At last week’s Innovation Summit, Michael Stelzner, Executive Editor of Social Media Examiner  kicked off the program by sharing his simple, sensible strategies to grow your blog and social media presence.  As I  listened and wrote feverishly, I was pleased that many of his suggestions we had already put into action at Roundpeg. But there were others I had never thought of, but am looking forward to trying out.

He suggested:

  • Your blog should contain a drop of marketing for every gallon of content.   He recognized that you need to “sell” from time to time, but you earn the right to sell by providing something of value to your visitors.
  • His formula:  Great Content + Other People ( content provided by others)  – Marketing = Rapid Growth.  He said “marketing” was like the landing flaps on an airplane, necessary to land safely, but they do slow you down. In this case, marketing messages tend to turn off some readers, but you need them from time to time to pay the bills.
  • Great content is a gift and you should share it freely.  We have usually required an exchange of an email address for our white papers, but according to Micheal removing the barriers will increase interest and long term impact.  So we are going to test this out.  Down load a copy of our Social Media White Paper – Small Busines Big Impact here
  • We are a “Skim Culture.”  Organize your content into little bites.  Add pictures, bold key points, with links to more details
  • Give your web site two types of “content fuel.” Primary fuel is the regular content, updated daily which will have a shelf life of about three days. Nuclear fuel are things like a study, contest, survey results, report or white paper.  It takes longer to create, but will have a bigger impact.  Nuclear fuel may have a shelf life of 6, 12 or even 18 months.  Nuclear fuel should be reserved for times when you want to “jump start” activity on you site–for example, when you launch a new product, service or program you want to call attention to.

I caught up  with Michael after his presentation, and had him explain the two types of fuel in more detail in a special edition of More than a Few Words.  I have been a long time fan of his site, and it was a real treat to meet him in person.  My iPhone locked up just as I was about to record the interview. Michael, not only shared his social media expertise, he fixed my phone so I could record the interview. Thanks for the information (and the phone help), Michael!

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More than a Few Words is produced by Roundpeg, an Indianapolis social media company.