socialTNT» blogging best practices

“Stop Talking to Yourself: Tips to Better Corporate Blogging”

Christopher Lynn — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:03:04 +0000

This was originally posted on interactive media and marketing news site iMedia Connection.

Many corporate blogs fail because they forget two things:

A blog is not a traditional news publication. It didn’t spring from the ether. It’s a conversation.
A blogger is not a journalist. Journalists report facts. Bloggers connect and share.

So many corporate blogs make the mistake of trying to become a newsletter or an online news site. They are strict and regimented. Even worse, they are self-contained, only read and relevant to those within the company. No surprise, they don’t get a lot of traffic and no one links back.

Why? Cause they are talking to themselves. It’s like someone shut them in a room and they are just chatting away. Yes, some of what is said is good, but who’s gonna hear it?

You have to remember that conversations have two parts: listening and participating.

“We monitor what’s being said on other blogs. That’s how we figure out what to write in posts.”

BAD! To continue the room analogy even further, what you are doing is holding a glass to the wall, listening to the neighbor and then talking to yourself.

I’m not saying it’s bad to just lurk–what’s bad is to lurk and write. If you want to be a member of the blogosphere, however, you have to engage with it. That means that you should reply and respond to the posts you read. If you don’t want to write a comment everytime, that’s fine. Just link back to that post on your blog when you write something based on another idea you read.

You’ll start to become a member of the community. You start finding ideas out in the wild. You identify conversations, share them with your readers, and add your own idea to keep the conversation going. Then *you* will become a faciliator of conversation. You start to feel like a moderator–finding key points, asking relevant questions, and steering the conversation towards things you feel the audience will want to hear.

Eureka! You are a blogger, weaving the best of the web into something beautiful. You are a poet, telling stories of….data centers, micro-processors and networking solutions.

My name is Chris, and I will be your moderator.

[The above photo, "(40/365) Talking to myself..." by shootingstarr(is a blur) on Flickr, used under Creative Commons]

“Don’t Talk About Shoes: How Zappos Creates Compelling Content to Reach Audiences Effectively”

Christopher Lynn — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:57:41 +0000

One of the questions I get all the time is: “What should we blog/tweet/video/facebook about?” My response: Don’t talk about shoes.

When starting any campaign, don’t think about what products you can promote. Think about your target audiences. That may be business-decision makers or developers or shoe shoppers. Who geeks out about your product? And what are they geeking out about?

My number one example lately for effective use of social media to connect with your target audience has been Zappos. For those not familiar with Zappos, they are an online shoe retailer. A dime a dozen, you say? Not so with Zappos. They know the number one thing about sales: It’s all about a personal connection with your buyer.

How Zappos Uses Blogging To Reach Buyers

Zappos has tweleve blogs. One CEO and COO blog. Ten Consumer Interest Blogs. Check it:

Looks like Zappos has broken their audience down into Parents, Health Enthusiasts, Fashion Divas, Runners, Outdoorsy Types and Extreme Sporters (Surfers, Skaters, Snowboarders, etc.). Each audience has a team of content creators writing about topics that pique the interests of these folks. This army of mini-lifestyle bloggers are writing about things like:

And yes, they do occasionally blog about shoes–but more like the history of shoes, choosing comfortable shoes–not product-focused posts like “We have XXX now in stock” or “70 % Off Running Shoes.”

So how can you apply this to routers, processors, endpoint security or enterprise solutions and still stay glamorous? You don’t. To be sexy, you have to stay true to your customers.

How to Create Compelling Content That Appeals to Your Audience:

Listen
- See what your target audience is saying: Where they are hanging out? What are they talking about? How are they saying it?
- Bonus points if you actually survey your customers and audiences
Check out your resources. You may need to do some hiring.
- Is there anyone on staff that can blog about certain topics? Are there developers already blogging? Any that might be interested? Maybe it would be effective to hire a couple of content creators. Juggle the budgets–steal from advertising
Get ready to rock
- What’d you learn during the listening phase? Incorporate that.
- What stories can you tell? What conversations can you have? GEEK IT UP!!
- Run out of ideas? What do *you* love about the product?
Write compelling content. Just Effing Do it!
Get involved.
- Yup, you have to get these content creators to comment on other blogs with similar topics.
- Not sure where to go? Check out alltop.com for a directory of ALL the TOP blogs. (Zappos gets dinged for this one!)

Results:

Increased connection with your customer base
Increase awareness of your product
You increase your SEO and help customers follow the *ahem* tracks back to you

So what’s stopping you? Ask yourself: How can we sell shoes without talking about shoes? Create compelling content and conversations to pique the curiosity of your key customers!

What do you do to better reach your target audiences? Let us know in the comments!

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[The above photo, "I heart my red shoes even tho I never wear them" by lis rock on Flickr, used under Creative Commons] by on flickr

“Just Effing Do It: 8 Steps To Writing Better Blog Posts”

Christopher Lynn — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:05:29 +0000

For both new and old bloggers, sometimes the hardest part of blogging is the process of taking an idea and turning it into something others can appreciate. By breaking each part down into unique actions, a daunting post gets digested into bite-sized pieces. Today, socialTNT shares our 8 step process for writing better blog posts.

1. Look for inspiration

Most of my ideas come to me while I’m at work–a client asks a question or a brainstorm leads to a new thought. Also, reading my favorite blogs, their comments or a heated Twitter discussion can get my mental juices flowing. I’ve even had inspiration hit while I’m at the gym. Inspiration can come from anywhere, so carry a notebook to jot ideas down before you forget.

2. Research Your Topic

Choose anidea and research it on Google, Wikipedia and other blogs. Spend 20 – 30 minutes filling your head with everything there is to know about the topic so your thoughts can pour out when you start writing. Remember: Research can also spawn ideas for future posts.

3. Take A Break

Grab a snack. Walk around the block. Give your brain 5 minutes to process what you’ve just learned.

4. Brainstorm Post Ideas

Take 10 -15 minutes and make a list of all everything that comes to mind. Stay positive and don’t judge the ideas while brainstorming. No idea is too dumb, small, big, etc. Write it all down. You never know what may spawn something newer and better. Keep the list–you never know when you’ll need some ideas.

5. Conduct follow-up research (Optional)

The idea you chose after the brainstorm might need a little more research with some tighter search terms. Email or call a friend, expert or anyone who can help sort out your thoughts or give you deeper insight.

6. Just Effing Write

Choose an idea and write. Don’t worry about making it perfect. If you’re like me, then you’re your worst critic. I used to kill so many posts before they were written by worrying whether they would be too basic or not eloquent enough. Some of the posts I’ve worried most about before publishing seem to be the ones that get the most traffic/comments–once they get written. So don’t let the fear of failure get in the way of creating something great. Just effing write it!

7. Proof it. Clean it up. Give it to a friend

This is the editing phase. Now is your chance to be critical. Read it once for grammar and once for clarity. You may find that you need to write more or cut back a lot. Don’t fret. No one writes perfect posts each time they sit down. Just write. If you start to get too critical, pass it on to a trusted friend for feedback

8. Publish that Bad Boy

Your idea is no longer a child, so set it free. It will mature as comments and discussion grow around it. Smile! You just shared an idea with the world. You are a part of history!

What steps do you take to keep your blog in shape? How do you fight writer’s block? Let us know in the comments!

[This post inspired by "A Technique for Producing Ideas" by James Webb Young, the 43 Folders blog by Merlin Mann, and "Getting Things Done" by David Allen]

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[The above photo, "Vieja Maquina de Escribir. / Old Writing Machine." by Gonzalo Barrientos on Flickr, used under Creative Commons]

“Fight Noise Pollution: Tips on Blogging Past the Echo Chamber”

Christopher Lynn — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:01:41 +0000

Whether building your personal brand or increasing conversation with your customers, there’s no denying that blogs have become a crucial part of any communications and marketing strategy. But with so many people blogging, sometimes it feels like the echo chamber is nothing but noise pollution. Today, socialTNT shares a few tips on how to establish your voice without adding to the pollution.

Every day in our professional lives, we encounter experiences that can be used to help others learn. Write anecdotes of challenges or successes, or share tips and tricks. They’ll help increase your industry’s knowledge, and your readers will appreciate it.
Do you have case studies, white papers or reviews you can share? Do it!
Holiday coming up? Incorporate your blog’s focus into a post with a seasonal angle.
Instead of posting every time you want to share a link, try using Twitter, tumblr, or del.icio.us to create a link log.
One of the most revolutionary things about blogging is that it allows readers to participate in the news dialog. Before writing about the news or another blog post, check to make sure you are adding insight or evolving the conversation. It also doesn’t hurt if you are adding your own personal style to the news (for example, instead of covering the Final Four, what about covering how brackets have moved into the social media space, or the way brands are using these brackets to market to consumers).

Blogging is a great tool to share your unique point of view with the world. With so many people writing, you can’t always have original content. You can, however, always have your own style. Be genuine and you’ll always be able to add to the discussion.

What are some tips you can offer other bloggers on how to fight the noise in the echo chamber? Or is it even a problem? Let us know in the comments!

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[The above photo, “Megaphone” by Indigo Goat on flickr, is used under Creative Commons]