Harness the Marketing Power of Blogs & Wikis 1/13/2019 Harness the Marketing Power of Blogs & Wikis Us these Web 2.0 Technologies to Drive eBusiness

What are they? Blogs Wikis Just like a website with 2 key differences 1/13/2019 What are they? Blogs Just like a website with 2 key differences Very easy to add information – think of it as an Online Journal You can add syndication features like RSS Feeds that will automatically notify readers of changes Wikis A Wiki is a Collaborative Website that can be edited by anyone who has direct access to it Most common and popular Wiki: Wikipedia

What can an effective Blog & Wiki do? 1/13/2019 What can an effective Blog & Wiki do? Drive traffic to your website Generate Sales Enhance Customer Service More effectively communicate to your Customers Organically grow your position in search results Much, MUCH more! Blogs have an informal, conversation style to them – readers can join in and become a part of the process – this gives them a sense of ownership – it creates a common atmosphere – soon they will become ‘chatty’ which leads to a wealth of information that can be utilized to provide better service and even product innovation.

Blogs Enhance your Online Presence 1/13/2019 Blogs Enhance your Online Presence Humanize your business Improve Customer Service Provide Relevant Information/Content Drive Real, Qualified Traffic to your site Build your image as an expert in your field Promote Products & Services (be careful here!) Because a Blog or Wiki tends to be more informal – the content tends to have a more human voice to it – will give your business (online at least) a more personal touch to it. This will enhance customer service by giving the reader a feeling or personalization and comfort that there is a real person behind the technology. Blogs and Wikis act as interactive FAQs – you drive questions and answers from the community at large. You can provide Updates on products and services, how-to articles and other information relevant to the readers at that given time. New customers and/or prospects will read the Blog and be encouraged by your dedication to customer service. Blogs and Wikis are a great way to manage content as well – through the use of archive and syndication – customers can return to the Blog to look up old information or brush up on current information. With syndication – they can become immediately aware of updates to the Blog or Wiki. Blogs and Wikis attract Customers who may not have found your normal website – perhaps they were looking for information that may not have been up at your main site. Perhaps they subscribed to one of your feeds – now you have given them a reason to return – your Blog and Wiki should link back to your site – reference your main site – this will add relevance with the Search Engines adding to your weight and increasing you position within the Organic Search Results. By regularly posting relevant as well as valuable information on your Blog and Wiki – you can add substantial credibility to your organization by positioning yourself as the ultimate expert in your field. This will give your customers a sense of confidence as well as security in doing business. You can actually sell products from your Blog or Wiki – but I would caution you on this – any sell must be a soft one – hard, direct selling on a Blog or Wiki can quickly turn a reader off and you may lose them. Instead – take a guerilla approach – use the names of your products in examples or case studies – make sure they link back to your product catalogue or a landing page with more information.

So – what does it take? Great Content – and PLENTY of it! 1/13/2019 So – what does it take? Great Content – and PLENTY of it! Regular Updating – it has to be CLOCKWORK! Your own DISTINCT voice! Content must be interesting and relevant to your customers. It could be anything (and everything) from news articles relevant to your industry, product updates, interviews with company executives, customer spotlights, personal insights into your products/services, testimonials, you name it! The more content the better – but remember – keep it relevant! There will be times when writing something for the Blog will be like a trip to the dentist! But – and this is critical – as soon as you fall down on regular updates – you begin to lose readers – that means you being to lose possible transactions! So – while it may be tough – update daily! This is critical – use your OWN voice. Corporate speak or marketing speak will only tune out the reader. Think of it as a forum – a place where you are sharing ideas – think of it as a table at Starbucks and you are all gathered around having a conversation. You don’t need to be Hemingway – you just need to relate to your readers and give them good (and sometime entertaining) content.

Getting Started is Easy! Blog Applications (just a few): www.typepad.com – FREE www.blogger.com – FREE www.blogspot.com – FREE www.awarenessnetworks.com – Subscription www.traction.tractionsoftware.com - Cost Wiki Applications: www.projectforum.com – FREE www.mindtouch.com – FREE www.jot.com – Cost

Manager of Global eBusiness Development Thank You! Robert Sieger Manager of Global eBusiness Development Panduit Corp rs@panduit.com www.panduit.com