For those of you unable to attend the HubSpot Webinar, hosted by Dan Zarella, Inbound Social Media Scientist (@HubSpot), following here is a quick update of events for your feedback & review:

INTRO:

Dan Zarella moves beyond the “Unicorn & Rainbows” fluffy stuff surrounding social media, and prefers instead the use of analytics & metrics to support his Social Media research. In this Webinar he looks for the “killer app” that ultimately drives traffic to a blog:

1. Sustainable patterns;
2. Guest posting/comments;
3. Correct use of SEO keywords

Q&A:

1. Should I call myself a “guru” on my blog? DZ says Yes – being an expert drives followers;
2. Why Blog?
   1. Nobody reads SM (social media) to get bummed out – positivists drives traffic to blogs, even biz blogs – so lets help start someone’s day on a high!
   2. To push purchasing decisions (blogs are meant to connect back to Website)
   3. +80% online read their chosen blogs daily
3. How do I find my blogging niche? Combine Relevance (just like in film marketing) and be tactical: DZ’s e.g. Absinthe + Gadgets - or, w/ Kudos = Employee Engagement + Empowerment
4. When do people read/link blogs?
   1. 80% morning; 40% at night – women read more in the day, men at night
   2. 10am CT (11am ET) gets the most views
   3. 7am CST is the highest linking time for professional bloggers scouting the ‘Net – which means our blog should drop b/w 2-3am MST???
   4. 4pm CST has the highest RTs
   5. 11am & 6pm have highest FB shares
   6. Mondays/Tuesdays have highest read-throughs; Thurs/Fri most comments; weekends most shares/RTs
5. How often should we blog?
   1. Be consistent/timely
   2. People like daily updates
   3. DZ says blogs that post more than once/day become the winners in their space

Top Tips:

• Self-reference is a blog killer – people read blogs/Twitter for insights & opinions (not what you ate for breakfast, which is more FB), therefore blog “as myself” – not “about me”
• Authorship is critical – people will want to read what Eleni or Tom or Muni say on the blog, and not the “editor” or “publisher”
• Must get blog shared on Facebook (FB) = which is like the “Jersey Shore” of SM, i.e. ease-of-use/info for the masses (DZ’s analogy);
• Twitter is more cerebral – and we need followers to Retweet (RT) our useful info;
• Digg.com rates cool links – we want to use this as a resource;
• LIWC (google it) is a useful tool;

Facts:

• Videos get shared more on FB vs. Twitter
• Photos/comments get shared more on Twitter vs. FB
• Videos get more links than photos
• Photos get more links than comments

More Tips:

• Must have a unique voice with insights/analysis/opinions & be polite!
• Ask for feedback, interactive incentives & comments e.g. ask for RTs
• Most views/shares are “newsy” w/ timely content; ‘How To’ tutorial-style content also get a lot of shares vs. episodic, boring, cyclical blather
• Note: boring words like “franchise” or “derivatives” hardly ever get linked or RT
• Don’t be a dork/geek-kinda Guru as overly tech stuff doesn’t get shared in the larger SM universe
• Grammar matters! Especially for RTs & blog links – things are more lax/dumbed-down on FB (remember DZ calls it the JS of SM!) not much past the Grade 6 level in syntax. Twitter is more post-Grad level
• People like to read good writers – but keep it simple; nobody wants to read a treatise on SM – which is more like USA Today vs. NY Times in tone
• DZ says you must read “Elements of Style” to blog well

Further advise:

• Use social proof to establish trust by leveraging FB/RT/RSS buttons on our blog
• Based on DZ’s research, people read b/w 5-50 blogs looking for novelty – which is key to RT. Note: less common words (e.g. zeitgeist) generally get more RTs
• It’s human nature to avoid risk, and social proof boosts confidence – the more people like/share your blog the better (obviously) for circulation & influence
• There’s an interesting interplay between social proof vs. uniqueness, elite vs. mainstream & it’s a tricky balance to play with…
• Note: Blog’s Return on Investment (ROI): DZ says If it doesn’t make the company dollars, it doesn’t make sense to blog – money metrics matter & Hubspot.com has analytic SMM tools w/ their blog software

Other Notes:

• Like/RT/FB buttons absolutely mandatory on our blog’s homepage, but nix the “share this” and “dislike” buttons
• Real Authors (e.g. Eleni, Tom) are mandatory – but minimize photos/bi-lines, we want to be visible but not egomaniacs
• Real Domain (vs. Wordpress et al) are mandatory blog URLs
• Simplify Welcome: Tell People Why They’re Here?
• Use italics vs. bold to make a point
• Post date stamps w/ each blog cuz timeliness matters; Archives can be timeless
• Blog post titles should be short & sweet for ease-of-RT/links
• ALL-CAPS are like cruise control i.e. use rarely & wisely
• Use photos/graphics on blogs to help break up text (which should be minimal)
• Titles on posts work very well
• Move away from generic Wordpress-like blog designs since people search for novelty

SUMMARY:

When content sourcing for relevance within a space, research & ask questions to find the idiosyncrasies in your zone by blending two themes for combined relevance – and don’t rely on repurposing content too much, but don’t be afraid to use it either! Proper sourcing adds to relevance but we all still need to have our own unique voice. Find a way to write about what people in your space are searching for in a meaningful way, that’s fun & relevant & engaging!

Much Kudos,
~eleni