communication Archives - Fairy Blog Mother

Let’s get more people blogging!

Posted on Wednesday 24 April 2013 by Alice • 0 Comments

I came across a shocking statistic: only 13% of businesses have a blog!

After having a good think about this, I came to the conclusion that probably it’s because not many SME owners are aware of how beneficial blogging is for their business. Even if they have heard about blogs (as they are finally starting to be recognised as a business resource), they can’t see how a blog would work within their business, understand its relationship with social media, or even for digital marketing campaigns.

And then there is the rise of content marketing over SEO, for which a blog is a perfect medium for original writing and conversational communications with the potential customer base. Using a simple CMS (content management system) to explain, express and exchange ideas with the public so that they get a chance to understand a business better, is a vital part of customer relationship management.

A blog should be used as a hub of any social media campaign or activity. It is where the beef of your message is contained. The activity on social media is limited in its content, so this should be used to direct interested parties back to the blog with attractive headlines and relevant links. Structure messages on social media based on the call to action back to the blog, where much more information can be delivered to them for better comprehension, suitable persuasive content and further links back to the website where the business transaction can take place.

Blogs are actually very easy to set up. They don’t require any technical knowledge, and many are designed to be similar to other word processing platforms using familiar icons, etc. In fact if you can cope with updating your Facebook profile or page on a regular basis, this is no different to creating and maintaining a blog, as the system and reasons are the same. And if you are thinking why bother creating a blog as well as using Facebook, then consider the different audiences that use these platforms, and spreading a marketing message around the web will increase the exposure of it further.

For those who are not used to it on a daily basis, technology can be quite daunting until it is properly learned. And even then that process is not easy, as many people who technical proficients are unable to explain what they do without peppering their language with jargon and other confusing vocabulary. In fact, training and explaining about blogs in a way that anybody can understand does require some specialist knowledge, namely having been on the receiving end and experienced the difficulties each student is going through. Blogging jargon is mostly of American origin, so translating it into English and then relating it to everyday circumstances or the interests of the learner certainly helps in understanding and retaining that newly-founded knowledge.

Fairy Blog Mother aims to become one of the best WordPress trainers and tutor providers available for businesses and individuals. By being able to explain and teach blogging in a proficient and easily understandable way, blogging use will be increased and maximised to its full potential. There is so much a blog can do for a business, as long as it is totally and appropriately understood, appreciated and implemented.

Filed Under: Blogging education, blogging encouragement, blogs and blogging, increasing business visibility, non-jargon

Content marketing is about communicating, not keywords

Posted on Tuesday 23 April 2013 by Alice • 2 Comments

Back in 2012 there was SEO. Now in 2013 there is content marketing. Are these the same? Think again.

There is a move away from the importance of keyword use to a preference for promoting and respecting original writing. Repetition and duplication are given short shrift, only to be replaced by original content with relevant subjects, links and references to other authoritative sources.

Another difference is readability. An unrelentingly SEO-ed post would be stuffed to the gills with keywords, there would be no need for copywriting skills except how to incorporate the desired keywords in as many places as possible to stimulate the search engines. Now content marketing is rewarded with excellent writing, reader appreciation, reciprocal sharing via social media and plenty of comments and feedback. This can only happen if posts are written properly, have appropriate prose, grammar and syntax, and be suitably entertaining, informative and useful for the reader.

Content marketing communicates to the reader, not the search engine. Writers should address their audience in a way that shows they are understood, known and appreciated. Conversation is key: posts should be written as if directed solely to that one person reading the content, using familiar, personal and human language. Stories should take over from facts, case studies replace selling statements and the overall message should reflect ‘What’s in it for them?’.

The concept of conversation came from social media. The search engines noticed that a lot more interaction was taking place from to-ings and fro-ings from friends and contacts, however trivial, because the language used was easily understood, appreciated and simplified. There was no need for meaningless keyword use: repetition was natural, the vocabulary was appropriate and the pace fast. Short communications were vital to cope with a limited attention span, and messages were usually scanned first before a decision to read them properly was reached.

Another move was away from the written word. Images had been taking over since 2012 with the rise of Pinterest and other related social platforms. Video was making a comeback as creation facilities increased in mobile and tablet applications. Instant gratification of visual communication was made possible at a click of a button to express an idea, thought or observation on different media available to the audience.

Many things have happened since the beginning of the year, and we’re only about a third of the way through. Therefore it’s important to be aware of developments so you can keep up and adapt accordingly. All those agencies that specialised in SEO may now have their noses out of joint, but unless they can adapt to the world of good writing, excellent prose, meaning communication and exciting conversations that can relate to the reader, all good attributes towards blogging, they may find themselves falling behind.

Filed Under: blogging encouragement, blogs and blogging, social networking, use of words

Someone heard and took action

Posted on Tuesday 29 January 2013 by Alice • 0 Comments

It’s always gratifying when someone emails me to say ‘I’ve started a blog, will you take a look?’

This is a good thing on many levels. All the noise I have been making about blogs hasn’t fallen on stony ground, people are taking in all the reasons I’ve been saying about having a blog, and some have taken the plunge and started a blog by themselves, proudly telling me when to read their first post.

It’s almost like waiting for your eggs to hatch and watching with delight all the little chicks emerge and run about. Soon they will learn how to fend for themselves and grow into fully fledged bloggers.

And I’m always there should they need any help, require advice on how to progress further and request expert assistance to improve their blogs. Having a successful blog doesn’t stop with its creation, it’s an ongoing process (like bringing up children) and it needs to be nurtured and encouraged so that it transforms and flourishes into something bigger and better.

Maybe my idea of a blogging surgery will fulfill that purpose. Often my altruistic tendencies get the better of me, as I’m more than likely to give away advice if it means the concept of blogging and what it can do is spread further afield. Sometimes I need to rein in and take stock, something I have been doing recently, as in the past I would have fretted that so-and-so’s new blog didn’t include that particular element, or that person’s blog is missing a trick that he ought to know.

Nowadays I come across blogs and think ‘How did he do that?’ and that puts me on track to find out. Blogging platforms are forever evolving, improving and moving forward, meaning the fairy blog mother needs to gather up her skirts, unfurl her wings and keep abreast of what is going on. Only then can I pass on what I have learned to make bloggers and their blogs the best methods of online communication there is.

Filed Under: Blogging education, blogging encouragement, Blogging help, blogging success, blogs and blogging

What is online value proposition and how does it affect me?

Posted on Tuesday 28 August 2012 by Alice • 0 Comments

I’ve set myself a new task for September. I’m going to transform this website through online value proposition.

This is a tall order for a blog that is set in its ways. It has grown organically resulting in a lop-sided structure, requiring more sections to balance it out. This means the navigation will require a total overhaul, with internal menus for better visitor journeys that enhance user experience.

Each section needs prominent promotion, strategically positioned to attract attention. Web interaction studies have shown that a visitor’s eye travels over the screen in the shape of an F: straight across the top and down the left side, with perhaps a bit of a stray across the middle. Therefore it’s vital where the important web elements are placed to encourage a good response, suitably linked to landing pages carefully written in a persuasive style primed to cover all emotions and desires.

Websites require a method to maintain visitor interaction. Blogs are notoriously bad at doing this, as blog posts are naturally read and then abandoned. Even with added digital hooks such as the Yet Another Related Posts plugin which automatically creates a selection of relevant post links after the content, visitors will need coaxing and cajoling into venture further into the site.

It is important to understand your visitors. This blog may have a varied intake, so hopefully the posts will continue to appeal to all, but each section will focus on a particular segment, with unique messaging that resonates with their needs, aspirations and interests. Gathered feedback will enable me to improve the products and information I provide, making Fairy Blog Mother more efficient in helping bloggers succeed.

Instant recognition is required about what this website will provide, which will distinguish it from its competitors and encourage better visitor participation. This is enhanced by increased SEO and traffic driving activities, careful rewriting of content and provision of alternative media such as imagery, webinars, video, comment boxes and social sharing connections. Fairy Blog Mother’s related social media platforms will supplement her campaigns and projects, providing an alternative for information, interaction and entertainment.

Recognition is combined with a clear marketing focus. Fairy Blog Mother has created a series of blogging courses designed to help non-technical people learn how to blog. The difference is that these will be focusing on ordinary, everyday language, with any jargon fully explained. Past users have told me that they appreciate the highly visual format, combined with reassuring ‘afterwards’ screen-shots that show what happens after a button has been pressed or a link has been clicked on. The courses will be delivered in variable formats, adapted to suit all needs, and will be enhanced by a webinar and offline workshop programme.

Communication plays a large factor if I am to give my customers exactly what they require. My community of Fairy Blog Mother helpers are encouraged to comment, provide feedback, interact and participate within my new ventures. There will be incentives and special products created for the steadfast fans that follow me through thick and thin.

And last but not least are the blog posts. After all, this is a blog as well as an educational resource. This is the main way I communicate to you, whether you know me or not, so it is important to keep churning out the free material I’m willing to share. And I hope you will share, comment and collaborate back in return.

Filed Under: blogging success, blogs and blogging, design makes a difference, non-jargon

Which is best: short or long?

Posted on Friday 22 June 2012 by Alice • 2 Comments

Click my logo to ask me a question!

We live in a fast moving world with a huge amount of information being thrown at us from all quarters. The 21st century is evolving into the age of facts and figures, constantly bombarding prospective audiences from ever-increasing sources reached by rapidly developing technology devices.

Therefore does the web-savvy reader have time to plough through a thesis every time a blog post is published? Twitter has introduced the quick-fire communication values and this has been taken up with gusto, though not always used within the best methodology.

Therefore I ask the question: do you value a long post with lots of ideas, or would you rather be greeted with short, rapidly produced missives that hit home with an idea or concept that gets you thinking to stimulate a suitable response?

And if you have a subject that requires a lot of explaining or with many scenarios to explore, why not split it up into a series combined with cliff-hangers to encourage your visitors to return for the next instalment?

Producing a short blog post requires great skill, as not many of us would feel only a few well chosen words would provide enough added value. But if you do feel brave enough to take the plunge, as Seth Godin does on a daily basis, it would be worth evaluating whether it results in a more frequently visited blog.

Filed Under: blogs and blogging, Free Wordpress blogs, Self-hosted Wordpress blogs, Writing tips

The use of blogging within social media campaigns

Posted on Monday 5 September 2011 by Alice • 1 Comment

Click my logo to ask me a question!

I’ve said it many times before that your blog should be the hub of your social media marketing strategy. It is the alpha and omega of marketing online, from it your social networking exploits can issue forth to their audiences and be there to collect the finished results.

Of course blogging should take centre stage. Many companies overlook or brush aside blogs, as they think they are used purely for self-expression. They fail to understand the importance for communication to get the overall marketing message across. An archive of easy accessible material aimed at education, entertainment and information-based articles specifically written for the audience in mind.

Using social media within integrated marketing campaigns can only work if there is a realistic objective. If this is understood, there are various methods which can put in place to guide the campaign towards the ultimate goal. Blindly participating on social media without a proper aim may be enjoyable in the short term, but it can be also be viewed as a waste of time because nothing is seemed to be achieved. Only by aiming towards a proper outcome will social media become useful and powerful within the overall marketing campaign.

Blogging and social media used in combination will enable companies to learn all they need to know about their customers. Social networking isn’t about selling, the focus should be on communication, conversations, observation, following and understanding trends, catching breaking-news early and taking action before the competition. Used properly, companies can almost ‘merge’ with their target market: comprehending, empathising, educating, gently changing the general shift towards their products or services without actually using direct selling tactics.

The power of integration should be two-way, through the encouragement of responses from the readership and inviting followers to subscribe so they are constantly kept up to date with the latest posts. And, of course, blogs can be easily and effectively integrated within all social networking profiles through RSS, thus extending the audience and exposing the marketing campaign over a wider area within the web. And by participating in sharing and referral tactics within social bookmarking sites will also prompt further expansion of the messages involved, as well as a larger awareness of the blog and its authors.

Filed Under: blogs and blogging, increasing business visibility, online marketing, social networking

Help! I’m stuck for blog content – ten top tips to ease the flow

Posted on Monday 1 August 2011 by Alice • 2 Comments

Blaze Communication - guest blogger!

Guest post by Natalie Smith of Blaze Communication‘s The Blaze Blog:

So I’m sitting in front of a blank screen, scratching my head and racking my brains. Surely there must be something I can write about in my blog this week. Back at the beginning of the year when this blog was just a baby I was bursting full of topics, updates and information I wanted to share. But as the winter turned to spring and slowly into summer, finding new content has become increasingly challenging.

As a relative newcomer to blogging I’m keen to take advice on board from those with more experience. I’ve spoken to colleagues, picked the brains of those I know who blog, and trawled the net to gain some inspiration.

I’m not saying that finding new topics now is always easy, nor am I constantly bursting at the seams with industry knowledge to share – but as I continue down the winding blogging road, I find that I worry less about finding new content and each week have something (hopefully) interesting to say.

Having gathered all this information together from a variety of friendly sources, I feel it only fair that I continue to share and help anyone else who is currently also scratching their heads in desperation looking for that elusive blog content.

Here are my top 10 tips I’ve received for producing blog content.

Turn detective – investigate something new and share your findings. In today’s fast paced marketing communications environment there is always something new being brought to market. Be one of the first to give it a go, test it out and share your findings with your readers

Let the press work for you – I love my trade press and am lucky that marketing and communications has plenty to choose from. I’m particularly interested in comment pieces and these are particularly useful for inspiring blog content. Pick one that gets you going. Do you agree completely or disagree vehemently? Either way, use this point of view upon your chosen topic as a starting point and let it flow from there.

Get out and about – it’s going to be depressingly difficult to produce blog content relevant to your industry if you have little contact with that industry – get out there, meet people and interact with industry peers to get your ideas going.

Use your clients – there must be a list of questions that you’re asked regularly by clients or customers. If one person has asked you, there’ll be others out there wanting to hear that answer too. Use this as blog fodder by writing it up and sharing it with the world!

Mistakes – what mistakes or misconceptions have you recently experienced? Again you won’t be the only person out there to have made this mistake or interested in learning how to avoid making it themselves. If you can bear to, write it up and let others know the lessons you’ve learnt.

Learn – training sessions and conferences are massive sources of blogging inspiration. Whether you choose to share what you’ve learnt or comment upon what’s been discussed you’ll get plenty of blog-worthy material from these events.

Break it up - nobody wants to read an essay so don’t tackle big problems head on in your blog. Break down big subjects into bite sized themes and use these to produce multiple blog entries, you’ll find that this is better for the reader and beneficial to you too!

Pick colleagues’ brains – you don’t work in a vacuum so make use of those around you; talk to colleagues, ask them about the projects they’re working on and the questions they’re asked regularly. You’ll often find that a second viewpoint inspires blog content you would never have produced going it solo.

It’s all about give and take – blogging can’t be just about you giving your ideas to the world, read other blogs, get involved in online conversations and be part of the community that you’re setting your stall out in. You’ll soon find ideas popping into your head as a result of participating in the social media community.

And if all else fails? – how about blogging about having nothing to blog about. It’s worked for me today!

If you found this post useful, you may also enjoy reading these blogs from our archive: Top tips for writing web copy and A beginner’s guide to blogging

I hope that you find some of the above useful. If you have any further tips, please do share them with us – all inspiration gratefully received!

The Fairy Blog Mother loves to republish posts that she approves of and thinks would be valuable to her readers.

Filed Under: Blogging help, blogs and blogging, Writing tips

How to humanise your business through social media

Posted on Friday 22 July 2011 by Alice • 0 Comments

Click my logo to ask me a question!

One of the changes that digital marketing is making on businesses in the second decade of the 21st century is enabling them to emphasise their human element. After all, at the end of the day, it’s important to remember that people buy from people, and not necessarily from corporations or even brands.

Therefore businesses should not lose sight of the people who are an integral part of the organisation, eg the stakeholders (in the broadest sense), which includes the owners, staff, customers, suppliers, media and maybe more, depending on the size and nature of the business.

By promoting this ‘people power’ through social media, which includes blogging, it’s important to remember the communication factors that have created this social revolution. Social media is ‘social’, it thrives in conversations, comments, feedback, real-time responses, immediate interaction with the people who matter: past, present and prospective customers.

Therefore it’s imperative that customers realise there is a human element behind the scenes. Real twitterers who respond to tweets about their business, ask a question or present a statement that is relevant to the organisation. Real bloggers who respond to comments and feedback as soon as they are posted, or write a relevant and value added post to answer a scenario brought up yesterday, or even hours ago.

We live in a world of ‘now’, real-time slipping through out fingers, yesterday’s news that actually happened only minutes ago, culturing a mentality of immediate responses, lack of patience and prompt reactions. It requires real people to adapt to these stimulae, react and respond to the matter at hand – and most important of all, to provide the ‘human’ side that determines them from robots and technology.

Only humans can gossip, taunt, laugh, joke, ask pertinent questions, quip, create puns, offer on the spot advice, commiserate, empathise, understand, comprehend, respond effectively to difficult questions, see a point of view, make us laugh, go out of their way to find the answer – and much more.

So don’t be embarrassed to be ‘human’ when you write your posts, send your tweets and respond to a Facebook tag. This doesn’t mean losing your cool or revealing anything unsuitable about yourself (unless it’s relevant), but it does mean talking about your mistakes as much as your successes, facing your foibles as much as promoting your expertise, telling a story as well as relating a case study, expressing happiness as well as reporting business news.

And the more your customers sense how ordinary your business is, not just a faceless corporation with oversea call centres and uninterested managers who only tow the party line, the more likely they feel they could get real value, good customer service and a real feel of ‘completeness’ when buying from you.

Filed Under: marketing methods, online marketing

An example of how regularly updating succeeds

Posted on Monday 18 April 2011 by Alice • 4 Comments

Fairy Blog Mother

I have a good friend whose business is doing extremely well. This is very good news, and I was intrigued to know her secret.

It all boils down to interaction, updating and communication with her customers through social networking and her website. I know this website is all about blogging, but she has accomplished the same concept within another form of social media, in this case Facebook.

Using social media is all about being social. It means coming down to the same level as your customers, understanding how they think, what they want, what they do, reacting to their input, appreciating their stories, joining in with them so they get them to know, like and trust you.

Only then can you selectively start to talk about your business in their terms, acknowledge their problems, offer suitable solutions in the form of free top tips, set up a competition, post up new ideas and observations, promote a special offer and provide information about new products and services. All this should be done in the customers’ point of view, beneficial, helpful and definitely without any hint of sales.

Being young and dynamic my friend has amassed several hundreds of Facebook followers, and having a brilliant business brain she understands she needs to regularly respond to them. She gets her staff to check her Facebook Group daily, and personally interacts with her friends’ messages, questions, comments and general postings.

She communicates like any other Facebook-user, posting up pictures of her successes, and tags testimonials from ecstatic customers who are happy to show off what she has done for them. It is the sharing element with each follower on an equal level that makes her so accessible, approachable and social.

And then she applies this concept to her website. (Now we have an affinity with blogging.) It is updated daily with suitable material gathered from her Facebook Group, plus more professional material about her business and what it offers. Here she goes into more detail about the services she provides, the products she uses, her weekly special offers, her chosen product or service of the month and the newest testimonials she has collected.

It is the daily updating of her website that causes it to firmly occupy its No 1 slot in Google, which confirms why the majority of her new customers find her through it. It is almost like she treats her website like a blog, which of course stimulates the search engines to regularly visit it to find out what’s new. Most websites aren’t visited for several weeks or even months, since they hardly ever change their content, but a dynamic website like this one would attract a lot of attention from spiders, hungry for new stuff to index. And they would have probably been boosted through links from her Facebook Group, which is also regularly crawled for the same reasons.

So this is why I recommend blogging for the same results. Blogs are easier to update than websites, due to the platform they are written in, and can create steady traffic back via links to your website. But it is the regularity of the updating, the relevance of the content, the succinct usage of popular keywords plus an understanding of the audience by producing material they want to read, that will really make a difference in the end.

Filed Under: blogs and blogging, Free Wordpress blogs, increasing business visibility, other social media, Self-hosted Wordpress blogs, social networking

Should your posts have a personality?

Posted on Monday 4 April 2011 by Alice • 0 Comments

Fairy Blog Mother

It doesn’t matter whether you’re blogging for pleasure or business, it is how you communicate with your readers that will determine your blog’s success.

How your posts are written may depend on the niche, subject matter or industry you have chosen, but you should not lose sight that a blog is not merely an online diary, or somewhere to write articles to get them published on the web, for more people to read your work and to expand your online presence.

Unfortunately that kind of stuff is incredibly dull. For me a blog should not be boring, it should be somewhere to inspire your readership, cultivate your knowledge, practise your passion, explore your expertise, strive to succeed as ‘the’ thought-leader in your chosen subject – and all this hard work will show up in your posts, making them readable and more likely to be shared.

And sharing is important! A blog should resemble a community, or the ‘hub’ of your business, somewhere for you and your readers, followers and subscribers to communicate. It doesn’t matter whether they are potential customers or not, who knows what influential person may read your posts and share them amongst his colleagues? And remember ‘every’ reader is equally important, not to mention valuable, so make sure your posts reach out to everyone who visits your blog.

Ideally you should be ‘talking’ to your audience through your posts. For me, ‘talking’ is the operative word, as good and readable posts are ones that ‘communicate’ with their readers, rather than preaching to them. When I write my posts I try to make it as if I am holding a conversation with my readers, with me desperately trying to type it down fast enough before it disappears into the ether…

And this ‘hub’, this ‘community’ your blog is trying to emulate, make it so that anybody who is interested can visit to read what’s on offer, and can feel free to participate. It’s the commenting on the latest post or adding their pennyworth to an existing discussion that makes a blog come alive! Cultivate these conversations by putting in a personality into your posts; make them encouraging, informative, friendly and accommodating – and add in a leading question or call to action to prompt a response too!

Filed Under: blogs and blogging, Free Wordpress blogs, Self-hosted Wordpress blogs, Writing tips

Tag Archives: communication