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Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category


Show me the Numbers!

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Over the past six months or so you’ve heard a lot from us about Social Media. We’ve talked about Twitter. We’ve blathered about blogs. We’ve focused your attention on Facebook. But have we practiced what we preach? Have we been “eating our own dog food?”

Actually, we have! We’ve been blogging and tweeting and posting on Facebook. So what kind of results have we seen? Let’s take a look at some of the numbers. In the six months since we began doing Social Media for ourselves here’s what we’ve observed:

  • Our overall website traffic is up 63%
  • The number of unique visitors to our site is up 51%
  • The number of page views is up 51%
  • The average time spent per visit is up 65 seconds
  • Our bounce rate is down 4%

In other words, more people (including new visitors) are spending more time on our site, and they are looking at more content. We’re pretty pleased with what’s happened so far. Of course, it raises another important question.

Can we show you the money? In the spirit of transparency and full disclosure, the answer has to be: “it remains to be seen.” We knew that an increase in business wouldn’t be immediate.  But we also know that the goal of Social Media isn’t just to increase website traffic: it’s to increase the amount of business we do. One other thing we know is that if we’re not staying in front of existing and potential customers, we won’t have a chance to increase our business.

We think we’re on the right track and we’ll keep you posted about the specific impact on our bottom line.

What do you think?

Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter | No Comments »

To Blog or Not to Blog? (Part 2)

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Last time we talked about three reasons it might make sense for your company to have a blog:

  • Establishing yourself as a thought-leader
  • Grabbing mindshare
  • Taking advantage of word-of-mouth

Those are good reasons, but there are a few key questions you still need to ask before you start blogging your brains out!

Do you have anything to say? That may seem like a really silly question, but there are blogs out in the blogosphere that are a complete waste of time because they don’t have any valuable content. A blog isn’t a place to share ignorance. It’s also not a forum for repeating things everybody already knows. You need to be able to bring new ideas or new perspectives to issues that people struggle with. You don’t have to have all the answers, but you need to give people help they haven’t found somewhere else. Here’s the good news: You probably do have something to say. But you have to be able to say it in a fresh and helpful way.

Do you have the discipline to keep it going? It takes time (weeks, months, sometimes years) to build your audience. Blogging once or twice and then quitting won’t accomplish your goals. As a matter of fact, it can have the opposite effect. If you quit early, people are inclined to think that you really weren’t that much of an expert. It’s better to blog regularly (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) with quality content than to just throw “something” out there. Before you start, you’ll want to come up with an “editorial plan” that maps out what you want to cover for several weeks. You can always change it, but it’s agony to stare at a blank screen when your deadline is looming.

Do you have the necessary skills? We all learned to write in school . . . right? But do you have the skills to clearly and succinctly get your point across in a way that’s helpful to others? You don’t have to be a Pulitzer prize-winning writer to create a blog. It’s not about being flashy. It’s about being clear. And make no mistake: the thoughts need to be your thoughts, but you may want to enlist some help.

Are you willing to engage in a conversation? Many people misunderstand the nature of blogs. A blog is not a monologue. It’s not your chance to preach. It’s a dialogue. You present an idea and ask people to respond, to challenge, to ask follow-up questions. You need to be prepared to answer those responses.

If you answered, “yes” to these questions, you—and your customers—would probably benefit from a blog.  Ready to write?—or do you have questions and or comments?

Posted in Blogging, Copywriting, Social Media, Strategy | No Comments »

To Blog or Not to Blog? (Is that really the question?)

Monday, June 28th, 2010

It seems that everyone and his dog has a blog (And that’s not just a catch phrase. Check out http://www.dogswithblogs.com.au/ and see for yourself!). But just because “everyone else is doing it” does that mean your business should have a blog too? The real question, however, is why would you blog?

There really are some good reasons for writing a blog of your own. Here are just a few.

You establish yourself as a thought-leader. If you’re talking about an area in which you’re knowledgeable, a blog can help establish you as an expert. If you’re credible and share what you know, people will look to you for expertise.

You grab mindshare. If you are in front of your customers on a regular basis, who will they think of first when they have a problem you can solve? And if they’ve already been helped by what you’ve shared, they will be more inclined to take the next step and pay you to help them.

You take advantage of word-of mouth. We all know that word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind. If you share content that really helps people, they will pass it on. Will it “go virile” and spread like wildfire? Maybe. But that doesn’t really matter. Most businesses aren’t equipped to handle that anyway. But “friends telling friends” about how you know your stuff can make a significant impact on your business.

So should you blog? What are you hoping to accomplish? If you’d like to set yourself apart as an expert; if you’d like to grab mind share among your potential customers; and if you’d like to get people telling their friends about you, then there’s a good possibility that you should. But there are a few more key questions you should ask before you begin—and we’ll explore those next time.

Any other ideas about why it might be good to blog? Let us hear from you!

Posted in Blogging, Copywriting, Social Media | No Comments »

Krispy Kreme® Marketing

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Remember a few years ago when Krispy Kreme® ruled the universe? New stores were popping up everywhere and they all had lines snaking out their doors and around the block.

Krispy Kreme donuts were synonymous with guilty pleasure. There was nothing quite like a still-hot Krispy Kreme original glazed donut.  We thought they were heavenly. We couldn’t get enough of them.

But do you also remember those rare occasions when a stray donut survived the feeding frenzy until the next day? Remember the experience of biting into a day old donut and the accompanying feeling of disappointment?

Marketing messaging can be like that—especially with marketing taking on more and more social networking characteristics. Whether we’re engaging customers through a website or a blog, content is king. If your content is stale—like a day-old donut—it won’t take long for your customers to walk away.

This doesn’t mean reinventing who you are every week. It does mean constantly thinking about how you can help your customers. And it means thinking of fresh ways to communicate with them about solving their problems.

How often should you update your content? That depends. Some industries change daily. Most don’t. I’d rather receive one really good piece of information every week or every month than wade through a bunch of mediocre stuff to find one gem. A business colleague of ours who builds high-end websites recently shared that 95 percent of his clients haven’t changed the content on their sites in the last 12 months.  That’s too long.

When’s the last time you updated your blog or the content on your website? Are you giving customers a reason to check in with you—or is your content like a day-old Krispy Kreme donut?

What keeps you from delivering fresh content?

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Posted in Blogging, Copywriting | No Comments »