies they work, what are the roles of the buyers?

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A Brainstorming Activity● Example 1:

o Early Buyer Persona may be clueless as to what you do, looking for a solution to a certain problem

● Example 2: o Mid-Late Buyer Persona may be looking for a

demonstration of expertise, differences from competitors, validation of your quality and success

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Team Member Involvement

There is a high correlation between management’s involvement to the rate of a

blog’s success.

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● Educate the company’s key influencersabout blogging

● Get executives and staffmembers to buy in

● Encourage everyone toparticipate in brainstorming topic ideas

Get Team Members Involved

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● Bring your team together in a collaborative setting to learn about the company blog

● Discuss:o What is blogging?o How can it be done in a way that gets

results?o What is the purpose, from a company

perspective?o Set the expectations of participation

A ‘Why Blogging?’ Workshop

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● There is a high correlation between management buy-in and involvement to the rate of a blog’s success

● It is much easier to come up with content ideas and to gain cooperation when all employees are “content producers”

Additional Considerations

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Types of Content● Case Studies● Contests / Games● eBooks● Podcasts● How-To Guides● White Papers

● Blogs● Videos● Interviews● Infographics● Curated Content● Webinars

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Generate Ideasfor Content

Come up with ideas for content thatcould be included on the website

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First, divide the team into groups

Sample Task: In the next 10 minutes, come up with as many customer questions as possible.

● Potential questions from the Buyer Personas as well as outside those groups

● Identify what the answer is or where the answer would come from

A Brainstorming Activity

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● Each question asked has an answer and each answer can be a blog post

● Topics can be easily organized, assigned to the right people and then put in the editorial calendar

● Those suggesting the question are probably the closest to the subject and could easily write a quick response

A Brainstorming Activity

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● Interview an employee every week or month as a “get to know us” type of post

● When a team member attends an industry event, take pictures and share a summary or highlights on your blog

● Use a voice recorder at meetings and presentations

More Brainstorming

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Create and Publish Content

Come up with ideas for content thatcould be included on the website

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● Who will plan, assign, edit and upload content to the website?

● Who will review and have the final say before an article is published?

Assign a Chief Content Officer & Managing Editor

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Take a Content Inventory● Create a spreadsheet to track what

has already been createdo Breakdown content by Menu Item /

Navigation, Page Title, Subject Matter, etco Include a “Last Updated” field and an owner

or a go-to persono Also list any downloadable fileso Add a “Comments” field for special notes

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● Create a detailed editorial calendar with dates and assignments

● Share the calendar with the participating team members

Create an Editorial Calendar

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Create an Editorial Calendar● Who will be responsible for writing

content?● Who’s responsible for editing &

publishing?● What will the topics be?● How often will new content get

published?● How we you tell customers and

prospects about the new content?

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Editorial Calendar

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Editorial Calendar

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Considerations● What are we going to do to keep

everyone on track and accountable?● What are we going to do to ensure that

our content is always fresh?

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Tips for Writing and Editing

6 Tips to Help You Get Started

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● Tip 1: Check that the story provides the true value of the topic covered

● Tip 2: Use, but don’t abuse, your important keywords

● Tip 3: Make the content ‘social’o Don’t depend on Google results alone for

traffic


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● Tip 4: Craft compelling, meaningful headlineso “10 Critical Reasons to _________________”o “You’ll Learn _________ at Next Week’s

Webinar”

● Tip 5: Beef up titles, meta descriptions, content and image “alt tags” with popular search phrases and industry keywords


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Tip 6: Remember the ‘Call to Action’● If you want people to comment, did you invite

them to do so?

● If you want someone to call for more information, did you supply the phone number (same for email address if they want to email for more info)

● If you want someone to return to read the blog, did you encourage them to do so by asking them to bookmark the blog or subscribe to it?


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And, Remember...● Think “Sharable”● Create content that really deserves its

place at the top of the search engine results page

● You are creating a resource for your prospects that they will find useful and return to as they get closer to making a buying decision.

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Promote the Content

Taking steps to get your valuable content noticed by

search engines, key influencers and ideal customers.

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Your content might be great, but the search engines and your prospects might need help

finding it.

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Promote the Content● Social Media Status Updates

o Create a status update for each topic and share new blog posts. Ask your followers to share too.

● Intro Paragraphs or Content Teaserso Write short teasers to be distributed to

Linkedin groups and industry-specific forums

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Promote the Content● Comment on Blogs

o Helpful, valuable comments on other blogs of similar topics can generate traffic and develop relationships

● Email Signatures○ add your latest blog post headline to your

email signature

● Share with Target Customers○ Send an email with the URL and a note,

“Thought this could really help your business.”

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Be encouraging from the top, down

Maintain a Culture of Participation

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● Promote Within & Outsideo Sales people could add links to content that

might help the sales process to move alongo When appropriate, send links internally to

staff so they can easily find and share content

● Celebrate Small Victorieso An internal company newsletters could

include articles and authors, positive comments from readers, leads generated, etc.

Maintain a Culture of Participation

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Adding Compelling Content● Increases the authority of your

website in the search engines● Gets your content shared by key

influencers● Gets your website in front of your

ideal prospects

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Compelling Content is...● Aligned with your marketing goals● Created with a target audience in

mind● Relevant, desirable, timely and

sharable● Distributed through appropriate

channels

Thanks!Scott OffordTwitter: @offordscott

@offordscott

@offordscott

Twitter: @offordscott

linkedin.com/in/scottofford

Scott Offord

http://linkedin.com/in/scottofford/

@offordscott

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