How to Create an Internal Blogging Program that Works

© 2013 Marketo, Inc. Marketo Proprietary and Confidential

How to Create an Internal Blogging Program That Works.

Dayna Rothman, Sr. Content Marketing Manager, Marketo@dayroth


Page 3© 2013 Marketo, Inc. Marketo Proprietary and Confidential

Blogging Stats

• 61% of US consumers have made a purchase through a blog post

• 77% of internet users read blogs• Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links• B2B marketers using blogs generate 67% more leads• 37% of marketers believe blogs are the most important type

of marketing


Blogs Help With…

• Increasing traffic to your website• Generating leads• Generating inbound links• Showing your industry thought leadership• Showing your company personality• Developing the personal brands of your internal super

stars• Speaking directly to influencers and customers


Problem: Not Enough Bloggers!


But, how do you get enough content??


Marketo Blog—Case Study

• The Marketo blog brings in over 650,000 unique visitors and almost $2 million dollars in directly attributed revenue

• We post at least 1 blog post 5 days per week • Prior to May 2013, we only had 3 regular bloggers!• That is a lot of blogs to think about every week


Solution: Launch an Internal Blogging Program in 7 steps


Employee Blog Contributors

• Share expertise• Diversify your content• Increase your content• Position entire company as thought leaders• Gain individual professional recognition• Attract new customers• Great for links• Great for SEO


But, Everyone is So busy!


Step 1: Understand Internal Barriers to Success

• Ask: What is holding your employees back from blogging now?• Time?• Difficulty writing?• Lack of interest?• Do they even know you have a blog?

• Create an internal blog program that addresses your top barriers


Step 2: Create Program Incentives and Milestones

• People like to be incentivized!


Other Incentive Considerations

• Team contests• Quarterly contests for:• Most shared post• Most viewed post• Most creative/Best overall post


Step 3: Develop Formalized Guidelines• Role assignment• Executive Editor, Managing Editor, Associate Editor

• Content guidelines• Length requirements• Post topic suggestions• SEO guidelines• Formatting guidelines • Social media guidelines


Submission and Approval Process


Step 4: Create Your Program (with a theme!)


Step 5: Create a Guidebook • Outlines program basics—available on microsite• Outlines incentive structure• Outlines available resources• Outlines approval process and submissions• Gives tips on how to blog


Step 6: Provide Training and Expert Resources

• Offer a handful of formalized training sessions for anyone to participate in

• Offer 1:1 blogging consultations for interesting participants• Help bloggers with writing• Help bloggers with ideation

• Offer copyediting assistance for those who aren’t comfortable writing


Step 7: Meet with Internal Stakeholders• Evangelize your program!• Choose your top 10-15 “dream bloggers”• Meet with:• Key executives• Key team members with expertise• Key groups with expertise

• Determine a meeting cadence


Marketo Internal Blog Program Launch! May 2013


Day-of Launch

• Email sent out from CMO about program• Chatter post• Posters put up around the office• Stickers handed out to everyone• 3 group training sessions scheduled• Microsite published


Training Sessions

• Program specifics• Submission process• Incentives• Basic blogging training• How to come up with ideas• What topics work for the Marketo blog• SEO considerations• How to format your post• What blogs to follow

• Standing monthly trainings for new hires


Ongoing Blogger Recognition

• Announcement on Chatter whenever a blogger hits an incentive

• Monthly newsletter announcement with most read post and most shared post


Blog Promotion on Social

• Posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and G+• Paid promotion on Facebook behind every blog post• Huge increase in the number of shares and engagement on

Facebook posts


Additional Content Wins from Blogs

• Blog to ebook repurpose


So, What Happened?


Increase in Amount of Bloggers

• Went from 3 regular bloggers to 30+ regular bloggers• 5 people received 3 post milestones• 3 people received 7 post milestones• Many more bloggers close to reaching milestones• Inclusion of Saturday post when needed


Traffic Increases


First-Touch (FT) and Multi-Touch (MT)

• Last 12 months to generate prospects• Website + Blog = 38% of all opps


Huge Blog Share Increases on Facebook

• Average likes per post up 86% from May through November

• From an average of 434 likes per post to 806 likes per post

• Top blog received 2,557 likes


Other Sources of Content for Your Blog.


Guest Blogging• Reach out to people in your network—influencers, customers,

and partners• Reach out via Twitter to get guest bloggers• Create guest blog guidelines similar to internal guidelines• Guest blogs increase reach, help with influencer relations, help

you get more content, and get you links!


Showcasing the Content on Your Blog for Optimal Conversions: 10 Best Practices


Best Practice 1: Highly Visual Content• Readers are overwhelmed with words• Visual content is a great way to engage• Good visuals make the written word stand out• Create your blog to emphasize visuals


Best Practice 2: Have Clear Conversion Goals

• Your blog should achieve measurable goals• Clear conversion paths that don’t get in the way of

readership


Best Practice 3: Multiple Paths to Social• Encourage social sharing and engagement with your

blog• Share blog homepage and category pages• Share individual posts• Follow the company on various social networks


Best Practice 4: Give Them Tweetables• Craft ready-to-use tweets• Encourage readers to spread the word • Think about K.I.S.S!


Best Practice 5: Social Validation

• Help buyers find and trust your content• Adds credibility—a post with 2000 shares is way more

trusted than a post with 0 shares• Make it easy to see how many shares each post has


Best Practice 6: Great Mobile Experience• Always have responsive design for a great mobile or

tablet experience • Offer mobile visitors a way to subscribe


Best Practice 7: Merchandise Your Best Content • Guide new visitors to your top posts • Consider placing 3 popular posts in the top section of

your blog home page• Have rich, visual menus• Show most shared posts


Best Practice 8: Connect Content to Authors

• Highlight your blog authors• Headshot • Bio• Social profile links—Twitter, LinkedIn, G+


Best Practice 9: Enable Commenting

• Encourage commenting• Ask a question at the end of the blog to engage

community• Choose a commenting platform like Disqus


Best Practice 10: Diversify Your Content

• In addition to traditional blogs posts include:• Videos• Infographics• Visual Slide Decks


7 Key Takeaways

1. Encourage your employees to blog by creating a formalized program

2. Provide incentives for employee contribution3. Provide blog training and assistance for employees not

comfortable with blogging4. Create a guidebook/microsite so all of your program

information can be found in one place5. Include guest bloggers for even more content6. Design your blog to be visual and engaging7. Include ways to convert leads on your blog


Q&[email protected]@dayroth

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How to Create an Internal Blogging Program that Works