Angie Laxdal, writer and PR specialist with the Flint Group, attended Blog World East in May 2011. Here are some of her notes from the conference.

2. Blog World East 2011 Recap Angie Laxdal writer + public relations specialist The Flint Group

3. Blogging: love it or leave it? Love it: Serves as brand microphone. When done right, gives brand personality. Improves SEO. Messages reach more people. Leave it: Needs constant attention. Content cannot be an afterthought. Planning takes time. Don’t bury it in a website; link to from homepage. If you’re going to do it, do it right.

4. What should businesses talk about? Be conversational. Be helpful. Be useful. Stop talking about yourself.

5. Transparency + Authenticity Finding balance: Be real. But be smart. Use best judgment. Don’t air out your dirty laundry.

6. Content Curation The hardest part: getting into the habit. Share what you’re already doing offline (but adapt everything for the channel). Mental checklist: should I get video, photos, etc.?

7. Analytics Pay attention to time spent on site Google analytics provides this Don’t be a slave to your numbers Instead, focus on making great content Best practices

8. A company blog can: Promote transparency Give a human voice Start a conversation Improve SEO Provide a platform in a crisis Cautions: It’s a commitment Establish a focus

9. How to establish your brand: Become the authority in your field. Be open to giving more info. Be authentic. Say it like it is. People like honest. Do not launch your blog too soon. Do you have enough content to launch? How often will you update? Can you stop and take a break? Get ahead and schedule posts.

10. How to establish your brand: Provide quality content. The little things will take you to the next level. Video, audio, photos, logos (brand our content), music (your own intro music or theme song) Turn everything you do into content. Record Skype calls. Encourage user-generated content. Etc. Make a “rainy day” idea jar. Keep it fun. Post consistently.

11. How to get free traffic: Always link back to home. YouTube Use clear keywords and descriptions. Facebook Use Facebook comments as blog comments. Include like and share buttons. Create page for blog. Twitter Contests with free giveaways Get your content posted on popular sites

12. Why YouTube? It’s where the people are. It’s free. People can share your content. Videos appear in Google search results. Don’t just embed videos into your blog. First, upload to YouTube and then embed from YouTube.

13. Establish a connection with readers Answer emails Respond to comments Create meeting place (community) for readers Forum leads to more content

14. Why people are social-media obsessed: Quick read Easy access Immediately gratifying If valuable, walk away smarter Entertaining We want what we want and we want it now. We’re hard-wired to consume content in bite-sized bits.

15. Blogging pain points: Not enough traffic Lack of interest and relevant content ideas It’s all been said before… but not by you. You have a unique perspective. Flint example: Any agency can talk about marketing. But only we can talk about our clients, our case studies, our employees, our culture, our history and our story. The Solution? Steal key elements from social media, apply to blog

16. 5 elements that make social media addictive: Instant rapport Relevance (real time) Instant gratification Share-ability (beyond buttons) The promise of more (calls to action)

17. The captive audience is dead. Treat each post like a 1st impression. Make those 1st few seconds personal, friendly, inviting—get the readers thinking about themselves. Write like you’re talking to just one person.

18. Tips for building instant rapport: Make sure your blog reflects your brand impeccably. If you have website shame, tackle that right now. Make it about them, not you. The most important word in the human language: you. Think about how you build rapport in person—you ask people about them. Become a storyteller. Tell your story as a way to let your readers connect to theirs. Case study: whitehottruth.com (crazy thoughts – show your flaws to bring people in).

19. How to be relevant: Make it mean something. Get clear on who your audience is. Uncover the essentials needed in your content. You can’t be everything to everybody. Don’t worry what everyone else thinks—care about what your audience thinks. Give something tangible and easy to digest. It’s no longer okay to just state the obvious.

20. Harry Potter History Royal wedding treasure hunt Pop Culture Dance mob at world of Coca-Cola What to talk about? Collectibles Exhibits/ displays Share old ads

21. Company history/ 65th Employees’ hobbies Culture club activities Client work Partnerspotlight What to talk about? Community events Ad critiques Industry news