Shel Isreal | She-conomy

Blogging: The Engine That Drives Your Social Media Efforts

Posted on March 31, 2009 by sheconomy

It began with conversations. Then we got into broadcast media. Now we are going back to conversations. It’s a full circle. –Terry Catchpole, The Catchpole Corporation.

As I have discussed in past posts, one of the best ways to connect to the female audience and build your brand is through a personal or corporate blog. Blogs are changing the way Business talks with their customers. Your business needs to join the social conversation online to build trust and humanize your brand. Your blog lets female customers see who you really are before they engage you in potential business.

Blogs are rapidly becoming the actual engine that drives your entire Social Media Marketing efforts.

Learn All You Can
The best thing to do is to jump in and get started. Apprehension will leave your brand stagnate, but there are many ways to move past those fears. And it begins with knowledge. The more you know about blogging and it’s impact, the more successful you will be. One of the most useful books I have read about blogging is Naked Conversation by Robert Scoble and Shel Isreal. I have quoted this book several times while pitching clients on the benefits of joining the social conversation online.

Here are “Five Successful Tips” from the book that I have found very useful to understand before you start your blog.

Talk, don’t sell – Remember this is a conversation—not a pitch.
Post often and be interesting – Take the time to do a post regularly and remember every post does not have to be a white paper. I have run across several great blogs that simply include a link and a short commentary.
Write on issues you know and care about – If you have a passion for something, your conversation will come naturally. It’s hard to be an authority and passionate about something if you don’t care about it. And remember that women can see right through your insincerity.
Blogging saves money but costs time – The medium is inexpensive but it still takes the research, creativity, and time to build the brand.
You get smarter by listening to what people tell you – Remember that this is a two-way conversation. It’s truly unbelievable how much I have learned from others while writing this blog.

Effective Execution is Key
To be successful, your blog must be carried out correctly. Another invaluable resource is Chris Brogan, who is among the current online social media influencers and someone I look to regularly for advice and trends. Below is a list of great advice and thoughts about blogging developed by Chris. (list originally compiled by Michael Gass of Fuel Lines)

So, Get Started
A fun way to get started with your blog is to sign up for Pl inky.com, which will send you a daily prompt to get the blog ideas going. Plinky offers suggestions to get you thinking – where you go from there will define your social media platform.