What we learned in Blogging for your Brand

We had a fantastic time last night at General Assembly Atlanta!  Thanks to everyone who attended “Blogging for your Brand”!  Even on a ridiculously cold night, we had a packed house full of people who were eager to start or get into first or second gear in their blogging.  Here’s a simple recap of the highlights of the evening.

• Blogging is popular! As evidenced by the crowd, it’s clear that there’s a strong need for people to learn the basics of regular blogging, and get over the perceived hurdles of blogging every day or every week for your own brand or for your company’s brand.
• Personal and/or corporate brand – blogging is blogging! There are a few clear differences between blogging for you vs blogging for your company, but for the most part, it’s the same.  Start. Write. Repeat. Anyone can get bogged down worrying too much about whether to use Blogger or WordPress or Medium or whatever, whether to tweet about your blog or post to Instagram, whether to write every day or every week or twice a week, or whether to monetize a blog or not. Your best bet is to start.
• Start a movement – Just like in this fantastic TED Talk video. Someone HAS to start everything. Why not you?  If you’re hesitant about blogging, it’s ok, just go. Tell your story. Everyone loves a story!

• Seinfeld did nothing – We defined what everyone’s “story” really is, and it’s everything! Seinfeld made multiple millions saying nothing. You and your company have so much more than nothing.

• Everyone has content – Consider Seinfeld’s approach. Everything that happens to you or your company is content for content marketing. Every new hire, new product, new feature, new event, successes, failures, partnerships, news…everything. Make a list of everything that could provide value to your audience, and then write about it.
• Everyone has their own style, cadence, and degree of content. Find yours. For comparison and contrast, consider personal/vulnerable (John Saddington) vs. regular/analytical (David Cummings).

I’ll be teaching again in a couple of weeks on how to create and execute a social marketing strategy, and then the GA Digital Marketing Class starts Jan 27, and takes place every Tuesday & Thursday, 6:30pm – 9:30pm for 10 weeks.