How to Blog

Business Tips 101: Social Media & utilizing Bloggers to your advantage

  

1.  If a company has a new or existing policy structure, respect it, don't involve other artists and brands alike, just because you don't approve.  It makes you and your company look insecure and unprofessional.  

2.  Bloggers are not slaves.  We blog for a reason, to share our knowledge (it’s not free-most times people rip your work off without permission).  Stop doing that, unless ruining partnerships is what your business is about.  Provide your bloggers by giving them product to blog and try, especially if there is no budget to pay them.  It brings you money too, so it’s a win win.  Appreciate what they're doing for your business, especially if it’s generating a lot of buzz, and more importantly - revenue.  If they don't have a contract signed with you, then using their images without consent, is a legal issue.  It goes both ways.  

3.  Blocking and un-friending.  Don't burn your bridges, you never know what someone can do for you.  There's also a point where we are left with no choice, so be mindful of these actions.  When you do that with one, you lose a network circle. Was your pride getting in the way worth it? Don’t mix pride and business.

4.  Always tag the professional who's promoting you.  By promoting their business, especially when they are spending hours per blog to prepare, you are showing respect and appreciation.  We work hard on each blog, if it makes us look good, then you look good.    

5.  Duck face selfies and twerking does not sell cosmetics and or fashion. Unless you're a dancer and a duck, you should be sticking to business. Get a picture app, use appropriate lighting, use your phone timer to take pictures-using a tripod, please use backgrounds or scenery that makes sense.  Grainy photos don't sell product. Also please make sure to check what is in the background of your photos, before posting them on blast.  Also, if you are going to put up someone’s unedited image wearing your product, edit the photo before you do so.   

6.  Note to new bloggers and new businesses utilizing bloggers/writers: never assume, tag everyone involved, make sure you have the right information (bloggers this is a big point), contracts make better business practice, cross promoting is key, use appropriate hashtags (ex. #LipstickWhore is offensive and not professional) instead develop hashtags that everyone can relate to and that promote your business, know your target - demographics are everything, don’t say you cater to all walks of life - but then all your posts look like a teen is the only target, for example.  Also design a hashtag that is unique to what you do or what you are trying to promote.  An example of that would be, your business name is Trends by Louise, so then use #TrendsByLouise hashtags on all yor posts.  Just another way to get noticed by building yor SEO.

7.  Common sense isn’t always common sense.  Social Media, when used correctly can turn a small/new business into something bigger than they could have imagined, and for large businesses a larger network of clients.  Technology is going nowhere.

8.  Know your competition.  

9.  Be consistent, and always check the stats to all your posts.  This way you can keep track of what is grabbing peoples attention, so that you can focus on that for future posts.  

10.  Be unique and don't follow what others are doing.  The whole thing about blogging is that it is individual, like a story from a storybook.  We don't need to be masters of what we write.  As long as when we write it is coming from first hand knowledge or from the heart.  What you are trying to get across will capture your readers.