(C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Show Me the Money! © 2011. Mickler & Associates, Inc. Some Rights Reserved. Creative Commons Non-Commercial Copyright License www.micklerandassociates.com Russell Mickler, CISSP Principal Consultant The Jerry Maguire Approach to Small Business Blogging (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Russell Mickler is a technology consultant who serves small to mid-range businesses in Vancouver, Washington. Mickler's experience features sixteen years of senior and mid-level IT department management. Mickler earned his Masters of Science in Applied Information Management from the University of Oregon in 2000. A technical author, Mickler is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). Mickler teaches for numerous colleges and universities both online and onground. Mickler‟s latest book is Simple Social Media; his forthcoming book is Simple Facebook Insights. More on Simple Books can be found online. Presentation Leaders Russell Mickler (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Blogs and Business Generating Content and Attracting Attention •Blog (Web-Log) oWhat are they? oHow Blogs are used by business oNewsletter oEstablish expertise and experience oDevelop core competencies oTestimonials oRelate what you do and how you can help potential customers •Why Blogs are important to you oConstantly demonstrate value oSearch and Relevance oHow they work with Social Networking -Trust and Intimacy oThey create an audience What is Blogging? (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. But Why Blog? Blogging equals one big strategy ... Why Blog? Jerry Maguire knew what it was all about. As a business, part of what we do with blogging should indirectly lead to more money. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Why Blog? Here's the general idea ... •Websites with a blog get 55-percent more visitors than ones that don't •Websites with a blog have 97-percent more backwards-facing links than ones that don't •Websites with a blog have 434-percent more index pages than ones that don't All are the tactics behind a business blogging strategy. Why Blog? Blogs Attract More Visitors to Your WebsiteMore Equals a Soft Conversion OpportunitySoft Conversions give Social or Email Consent, Phone CallConsent Offers Opportunity Build Trust and BrandMore People Who You Will Refer Do Business With YouMore = Hard $$$!(C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. “We live in a cynical world, and we work in a business of tough competitors …” Jerry Maguire Quote (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Your Blog Works With Your Website With a business blog, your website is a machine to create wealth through education and referrals •When consumer search, they‟re looking to fulfill a need •Your product and service is the answer to their problem •Once they land on your website, you have six seconds to … Why Blog? COMPELEDUCATEHOOKCALL TO ACTION CONVERT!Think about how every blog post you write contributes to this process. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. “Help me … Help you. Help me, help you.” Jerry Maguire Quote (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Compel Convince the visitor in terms of design and content to stay put and listen to your message, learn more about you or your brand, that you‟re professional and important. Educate Answer the question! They were searching for something -what's your answer? How does your product, service, or brand fulfill their need? Hook Keep them looking for more answers on your blog. Videos, presentations, white papers, testimonials -it's the start of your brand's relationship with that consumer. Call to Action What should the visitor do now? Call? Email? Complete a form? Click here? Buy? Chat? Download? Install? What's the next step in fulfilling their needs? >> Convert << Why Blog? (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. >> CONVERT << A clear signal of web marketing effectiveness. It’s Consent: a buy, sign-up, follow, friend, chat, or phone call. The download of an app, install a program, view of a white paper, read an eBook. Surrender of Personal Private Information (PPI) for direct marketing. MORE CONVERSIONS = MORE INFLUENCE MORE INFLUENCE = MORE REFERRALS MORE REFERRALS = MORE $$$ Conversions Are Cool! (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. You Want Your Destination (Website) to be a Conversion Machine! Conversions Are Cool! Conversions can provide a Return on Influence as well as a Return on Investment. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Marcee Tidwell: “What do you stand for?” Dorothy: “How about a little piece of integrity in this world that is so full of greed and a lack of honorability.” Jerry Maguire Quote (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Deciding What to Blog Always talk about you, your business, its values, and how you help people •What are your values? •What are your competencies? •What are you really good at? •How did you help that last customer? •What's your position on industry changes? •What questions do your customers usually have? •Are there dramatic changes to your industry afoot? •How does what you do bring value to people's lives? •Where's the best places to have lunch? Why? •Industry events? Local happenings? •... there's a zillion ideas •Want 10 freebie blog topics a week? What to Blog? Be Interesting.anAuthority.Useful.Be Connected. Available.Use your blog to get people follow you and be connected to you on social networks. Be real. Create a personality around your brand. People want to do business with you. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Remember What Jerry Found Out? That good, lasting, sustainable business is about building relationships. This is what the small business can do so much better than the large company. Numbers don’t matter! Jerry was successful with just one client! And by the end of the movie, he was poised to take other clients away from the big competitor. What you do with a social community of five followers is more important than having a community of 5,000. Getting closer to the customer and learning more about them – listening to them – creates better agency, fosters trust, and builds a stronger business. Social media can help the small business engage with customers more effectively and genuinely than the large business. Remember What Bob Sugar Said: “It’s not show friends. It’s show business.” And by the end of the movie, Bob was dead-wrong. Business success can be about friends, relationships, and being genuine. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. “I am out here for you. You don't know what it's like to be ME out here for YOU. It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, okay?” Jerry Maguire Quote (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. 10 Tips for Greatness! Just a few ideas on how to rationally approach business blogging •10 Business Blogging Tips oYour blog should be integrated with your company's website and be social oYour posts shouldn't exceed 300 words oPost at least twice a week or three times if you can manage it -post a variety of ideas oMaintain a regular posting schedule throughout the week -have a regular calendar oVideos and pictures are extremely powerful in conveying your core competency oAttention should be paid to grammar, style, and aesthetics -use short, electric titles oAssign a regular author or set of contributors -hold them accountable oTry not to sell (ever) -rather, tell a story; convey your experience; provide a testimonial; educate oPersonify and be authentic -be your quirky self! oAlways reply to every comment made on a blog and thank the contributor for their time Remember that Blogging is participatory -it's social! You need to read other's blogs, too! Business Blogging Tips (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. “But if anybody else wants to come with me, this moment will be the ground floor of something real and fun and inspiring and true in this godforsaken business and we will do it together! Who's coming with me besides... „Flipper‟ here?” Jerry Maguire Quote (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Conclusion – What Your Social Media Strategy Can Do for You Search Social Media Builds an Audience, Fosters Relationships, Enables Listening, Gets Closer to the Customer, Educates, and Addresses Needs PUSH/PULL Conversion Machine Destination/Blog (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Questions? Discussion (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Thank you for your time. Please complete our survey. Please subscribe to our mailing list if you‟d like to be advised of upcoming presentations, events, courses, and media from Russell Mickler. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Simple Social Media Smashwords Amazon Books AVAILABLE NOW! Want to Apply What You've Learned? Barnes & Noble Nook www.simple-books.net (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. About the Presentation This presentation was prepared for online training through WizIQ. It was prepared and distributed using Google Apps. This material is maintained at the author's website. Corrections, additions, or comments are greatly appreciated. (C) 2011. Some Rights Reserved. Copyright Notice Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor. Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 You are free: •to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work Under the following conditions: For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above. 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