blogging 101 - research-plan-engage-measure

© 2011 IBM Corporation

Contact: Bill Chamberlin, Principal Consultant, Social Insights Practice, IBM Market Insights

Blogging 101: Research. Plan. Engage. MeasureVersion 3-0


IBM Market Insights

About Me Joined IBM January 1981 as a Systems Engineer Career in Sales and Marketing HorizonWatch Community (internal IBM Community) Leader since 2000 focusing on emerging trends, technologies, and business issues. Current Title: Principal Consultant - Social Insights, Corporate Market Insights Where you can find me hanging out online

Profile = LinkedIn Community = Horizonwatching Blogs

Typepad = Horizonwatching Tumblr = HorizonWatching Tumblr = Smarter Planet

Twitter ID = Horizonwatching Facebook = HorizonWatching

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About This Presentation

This deck is meant for those interested in starting a blog for business purposes

URLs are hotlinked. When you are in screenshow, you can click on a link to be taken to the website.

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IBM Market Insights

Table of Contents

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An Introduction to Blogging - What is it?- Why blog?

Getting Started1.Research

• Searching for other bloggers• “Listening” to the conversations

2.Plan• How to set up a blog • Things to think about before you start

3.Engage• Start blogging!!

4.Measure• How Are You Doing?

Getting Better• Tips • Example Blogs

Research

PlanEngage

Measure


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Research

PlanEngage

Measure


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What’s a Blog?

Short for “Web log”

Term first used in 1997

Easy to publish website that serves as a platform to share specialized knowledge or a unique perspective

–Allows individuals (or groups) to directly and easily share ideas with others online.

A conversation catalyst, not just a publishing medium. –Ability of readers to comment encourages discussion,

debate and sense of extended community.–Results in active interlinking among blogs


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Web 2.0 and new social media has opened up many new sources for communication and collaboration.

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The Influencer Network Is Changing

Advertisers

Publishers

Media BloggersEditors

Journalists / Reporters

“Consumers turning to each other online is not a fad anymore. Companies opening up to customers

isn’t that different from the risks associated with doing business every day,” -- Forrester Research

Industry Analysts Customers /

Consumers

Trusted Bloggers /

Twitters / Social Connections

Traditional Media


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Why have blogs become so popular?

We are all interested in what bloggers say because we want to:

Hear the story behind the document/article

Learn from an expert’s ideas and opinions

Confirm what we think we know

Decide what we should pay attention to

Keep up with fast-changing information

Feel connected to someone who has similar interests and knowledge

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BTEBTE22

Blogs allows us to tap into the power of people: BTE2 “behind the eyes and between the ears”


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Many bloggers have found out that blogs are a great way to quickly share information with a large audience

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You write once and your content:

Can be searched

Can be found

Opens your network

Encourages dialog

Builds reputation

Is an ever-present archive


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New product announced.

Social strategy kicks in

Joe = Influential Blogger

$$$

The most popular bloggers realize that they have the ability to influence decision makers

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Jane = Influential Blogger

$$$

$$$

$$$

The more SMEs we have adding their voice to the conversations in the Social Media, the more opportunity we have to influence purchase decisions


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Why be interested in blogging outreach programs?

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• Understand: Monitor online conversations to understand market better, identify who is influencing the conversation and in what social networks they are most active – understand influencers

• Participate in Conversations: Open communication channels. Create a feedback loop. Build /strengthen relationships with external stakeholders.

• Engage & Activate: Help influencers become advocates. Foster stronger advocacy and word-of-mouth, make it simple for them

• Drive demand: for products & services. Measure and adjust

• Boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Increase share of search through building link equity.

• Brand Management: Help enhance and protect company reputation. Build a community around the brand.


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Why should YOU be interested in blogging?

Establish YOUR personal brand. Enhance your career.

Establish / strengthen YOUR SME credibility

Expand your personal network

Improve your communication skills

Helps you do your job better:–Share news and detailed information–Clear up misconceptions in the market–Understand the needs of our customers and constituents–Refine key messages and selling points

Help sell more products

Influence / educate others


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Research

PlanEngage

Measure


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Search and find blogs of interest to you

Some Examples: IT Analysts

– Forrester http://blogs.forrester.com/– Gartner http://blogs.gartner.com/– IDC Exchange: http://blogs.idc.com/ie/

IT Industry Companies– IBMer’s Blogs: http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/– Accenture: http://www.accenture.com/Global/Accenture_Blogs/– Cisco Blogs: http://blogs.cisco.com– Oracle Blogs: http://blogs.oracle.com/– Google Blogs: http://www.google.com/press/blogs/directory.html

Example Risk Management Blogs– Risk Management Monitor: http://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/– Operational Risk Management: http://operationalrisk.blogspot.com/– Forrester Security and Risk: http://blogs.forrester.com/security_and_risk– Burton Group: http://srmsblog.burtongroup.com/– The Clear Risk blog: http://blog.clearrisk.com/


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Google blog advanced search options lets you fine tune your search for the blogs that are specific to your topic area

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http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch/advanced_blog_search


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Google blog search: Example search results page

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IceRocket is a popular blog and social search tool

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Technorati search is another tool to help you find relevant blogs

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Twithority can also help you identify influencers for your topic area

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Research

PlanEngage

Measure


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Have a plan. Link any effort in blogging to your overall business objectives.

Business Process Potential Uses

Marketing Research Monitor other blogs. Understand customers, influencers, etc. Monitor conversations around topics ( e.g., your brand, your key customers, your main competitors, etc.)

Communications Distribute news, press releases, real-time information, crisis management, news during events, product announcements

Networking Form new relationships and ‘ecosystems’ with all stakeholders, including influencers (analysts, bloggers, journalists), peers, colleagues, customers,

Marketing Promotion, coupons, search engine optimization, brand marketing, Influencer marketing, event marketing, social content distribution

Customer Sales & Support

Connect , strengthen relationships, get feedback , conduct polls, provide assistance, link to information, etc.

Partner Support Connect , strengthen relationships, get feedback, conduct polls, provide assistance, link to information, etc.

Human Resources Recruit! Promote company & careers, post jobs

Product Management Generate new ideas, test ideas, get feedback


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Understand that being a blogger is similar to being a journalist who writes a daily/weekly/monthly column in a newspaper or magazine

Activities include:Researching topics to write about

Writing & posting updates to your blog

Reading blog posts by others and commenting there

Respond to comments posted on your blog

A good blog is one where posts are fresh and new posts are frequent.


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The amount of time you spend blogging will depend on how active you want to be.

How often do I need to post?– Try to be predictable.– At least once a week.

How long does it take to create a post?

– For in-depth posts = 1 - 2 hours. – For quick posts = 5-10 min– For microblogs = seconds

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Single author blogs vs multi-author blogs

Single Author BlogPersonal connection

Readers know what to expect

Multi Author BlogRandom reading - variety of topics and writing styles

Quality may vary between blog authors, but this approach typically

produces much more volume of posts than a single author blog

Readers may not connect with the writer

A better approach to setting up a Multi Author Blog is to setup a Single Author Blog and to invite guest writers.


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Anatomy of a blog: What should be on your blog’s website?

The Blog– The posts (the stuff the owner writes)– Comments (comments on a post, often anyone

can leave these)– Trackback (a post on another blog which is linked

to the original post via a comment) For more info on trackbacks click here

Side Bar– BlogRoll - A list of other blogs that the blogger

reads regularly– Bookmarks – Links to featured posts or articles– TagCloud – Summary of tags (keywords) the

author enters for each post– Featured Categories

Other– Twitter Feed: Embed your latest Tweets– Subscribtion to Feeds (RSS, ATOM) - A way for

readers to subscribe to updates from your blog.– Archives

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A quick review of some external platforms

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Platform Pro Con

Wordpress, Typepad, Blogger, Blogsmith, Moveable Type

Very easy to set up. A fair amount ofCustomizability. Free (Typepad and Wordpress has upgrades available for $)

Not a personal domain (although you can redirect to it)Not as fully customizable as if you run your own blog.Free service hosted in the cloud – no/limited guarantees

IT Toolbox Easy to set up. Free. Network effect of being included on IT Toolbox

Very limited customizability in lookand feel. IT Toolbox design/layout may not be for everyone. URL harder to share (although can do redirect)

For more information:

• Choosing a Blogging Platform

• The blog platforms of choice among the top 100 blogs

• Blog software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Research

PlanEngage

Measure


IBM Market Insights

What do you blog about?

Your first blog should introduce yourself to the community

Talk about topics you are:–Comfortable with–Happy to discuss with a wider audience–Have knowledge of (unless asking for information)

Be prepared for responses

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What should you blog about?

That conference you recently attended Product announcements Product feature previews A press release we just issued An analyst report that ranks us highly (or low) Your thoughts on an interesting blog post or article you just read The customer visit you’re flying back from A debate the product team is having on whether to include feature A or

feature B What are you thinking about right now? What will be important in your professional area 5 years from now? 10 years

from now?

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Some basic formatting tips

Length = Don’t worry. Write to fit the post (although don’t run on needlessly)

Images = Great Idea!– Google Image Search and Flickr (http://flickr.com) –

but pay attention to reuse rights

Videos = Yes!!

Tags = Lots of tags help others find your blog entry

Links = Lots of them, too– The more you link to others, the more others will

link to you

– Promote your company

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Make blogging a part of your day1. Don't Waste Time...Be Productive!!

– Write about 1) the project you are working OR 2) an emerging topic area you are passionate about.

2. Your Reader Is Your Client. – Treat your readers like you would your best

client.

3. Make it look professional. – Make it look like you would want any

professional deliverable to look like.

4. Be Visible and Conversational.• Readers enjoy an interactive

conversation….not a one way communication.

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Be a thought leader

Share personal reflections, perspectives and ideas on issues and current events (be smart, but be yourself).

Have deep discussions on important emerging trends.

Connect with thought leaders - engage in their blogs and communities.

Link to other thoughtful blogs in your posts. Talk back and forth.

Be provocative. Take a stand.

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What should you not write about?

Anything that can only be shared under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

Revenue or sales figures – Other than what is officially reported by IBM

Disclosing customer information – If they have not agreed to be a reference

Making commitments about product futures

Anything that goes against IBM’s social computing guidelines or business conduct guidelines

Anything that you would not want to see reprinted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

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Research

PlanEngage

Measure


IBM Market Insights

Measuring success of your blog

Reach = Number of Visitors ‘Stickiness’ = Number of

Subscribers Engagement = Number of

Comments Authority = Inbound Links (e.g.

citations) Conversion = Traffic to Links

Promoted

Source = Hubspot, 5 Ways to Measure the Success of Your Business Blog

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Corporate bloggers focus on measuring number of visitors and comments.

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Source: Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2009


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Research

PlanEngage

Measure


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Things learned from years of blogging Don’t make it look/feel/read “corporate” website.

Write in a conversational tone.

Listen to your audience

Interactivity– Participate after you post.

Freshness– Post on a consistent basis. You decide the frequency.

Admit mistakes publicly

Don't expect praise– Expect criticism. Accept and engage critics...to a point

Be factual– Proof points / case studies

Become an authoritative information source for your readers

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Additional Blogging Tips

Write about what you know and what you truly care about Know your audience, talk about things they want to learn about, discuss and

find valuable Link when appropriate to other relevant blogs and materials If you quote another blogger be sure to credit the creator When commenting, always be transparent about your identity and affiliation Don’t be corporate or overly formal; strive for communication in a natural and

authentic tone Take the time to know people you want to connect with by reading their blogs Start, build upon, contribute to discussions on topics of interest amongst the

other bloggers There is no "off the record"; any communication with bloggers may end up on

their blogs Follow the IBM Social Computing & Blogging Guidelines


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Some IBM related blogs

Smarter Planet http://asmarterplanet.com/ and http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com/

IBM Research - http://ibmresearchnews.blogspot.com/

Ed Brill – Sales BUE for Lotus Notes http://www.edbrill.com (Notes/Domino)

Mary Beth Raven – Design lead for Lotus Notes http://www.notesdesignblog.com

Chris Eaton – DB2 Product Manager http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/database/technology

Mix and Mash blog http://www.mix-and-mash.com

“Turbo” Todd Watson http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/Turbo

Luis Suarez - http://www.elsua.net/

Irving Wladawsky-Berger - http://blog.irvingwb.com/

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My Active Blogs and Microblogs

HorizonWatching on Typepad: http://www.horizonwatching.typepad.com/

HorizonWatching on Tumblr = http://horizonwatching.tumblr.com/

Smarter Planet on Tumblr: http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/horizonwatching

Facebook = HorizonWatching

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In Summary

Blogs are a great way to share information–Test your ideas out with a wide audience–Learn from others–Form new relationships–Build / manage your online personal brand

Recommended Reading - IBM's Social Computing Guidelines at http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html

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blogging 101 - research-plan-engage-measure

Business

specific schedule

startengage

emerging topic

conduct polls

social networks

provide assistance

social media

strengthen