Q: Do
you think blogs are influential in building community – in other words, if you
build it, will they come?
A: Blogs
as a hub surrounded by spokes of social participation are
excellent for building community
A: The key
is to empathize with what motivates people to discovery, engage & share
content. Mesh that insight with your editorial & promotion
A: Great
content isn’t great unless people read and share it. Blogs must promote content
to grow community.
Q: How
do you determine the niche solution your market needs to develop “go to”
resources for that solution?
A:
Developing resources for niche solutions can start by understanding audience
pain points. Know your customer & make things that help them.
A: Monitor
popular niche content in your category to see what topics are not being
covered, problems not addressed, then make & solve for your niche.
A: Create
a resource that you would want to use yourself & others will want to use it
too. Be editorial not self promotional.
A: Niche
list blog post resource example: 25 Women Who
Rock Social Media (4,291 RTs)
A: Niche
list blog post resource example: 22 Social
Media Marketing Management Tools(2,599 RTs)
Q: A
keyword glossary and editorial plan keep content on track, but does it create
community?
A: Re:
keywords and community – why make it hard for interested people to find your
content?
A: Search
keywords & social topics data come from real behaviors & conversations.
They inspire editorial that resonates with readers & search engines alike
A:
Bloggers writing purely for self expression with no monetization goals don’t
need to bother with keyword glossaries and editorial plans
A: If
bloggers have commercial & business accountability, then empathizing with
desired audiences by creating editorial that speaks their language is good
business
A: Two
useful resources: SEO or Social
for business blogging? & Dynamic Duo
of Business Blog Marketing: Optimize & Socialize
Q: Is
it better to gather a community on social media and drive to your blog or
directly on your blog itself?
A: Where
you gather community depends where they want to gather. Understand customers,
implement & promote content accordingly. Adjust.
A: A hub
and spoke mode allows both blog community & off blog community in social
channels. Spoke communities help promote blog content.
Q: What
other tips do you have for driving blog traffic/readership?
A: Create
content people can’t find anywhere else
A Tips:
Create comprehensive collections of resources – unique
A: Give to
get. Praise others, give kudos and recognize others in your industry. Never
underestimate the power of ego.
A: Engage
– ask questions, respond quickly and qualitatively. Engage off your blog too –
10 min a day, every day
Q: What
are some ways we can make
their blogs more interactive for readers?
A:
Interactions with blogs starts with interesting content. Empathize with
audience interests, prompt them with ?s. Ask!
A: Collect
the best comments and curate that into blog content. Spend time on other blogs
too. 5-10 min a day.
A: Surface
participation to recognize those who display desirable interaction behaviors.
eg top commenters, top shares, etc
Q: What
is the best way to go about sourcing user generated content?
A: To
be efficient, I maintain 10-20 blog posts in development & add to them a
few min at a time
A: As
mentioned, guest posts work well. Create contests where content contribution is
an outcome. Recognize “winners”.
A: Ask
questions on social channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or G+ &
compile the answers. Make it easy to answer.
Q: What
is a good way to attract industry influentials to guest post on a blog?
A: Make
valuable comments on their blogs, RT their tweets, get on the radar. Build your
credibility & what you stand for.
A:
Industry influentials tend to be BZ so make it EZ to contribute. If a guest
post won’t work, offer an email interview.
A: Try
asking 10 thought leaders 1 easy question and compile that into 1 post. Follow
up with a guest post offer.
Q:
Should you respond to all comments on your blog or only questions?
A: Responding
to comments depends on opportunity to create value. Questions need answering.
Adding to statements OK too.
A: I don’t
think you need to reply to every “great post, thanks” comment, no. But when
opportunity for opinion arises, take it.
Q: Do
you find there is a difference in engagement if you ask more questions in your
blog posts?
A: Asking
questions does inspire more feedback in the comments – but only if natural
& genuine vs. “gimmick”
A: A
history of asking & answering questions with your blog community will
create momentum, an expectation of conversation
Q: How
can I get more social shares on my blog posts?
A: Make
interesting content (defined by readers not just you), optimize for social
share, promote it & shares will come.
A: It’s
also worth asking “why” you want more social shares. Make a distinction between
quantity (social proof) & quality.
Q: What
types of posts typically get the most re-shares, comments, traffic, etc.
A:
Reshares, comments, traffic are all different KPIs (key performance indicators)
There’s no blanket “type” that hits all.
A: Start
w/ content that solves a problem for readers, resonates with interests, trends
& that’s easy to share.
A: People
will rally around decisiveness, so take a stand. Be a leader on key points
& your blog will attract shares & attention
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