Increasing Employee & Client Engagement

I am fortunate to be head of the Atlanta Bloggers Community.  This community is passionate about Social Media & the Blogosphere.  It is comprised of all different types of bloggers from every niche thinkable.  It has some of the best and most experienced bloggers to some of the newest.  I like to think of it as a place to discuss relevant topics, a place to share ways to increase the value to every blogger but also a support group. 

The Community is only as strong as its members so please come join us if you are in Atlanta.  So if you are looking for the benefits of a blog, throwing out the idea to start one or if you are already a rock star, you can mentor and share your learnings.

You can find us here and RSVP – www.meetup.com/atlblog -

If you want more information - Our next meeting is November 4th at Gordon Biersch in Midtown.  We will be talking about how to create killer content. One of our Members Jennifer Carter wrote this PR Release  http://bit.ly/3dhb45 

Here are some articles on Blogging you may get value from

Why Blogging is Alive to Me - http://bit.ly/rwwTR 
Dynamic Content – http://bit.ly/2EV36E
Blogoshpere is Your Home –  http://bit.ly/293bD2
Blogging Is The CenterPiece to Your Social Media Strategy –  http://bit.ly/15jn5D
Blogging Audience Revealed – http://bit.ly/1FYQum 
Does Your Blog Resonate With Its Audience –  http://bit.ly/27XRjS
Blogging – What is in it For You? –  http://bit.ly/2qxg4O 
Pulling Back The Curtain on Engaging Content – http://bit.ly/3ve8Bv 
5 Ways To Engage Your Audience - http://bit.ly/1tHqPo

Tomorrow, ChadRothschild.com will have been active for 3 months… My growth is extremely steady. I do a lot of workshops and people think Blogging is dead. I wanted to share some thoughts on why I disagree and why I suggest you join the party.

First, I have had thousands of visits, but you know that number doesn’t matter to me… The number that excites me is that I had close to 1750 unique visitors who came to my site who stayed an average time of close to a minute and a half. I had tons of other visitors but they chose not to stay around and that is fine. I hope they get great content elsewhere. Decision time. I could concern myself with why they didn’t stay. It could be my layout, my style, my look, my content and I could try to change it to fit more people or I could say who cares…

My answer is… this is not politics, so stay true to yourself, your niche and cater to those who DO like you and worry about them. This is not about being everything to everybody. SO BE HAPPY AND CONTENT WITH WHO YOU HAVE AND DON’T CONCERN YOURSELF WITH THOSE YOU DON’T. Write for the followers that like and engage your content. They will be happier for it and so will you.

More important than unique visitors to me is return visitors… Getting them to visit is important to at least try you out, but if they do not return or subscribe it was for not. So I really look at the return rate. Did they like me enough to come back? I was happy to see that of those 1500 who visited at least one minute, one time, 1000 people returned for at least a second visit. 550 of those have come back more than 3 times. 250 came back more than 10 times. This is very important to me. I wish I could email every one of them and thank them for allowing me the opportunity to earn their time. I hope they write me and tell me what they like and how I can better provide content for them.

I do get 100’s of comments or emails a week and really cherish them… I have met and connected with people I would of NEVER met otherwise. This is my favorite part and most exciting part.

Those are the numbers that are important to me… I do like to see where my traffic comes from, but this is an easy correlation. Other than my clients, prospects and friends who come to my site directly, I spend all my time on LinkedIn and Twitter and so that is where all my other traffic comes from. I do not worry about SEO, because I am only trying to appeal to a very small niche.

I love blogging and I hope you see some value and power in those numbers… because what other method could one person connect with that many people nationwide (globally for that matter) in a real way with very little money invested. I would have to do hundreds of networking events to do it and would be confined to my local area.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my thoughts… I hope you get as much value, as the pleasure I get of writing and sharing it with you.

If you do enjoy this site, make a comment and share what I can do better to serve you in a more positive way. Any topics you would like to cover or just to say hi. God Bless!

Yours Truly,

Chad Rothschild

I was on Atlanta Business Radio this week. We covered my favorite topic of engaging your audience and social media. A lot of interesting info was covered. Here is the link if you want to listen to.

http://tr.im/pCKV

Another really cool thing I was able to be a part of was the Community Marketing Blog’s Blog Off.

I was one of the finalists and was asked to be part of a conference call to share thoughts, ideas, insights & best practices about Blogging.  It was recorded so I could share with you.  It is very good info about

Blogging and other great conversations about social media, going viral, measurement, SEO, syndication

The whole call was over an hour, so it is jam packed with info.

http://tr.im/pRQX

I am in discussions right now about becoming a permanant contributor to the Community Marketing Blog so will keep you posted on the progress for that.

Strategies to Market Your Content

I heard this from Hubspot and Todd Schnick/Russell Fair – The concept was titled Blogging by thirds –

1. Spend 1/3 of time creating content - using the previous posts ideas about how to come up with content. Writing it and they will come does not work. You can have the greatest content in the world, but if people don’t read it. People will not just find your blog, you have to go spread it horizontally. You have to lead them to water so they know it exists. Read Step 2 & 3

2. Spend 1/3 reading other blogs – Find some good blogs that compliment yours or are in your spectrum. Since I am in Sales & Marketing and what my content is about, I found other great marketing blogs. I read them for ideas, thoughts etc. Which leads me to the last step.

3. 1/3 commenting on other blogs - Really adding value to the discussion. Agree with them, disagree. It doesn’t matter your stance. Just make it relevant and thought provoking. If people like your info they will click your link and check you out as well.

4. You also want to have links in your blogs that will link to other blogs - Either with similar content that would add value to your readers.

5. Get on Social Media sites to help spread your message and thought leadership
· Facebook – www.facebook.com
· LinkedIn Groups – www.linkedin.com
· Twitter - www.twitter.com
· Reddit - www.reddit.com
· Digg - www.digg.com
· Technorati - www.technorati.com
· Stumble Upon - www.stumbleupon.com
· Delicious www.delicious.com
· Ezine Articles www.ezinearticles.com
· Other Communites – Xing.com , Ning.com, and any Associations You Are Affiliated
· Ping your blog with http://blo.gs//; http://www.blogrolling.com/; www.weblogs.com;
http://pingomatic.com/

The Next Question I Always Get Is… How does that help me sell more products or it is more commonly known as What’s in it for me syndrome.  I do agree there is a fine line.  To answer the question about selling more product…  You really have to look at the 5 stages. 
1. Get their attention & they visit your site. 
2. Create enough interest & they return to your site. 
3. They take action, subscribe, comment & share your information. 
4. Create relationship & convert to a customer.  
5. Become a  brand evangelist & spread your message through referrals.   

You want to become a trusted resource with elevated credibility so when they are seeking a solution that you can provide, you are top of mind and first in line to try to solve it. 

Does That Guarantee You Will Get the Business… It depends on if you gave a compelling enough reason.  Thought Leadership puts you at the top of the list and can elevate you above your competition, but you still have to be the perfect solution. 

Think about it from your own situation.  If you had to have brain surgery.  You would want to have the most reputable surgeon you could afford.  You would want them to be knowledgeable about your situation and have proven track record of successes with other similar patients. You would meet with more than one doctor and find the best one for you.  If one was a thought leader and highly recommended… you would lend more weight to them.

If you have someone that you really respect & you are a raving fan of… you may give them more leeway and every benefit of the doubt.  When you are perceived to be the best, then you are almost at the finish line.  I have several blogs and thought leaders that I really like and if I had a need they could help fulfill.  I would contact them, but they would not be the only one I look at.  I would do my due diligence.   They would no longer have to sell themselves, just the solution. 

Remember…You still have to deliver the goods.

In Marketing We Always Say Your Message Must Match Your Audience…  What you want to talk about is much easier now that you know your target audience.     You are going to write & share valuable content around their needs, motivations & issues.  You will inform them, guide them & provide solutions to the problems that keep them up at night. 

Speak In Your Audience’s Language and In A Tone They Get…  Don’t speak in your jargon.  Talk in their terms.   Speak in a way you really resonate with your audience.  Connect with them.  This will draw them closer to you and bring them to more of an emotional connection.

Do NOT Speak In A Corporate Voice…  My point is always, you can not start off screaming product.  The conversation has to be about the bigger cooler idea your product is a part of. Your blog needs to teach and inspire around the bigger thing.  A blog is not a product spec sheet.  That is boring.  Commercials will be invisible.  Write about what people want to talk about…NOT WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SELL THEM. 

Corporation’s Billboards Are Always Selling…  The ABC’s of selling have changed.  It is no longer Always Be Closing, it is now Always Be Conversational and Always Be Communicating…   .  It is not about YOU… It is not about the Corporations… It is about PEOPLE…   

You Have to Speak In A Personal Voice…  I always say this is the biggest challenges corporations have.  They are so tied to the old marketing ways.  They don’t know how to speak in a personal voice.  As a branding expert, I think Corporations think their corporate brands & logos are doing business with other corporate brands/ logos.  They forget that it is people who are the ones doing research online about other companies and forming personal opinions about them.   People base decisions on personal thoughts, feelings and attitudes     

Just Remember people buy from people.  So don’t forget the HUMAN element.  It is more powerful than corporations think…

Who Is More Important Than What..  First thing in preparing a blog, is knowing who you will be talking to.  As a marketing & branding expert, to me that is always the most important decision you make with any strategy.  What target market, segmented niche or buying persona are you speaking to.  David Meerman Scott does a great job talking about the buying persona in his book The New Rules of Marketing & PR.  He describes a buying persona as “essentially a representative of a type of buyer that you have identified as having a specific interest in your organization or product.”   It was my favorite part of the book.

It Is More Than Merely Picking a Wish List of People…  You have to be very specific in this targeting approach.  Make sure you research them, understand them.  I don’t mean like a job description.  I mean their personal behaviors.  There is usually more than one persona per product.  So you have to really segment per buyer persona.  So if you are going to educate, you must do it to each group individually.

One size does not fit all…  Do not try to be everything to everybody.  A bank for instance caters to several groups.  They want to lend money to people and get people to sign up for checking & savings accounts.  They cater to personal & corporate accounts.  For personal, they may want to educate students so that when they are ready, they will become a customer of theirs.  First time home buyers maybe another group.   May want to educate small businesses on ways to run their business.  Each group needs to be spoken to differently.  They need different information because they have different needs.  

So do whatever it takes to make sure you know your audience.  Choose wisely.