5 Things You Need To Blog Every Month

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Scott Gould

I’ve been thinking about how people can better their blogs in 2011, beyond the general “write better content” or “do 5 steps to…” type of advice.

Of all the different types of people who read this blog and the different types of content I post here, one large demographic is people who are in the media / social media space and write blogs to that effect. I read many your blogs – those of you who have commented here at one point or another – and so I feel I have a good idea of what you’re doing and not doing, and thus what would be beneficial to start doing this year.

What follows are 5 things you need to do at least once a month in 2011 to grow your blog, grow your community, and grow your communication skills:

1. Video

You can’t beat video for getting off of the type of a page and into the personality and charisma of an author. Considering that some of you write long blog posts everyday and yet have never done video, your readers are missing out on vital communication that you need to give them.

This video doesn’t have to highly professional – it needs to be a webcam or mobile phone video of you just saying what you’ve already said before – the advantage being that people get to meet with you and your mannerisms that can’t be communicated through written word.

And if you have an issue with how you look on video – get over it – because if you get those speaking gigs that you’re pushing for, then people want to see video!

2. Practical How To Post

At least once a month you need to be turning out a very practical “how to” post that people can use right away. I’m thinking of one person in particular right now who only ever writes theoretical stuff and so I don’t imagine their readership is going to last long, because lets face it, there’s tons of theory out there.

A practical post on a element of what your blog covers is a great way to distinguish yourself and give your readers instant value from your efforts.

3. Repeat The Past

If you scroll through all the past posts you’ve written, you’ve got some real gold that is now buried and gone and you need to bring it back to the fore for both your new readers, and also to refresh the minds of your regulars.

Once a month, find an old post that was a big hit and re-communicate the truth with a new example. Remember that it’s only when you feel you’re making your point too much that people start to get it. You have to get re-iterating your ideas if people are to consider you to be the go-to person for that topic.

4. Ask Others

I’m big on asking questions in blog posts and my stats prove that when I use question marks in titles, I get far more engagement on a post. Make sure that once a month you ask a question that really gives the floor to your readers to participate and flex their muscles.

I also find that too few blogs focus on other people – particular UK writers. There is so much value in interviewing someone else, having someone guest post, shooting a video with a friend who has a great insight, etc. Do this and you’ll grow your readership and create a decent win-win situation.

This also demonstrates that you aren’t that person who needs to hog the blog with your own ideas every week.

5. Paint The Future

I find that too few blogs give me direction for what’s coming – not necessarily next week – but what technology or ideas will help me over the next quarter. If you can be the person who paints this picture for me, then you become the expert in my books.

This expert content also separates you from the scores of bloggers who keep saying the same thing. When you form original insights and ideas you move out of the role of just plain digital commentary.

Who Does This Well

The person that I know who does this best is Ron Edmondson. Subscribe to his RSS and have a look at the mix of his last 20 posts, and you’ll see it’s all there (well, with the exception of video unfortunately, Ron!)

With that type of mix, Ron doesn’t tie himself into one particular style but keeps it varied and interesting. He also occasionally goes into a series (another great idea) or will do something totally different.

And Yours?

If you could add one more thing that you need to do every month on your blog, what would it be?
Which of these are you struggling to do, and why?

Photo courtesy of Mike Rohde

What Is Social? Well…

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Scott Gould

What with starting work this week on a manuscript for a book – “Social” being the working title – I want to share some of the content that I will make up the backbone of the book that I haven’t made public until now, as it’s been reserved for paying clients only.

[slideshare id=5063806&doc=whatissocial-100826163537-phpapp02]

If you can’t see the above slideshow, click here, or see it directly on Slideshare.

This is a short 12 slide presentation that explains succinctly what the difference between social and broadcast as – as mindsets before they are media – and then three lessons that we draw that help us understand social.

Social is a big topic for me. Everything I do keeps coming back to it – whether it’s learning, event design, social media, marketing, church, relationships – social is right in there. And it’s not that social is a new thing. Far from it. Social is our original and default method of communication. As our default method, it also is ruled by our default physical limitations (how loud we can speak, etc), and it is from these limitations that we create broadcast, which is a one way extension of what is socially created, for wider reach.

My basic premise is that we have social innovation and broadcast duplication. Social is the fluid conversation that is a real-time co-crated product. Broadcast is the recording of that conversation and duplicating it so more people can hear it. In social, the conversation can change. In broadcast, it does not.

What the book will then lead into is a discussion of the Social / Broadcast Matrix, and the three social strategies. And true to these three strategies, the book will function on one: socialised channels, socialised content and socialised culture. In other words, it’ll be available everywhere you’ll want to consume it, it’ll be full of UGC (i.e. YOU), and it’ll be open for you to use and build upon.

(You can watch a video of me discussing Social on a larger scale here)

Your Leading Thoughts

Do you see holes in my premise? Given I’m basing a book on this, I need you input!
How would you like to contribute to the creation of ‘Social’?

B2B & Social Media: Provide A Solution

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Scott Gould

You’ve probably heard at one point or another the question “does Social Media work for B2B?” Perhaps you’re even asking it yourself.

One of the main things that helped with me this is a post by Dan Blank called “Creating Interest vs Providing Solutions” from late last year. Dan says a number of pertinent things in this post, my favourite being:

If you can’t properly monetize 18 million unique visitors a month, how will another 5 million help clarify the way forward?

The point is that charging for interest is different to charging for a solution. Dan argues that many B2Bs, and publishers in particular, are thinking very narrowly about what their real asset is, and desperately trying to cling onto it, rather than actually start from the users point of view and explore what needs they really have around their interests:

Even in the cases where pay walls will work, it is not a complete solution, it is just one revenue stream. And in all likelihood, it is not one that will restore revenue and profits to the levels being lost by print.

Ads & Sponsorships are one model, but getting customers to pay you is another. If you rely solely on ads & sponsorships, how many page views is enough for your market? How many webinar sign-ups? How much growth can you garner year after year?

To differentiate your revenue streams, you may want to consider developing products that provide direct solutions. What service do you provide – could you provide- that people couldn’t live without?

Dan then linked to an exceptional presentation by David Cushman, called “a new era for specialist media.” Any regular here will find the ideas similar to our discussions on spreadability and people-to-people, but it is most certainly worth a look.

[slideshare id=2509580&doc=sipakeynotedc-091116051033-phpapp02]

All of this discussion makes me think again about the need for Social Media to be useful. And by useful I don’t mean useful for you, I mean useful for your users and/or community. We really need to understand them, with quantitive and qualitative research, and deliver what lifts restrictions for them – what enables them to do what they previously could not do.

For a really good case study on this, watch Yann Gourvennec’s Insight at Like Minds. His work as the Head of Digital and Internet at Orange Business Services is very, very inspiring.

Your Leading Thoughts

Are you a B2B player in Social Media? If so, are you providing a solution?
How do we begin to think ‘solution’, because I think at the moment we are very caught up with interest over solution.
How do you communicate solutions, without making everything a sales pitch?

Video: MC Hammer on Social Media

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Scott Gould

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfKCGRnjkTw&NR=1

If you can’t see this video, click here, or watch on YouTube.

This 20 minute talk from MC Hammer on Social Media marketing was an unexpected useful find this week for me. MC Hammer is quite the entrepreneur, so to hear a man who has been at the height of entertainment for over 30 years talk about Social Media was very insightful.

What I particularly enjoyed was Mr. Hammer describing how the music industry “goes from grass roots from mainstream”, and how when he is in the moment writing a song, he is already thinking about how the music video will go, how the tour will go, etc. This “long term view, short term execution” is something I learned from my friend Yann Gourvennec, Head of Internet and Digital at Orange Business Services, at the Like Minds Summit in February, and I think it rings very true with Social Media.

We are in an emerging industry that is still quite immature (as you know, Social Media is very distinct from Broadcast Media, and therefore I consider a new industry within the creative industry), and this video reminds us to have our eye on the bigger picture and the end product in a rapidly changing arena.

The skills of an entrepreneur are to see the opportunity and ability to create value here, keeping an eye on the overall landscape, whilst adapting to the ever shifting tools, methods and trends.

So, for your Sunday watching, take in this 20 minute talk and ponder it as you go about relaxing today.

Your Leading Thoughts

What is your number one take from this video, and why is it pertinent to you right now?
How are you with “long term view, short term execution”?

Cheers,
Scott