Module 4: Emerging Technology in Corporate Communication and Public Relations

● Introduction, ● Today’s Communication Technology, ● Importance of Technology to Corporate

Communication, ● Functions of Communication Technology

in Corporate Communication, ● Types of Communication Technology, ● New Media: Web Conferencing, Really

Simple Syndication (RSS)

a) Contribution of Technology to Corporate Communication

Traditional

New -Media1. Networking2. UGC

Today’s communication technology

Importance of Communication Technology in Corporate Communication

●Ubiquitous ●Viral● Low cost● Interactive● Instant ●Widespread audience●No geographic limits●No time Limits●Better communication●Efficiency●Mobility

Functions of Technology to Corporate Communication

● End of Media Control● Increase user control● Peer influence● Tailored message● Specific target● Instant alterations● Quick decision making● Better management of

resources

Functions of Communication Technology in Corporate Communication

● Easy product launch● Better product and

service surveys● Social interaction with

customers●Customer support and

satisfaction● Instant feedback●Use of digital networks● Business growth

Types of Communication Technology

Hardware● Telephone● Mobile phones● Computer● Printer● Scanners● Fax● Over head Projectors● RFID tags(Radio-frequency identification)● Multimedia equipments

RFID tags Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information. Passive tags collect energy from a nearby RFID reader's interrogating radio waves. Active tags have a local power source such as a battery and may operate at hundreds of meters from the RFID reader. Unlike a barcode, the tag need not be within the line of sight of the reader, so it may be embedded in the tracked object.

Different types of task relating to communication can be performed by this device like : Computer: Word processing. Creating printing documents. Desktop publishing. Planning documents. Researching audience and contents. Statistical analysis. Creating power-point presentations. E-mailing and distributing documents.

Printer A printer is a peripheral which produces a text and/or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies.

Fax machine A fax (short for facsimile) is a document sent over a telephone line. It is playing very important role in business communication for a very long period.

Telephone The telephone, often colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sound, most commonly the human voice. For oral communication this is the most common technological equipment.

Multimedia Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms . Multimedia is usually recorded and played, displayed or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices.

Internet The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer network that use the standard Internet protocol suit(TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. Today’s communication is so much dependent on internet. In business communication it plays more important role. This technology facilitates other medias like – E-mailing Instant Messeging Tele conferencing Video conferencing

Software● E mail● Word processor● Instant messaging ● Voice mail● Tele conferencing● Voice conferencing● Voice mail● Wikis● Blogs● Social media● Internet● Intranet

E-mail

Reading and Replying to E-Mail Scan all messages before replying to any Print only when necessary Acknowledge receipt Don’t automatically return the sender’s message Revise the subject line if the topic changes Provide a clear, complete first sentence Never respond when you’re angry Check response before hitting “Send” Assume that all emails are monitored

Instant Messenger Instant messaging (IM) is a collection of technologies used for real-time text-based communication between two or more participants over the Internet, or other types of networks. Instant messaging is used widely as informal communication tool.

Voice-Mail Voicemail (also known as voice-mail, VMS, or message bank) is a centralized system of stored telephone messages that can be retrieved later. The term is also used more broadly to denote any system of conveying a stored telecommunications voice message, including using an answering machine. Most cell phones have voicemail as a basic feature, and many land line phones and corporate PBXs have their own voicemail options.

Tele conferencing A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange and mass articulation of information among several persons and machines remote from one another but linked by a telecommunicTeleconferencing Equipment Computer with online connection Camera hooked up to computer Software CU-SeeMe NetMeeting Skype Yahoo Messenger

RSS newsfeeds and alerts•Really Simple Syndication newsfeeds let you see when selected websites and blogs have added new content.

•Bloglines •Google alerts

RSS News Feeds

WHAT IS RSS? By embedding some code into a web page, search engines are able to identify new content. In some instances (blogs for example) when a post is added, the soware will tell specialist services that new content has been added (called a ‘ping’). RSS readers are programs that collect this in- formation and submit it to users who have stated that they want to follow new developments from these sites. Besides blogs and podcasts, many sites – including most newspaper, magazine, radio and TV websites and some search engines – provide RSS feeds, which means that practitioners can use RSS in a similar way to a news feed or clipping service.

There are a variety of services available including: � For Windows: Newz Crawler, FeedDemon, Awasu; � Mac OS: Newsfire, NetNewsWire;� Web based services: Bloglines, FeedZilla, NewsGator, Google Reader. There are also some very good experts whose knowledge is helpful to practitioners: � Robin Good, hp://www.masternewmedia.org; � Wikipedia, hp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS;� RSS Specification, hp://www.rss-specifications.com. Our tip: use RSS to spread the word about your work pages on your websites and other web-based communications; use it to monitor both traditional and social media developments.

Web Conference● Technologies that allow two or more web

connected computers across geographic locations to hold a live conference over the Internet.

● Conducted over TCP/IP connections● Real-time ● Multicast -one sender to many receivers● Simultaneous sharing of● Text-based messages, ● voice chat● video chat

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). WHAT IS ONLINE CONFERENCING? Once, there was a need for significant infrastructure to create a secure environment where groups of people in many locations could join a conversation. To include real-time video was expensive, and adding transfer of digital information and drawings at the same time was almost impossible. Today, such facilities are available free or at low cost, so this rich medium is a communication channel for everyone – child, adult, communications specialist and even for remote baby-siing. Although oen not delivered as two-way communications, ‘webinars’ can be regarded as another example of online conferencing. Facilities are provided by Skype (hp://www.skype.com), Convenos (hp://www.convenos.com) and GoToMeeting (hp://www.gotomeeting. com), among others. This is a small selection, but all offer a range of both open and closed conferencing tools. Our tip: add conferencing in your wiki to facilitate client meetings and save time and cost.

Types of Web Conference ● Peer to peer web meeting● Training events, ● Lectures, ● Presentations● Webinars● Webcasts● Live or streaming video● VOIP - Voice over Internet Protocol● Web tours● Meeting Recording● Text chat● Polls and surveys● Screen sharing/desktop sharing/application sharing● Whiteboard with annotation

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP).

Other typical features of a web conference include:[5] • Slideshow presentations - where images are presented to the audience and markup tools and a remote mouse pointer are used to engage the audience while the presenter discusses slide content. • Live or streaming video - where full motion webcam, digital video camera or multi-media files are pushed to the audience. • VoIP - Real time audio communication through the computer via use of headphones and speakers. • Web tours - where URLs, data from forms, cookies, scripts and session data can be pushed to other participants enabling them to be pushed though web-based logons, clicks, etc. This type of feature works well when demonstrating websites where users themselves can also participate. • Meeting Recording - where presentation activity is recorded on the client side or server side for later viewing and/or distribution. • Whiteboard with annotation (allowing the presenter and/or attendees to highlight or mark items on the slide presentation. Or, simply make notes on a blank whiteboard.) • Text chat - For live question and answer sessions, limited to the people connected to the meeting. Text chat may be public (echoed to all participants) or private (between 2 participants). • Polls and surveys (allows the presenter to conduct questions with multiple choice answers directed to the audience) • Screen sharing/desktop sharing/application sharing (where participants can view anything the presenter currently has shown on their screen. Some screen sharing applications allow for remote desktop control, allowing participants to manipulate the presenters screen, although this is not widely used.) WHAT IS ONLINE CONFERENCING? Once, there was a need for significant infrastructure to create a secure environment where groups of people in many locations could join a conversation. To include real-time video was expensive, and adding transfer of digital information and drawings at the same time was almost impossible. Today, such facilities are available free or at low cost, so this rich medium is a communication channel for everyone – child, adult, communications specialist and even for remote baby-siing. Although oen not delivered as two-way communications, ‘webinars’ can be regarded as another example of online conferencing. Facilities are provided by Skype (hp://www.skype.com), Convenos (hp://www.convenos.com) and GoToMeeting (hp://www.gotomeeting. com), among others. This is a small selection, but all offer a range of both open and closed conferencing tools. Our tip: add conferencing in your wiki to facilitate client meetings and save time and cost.

b) Information Technology in Corporate Communication

● Introduction, ● E-media Relations, ● E-internal Communication, ● E-brand Identity and Company

Reputation

IntroductionWeb 1.0 - Mostly text based searchable

information with limited interactivity.Web 2.0 - Second-generation of Internet-based

services that let people collaborate and share information in the from of text and audiovisual content online.

Web 3.0 - Semantic web - a web where all information is categorized and stored in such a way that a computer can understand it as well as a human. Artificial intelligence and machine learning.

What’s Social Media?Social media are primarily Internet-based technologies that transform and broadcast

media monologues into social media dialogues.

E- media relations●E-mails●Websites●Photo sharing websites, Flickr●E zines or E newsletters●Third party newsletters●New media release●Electronic Press kits

WHAT IS A NEW MEDIA RELEASE? Electronic press kits have been used for a long time and an evolution of this is the new media release, an electronic form of press release. The first such releases conformed to the now defunct XPRL (eXtensible Public Relations Language) language, but they are increasingly being developed using Web 2.0 tools based on a template developed by Shi Communications in the United States in 2006. Still using e-mail and press release distribution methods, the new media release is enhanced with RSS and other social media capabilities (for ex- ample an add to the Delicious tool – see above) to assist with distribution of news stories both to the traditional media and to the online community media. Stories are presented in a way designed to help journalists, bloggers or indeed machines quickly to identify key parts of the story and related content for rapid editing and publishing. Releases typically provide access (hyperlinks) to rich resources like photo- graphs, wrien, videoed and recorded voice content, background briefing, comments and blog posts/searches. Our tip: use social media press releases as well as the traditional outlets.

Internal e-PR● Websites● Emails● Mobile internet - SMS services● Instant messaging platforms● Blogs & microblogs● Internal chat rooms● Electronic message boards - google groups● Wikis● Web conferencing● Podcasts● Internal social networking● VOIP

WHAT ARE MESSAGE BOARDS? Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia, describes an internet forum as a web application for holding discussions and posting user-generated content. Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, (electronic) discussion groups, discussion for- ums or bulletin boards. The terms ‘forum’ and ‘board’ may refer to the entire community or to a specific sub-forum dealing with a distinct topic. Messages within these sub-forums are then displayed either in chronological order or as threaded discussions. Examples are Google’s Groups (a successor to Usenet) and Yahoo Groups. There are many other examples and they are very useful in developing sequential contributions to a theme or topic online. Groups can be small, but many are very large with a lot of contributors. Groups dedicated to specific topics (consumer-generated technical help is a classic application) have been in common use for decades and do need moderators. Their popularity in the 1980s and 1990s inspired a lot of the early thinking that informs much contemporary social media theory.

Internal e-PR● Intranets●More secure● Specific to internal Public●Regulated e mail traffic●Cost effective● Specific additional software● Intranets can grow with your

business

E-brand Identity and Company Reputation●Website● Emails●Widgets●Reputation management● Search engine optimisation(SEO)●Online surveys● Pay per click● Podcast● Social networking sites ● Blogs and microblogs● Video-sharing/ Photo sharing● Virtual worlds●Online multiplayer games

Widgets 'Widgets' are essentially small, 'always-on' apps that appear on your Home screen or in your Notification Centre, providing you with at-a-glance information on any number of subjects.

Reputation management refers to the influencing and controlling of an individual's or group's reputation. Originally a public relations term, the growth of the internet and social media, along with reputation management companies, have made search results a core part of an individual's or group's reputation.[1] Online reputation management, sometimes abbreviated as ORM, focuses on the management of product and service search website results. It can involve anything from writing positive articles, launching web sites to promote those articles, fake reviews, biased Wikipedia articles, to plastering comments and links on blogs and other sites.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness in search engines. There are many aspects to SEO, from the words on your page to the way other sites link to you on the web. Sometimes SEO is simply a matter of making sure your site is structured in a way that search engines understand. SEO isn't just about building search engine-friendly websites. It's about making your site better for people too.

Online surveys All manner of surveys and polling are available online. Many offer real-time results and most have the ability to handle both open and closed questions as well as comments. They can be web based, as widgets, or in e-mail format, and many have considerable analysis features and presentation graphics as standard. There are many commercial online survey companies that are also available to practitioners.

WHAT IS PAY PER CLICK? Many websites, and notably search engines, carry small advertisements with embedded URLs. When a person clicks on these advertisements, the organization that put them there is charged. This is the fastest growing form of advertising worldwide; it is not difficult to master and is another tool for online communication. Unlike traditional advertising, this form of communication is user activated. PPC advertisements can be placed in a wide range of online properties (search engines being the most common, but social networks are also popular). They can be geographically targeted to highly selected publics by location, age and interest, and very powerful evaluation tools are available to monitor effectiveness and outcomes.

WHAT IS A PODCAST? A podcast is an audio file (typically an MP3 file) embedded into a web page (typically a blog), with ‘show notes’ and the means by which listeners can comment on or respond to content in the show. These radio-like audio programmes can be listened to on a PC or laptop, iPod or mobile phone and, according to podcaster Eric Schwartzman, have these specific PR benefits: �  They allow listeners to time-shi and place-shi media consumption.

�  There is 100 per cent efficiency, since episodes are only downloaded by listeners on an opt-in basis.

�  They are easily accessible to a global audience that is not defined by geographic boundaries.

�  They provide access to an educated, influential audience with a high disposable income.

�  Electronic programming can be leveraged without an outside news media filter.

Google TrendsIt shows how often a particular search-term is entered

relative to the total search-volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages.

Google Ad planner/ AdsenseGoogle Ad Planner helps to research and locate websites

with target audiences closely matching your product target audience.

Social bookmarking sites allow people to save, share and "tag" their lists of favourite bookmarked

websites.

Wiki(pedia)A website or database developed collaboratively by a community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content.

A wiki is a form of website. Wikis are mostly used inside organizations to allow a group of people to create, reference and edit web pages to form an evolving body of knowledge for the group. Wikis can be open to view by just a few people, or made publicly available. Editing rights can be given to everyone or to a few, and these decisions are made by the owner or ‘wiki master ’. Wikis have become popular for PR people because if you want to know more about any channel for online communication it will almost certainly be described in some detail by a number of experts in Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia is a wiki – a wonderful example of how social media works. Imagine, 10 or 15 years ago, you were talking with a group of friends and it suddenly occurred to you that each of you was an expert in something the others knew lile or nothing about; Jill was a film buff who knew a great deal about French cinema, Susan had read a lot about rhinoceroses, and Peter collected Commonwealth stamps. You say: ‘Hey everyone, together we could begin to write an authoritative encyclopaedia that would be used every day by people all over the world. Let’s go home and start typing!’ Jill, Susan, Peter and the others would melt away and leave you to your ravings. But that is prey much what happened with Wikipedia, which was launched in 2001.

● To individuals● A list, so that all know who else has received it.● Posted on web for anyone to download.● Sent by auto responder to anyone who logs in.● Signature Files ● Simple Messages that conclude all your

emails.● Seen by every e-mail recipient.● Keeps your names & concepts in mind.●Useful & legitimate way of promoting your

key purpose.

E mails

Email is addressed to individuals, who each receive a personally addressed item with no copy marked elsewhere. 2. Email is sent to individuals on a list, so that all know who else has received it. 3. Email is posted on web so that anyone who wants to, can download it. 4. Email is available to be sent to auto responder to anyone who logs in.

Websites● Immediate Impressions.● Wise use of colours & illustrations in a purposeful way.● Quick download of information possible from the site.● Use small images, as highly compressed file.● Do not use●Unnecessary flashy & fancy graphics.●Curious backgrounds that render text almost

impossible to read.●A lead page that merely shows your logo or company

name.●Unclear and useless links or other devices that

viewer may not recognise

Website should include● An overall mission statement.● Details of products or services.● Secure means of ordering● Compact, relevant & informative material easily

readable.● Information about key personnel & company locations.● Good links to other /own, and / or relevant sites.● Publicity about awards, 'good works'.● Frequently asked questions. (FAQs)● membership or registration offers.● Competitions, quizzes or other entertaining items.● Some form of feedback

Blog

BlogBlog

BlogBlog

BlogBlog

Blog Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Developed by Mark James Normand

Workshop Title: How to Build a Blog Developed by: Mark James Normand Date (first): 30

th September 2006

Venue: MDIS UniCampus

Version: 1.0 – 30/09/2006 Version: 1.1 – 16/03/2007

C) Corporate Blogging

● Introduction, ● Defining Corporate Blogging, ● Characteristics of a Blog, ● Types of Corporate Blogs, ● Role of Corporate Blogs, ● Making a Business Blog

Blog

BlogBlog

BlogBlog

What is a blog?

Developed by Mark James Normand

Blogs, short for web logs, are online platforms to create specific types of

content, share them and interact with others around those content objects,

known as blog posts.

Blogs are usually (but not always) written by one person and are updated pretty regularly. Blogs are often (but not always) written on a particular topic - there are blogs on virtually any topic you can think of.

From photography, to spirituality, to recipes, to personal diaries to hobbies - blogging has as many applications and varieties as you can imagine.

Whole blog communities have sprung up around some of these topics putting people into contact with each other in relationships where they can learn, share ideas, make friends with and even do business with people with similar interests from around the world.

Blogs usually have a few features that are useful to know about if you want to get the most out of them as a reader

December 1997

Online diarist Jorn Barger coins the term “Weblog” for “logging the Web.”

Blog categories

•Personal blogs •Professional blogs •Publication Blogs •Corporate blogs

• Personal blogs – personal blogs are online journals and reflect the blogger’s personal opinions or views on a given topic. Many times, personal blogs don’t have a goal other than to communicate with a small circle of followers. • Professional blogs – professional blogs are typically blogs with a single blogger. The purpose of a professional blog is to promote the individual, not a company, product, service nor opinion. Professional blogs may have goals for advertising, speaking or consulting revenue as the blogger builds authority and search engine ranking in a specific field of interest. • Publication blogs – publication blogs are traditional publications that are delivered through a blogging platform. Blogging platforms are social in nature, have search engine optimization advantages, and syndication features. Publication blogs are typically blogs that generate revenue through advertising and sponsorship opportunities. • Corporate Blogs – corporate blogs are utilized to promote products, services or expertise in an area that the company specializes in. A corporate blog can also be used to drive public relations, and communicate effectively with employees or shareholders.

http://corporatebloggingtips.com/corporate-blog/

Individual Vs. Corporate Blogs

Developed by Mark James Normand

Individual Vs. Corporate Blogs.

Individual blogs tend to be the traditional diaries about family and friends that have nanoaudiences. They have short life-spans unless they pick a specific subject matter to talk about.

Corporate blogs have become much more acceptable – and are far more often read than individuals blogs.Why?

Defining corporate blogging?• Corporate blogging is the practice of creating

content by businesses of all sizes as a means of content marketing.

• It Contains • industry updates, • expert tips or best practices • company news from the perspective of a

brand.

Characteristics of a blog

• Date header • Title • Time stamp and/

or permalink • Post • Author nickname • Category • Comments • TrackBack

Title/ Date

Actual Posting

Ads (Optional)

Links

Archieve/ Popular Posts

Developed by Mark James Normand

Anatomy of a Blog

Types of corporate blogs

• Viral blog • Event blog • E-commerce blog • Thought leadership blog • Brand Champion blog • ‘By the people,’ company blogs • PR Blog

Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. They are trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas; turn ideas into reality, and know and show how to replicate their success. They create a dedicated group of friends, fans and followers to help them replicate and scale those ideas into sustainable change not just in one company but in an industry, niche or across an entire ecosystem.

Types of corporate blogs

• General Company Blog, Multi-Author • Senior Leadership, Founder, CEO • Specific Team or Department Blog • Product, Service, Marketing Blog • Industry Blog • Customer service Blog • Employee Blog

1. Senior Leadership, Founder, CEO This one is obvious – it’s a blog where the CEO/Founder of the organization is providing most of the perspective and voice for the blog and the company. Perhaps it’s other senior leaders within their own area of expertise or role and responsibility. But the point is that it’s coming from the top – and these blogs can get a lot of traction and have a very large impact since it’s coming from a source of significant influence in the company. This is a powerful perspective to consider. Of course, the challenge is that the leader of the company may not have enough time to blog consistently or regularly and that can really hurt the blogs potential. There are a few examples of senior leaders blogging regularly but it’s few and far between which makes this gem of a type extremely precious and rare. 2. General Company Blog, Multi-Author This is the next most typical type of blog where you have one general blog where one or more authors contribute. Sometimes these are full-time roles within the company or a rotating publishing schedule from key influencers within the organization (or those that can simply blog and write well). This can be good to help provide a well-rounded perspective of the business as a whole and help pass the responsibility around so that no one person is at fault for not publishing consistently. This works really well for smaller organizations that have only a few people on staff  but it can also work well for larger ones as well. This might be a good place to “get your feet wet,” so to speak, and for your company to try adding a blog to your social communication strategy. 3. Specific Team or Department Blog Your organization may be large enough to have department specific blogs that focus their content on what that specific department is responsible for. Examples would include the Information Technology (IT) team having a blog sharing their thoughts on infrastructure and database management or the software development team being honest about their approach and struggles with shipping their product. Perhaps it’s even the HR department sharing their solutions of hiring well or the customer service organization engaging in the conversation and even taking help requests from the comment layer. All these can be included in the specific team or department type. 4. Product, Service, Marketing Blog Most businesses would take this type and roll it into one of the other types as a sub-type but the better business blogs that I’ve seen strategically focus their content on talking about one of their products, most likely their flagship product, and making that the blog channel that becomes marquee. For example, if your entire business is centered around a specific web application then having a blog that’s dedicated to sharing the details of the product, the team behind it, the challenges, the updates, the “behind the scenes” look would be pretty neat. A lot of great business blogs take this strategy and work in soft-marketing approaches to entice new customers. And guess what? It works. By sharing the details of the product/service it becomes a viable marketing tool that people talk about. 5. Employee Blog Finally, the last type of business blog would be a specific employee blog or perhaps a network of employee blogs that are powered by (duh!) individual employees. Perhaps it’s a blog that is company branded or perhaps it’s their independent blog that just becomes the “voice” for the business. In either case this can work well if the employee understands their responsibility to the organization as a whole and that the specific expectations are laid out. But in other circumstances it’s simply developed organically over time as one individual employee just loves blogging besides being part of the core marketing team – and their blog just gets a lot of traffic every single day as he talks about his job. There are a number of ways this could go but the key challenge for management to consider is this: Do you know if and where your employees blog? Why not?

Industry Blog - nothing demonstrates your passion more than your ability to look at the industry you serve, provide insight, colour and information about it. More often than not, the standard thought is to Blog about your products and services. I'd would avoid that type of content like the plague, but insights into how the industry works and where it's going puts you on the same level as your Consumers and establishes you as a recognized authority.

Customer Service Blog - the one type of corporate Blog that most Marketers try to avoid. They think of Dell Hell... or how the head of JetBlue apologized on YouTube. Customer Service Blogs should be the gateway to better products and services. They offer your Consumers a place to connect and get answers. Jackie Huba from Church of the Customer and co-author of the book, Citizen Marketers, says: "I see no reason for a company not to Blog... unless they're sleazy." Companies who avoid Customer Service Blogs have bigger problems than figuring out whether or not they should Blog. I believe that Customer Service Blogs done properly are the great equalizer and engager.

Internal blogging• RSS - easy consumption of company news

without the need for email • Projects -

• Provides record of project progress • Allows more open feedback opportunities

• News - employees can post industry/competitor news they have seen

• CEO/MD Blog - brings senior management closer and more accessible to all employees

Role of Corporate blogs

Role of Corporate Blogs• Humanises business. • Creates awareness. • Provides information and prospectives that buyers need. • Engages various target audiences, including Mediapeople. • Helps in branding and promoting products and service • Generating and manages leads. • Builds relationships. • Improves customer service • Helps in PR. • Influencer marketing. • Community marketing. • Driving traffic, subscriptions and registrations to the website • Feedback and listening. • Increases profit

https://www.i-scoop.eu/content-marketing/corporate-blogging-business-blogging/

Making a

Corporate Blogging Platforms

• Compendium Blogware • WordPress VIP • Typepad • Awareness • Marqui • Traction

CORPORATE BLOGGING PLATFORMWhen it comes to serving a company rather than an individual, there are corporate blogging platforms that are specifically designed to assist businesses with their corporate blogging. Companies have much different demands than individuals, including support, education, the ability to handle high volumes of traffic, enterprise moderation capabilities and search engine optimization.

• Compendium Blogware – Compendium has a platform that is optimized for keywords and does not require the user to tag and categorize their content. Compendium’s Software as a Service package includes keyword analysis, analytics integration, a high performing platform, unlimited storage and traffic, social media integration, security and administrative moderation. Disclosure: Douglas Karr is a shareowner in Compendium and devised the original concept.   • • WordPress VIP – WordPress VIP offers both support and hosting packages. VIP Support offers assistance and advice for enterprise users who are running large-scale WordPress deployments of WordPress, WordPress MU (Multi-User), VIP Hosted sites, and Open Source WordPress plugins like BuddyPress. With VIP Hosting, your site is hosted on the award-winning WordPress.com grid.   • • Typepad – TypePad helps businesses of every size engage with customers and stay ahead of the competition. Smaller businesses might prefer a more do it yourself approach, with TypePad Premium. Larger clients can get direct access to our talented team and our most powerful software with TypePad Business Class.      • • Awareness – Awareness provides enterprise-grade social marketing tools to some of the world’s largest brands, and we understand enterprise needs from both a technology and business requirements perspective. The Awareness Social Marketing Hub is hosted by Awareness in highly-scaleable datacenters, which feature automated failover, backup, and intrusion detection.     • • Marqui – With Marqui’s business blogging features you can easily manage multiple blogs on your website from a familiar user interface and interact with your customers in a whole new way. Workflows and approval management included.       • • Traction – Traction® TeamPage is an award winning Enterprise 2.0 social software product that combines wiki, blog, social tagging, activity streams, discussion and social networking capabilities using Traction’s secure, scalable hypertext platform.     These vendors work specifically with businesses to drive inbound marketing for small, medium, large and enterprise businesses utilizing their own platform. There are other content management systems and popular blogging software out there as well: • WordPress – the latest version has multi-user built in • Typepad • Movable Type There are also a ton of corporate blogging tools out on the market.

Tips for a good blog1. Establish a Content Theme and Editorial Guidelines 2. Choose a Blogging Team and Process 3. Humanise Your Company 4. Avoid PR and Marketing

(80:20 rule - 80% about tips, tricks, and helpful or entertaining info - use only 20% to talk about your products)

5. Welcome Criticism 6. Outline a Comment Policy 7. Get Social 8. Promote Your Blog 9. Monitor Mentions and Feedback 10. Track Everything

1. Establish a Content Theme and Editorial Guidelines When creating a product or service, you must be able to define the value that it's bringing to consumers. In the case of a blog, you need to clearly define the focused theme that your team will follow. Choose a blog name and theme that fits well with your company's expertise, but don't be afraid to branch out into a larger space. Your blog should provide pertinent information for consumers interested in your area of business. Once you've chosen an area to cover, create a set of editorial guidelines that your bloggers will follow. Guidelines can include appropriate verticals and topics to cover, as well as how and when posts should be written. A clear goal and theme for your blog will make it easier for users to know what to expect. For example, Dogstuff, an online shop for canine gifts, toys and supplies, hosts a blog called Dog Blog. The blog is simple and to the point, and it's more than evident that the blog is about dogs. The theme is specific enough for readers to understand what they may find, but it is such a broad topic, that almost limitless posts are possible.

2. Choose a Blogging Team and Process

Choose a team of core bloggers to begin your blogging adventure. Select individuals that are knowledgeable and comfortable writing about the areas you would like to cover. Also, it's key to choose people who write well and have a great online presence. Train your bloggers on the editorial guidelines and decide what type of writing and editing process you would like to put in place. Some companies prefer to elect an editor or group of editors to have a final look at all blog posts, while other companies allow their bloggers to publish directly. Figure out the level of comfort you have with your blogging, editing and publishing process and implement a procedure that works well for your team. 3. Humanize Your Company A company blog is an opportune place to let down your hair and get to know your customers. Think of it as a conversation between people, not between a brand and one person. In order to have a conversation, you need two people — a blogger and a reader. Give your corporate bloggers the freedom to be themselves. Encourage them to have their own personalities and writing styles. This type of diversity is more representative of your company than any monotonous tone that you could manufacture on your own. Always keep in mind that your blog is about people connecting and conversing with people, not a corporation. Throw away that "corporate" concept, and you'll be ahead of most. 4. Avoid PR and Marketing If maintained correctly, your blog will act as a repository of real analysis and opinions provided by your company's fine employees. The type of insight and expertise that a blog can demonstrate is far more useful than any PR pitch that you could post. Stay away from trying to sell your readers. There are appropriate venues for that, and your blog shouldn't be one of them. Continue to add to the conversation, adding value for your readers. Your opinions will be priceless. And for the times that you don't have an opinion on an important topic, gauge your community's opinion by taking a poll or interviewing key people. Lululemon Athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, constantly adds value to its community through its blog by providing posts on topics that their core followers would appreciate. Some of the most recent posts were on how to do a handstand, protect the lower back, and explore a new city. Readers will get a taste of the massive knowledge bank available at your company. Take your mind off of marketing, and you'll find that the analysis that you provide sells your company better than a press release ever could. 5. Welcome Criticism Oftentimes, corporations shy away from opening up their websites and blogs for commenting and interaction, because they are afraid of the harm that criticisms may cause. Make it a policy to welcome criticism, thinking of it as an opportunity for feedback and improvement. There are lots of ways to deal with negative feedback, so don't be afraid to open up to your community. 6. Outline a Comment Policy Be aware that if you open up your blog for full feedback (which you should), you will get a variety of comments — constructive, complimentary, hateful, and spam. Be prepared for everything. Create a comment policy that your team can follow, and make sure everyone is on same page. Outline the types of comments that should be responded to, deleted or passed along for follow-up. 7. Get Social Make sure your blog is open for comments and utilizes share tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and Digg. Share tools allow your users to pass along your content. Why not allow your readers to promote your work? Put forth an effort to respond to comments or forward them on when a specific employee could offer the best expertise in that area. Make sure each employee maintains a personable tone when responding to comments, so that readers know that your bloggers are genuine. Lastly, if you haven't done so already, implement a social media strategy for your blog, creating the appropriate profiles across social networks that your readers and customers are active on. Usually, Facebook and Twitter are a good start, and YouTube is a must for video-sharing. When you post on your blog, announce the new post on your social networks and ask for your readers' opinions on the subject. Promote your social presence on your blog, by implementing links, buttons and widgets that link to your social profiles. This will enable readers to stay connected with you across platforms. Whole Foods' blog, Whole Story, for example, displays its social links prominently at the top of the blog. 8. Promote Your Blog Just as you would promote any other company initiative, get the word out about your blog. Share the URL on your website, social networks, business cards, e-mails, and advertisements. Without promotion, building an audience can be difficult. Get behind the quality work that your team is putting into the blog and promote away. 9. Monitor Mentions and Feedback One way to get a pulse on your blog and its effects on the community is to monitor mentions and feedback. Set up Google Alerts for your brand, blog name and any keywords that might be relevant. Search on Technorati and Twitter for those set terms.

How to?• Define objectives • Establish a publishing

schedule • Keep the communication two

way • Attract with graphics • Make your blog easy to find

• Metadata • Title tag • URL structure • Shareability and

promotion • Header • First 100 words (inverted

pyramid style) • Contextual linking

(internal and external)

URL STRUCTURE Make sure your URL integrates keywords people use to nd content relative to yours, and you’re good to go.

Header Think subject line plus incentive. You’ll want to keep a top- level call-to-action as your header. Use it to emphasize what the reader will gain from reading your article. You can drop keywords in the header as well, but it’s not as powerful as it once was in the game of SEO.

FIRST 100 WORDS It’s extremely important to invest yourself in journalism’s inverted pyramid structure, where the most relevant facts appear at the top of your article. Your content must have social value in order to thrive on the Web. Without that, no amount of on-page optimization will help you pull traf c. Consider linking contextually from the rst 100 words of your article to other articles you’ve written, either within your blog or on other websites. This enforces keyword relevancy and, if your content gets spread around the Web, greatly enhances the anchor text value earned from the external link. Remember that Google pays attention to links that use keywords as signals about the destination link—if someone references your blog post, they may include a link that uses a keyword instead of a generic link, like “visit site” or “read more here.”

Contextual linking : Link out to other valuable resources. If you create lists, link out with high-quality anchor text. This will motivate others to link back to you. Also, regularly highlight resources and examples from SERPs to increase long tail traf c to your page. The bottom line? Share as much knowledge and as many online resources as possible for the best results.

Encourage people to seek you

out

URL STRUCTURE Make sure your URL integrates keywords people use to nd content relative to yours, and you’re good to go.

Header Think subject line plus incentive. You’ll want to keep a top- level call-to-action as your header. Use it to emphasize what the reader will gain from reading your article. You can drop keywords in the header as well, but it’s not as powerful as it once was in the game of SEO.

FIRST 100 WORDS It’s extremely important to invest yourself in journalism’s inverted pyramid structure, where the most relevant facts appear at the top of your article. Your content must have social value in order to thrive on the Web. Without that, no amount of on-page optimization will help you pull traf c. Consider linking contextually from the rst 100 words of your article to other articles you’ve written, either within your blog or on other websites. This enforces keyword relevancy and, if your content gets spread around the Web, greatly enhances the anchor text value earned from the external link. Remember that Google pays attention to links that use keywords as signals about the destination link—if someone references your blog post, they may include a link that uses a keyword instead of a generic link, like “visit site” or “read more here.”

Contextual linking : Link out to other valuable resources. If you create lists, link out with high-quality anchor text. This will motivate others to link back to you. Also, regularly highlight resources and examples from SERPs to increase long tail traf c to your page. The bottom line? Share as much knowledge and as many online resources as possible for the best results.

How to promote

• Write regularly • Social bookmarking: pinterest, Delicious,

Reddit etc. • RSS feed • Pinging • Trackback • Comment • Increase hyperlinking • Use lots of images

Social bookmarking is a centralized online service which allows users to add, annotate, edit, and share bookmarks of web documents.

What is RSS? RSS (Rich Site Summary) often called Really Simple Syndication) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it.

Ping is a basic Internet program that allows a user to verify that a particular IP address exists and can accept requests. Ping is used diagnostically to ensure that a host computer the user is trying to reach is actually operating. Ping works by sending an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request to a specified interface on the network and waiting for a reply. Ping can be used for troubleshooting to test connectivity and determine response time.

Technorati The company's core product was previously an Internet search engine for searching blogs. The website stopped indexing blogs and assigning authority scores in May 2014 with the launch of its new website, which is focused on online publishing and advertising.

A trackback is a form of “blog conversation” that links two or more relevant blog entries together. One blogger writes an article that references or is relevant to another blog’s article and fills out the trackback section. When the blogger publishes the article the blog leaves a trackback on the other blog’s article, which usually appears in the comments area as a truncated summary with a link.

What is a Trackback? Trackbacks give bloggers the ability to communicate between websites. Its almost like one person saying to another “This is something you may be interested in”. The best way to think about this is a Youtube Response video. So for example: – We write a post on our blog. – You want to comment on our post, but you want your own readers to see what you have to say and able to comment on it. – You will then write a post on your blog and send a trackback to our blog post. – We will receive your trackback, and choose to display it as a comment or not. The comment display will be a title, excerpt and a link to your blog post. What is a Pingback? Pingbacks give softwares the ability communicate between websites. Its almost like remote comments. – We write a post on our blog. – You write a post on your blog mentioning/linking to our article. – Your blogging software will automatically send us a pingback. – Our blogging software will receive the pingback. It will then automatically go to your blog to confirm that the pingback originates there (the link is present). – Then we will have the ability to display your pingback as our comment. This will solely be a link to your site. Pingbacks also work within your site. So if one of your posts link to another post, then your WordPress will send a self-ping. This can get really annoying.

How to promote• Invite guest Blogger to write on industry or event topics • Interview clients, organisation speakers, management

team (podcast) • Post photos from recent company event or outing • Tips & Tricks for your business or industry • Quote of the Day (with links) • Community or industry organisation events and info • ‘Favourite Helpful Links’ series • Round up of news snippets and links to other Blogs • Liveblog a conference • Ask your Community to create content for YOU -

contests, giveaways

Discover the Influencers

Weblog Ethics1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to

be true. 2. If material exists online, link to it when you

reference it. 3. Publicly correct any misinformation. 4. Write each entry as if it could not be

changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.

5. Disclose any conflict of interest. 6. Note questionable and biased sources.

Bloggers code of conduct• Take responsibility not just for your own words, but

for the comments you allow on your blog. • Raise your tolerance level for abusive comments. • Consider eliminating anonymous comments. • Ignore the trolls. • Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or

find an intermediary who can do so. • If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell

them so. • Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in

person.

THANK YOU

Blogging success factors• Outlining the desired outcomes and defining metrics • Identifying the target audiences • Mapping the (content) needs wants, preferences and more of target groups • Aligning needs and desired outcomes • Inventorising, creating and repurposing content • Interacting with readers and other bloggers. • Following up on the metrics for success while continuously testing and improving. • Applying some best practices regarding writing, content formats and more

technical topics. • Embedding the blog activities in a social context • Integrating blogging activities • Providing a consistent ‘reader’ and customer experience by applying storytelling

techniques • Leaving the corporate blahblah behind • Planning, structuring and putting processes and guidelines in place

1 Outlining the desired outcomes and defining metrics and KPIs, in correlation with other marketing strategies. 2 Identifying the target audiences, buyer personas and other stakeholders in a well-documented and customer-centric way. 3 Mapping the (content) needs wants, preferences and more of target groups over time and preferences. While blogs will typically focus on questions prospective buyers have, there is more than strictly business. It’s about emotion and sometimes even about entertainment. Business should not be boring and the same goes for blogs. As long as it’s “you”, “them” and relevant. 4 Aligning needs and desired outcomes and putting the proper processes and flows in place in a calculated way and by attributing the proper resources and foreseeing collaboration and planning tools such as editorial calendars. 5 Inventorizing, creating and repurposing content that can serve needs, answer to pains, engage, drive to outcomes, appeal and seduce/convince in a blog format. 6 Interacting with readers and other bloggers. Feeding the communities that form and engage existing communities of customers, prospects, collaborators, etc. 7 Following up on the metrics for success while continuously testing and improving. Dare changing course and keep gathering feedback and making what you do better. Nobody is perfect. 8 Applying some best practices regarding writing, content formats and more technical topics. 9 Embedding the blog activities in a social context with a social content strategy in place. Such a strategy will typically look at the social media behavior of target audiences and enable easy sharing and interaction on the platforms that matter most. 10 Integrating blogging activities in the overall content marketing, social media marketing, loyalty marketing, community marketing, lead generation, etc. strategies. Whatever the goals are in an individual context: corporate blogging and blog marketing are part of a broader context. This also implies integrations with various marketing tools such as marketing automation. 11 Providing a consistent ‘reader’ and customer experience by applying storytelling techniques following the narrative, style, core story/message of the brand and the language and preferences of target audiences. 12 Leaving the corporate blahblah behind and having people share their content in a personal way and being much less formal than this text is. It’s about people! 13 Making it easy for bloggers, training them, empowering them and looking at their needs as well. Again, it’s about people. Unless they’re brainwashed no one will want to work more and longer just for the sake of working longer and more. There is a human quid pro quo and often it’s not about money. 14 Planning, structuring and putting processes and guidelines in place (some call them ‘policies’) that focus on the empowerment of collaborators. However, don’t plan too much and leave room for employee collaboration, creativity and teamwork.

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More than 66.0% blogs are

Not updated regularly.

Developed by Mark James Normand

Blog Statistics

The 'average blog' thus has the lifespan of a fruitfly. One cruel reader of this page commented that the average blog also has the intelligence of a fly.The Perseus report noted above indicates that 66.0% of surveyed blogs had not been updated in two months.

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For the demo purposes:

Platform: Blogger Images: Imagestack Email: hotmail Video: Youtube

Demonstration should include:- •Setting up a Blogger account •Viewing the tool bar •Create a Post •Formatting the post •Publishing the blog (and viewing) •Inserting an image by editing •Inserting video •Blogging….