Eve's Top Tips from BlogWorld '08 in Vegas!

On September 19-21, I attended the BlogWorld and New Media Expo in Las Vegas.

It was hands-down the best conference I’ve ever been to. BlogWorld (or BWE08) was a three-day conference with dozens of seminars and panels on new media ideas and case studies. Some of the most prestigious large businesses were presenters, including Intel, Southwest Airlines and Shopzilla. There were hundreds of small business owners, too.

Everyone in attendance -- geeks, thinkers, leaders and decision makers -- was there to learn about blogging for business and using social media to increase ROI.

Seminars and panels included: 

• Corporate Blogging Myths & Realities
• How to Track, Measure & Adjust Corporate Blogs for Maximum ROI
• Finding Your New Media Voice

Here are the top things I learned about how to use blogs and social media for small business:

1. Blogs are GREAT for SEO! More traffic means more clients! 

2. Don't be afraid of negative comments your company might receive on your small business blog. After all, if they're not saying it on your blog, they're saying it somewhere else! Better on your blog, where you have the chance to make things right.

3. Implement social media platforms like ShareThis so your clients, prospects and employees can share your company's valuable products and services. 

4. Business blogging should be done by employees with the most passion. You don't have to hire a pro or have a PR dept. blog for you -- if you've got the excitement needed to generate buzz, go for it! An employee is 5 times more credible than a C-Level blogger!

5. Above all, remember that people buy from PEOPLE, not corporations. By allowing your clients and prospects to see a human face behind the product you're selling, you can increase your chances of closing that next deal.

You can see the archive of "tweets" (on the microblogging site Twitter) from BlogWorld: and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/evelopez to see my live tweets from the conference seminars and ask for advice on small business blogging.

Some businesses that have incorporated blogging into their companies with great success include Zappos, The Franchise King, Tribal Seduction, eBillme, Chris Brogan, New Media Chatter and Small Business Trends.

Tell us about your success stories with your business blog!

BWE08, business blogging, blogworld

Comments

[Joel Libava]

Eve, Nice article. I hope the Work.com readers take advantage of all your great tips!
Oh yeah. Thanx for The Franchise King Blog shout-out!
Joel Libava
Cleveland
Blogworld Expo 08 attendee!

[@CoachDeb]

Aloha Eve,

Thanks 4 the shout out for our Tribal SEduction blog & presence on Twitter.

I agree - I loved Blog World Expo this year! (and it was NOT just because I was the 1st speaker on E&E day) the quality of attendees that I met were outstanding, brilliant minds & my life is better for it that I went!

Here's to BWE09!
Oh & SXSW 09 too!

@CoachDeb
on Twitter

[Chris Brogan...]

It was really great to meet you at BlogWorld Expo. You're very interesting and I look forward to hanging out with you at some other cool event in the future.

[Dave Peck]

Eve, had a blast meeting you. Those are great tips. I will see you at BWE09!

Dave

[Eve Lopez]

It was really awesome meeting all of you, too! Definitely see you all at the next one!

[Susan]

Blogworld sounds great. My company was there. We rocked, or at least, our staff did. Wonderful.

[Jack]

I wish it was somehow closer to Miami. Do you some blogging conference in Florida?

--
Jack from
Google Hacks

[Robert]

Small business

Often we forget the little guy, the SMB, in our discussions of the comings and goings of the Internet marketing industry. Sure there are times like this when a report surfaces talking about their issues and concerns but, for the most part, we like to talk about big brands and how they do the Internet marketing thing well or not so well.

The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these ‘Main Street’ players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary.

www.onlineuniversalwork.com

[Robert]

Small business

2) The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these ‘Main Street’ players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary……….

www.onlineuniversalwork.com