September 2005
Step-by-Step: Blogging
Five steps for creating a blog that will boost your show and your brand
By Dawn J. Grubb

1. Why blog?
Shows roll around once or twice a year, but blogs engage your attendees and exhibitors during the crucial in-between times when you want your brand to remain on customers’ minds.

It’s a great extension of your brand portfolio: a show allows annual face-to-face contact; publications let you communicate in-depth; a Web site showcases your products, services and mission; and a blog offers immediate contact, engages customers in timely conversation and ensures ongoing feedback. Plus, you already have  an audience.

2. Make the content count.
First, have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Build attendance? Offer exhibitors support? Use it as a PR outlet for your show? Next, focus on the nitty-gritty details:
Topics — Don’t use your blog as a glorified brochure to simply hype your show. Instead, offer concrete examples of how your show can help customers grow their businesses, find solid leads, connect with important people — in general, help them get ahead.

Or, discuss newly released products, a unique industry vendor or how pending legislation might affect the market. Beware: Don’t just regurgitate news or info from another blog or Web site. Offer an opinion of how this info can be adapted to your industry.

Tone — Consider the image you want to project. Blogs are conversational, entertaining and sometimes edgy. Most blogs feel a little renegade with a touch of water-cooler gossip. Choose a tone that reflects you.

Length — Everything in the blogosphere is brief and informal. Readers want a quick hit of information — something that they can get in and out of fast. Offer a short 30- to 50-word excerpt of information and then link to the entire post. But if the topic warrants, it’s OK to write longer. It’s a judgment call.

Authors — Blogs can feature one author or more. This might include the CEO, show director, marketing manager, sales person or a PR person. Or maybe enlist conference speakers or committee and association members to guest blog. Blogging takes time, so decide whether it’s worth yours. Regardless, a blogger must know the industry to talk intelligently and credibly with constituents. And exceptional writing skills are a plus.

Features — Standard blog features include comments, trackbacks and archives. But you might consider categorizing posts and adding a recent comment feature, which allows readers to quickly peruse ongoing conversations and find useful info faster. And an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is popular for aggregating blog updates and other Web news.

3. Choose software that fits your needs.
Blogging software and services abound, with pricing ranging from no-cost to a hundred bucks.

Novices might like Blogger (www.blogger.com/start) or TypePad (www.sixapart.com) with their simple, customizable templates that let you get set up in 10 to 20 minutes. Such services as Movable Type (www.sixapart.com) or WordPress (http://wordpress.org) feature more HTML and open source coding, which requires a bit more time and skill for set up.

Again, consider the image you want to project. Beware of such free services as Live Journal (www.livejournal.com) or Xanga (www.xanga.com) that look amateurish and draw the teen crowd.

4. Adhere to blog etiquette.
Don’t blog anonymously. Tell readers who you are and why you’re blogging. This helps build credibility.

Play nice. Don’t trash the competition, use vulgarities or be rude. You can disagree with someone civilly. Besides, that’s how you create great dialog.

Stay on topic. Don’t highjack a post with commentary that’s irrelevant.

Set the rules. Make sure all authors know your rules. Sites such as www.corporateblogging.info and many business communications organizations offer guidelines for creating employee policies, determining the corporate voice and other helpful info.

Know the law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers a legal guide for bloggers at www.eff.org/bloggers/lg. Learn about such topics as privacy, legal liability, intellectual property and online defamation.

5. Build readership.
Trying to perfect search engine optimization and boost visibility? Blogs tend to rank higher than Web sites in searches. Such components as key words, links and routine posting help elevate blogs.
 
Interacting with other blogs and linking to credible Web sites helps boost search results and build readership. Keep an eye on blogosphere rankings and trends with such tools as www.blogpulse.com, www.technocrati.com and www.feedster.com.

Promote your blog through your Web site, company brochure, conference program, etc. Post every day or two to keep content fresh and relevant for readers. And don’t forget to blog live from your show. It’s a great way to engage those who weren’t able to attend, as well as attract others from different industries.