How Blogging Can Transform Your Marketing

Rick Burnes

Twitter: @rickburnes

Community Manager, HubSpot

October 14, 2010

Oklahoma City American Marketing Association

Agenda

I. About Inbound Marketing

II. Why Blog?

III. Six Keys to a Successful Blog1. Pick Your Target Personas

2. Create a Mix of Posts

3. Write Great Posts

4. Sustain It

5. Spread It

6. Convert It

IV. How to Measure Your Blog

Traditional Marketing (Outbound)

Marketing Today (Inbound)

Declining Traffic for Trade Publications

But We’re Now a Trade Publication

Best Young Companies? Inbound.

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1950 - 2000 2000 - 2050

Flickr: Refracted Moments Flickr: Gaetoan Lee

Marketing With Budget? Or Brain?

www.HubSpot.com/ROIMore:

Why Inbound Is Cheaper

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What Is Inbound Marketing?

Leads

Get Found• Publish• Promote• Optimize

Process ToolsGet Found• Content Mgmt• Blogging• Social Media• SEO• Analytics

Convert• Test• Target• Nurture

Website Visitors

Customers

Convert

• Offers / CTAs• Landing Pages• Email• Lead Intelligence• Lead Mgmt• Analytics

Agenda

I. About Inbound Marketing

II. Why Blog?

III. Six Keys to a Successful Blog1. Pick Your Target Personas

2. Create a Mix of Posts

3. Write Great Posts

4. Sustain It

5. Spread It

6. Convert It

IV. How to Measure Your Blog

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Blogging doesn’t make sense for my industry.

Lazy Excuse!

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Blogging About Soldering Materials

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And Fencing Supplies

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And Golf

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And Pools

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OK, but what’s the business impact?

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1,941 Leads – in the Last Month

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Where did all those people come from?

A Nice-Looking Restaurant Site

Another Nice-Looking Restaurant Site

What’s the difference?

Blog = Better SEO, More Traffic

Website Grade

Google Indexed Pages

Monthly Unique Visitors

www.craigieonmain.com 56 99 6,000

www.greenstreetgrill.com 25 8 2,200

Data from website.grader.com and compete.com

How Many Tickets Do You Have?

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Blogging Means More Inbound Links

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More Indexed Pages

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More Visitors

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It’s simple: If you want to rank in search engines,

you have to blog.

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And Blogging Does More Than SEO

One blog, multiple functions:• Search Engine Optimization• Social Media Optimization• Lead Generation• Education• Thought Leadership• Nurturing• PR• Brand Building• Recruiting• Internal Communication

Agenda

I. About HubSpot & Inbound Marketing

II. Why Blog?

III. Five Keys to a Successful Blog1. Pick Your Target Personas

2. Create a Mix of Posts

3. Write Great Posts

4. Sustain It

5. Spread It

6. Convert It

IV. How to Measure Your Blog

Key #1: Identify Target Personas

Kadient photo by David Meerman Scott

Every time you publish an article, ask:

“Will this attract my target personas?”

Content Attracts the Right People

Neil Diamond

Flick Photo: Marciela

What Keywords Will Attract Your Personas?

• Fill posts with them• Build an archive of content full of them

How We Pick Keywords: Keyword Grader

A Word of Caution

• DO NOT focus on the things you sell your target personas• DO write about the things they want to learn about

Key #2 Create a Mix of Posts

Jek-a-go-go on flickr

Media Companies Thrive on Their Mix

News

Feature

Video

Photos

Opinion

Many Types of Posts Get Traffic

PostInboundLinks

"Baby Got Leads" New Inbound Marketing Music Video 715

Study Shows Small Businesses That Blog Get 55% More Website Visitors 338

Retweeting in Real Life [Cartoon] 97

Is PR Dead? 64

10 Ways a Start-Up Can Use Social Media to Market Itself 58

Raisin Bran – Basic, Everyday Posts

• How-to posts• Rich in keywords• Get good at whipping

them out• Make sure they’re

useful

Greeneyesmilw on flickr

Spinach – Healthy, Thoughtful Posts

• Should establish your site a thought leader in the industry

• Put time into them• Don’t do too many

ulteriorepicture on flickr

Roasts – Big Blog Projects

• Lots of work• Lots of links, discussion

and attention• Pick them well

Chocolate Cake – The Sweet Stuff

• These posts make your blog fun

• A chance to poke fun at yourself

• Lots of traffic/links • Often video, images

Scubadive on flickr

Tabasco – Posts That Start Fires

• Make a bold statement• Be prepared to defend

yourself• Lots of comments and

links• Too many of these post

could lose trust

ANOXLOU on flickr

Key #3 Write Great Posts

Olivander on flickr

No Need to Be Hemingway

Just follow a few simple rules.Photo: Wikipedia

Get Into the Content Mindset

• Make emails into blog posts• Turn forum posts into blog

posts• Shoot videos at events• Interview customers for your

blog• Repurpose company data for

public reports• Share lessons you learn

Flick Photo: Cindiann

Tips for Post Structure

• Use Headings• 500-800 words (or

shorter!)• Lists are OK (just not too

many)• 1 idea per post

Always Add a Photo

• Flickr• iStockphoto• Shoot your own

How to Search for a Flickr Photo

Go to Advanced Search

Then search for CC licensed photos

Write Great Headlines

Top Six Tips for Great Headlines

1. Write the headline before the article

2. Imagine the reader won’t see the article

3. Surprise people

4. No spelling errors!

5. Use your keywords

6. Ask a question (that’s how people search!)

Key #4: Sustain It

Michalo on flickr

Pick a Publishing Schedule

• Once a week? Every Monday and Wednesday?

• Stick to it• The goal is to build up a body of

keyword-rich content (create an asset)

Different Ways of Doing Posts

• Email interviews• Video interviews (conferences, office visitors, clients)• Guest posts from people with similar blogs• “Best of” lists• “How we do it” posts

Should I Hire People?

It depends.

Pros:• You don’t have to do the work• You hire a “professional writer”

Cons:• Nobody knows your business like you do• You don’t build your personal reputation• You don’t participate in the conversation

Key #5: Spread It

Felipearte on flickr

Think of Blogging Like a Job Search

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Network for a Blog as You Would for a Job

Take Comments Seriously

Use these links• Make sure you comment back• Find out who the people are

• Follow their links• Subscribe to their blog, follow them on Twitter

Put Your Blog on Bigger Bloggers’ Radar

• Write posts that link to and/or respond to their posts• Mention their names; most people do Google or

Technorati searches for their name, so they’ll see your post

• Reach out to them on social media

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Build Your Networks, Distribute Your Posts

Where Do You Link to Your Blog?

• Your homepage• Press releases• Business cards• Email signatures

Key #6: Convert It

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How Does HubSpot Convert Visitors?

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Quality Content Behind Forms

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TEST! TEST! TEST!

Agenda

I. About HubSpot & Inbound Marketing

II. Why Blog?

III. Six Keys to a Successful Blog1. Pick Your Target Keywords

2. Create a Mix of Posts

3. Write Great Posts

4. Sustain It

5. Spread It

6. Convert It

IV. How to measure your blog

Metric #1: Subscriptions

• A measure of you blog’s total reach• A “sticky” number

Metric #2: Pageviews

• Great for media sites selling display advertising• Potential problems for your business:

• Doesn’t measure RSS• Weak measure of engagement• What’s the business value of a “view”?

Metric #3: Comments

• Quantitatively, a good indicator of engagement• Qualitatively, a great way to listen to market

Metric #4: Inbound Links

• Measure the SEO impact of your blog• An indicator of your blog’s role in outside conversations

Leads

Website Visitors

Customers

Conversion Is King

Compare Blog Conversions to Other Channels

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Final Thoughts …

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A Blog Gives You Leverage

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Who Knows How to Put All the Pieces Together?

d.j.k. on flickr

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HubSpot Puts the Pieces Together

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rickburnes

Twitter: www.twitter.com/rickburnes

Thank You!

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