Top Takeaways
1. Blogs are here to stay
2. Bloggers are not who you think
3. It’s not just about text
4. Blogs are not newsletters, but dialogues
5. Blogs are communities
1. Inspiration for
Innovation:
The
Blogosphere
Social Tech Training
Jun 2009
2. Agenda for Today
Overview: Social Media Today
Who are the Bloggers & Who’s Reading Blogs?
Blog Strategies
Open Dialogue: What’s Working for You?
4. Top Takeaways
Blogs are here to stay
Bloggers are not who you think
It’s not just about text
Blogs are not newsletters, but dialogues
Blogs are communities
5. What is Web 2.0?
Web 1.0 = Information and Transaction
Web 2.0 = Connecting People to People
11. Who Are the
Bloggers & Who’s
Reading Blogs?
Is it just guys in their parents’ basements?
12. Let’s Take a Look:
Examples of Great Blogs
Greenpeace
NRDC Switchboard
ThinkProgress
Media Matters
AK2UK.com
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16. About blog readers
About 22% of American adults read
blogs
The median age of a blog reader is 25-45
Their median household income is $60K
to $80K
About 50% have left a comment on a
blog
80% of MySpace Users are over 18
17. Arketi 2007 Web Watch Survey
100% of journalists say they rely on the
Internet to help get their job done.
25% of journalists say blogs make their job
easier.
60% of journalists say they spend more
than 20 hours a week on the Internet. When
asked how journalists use the Internet:
98 percent say reading news
97 percent say emailing
93 percent say finding news sources
89 percent say finding story ideas
72 percent say reading blogs
67 percent say watching webinars or
webcasts
18. About bloggers
10 percent of Internet users blog
Only 11 percent of these bloggers talk
about policy and politics – most blog
about life experiences.
Bloggers tend to be younger
They are equally men and women and are
from all over the country.
Bloggers tend to be more ethnically and
racially diverse.
27% of bloggers also use Twitter
19. How Powerful?
70% of journalists read blogs for breaking news and story ideas
91% of Congressional offices track blogs
Only 12% don’t think they matter to the media
75% of time on local blogs, 25% national blogs
20. Hispanics Online
• 19.5 million Hispanics online –
most are English speaking or
bilingual
• Largest ethnic audience online in
U.S.
• 89% of Latinos who have a college
degree, 70% of Latinos who
completed high school, and 31% of
Latinos who did not complete high
school go online.
• In February 2008 the average
Hispanic-American over the age of
11 spent more time online (56%)
than watching television (50%)
• More likely than whites to use IM,
Internet TV, Mobile Internet, blogs,
and multitask
22. Public
Relations 2.0
Media outreach now includes bloggers
Traditional Journalists Bloggers
Gain authority by being: Gain authority by being:
- Objective - Subjective
- Exclusive - Collaborative
Your organization’s blog will benefit from passionate opinions backed
with facts that attract others to follow and report the story.
23. Cheryl’s Tips
KISS -- Keep it short, sweetie
Don’t send a press release (send the link)
Personalize & compliment
Link to other bloggers who’ve blogged it/
media who’ve written it
Don’t be afraid to follow up & re-send
A blog isn’t a newspaper; it’s a
community center.
24. Cory’s Tips
Have a link that’s relevant and permanent
Don’t send PDFs
Send downloadable (sharable) audio or
video
Add a url to photos
Offer high-res photos
Contact through the stated, preferred
means
25. Blog Promotion
Integrate blog into your outreach
Send email to your list announcing blog
Automate tweets from your blog
Make sure your bloggers are also tweeting
other bloggers
Send key blog posts to email list
Include blog in direct mail
Consider Flickr, MySpace and Facebook
links
Check comments in all social networks
31. Top Takeaways
Blogs are here to stay
Bloggers are not who you think
It’s not just about text
Blogs are not newsletters, but dialogues
Blogs are communities