Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 4: Working With Brands

This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 4: Working With Brands. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule. Class 4: Working With Brands Speakers: Andrew Hughes of Reprise Media, and Jaclyn Ely of Ikon Communications. Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with (Bree). (UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here) Key Points… ANDREW SAYS… At all times we’re focused on client’s interest to give them the best for their campaign. There is a massive opportunity for video blogging - vlogging As individuals, bloggers are brands You are responsible for providing the client’s brands in the best light It’s possible for a brand to travel a lifetime with you To get your content into spaces such as Google news, you can use services like Newsmaker (Bree to confirm name), PR Web etc to share a news format release Look for diverse ways to communicate with your audience Enable your blog to share with sites such as Twitter, Google etc Company has done everything from provide cameras to food bloggers to review meals, or have bloggers attend launch of Target designer launch. Agencies are looking for an awareness of particular brands and events. Your content needs to be relevant to what they’re talking about. How are bloggers chosen to partner with? Match a topic and audience that they’re trying to connect with. Monitor comments and analyse consumer sentiment. They’re looking for a good environment for their brand or product. They also look at: Who links to you, similar blogs, etc. They use tools such as Google Page Rank to look at importance of website, and will look at your engagement in social media. For sponsored posts – you’ll be provided with a document on what they want to achieve for a post. This is the kind of thing you should consider – look at title, first paragraph, imagery. It’s got to be relevant. If you’ve written an awesome post, it might be tied in with other media relationships, which then builds equity for your blog. It gets leveraged. Look at Google Webmaster tools – it identifies all the problems Google has with your site. Fix these areas. Also look at your site speed. With smaller blogs there are opportunities with Amazon web services. Take the time to learn about it. Buy or create a good theme. Personalise your blog. Make sure it represents you. Create things that are great for audience. Lists are great. Best places to eat, best photographs from… etc The latest Google algorithms are looking for quality content. Look at YARP plugin (Yet another related post). Use social assets to promote – create a Facebook page to share your posts. Your homepage is the gateway to the post in your site. Check out the media kit of Glowless (Bree - URL to come) You need a domain name. It’s the simple representation of you on the internet. You can get one even if on Blogger or WordPress.com WordPress is a CMS – not just a blogging platform. Learn to use a keyword tool. It gives you all kinds of insights as to what people are looking for. It’s cheap to outsource technical work on sites such as ODesk or Elance. Use creative commons to ensure your content is distributed further in the way you want it to be. Use the right creative commons content attribution. JACLYN says… Her job role is about connecting with consumers and what they want to hear. It’s an agency job to know the consumer inside and out. Eg: For a shopping center – what do women want to look at? What are they browsing? Marketers are asking: can I reach enough people? is there credibility with a sponsored post? Do I lose control of the message? FIVE TOP TIPS… 1: Know your style and style of blog. What are you representing and talking about on a day to day basis? And how is it perceived by your audience? Are people going to you for information or entertainment? 2: Know your audience. How many are you reaching? Look at analytics to then show an agency of your impact. Know demographic and location. What is their mindset when they come to read your blog. Is it for leisure or part of their job? 3: Understand the brief and what the brand wants. Look at the purpose of campaign and history of product. Look at what they judge success on. 4: Stay honest. Authenticity is why people come to you. People have built up a relationship with you and see you as a resource or even friend. They want to hear your opinion. Authenticity is key. If you can’t do this, be honest with a brand and say no. Much better for all. 5: Go the extra mile. If you can give a brand something that wasn’t in original proposals, they will love it. And make sure you let them know. If it’s being shared, tell them! Top areas of a successful campaign: Did I achieve the reach? Was the synergy of the post in line with the brief? How many comments were generated. (ENDS) >> View Class 3: Improving Blog Content >> View Class 2: Blog Photography >> View Class 1: Tools Of The Trade >> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule