Blogging 101

Hello friends!

My social media class requires me to write three posts a week; one being about our class readings. After almost four years of college, I have come to the conclusion that reading for a class is never enjoyable. No matter which subject, I always find a way to doze off or find something better to do. Our reading for PR and Social Media has changed my perception of text books. David Meerman Scott published a wonderful book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, that is full of valuable information that is actually interesting to read . In the book, Scott includes several chapters about blogging. I found this information to be especially helpful because I am new to this whole "blogging world."

I understand that some of my classmates have already posted about the blogging tips included in the book, but this information was the most valuable to me, so I have decided to discuss the tips in my blog this week.

Chapter 17 is all about blogging to reach your buyers. This topic resonates with me, because as a marketing major, understanding your target audience is rule number one. Much of the information in this chapter teaches you how to tailor your blog to your "buyers." Scott discuses several tips to keep in mind when creating and maintaining a blog. I won't talk about all of them, because this would be the longest post ever. I'm will talk about a few tips that were the most beneficial to me.

1. Think carefully about the name of your blog and its tagline.
2. The look and feel of the blog could be complementary to your corporate design guides, but should not be identical.
3. Opt to turn on a comments feature.
4. Don't cover too much. It is better to start with a narrow subject and leave room to expand.
5.Include an "About" page that has your picture, biography, affiliations and information about your blog.

All of these tips are not extremely complex, but if done properly, they can help to make your blog a success. Naming your blog can be tricky, but you wan't to create a name that is catchy, but will also be easily searchable.

The design of the blog is very important. I will not read an article or a blog if the layout is poor. I agree with Scott that the design should appear to customers as an independent voice, not directly from corporate. Although, some details are important to consider when creating a look for the blog. When I did my internship at a YMCA summer camp, there were several minor details that were important when updating Facebook or publishing any other printed material. Due to organizations's  re-branding process, the font was required to be the same for all material. You do have the freedom to  moderately differentiate the design of the blog, but I think that some details must stay uniform.

Comment boxes are extremely important if the goal of your blog is to receive feedback. I think that any company or organization that utilizes a blog should be required to have a comment box. A comment box serves as a very accessible tool for consumers to voice their opinions. If companies understand what their customers want, then they can make changes to better suit the needs of the target audience.

I feel that choosing a subject each week can be challenging. Sometimes you have so much you want to write about, but you can't bog down your readers with too much information. I do agree with Scott when he says your blog needs to be authentic. Nobody wants to read something that sounds like it came from a corporate robot. In order to truly reach your readers, you must be honest about the material you post, and present the information in a way that your target audience will connect with and understand.

In reference to the last tip I listed, I think that including an "About" page is crucial. My personal opinion is that an audience connects more with content when a they know where the material came from. I think that people are more inclined to read what you have to say if they can put a face to the author. If you don't add information about the author or a picture, the blog may loose credibility.

Scott also said to "pimp out your blog." I thought that this was very funny, but I don't know if I agree with the concept 100%. I do agree that specializing your blog and adding cool features shows the personality of the blogger, but sometimes I think all the bells and whistles can be too much. I prefer a page that does include some of the features, but I would rather read a blog that is easy to navigate.

I found this chapter about blogging 101 to be very helpful and I think that David Meerman Scott's tips will help me to improve my own blog each week.

What style of blog do you prefer to read?

Until next time.

Katie