My first blog broke all the rules

Blog Analysis – My first blog broke a lot of the blogging rules

When I wrote my first blog, I did not really have a clue what I was doing.  I had been studying the social media space for a few months and put together everything I knew into a word document.  Then I decided, maybe I can publish it as a Blog.  So that’s how my first blog post was born.  By some lucky accident and even though I broke a lot of the blogging rules, the blog was published by an American social media website, www.socialmediopolis. 

I dived in to the blogging world so to speak and now I’m catching my breadth and want to make my blog more compelling, readable and attractive.  To this end, I have read a great book called ‘Blogging for Creatives’ by Robin Houghton.  This book is a great practical guide to blogging, the different blogging platforms, and lots of blog examples.  So I’ve decided to compare my first blog post and see how it ‘fitted’ into the general rules of blogging

1.       Headline to grab the reader - My first blog post had a decent Headline.  Could I have made it better?  Definitely!

2.       Pick a topic you care about - My first blog did talk about a subject I care and am passionate about, Social Media for Business, so I think this came across and connected to the reader. 

3.       Content – A blog post can be a text, video, photos or audio or a combination of all of these.  - My first blog post was text only.  Now I am investigating how to do audio and video to mix it up for my readers.

4.       Make it short and frequent– Keep it short, approx 250 words is plenty.  Some exceptions including recipes and tutorials apply  - Oh dear, my first blog post was 1,857 words.  My poor, poor readers. I apologise to you all.  As for frequency my next blog post came 4 months later.  I felt I had to have something really compelling to offer my readers before I published anything.  Now I have to blog little and often instead of long and infrequent.  That is a big challenge!

5.       Readability - reasonably sized clear font on a pale background, no background graphics beneath the text, generous line spacing.  Basically make it as easy as possible for people to read your blog post - My first blog post was pretty easy to read but generally a bit boring to look at .  It had no bells and whistles.  Again this is an area I am now working on by changing the template and theme of my blog to make it look more attractive

6.       Tags and Labels should be put into your blog posts so people find blogs related to the topic they want to read about - My first blog had no tags or labels.  I now have added these labels to my blog posts as it makes it easier for people to find. This is pretty easy to do.  Tags and Labels are basically words and phrases that identify and describe your blog content.  By adding these tags and labels your blog post will be found by search engines also. In Blogger which I use, there is a section called 'Post Settings'.  Click on this and a section called 'Labels' comes up.  For this blog post, I will add the following labels 'blog'  'blogging', 'blogging tips', Blogging for creatives by Robin Houghton and 'social media'.  Put in as much as you can, but you are restricted to a certain number of characters you can use.

7.       Easy to share – My first blog post did give my readers an opportunity to share it with others, though I did not realise this and did not encourage them to do so.  At the end of my blog post, on the bottom left of the page, my readers can share my blog post by email, blogger,Twitter,Facebook and Google +. Thank you to any of you who shares this with friends or colleagues! 

How does your blog compare with the 'rules'? Learn anything new today?. I would love to hear your comments

If you would like to start a company blog but do not have the time, email me at murchumar@hotmail.com or give me a call  00 44 7594 969529.  

Has your business the Human touch?

Maybe it’s my Irish way that I always want to ‘make a connection’, but I feel many businesses need to become more human to gain the customers they want and probably deserve.

So what need is your product or service satisfying in me? When I log on to your website, ‘like’ your Facebook Page or follow you on Twitter, what will compel me to action?

How are you inspiring me to give you a call, fill in my contact details, book your service or buy your product?  How do I know you or your product can do what you say? Are you on my wavelength?

You need to put yourself in my shoes.  If I’ve landed on your website or one of your social media channels, I want you to persuade me I’m in the right place.  Do you understand my needs?  Why do you stand out from the crowd?

Strip it back
As more and more companies are realising how important social media and online presence is for their business, they need to examine their offering at a basic human level.  The organisation needs to strip back how it is describing its offering to potential customers.  What human need is your product or service fulfilling?  How are you connecting with your audience?  Can they see what others are saying about your product or service? Are your testimonials and reviews visible?  Remember your best advertisement is what other customers have said about you.

Redefining what you have to offer
Let’s take a Safety supplies company.   Previously it may have described itself as a business ‘who distributed safety supplies’.  Ok, not grabbing me so far! After stripping back the layers, it now becomes more customer focused and describes itself as ‘keeping you safe at work’. Pow! The company now connects to me and my safety!

Similarly a career coach who may once have described their service as ‘career coaching’ may now describe their offering as ‘helping you to unlock your true potential’.  This is a lot more inspiring to read! After all, is that not what any of us want, to unlock our true potential! 

What’s your story?
We all have a story. You have to think about your Company’s Story, what it is trying to do and how it can make your customers lives better.  If you are a sole trader, what are the unique values you bring to your business and customers? Is it personal service, long opening hours or simply specialising in one unique market.

If you are a larger organisation, what is your culture and how is your product or service created? Do you use quality ingredients to produce your product? How is your service quality guaranteed? What makes your organisation unique to those customers relevant to your business?  Let your business talk human to human and you have a greater chance of connecting to – Humans!

‘Pick me, Pick me!’
I’ve injured my back after a fall in a local shop.  Something was spilled on the floor but there was no warning.  My consultant has told me I will be unable to work for a few months.  I am really stressed out, worrying a lot about finances and I need some legal advice and help fast.  When I do a Google search on injury lawyers in my area, the first two websites that pop up are very professional looking but are very different in how they communicate with me.

No!
The first one is very slick and business-like with the dominant colours of grey, black and navy.  There are photos of people in dark suits looking quite serious, ominous looking courthouses and large solid wood tables in big meeting rooms.  The site tells me a great deal about the firm, the lawyers’ careers to date and their qualifications.  Yes it all looks very professional but that urge to contact the company evades me.  Why? I don’t feel that connection.  I’m sure they will be excellent at the legal side of things but I want someone to put me at ease also and provide the support I need.  Something tells me I will feel like a duck out of water!

Yes!
I go back to my search and click on the other law firm.  I am greeted with a similarly slick professional looking website.  However, something is different.  The colours are warmer.  People are dressed in smart attire but the scene looks a lot less intimidating.  There are smiles.  There are concerned faces.  There are some cups of coffee on the table.  I feel a connection!  Their homepage says ‘We stand by your side in challenging times’.  I feel more connected!  Also on the homepage are 2 testimonials from people who had suffered personal injury and couldn’t work for months.   The testimonials describe how these people felt after this life changing event, how the law firm made them feel, how they supported them and the advice they gave on what outside agencies could assist in these difficult times.

You’re the one that I want!
I am totally connected to these stories! It is me with a different name.  I feel the fire ignite within me.  I feel this company is the right ‘fit’ for me.  I am then drawn to a section on ‘community support’ which details the partnerships the firm has with various local voluntary organisations.  This is a firm who is giving something back.  I am so impressed.  The firm is  obviously very successful but also has a social conscience that I can see.  To me, they completely connect with me as a human being and the challenges facing me.

Humanise your business today – You will not regret it!

Thanks for reading!  Have you learned anything from this blog post?  I would really like to hear from you if you took any action after reading this.  Are you using every opportunity in your website and social media profiles to connect to your audience. 

If you need fresh eyes to carry out a website and social media review for your business

Call me at  00 44 7594 969529

Follow me on Twitter @marianmurphy2

Email me on murchumar@hotmail.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marian-murphy/4a/a08/aa3

 

Give your business some TLC : Tweet Like Connect

Give your business some TLC – Tweet Like Connect

Go on, you know you have to! Feel the fear and do it anyway!!

Tweet, Like and Connect seem to be the most commonly used words everywhere now.  Are they relevant to your business? The answer is a resounding YES.  All businesses should have a Social Media Personality.  So what is the recipe for a dynamic digital presence?

1 Facebook Page www.facebook.com

1 Twitter account www.twitter.com

1 Linked In account www.linkedin.com

Usernames and passwords stored safely

Lots of interesting content

A large splash of imagination

100% commitment

Use Twitter to talk about what is happening now.  Use Facebook so people can pledge their ‘Like’ for you and you can build up your online community.   Use LinkedIn to showcase your skills, experience and recommendations.   

Businesses have to move with the times and embrace these ever evolving social media sites.  Social media is changing the way we do business.  We all now have to ability to really connect with our customers and potential customers in a very personal way. 

Using social media we have the power to directly inform our customers and compel people to do something or take action when the time is right for them.  What matters now is what others say about your business, not what you say yourself.  The power has shifted from the company to the customer. 

Where are all those great recommendations people have given about your business? Are they visible to potential customers?   Now is the time to capture what people think and say about your business and post those great reviews to your social media sites, for all to see.    Put all that collateral in the social media bank!

Of course, setting up social media accounts is free but the process of building up an online community and creating interesting content is a labour intensive one.  Those who make the time will reap the rewards

To connect to people, you need to understand and be good at building relationships.  Consumers now want companies to open up so they can really see them in a transparent light.  Some businesses are wary of this open relationship with customers as they feel they are losing control.  However businesses should realise positive and negative conversations can happen about them, whether they are involved or not.  Why would you not want to know what your customers are saying about you? The company who engages will have the competitive edge.  If you want to hear what people are saying about your brand or business set up alerts on google alerts (www.google.com/alerts ) and on social mention (www.socialmention.com)  and  you will see the conversations taking place.

FACEBOOK

Using Facebook  you need to think about your audience and what content they will find interesting.  You must start the process of getting people to like your page, which can take time.  If you update your facebook page regularly, your audience will be more engaged with you. Have a decent profile photo for your business as this will be the first impression people get.  Also ensure your ‘About’ section, is informative and keyword enabled.   Build up your Timeline from the date the organisation was founded to the present day.  Put the Facebook ‘Like’ button onto your website to give a joined up approach.

The key to effective social media is to keep your target audience engaged through interesting content.  Your Facebook page should be interactive and you need to nurture your relationships, generate awareness of your business, build a loyal following, magnify word of mouth, gain insights into your customer requirements and eventually your audience will do business with you.  Facebook is really good for engagement as you can show who you really are especially with the history and personality behind it.

Twitter

A Tweet is 140 characters long.  Make sure your company profile is cutting edge and punchy.  Twitter is great to listen and hear people’s problems.  Using Twitter you can steer content.  You can pay for a promoted tweet to promote your business.  Twitter is fantastic to get a far reach when promoting an event. 

Let’s say we are hosting a webinar, using Twitter we can promote it and build up a buzz about the event.  Having a Twitter element to a real world event means that participation is no longer limited to those within a couple of hours travelling distance.  Twitter also encourages discussion during an event and can seriously power up the conversation about an event.  Ensure the WIFI and 3G signal are working correctly and WIFI details and passwords displayed prominently.

Also after an event has taken place, using twitter there is no reason to stop attendees continuing the conversation for as long as they want to.  Choose a hashtag (#) and start promoting the event early and often, ideally with suggestions of how people can use it on the day.  A # is a way of pulling together a topic people are talking about.  You don’t create a #. You just type it in.  Just recently, the ITV show ‘Im a Celebrity, get me out of here!’, set up a # on twitter called #imacelebrity.  Therefore, anyone who wanted to comment on the show could do so in their tweets by including this #.  They could also see what others were saying about the show. 

Twitter can also be a forum for disgruntled customers.  If you mess up, apologise and acknowledge there is failure on your part.  Let customers see you are a real person.  Do not be afraid to apologise.  This will be refreshing to your customers and they will be impressed by how you dealt with the issue so honestly and efficiently

Linked IN

Linked is a fantastic tool to build up a professional network.  It can be free or Paid for.  If you want to contact someone through linked in and you have a 2^nd connection, you can ask that person for an introduction to the person you want to connect to.  People can endorse you on LinkedIn and this is a great showcase for your business.   If you want to connect to someone you should change the default message to provide context and say something personal.  They will be much more likely to connect to you.  If someone changes jobs you may get a message to congratulate them on their new role and it may be a company you have been trying to do business with.  You can grow your authority and share knowledge via Linked In groups, if you can find a niche that is relevant. 

Practical Business Uses for Social Media

1.        Building your online community for your business and lead generation. With social media you must first entice people to become part of your online community.  You need to nurture a relationship with your audience.  It is a bit like a friendship. The person must first get to know you; they must have an interest in what you do and eventually must trust in your ability to do business with you. 

2.       Product promotion and launch.  Social media and traditional marketing should be used together for optimum effectiveness.  You can use your traditional marketing materials to refer people to your social media sites including business cards, brochures, flyers, events.  You can also tie your social media to your website so if people want more in depth information on what you do, they only need to click on your website URL.  Any product updates can be announced on your social media sites and a buzz can be built up before the product updates go ‘live’.  Customers can then give their opinions on these product updates.

3.       Events.  Using social media we can start talking about events long before they happen and build up a buzz.  Whether it is a launch of a book, newsletter, webinar, physical event at a location.  We can also talk about what is happening behind the scenes to prepare for an event, again being more transparent with our potential customers.  After the event has taken place we can talk about it for a long time after and link promotions to it

4.       Testimonials and Brand Reputation.  A company can monitor its brand, product and company name.  The company can tune into what is being said on social media sites including Twitter, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com) and social mention.

5.       Humanising your brand.  You can uploads photos, videos and blogs to keep your social media up to date and all the time you are building trust in your brand and company

6.       Research. Using social media sites you can listen to what customers are saying about you, your products, what they would like in your products and services.  We must now listen a lot more that talk.  Using this research we can make changes to products, services etc to be more in line with customer needs

7.       Customer support and service.  If a customer has a problem, they may tweet or post this on facebook.   The company needs to appoint someone to monitor their social media sites so a timely response can be given to your customer.  All going well, they will be so impressed by your efficiency they may post or tweet how great your response has been.  On Facebook, your community will see this positive reinforcement of your business.  On Twitter you can ‘favourite’ a tweet so potential customers can see what others are saying about you.  You can also ‘retweet’ something positive that is said about you and all your followers will see it.  Therefore something one person says about you can be amplified to reach hundreds or thousands of people depending on the size of your online community

8.       Polling and Product Feedback – A company can use Twitter poll, Facebook poll and Linked in poll for feedback on company products and services from its various communities.  For those businesses who get positive feedback, this can be used in securing future business for the company

9.       Competition Watch.  We can follow our competitors on Facebook and Twitter to see what they are doing and how they are engaging with their online communities.  We will have a better understanding of our competition

10.   Recruitment .  LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for recruitment of staff.  Using LinkedIn you can view potential candidates skills and experience and you can contact them directly, thereby bypassing the need for recruitment agencies and expensive placement fees

Social Marketing V’S Traditional Marketing

There should be a joined up approach between traditional marketing and social media marketing.  Both work well together.  With traditional marketing businesses must pay for attention through advertising, PR etc.  It also has to plead with potential customers through unsolicited marketing material and cold calling.  With social media you have to grow the relationship first and attention is earned by creating a trusting relationship and posting interesting content online.    

It is important not to dive into social media without giving it some comprehensive thought.  You should plan what you want to achieve.  You should listen to what is being said and by whom.  Analyse what you have learned and how to use this knowledge to engage with your audience.  Content created must be examined carefully.  Businesses should look at what content they have and must decide what they need to do. 

If you would like help to go on your social media journey, please contact me Marian Murphy at murchumar@hotmail.com or call me on 00 44 7594 969529

Many thanks for reading!