Guest lecture presented via Skype for Dr. Childer's Social Media Class at the University of Tennessee (Fall 2012)

1. The good, the better, and the
fabulous!
Karen Freberg, Ph.D.

2. Introduction
Karen Freberg, Ph.D. – University of Louisville
 Education:
 Ph.D., Communications (University of Tennessee)
 MA, Strategic Public Relations (University of Southern
California)
 BS, Public Relations (University of Florida)
 Interests:
 Social media, Crisis Communications, and PR
 Social Media:
 FB, LinkedIn, Twitter (@kfreberg), and Pinterest
 Blog: www.karenfreberg.com/blog

3. How did I get started with
my blog?
 1996: Started my own personal website –
originally a Val Kilmer fan site. 
 1997-2001: Website for track and field
activities in HS (threw the shot put)
 2001-2006: Website for college track and field
activities, newsletters, pictures, updates, and
commentary on other track and field sites
 2006: Started blog on PR, Sports PR, and New
Media
 2012: Six years of blogging on social
media, PR, and crisis communications. Blog
used as a reading list for several PR classes
and programs, and ranked among Traacker’s
top 25 PR Influential Blogs

4. Overview
 Blogging is considered to be traditional
social media practices in 2012
 Many brands have a blog to
communicate with their publics
 Southwest Airlines
 Starbucks
 Whole Foods
 Employers today expect young
professionals to know
 1) how to blog
 2) how to write on a blog
 3) how to professionally conduct themselves
on a blog as well as integrate innovative
ways for storytelling on the behalf of the
brand / organization

6. What exactly is a blog?
 Usually written by either one person
or a team of writers on various yet
related topics
 Updated regularly
 Incorporates multimedia
components to emphasize points
and commentary in posts
 Written in a different format than
other forms of media in Advertising
and PR
 1000 words most
 Issue of key words tagged to posts to
be easily searchable
 Categories

7. Why Blog?
 Humanizes your brand
 Separates yourself from rest of
the PR field
 Updates your presence in social
media community
 Practices writing
 Promotion and drives interest /
traffic to your brand
 Promotion in sharing insights and
expertise in the field
 Job opportunities from blogging
 Digital Word-of-Mouth /
Storytelling

8. Guest Panelist
Job
opportunities
Sharing insights &
presenting abroad
Sharing
expertise in
keynote
presentation
Consulting
opportunities

10. What to include on your blog
 Title  Links to other blogs in profession /
industry as well as specialized
 Contact information interests
 Categories of interest  PRSA
 Advertising Age
 Site traffic widget  Mashable
 Twitter feed widget  UTK
 PR Firms (ex. Edelman)
 Share button for other social
 Other blogs & bloggers in PR &
media platforms
Advertising
 Comment
 CV or Resume (page AND PDF)

11. How to get started?
 Determine your overall goal and purpose for your
blog
 Professional and Personal / Professional?
 How do you want to be perceived on your blog?
 How will this blog help your reputation management
online?
 What do you want to write about?
 What will be your domain name?
 Format
 What platform will you be using for your blog
 What tools will you use to enhance content on blog

13. Other tips
 Read other blogs you find to be successful
 Determine what will be your area of specialization and expertise within the
blogosphere.
 Write posts w/ multimedia. This can be
videos, infographics, pictures, slideshows, etc.
 Guest blog on other sites. Engage with other bloggers to see if you can
exchange opportunities to write posts.
 Engage with followers who are commenting on your site
 Write catchy headlines that are easily searchable.
 Have a unique, strong, and confident voice on your blog
 Use proper grammar and spelling in blog posts
 Write, write, and write some more! The best way to learn how to blog is to
practice.

14.  Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are not the only social media
platforms to think about when it comes to getting traffic to your
blog – Pinterest / Quora / Vimeo
 Be aware of what you can and cannot post on your blog (ex.
Copyright pictures, videos, documents, etc)
 Sign up for your blog on a blog directory (Technorati or BlogPulse)
 Promote your blog on FB & Twitter – make sure to space out timing
of posts to not overwhelm audiences
 Have a schedule for writing on your blog – determine most
popular days in terms of web traffic
 Analyze your web traffic results through Google Analytics, Feedjit
(free), Topsy, Bottlenose, and other resources

15. Final Thoughts on Blogging
 Blogging is a great way to distinguish yourself in the PR and
Advertising community
 Great tool to practice your writing and creative skills
 Think before you post – you never know who may be reading
your blog post!
 Write, write, and write some more! The best way to get good
at blogging is to write a little bit each day.

16. Blog Resources
 PR Blogs to follow
 Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com
 Jeremiah Owyang: http://web-strategist.com
 Jason Falls: http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/
 Katie Paine: http://kdpaine.blogs.com/
 Social Media websites
 Mashable: http://www.mashable.com
 Social Media Influence: http://www.socialmediainfluence.com
 Social Media Today: http://socialmediatoday.com/
 Visuals for Inspiration
 Visual.ly - Awesome community for creating and sharing
infographics.
 Video Infographics: http://www.videoinfographs.com/