Posts Tagged Blog Strategy
Friday, November 5th, 2010
A few weeks ago, I held a webinar called Kickstart a Killer Blog in 7 Days. It’s a pretty intensive hour and a half to help attendees define their blog strategy and focus on results. At the end of the webinar I orchestrated a challenge…I provided 7 days of worksheets to help put everything my attendees learned to practice. My incentive? Submit your completed worksheets and the highest graded strategy will be featured on my blog.
I received a number of fantastic and very thoughtful submissions. But one was beautifully crafted, clear and compelling. I’d like to introduce Stephanie Garbaczewski and her blog: Event Lounge. Stephanie is slowly introducing changes to her blog and has already made a few good updates. I asked her a few questions to understand her experience so far:
(Lara) How has your strategy shifted pre and post webinar?
(Stephanie) I defined my focus. Before the webinar I wasn’t blogging to a particular audience. Now I am blogging to event managers seeking event communication strategies to increase the efficiency of their event. I also defined my visual theme. Before the webinar I didn’t have a vision for the ‘feel’ or theme of my blog. A lounge is a comfortable, relaxing place people retreat to for a mental break. I wanted to evoke that comfort in the lounge with the use of warm colors, a simple layout and regular posts. (I would light sweet smelling candles and serve white wine if the blog allowed me to!). Lastly, I was able to actualize my ideas. The webinar was informative but what motivated me to actualize my vision was working on the step-by-step worksheets.
(Lara) What should my readers know about you?
(Stephanie) Here is my updated about me page. Also, I’m available for event consulting in Seattle and around the US :)
(Lara) Why should people read your blog?
(Stephanie) My blog is for Event Managers who are searching for an effective on-venue communication strategy. It is a comfortable space to find valuable, proven recommendations from an Olympic Communication Event Manager.
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Kickstart a Killer Blog in 7 Days will be held again on November 16, 2010 @ 12pm EDT (all registrants will receive a recording, whether they can make the live webinar or not and the 7 days of worksheets). Early bird registration ends Tuesday, November 9th.
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I’ve come across some great blog series lately that offer you a month of helpful hints to better yourself or your business. Here are 5 of my favourites:
1. 30 Days to Better Meetings by Quorky
2. 30 Days of Branding by Liz King Events
3. 31 Days to Build a Better Blog by Pro Blogger (it’s from 2007, but still a relevant a solid resource)
4. 30 Days to Better Business Writing by Bad Language
5. 30 Days to Better SEO by The Keyword Academy
That’s a good 5 months of resources. Sounds like you’ll be busy for a while :)
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I came across this brilliantly hued dessert on the Luxirare blog…which is a must-bookmark site on extreme fashion & cuisine. What is it, you say? Why it’s chilled citrus consomme with blue curacao poached baby pear. The photo was scanned from The Colors of Dessert published by Battman studios, 2008. Photographs by Alan Batt.
So, the question is:
[polldaddy poll=3005721]
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Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened”
- old proverb
We live in a time where you can do and be anything we want. Alright that might sound a bit kumbaya, but don’t worry I won’t make you hold hands and sing. Social media has truly changed the game. With a still or video camera or even just a computer, average Joes and Josies are becoming published authors, photographers, international speakers, scoring TV and movie deals…all the while creating global fans.
What makes these highly successful people different from you and I? It may be absolutely nothing other than the fact that they put themselves out there. They picked up the camera or devoted the time to write down their thoughts and ideas every day.
One such person is a guy named Luke. Luke used to work for me and was one of those remarkable people you never forget. You see, Luke is a bit of an enigma. He marches to the beat of his own drum. And most people love him for it. Just today, I was notified that Luke is launching into what may well be the journey of his lifetime. Luke and his best friend Alex have launched alexandluke.com. On March 20th they’ll be setting out on a journey to travel through every province, state and territory in North America. They’ll have no scheduled routes and no planned stops. Instead, their blog readers will act as their compass (pointing them where to go) and their guide book (telling them what to see).
Luke could have been like every other university graduate out there fighting for a chance at a job in a down market. Instead, Luke created his own reality.
Don’t forget to become a fan of their facebook page for their latest travel updates.
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Demystifying Twitter is easy. Yes, it’s updates and conversations that take place online in under 140 characters. But, better said, Twitter is real-time conversations about what people are thinking, feeling, experiencing and even reviewing, anytime and anywhere. It’s also where people ask their peers for recommendations.
Using Twitter to find potential customers is simple, simple, simple. You only need to do the background work once and you will be automatically notified when new opportunities, that meet your criteria, come up in conversation.
How To Find Potential Customers:
1. Go to Twitter’s search page and click on the “Advanced Search” link
2. Input your search criteria. In this example, I’ve searched for a (1) caterer who is querying twitterers (2) looking, in need of, looking for recommendations, searching, wanting, and looking to find a caterer within (3) 500 miles of NYC. You can also specify twitter user names, dates, etc – so play around with the queries to get the results you’re looking for.
3. Click “Search”. Et voila! The real-time results for your query.
Saving your results
To save in TweetDeck
1. Copy the query code that appears within the search box
2. Open Tweetdeck
3. Click on the Twitter Search Icon (magnifying glass) and paste the search code into the search box
4. Now a new column will be added to Tweetdeck. It will show the latest search results every time you log in!
Update: As per the note below from Jason, TweetDeck does not allow this function yet.
To save in Google Reader
1. Click on “Feed for this query” in your Twitter advanced search results page.
2. Copy the feed address in your web address bar.
3. Go to Google Reader
4. Click on “Add Subscription”
5. Paste copied search feed in the blank field & click “Add”.
6. Now your real-time search results will appear in your reader under “Subscriptions”
To save in Twitter.com
1. Copy the query code that appears within the search box
2. Log in to your Twitter.com account.
3. Insert the search query code you copied into the search bar in Twitter.com and hit Enter.
4. Click on “Save this search” to save it on your profile page. Now you can click on the link any time you’d like to see your real-time search results.
There are many smart businesses already using this technique. Yes, we’ve probably all heard about Comcast’s highly publicized use of Twitter search to solve their customer’s woes. But even small businesses are realizing the benefit of Twitter Search. One of my favorite examples is Sullivan Tire:
Basically, @PatBrough tweeted that he was looking for Tires. Because Sullivan was monitoring search terms on Twitter, they found the tweet. After a very short exchange, @SullivanTire turned someone who didn’t have the Sullivan brand in their consideration set into a potential customer looking for a quote. Amazing what a few seconds and some proactivity can garner!
I hope you learned something. Happy tweeting!
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On January 27, 2010, I’ll be delivering a full day seminar on Strategic Event Marketing Using Social Media for EMI Caribbean in beautiful Trinidad. Don’t miss this event – seats are selling fast!
Smart planners have recognized that the game has changed forever. Event guests are no longer simply attendees, they are active and engaged participants that can either make or break the future of your event. In seconds they can tweet out that the food is terrible or post how great a speaker is. Power is at their fingertips. They expect more now than they ever have. They want their voice to be heard and understood, they want to make connections with other delegates before, during and after the event, and they expect event organizers to be listening.
Over the past year, Social Media has been heralded as an evolution in the way we connect, communicate and learn – it has appeared on the cover of major magazines, been adopted by celebrities and is on the lips of every President, CEO and Senior Executive. Although we’ve seen an upswing of Facebook fan pages, Twitter walls, unconferences, Tweetups, hashtags and good ‘ol fashion conversations online. 2010 will be a New Year of continued evolution. A time where business professionals focus on the strategy behind social media and more importantly the cultural shifts that need to happen for it to survive and thrive within the organizations that plan events.
This intensive workshop will help event professionals understand how to use the tools to build thriving communities through strategic planning. Whether you plan the events, contribute to them or simply attend them, this seminar will give any business professional the power to be successful in social media.
Don’t delay. For details and to register, please see this flyer.
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