Presentation from WordCamp Miami 2/20/10: The Blog as the centerpiece of your social media marketing efforts from Jim Gilbert, CEO of Gilbert Direct Marketing. GDM is a full service Direct and Social Media Marketing Agency. Contact jimdirect@aol.com for more information.

1. Your Blog – The Center of engagement and results Presented by Jim Gilbert, CEO Gilbert Direct Marketing, Inc. Direct Marking ROI – Return on Intelligence

2. Two case studies to present: Consumer – The Fresh Diet B2B – The Gilbert Direct Marketing Blog We’re going to have to move quickly to get thru both. Q&A Let’s begin…

3. A class on SEO and writing How to set up a blog I assume you know all this already. Right? And don’t expect that I follow all the rules you may have learned about blogging: I still use WP hosted blog (Gasp!) I don’t write specifically for SEO (But I know my audience and the keywords they think in) I don’t monetize with adwords, space sales etc. (I get yelled at a lot about this.) But to me blogging is about the “Give to Get” What NOT to expect

4. I will show you exactly how I built these two blogs from ground up The types of content I use to engage? The places I promote my clients blogs And how those places drive traffic back! Perspective from a direct marketer Everything I do is to build engagement, time on site, multiple channels. Goal is to drive business OK what to expect

5. Why do you blog? Fun? Business? Are you? A Professional marketer? A professional blogger (quit your day job?) About you? Some quick questions…

6. Perspective: The 9 Immutablelaws of Social Media marketing…

7. Brand + time = revenue. The more time a consumer spends with your brand and your products, the more likely they are to buy. Engaging customers/prospects in social media channels increases brand/time. Social and all channels/time increases likelihood of purchase Immutable Law of SMM #1

8. Brand + Channels = Revenue. The more channels a consumer interacts with your brand in, the more likely they are to buy. Offering multiple engagement channels allows for consumer self selection of preferred channels. Being in the right social media channels based on your market increases channel interaction. Immutable Law of SMM #2

9. Brand + time + channels = advocates. Consumers spending time in multi channels breeds customers more likely to become brand advocates and influencers. This is the new multichannel marketing model for the 21st century. Social media creates brand advocates and turns peers into your best salespeople. Immutable Law of SMM #3

10. Right: Engage, Engage, Engage In all channels So what’s your goal?

11. The Strategy – Engagement Circle

12. Keep your readers engaged via all channels. Your content pushed out to social media sites. Links back to content on your blog. The engagement cycle

13. Case Study #1 The Fresh Diet

14. High end gourmet meals delivered to your door daily. Costs $1,000 plus per month. Regional player with no social media presence a year ago. Major expansion and growth. About The Fresh Diet

15. Put a human face to a nameless faceless entity! Drive engagement (get consumers involved!) Drive traffic Inform new Promote About The Fresh Diet - Goals

16. Engage via contentThe Human Face

17. Engage via contentArticles(duh!)

19. (reinforce how they feel about brand)

20. Let’s face it. We live in the age of peer to peer sales.

21. People love to buy, but hate to be sold!

23. Engage via content Contests CONTEST EXAMPLES: Tell us your worst diet ever (win a free week) Tell us your favorite meal Tell us why you chose The Fresh Diet Of course all testimonials, favorite meals, worst diet responses were published on the blog and other social media sites.

24. Engage via contentContestResults

25. Engage via contentContestResults How much is that worth to prospects coming to your blog?

27. Commercials being shot

28. Food being prepared, kitchen

29. Etc, whatever we can think of.

31. Engage via contentAnd just plain silliness

33. Tweet it

34. Don’t forget the #hashtags

35. All our Fresh D Tweeps, retweet it

37. The Marketing Circle Posts also get sent to: to name a few

39. Special offer posts

41. Referrers in our google analytics reports

42. Sales funnel “how did you hear about us?”. Call center and web.

43. WordPress (refferers too)

44. Newsletter sign ups

46. Our email newsletters

47. Marketing collateralOther key traffic drivers

48. Next Case study… Moving on…

49. Case Study 2B2BThe GilbertDirect Marketing Blog

50. Started blog in November 2008 after I got downsized 50K page views in first year Not the biggest, but solid, loyal following New “solid” client every 6 weeks How to’s, News, Opinion, Controversy An experiment and outlet for my writing. Quick Background GDM

51. Still breaking all the rules you learned today WP hosted (Double gasp!) Need to convert to self hosted but at this point worried about SEO juice. Half of views come from search Long posts, and rants Controversy! Use blog as main website: Only thing not there is portfolio of work Need to figure out how to do that Quick Background GDM

52. Build credibility Build a following DM/SM Thought leadership (a byproduct, not by design) Generate clients Have fun! (take stress off) Goals of GDM Blog

53. Article based.Content relevant to target audience

54. Set up More rules broken: WP widget based (limiting, but living with it) RSS Link to newsletter Facebook link Twitter feed Have posts emailed Only e-com link is to my other company No call to action No self promotion! I get yelled at for no ebook, not selling stuff, etc.

55. Promoting the blog

56. Main Referrers

57. Main Referrers 60% of my traffic comes from Linkedin

59. Initial traffic came from there

60. Joined groups (allowed up to 50)

61. Direct marketing groups

62. Joined Complimentary groups – web, design, product merch, apparel, entrepreneur and startup

64. Used Linkedin discussions the same way

66. Direct Marketing Questions & Answers

67. Social Media Marketing Questions & Answers.

68. Commented on other relevant blogs

70. 30 years of marketing, advertising, direct marketing Direct and social media marketing agency Author for Catalog Success and eMarketing & Commerce Magazines (content!) Adjunct Professor, direct marketing, MIU Board Member (Marketing VP), Florida Direct Marketing Association About Jim Gilbert

71. Copy of this presentation available Bonus – Copy of 9 immutable laws of SMM to anyone who comments on my blog, or tweets about my presentation today #wcmia http://gilbertdirectmarketing.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/thanks-for-coming-to-my-presentation-at-wordcamp-miami/ About Jim Gilbert

72. Jim Gilbert Gilbert Direct Marketing Inc. Contact info: 561-302-1719 jimdirect@aol.com Blog http://gilbertdirectmarketing.wordpress.com/ Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/gilbertdirect Thank You