Why do you have a blog? Why do you sit down and write articles to put online? Is your blog a means to an end or is it the end game? It starts with the Why? It always starts with the Why.
And that is precisely where Brian Mung’ei started his session at the Digital Camp. His session was to cover the topic ‘Utilizing Digital Platforms for PR & Advertising”. He started by defining the key pillars of Digital media as; Mobile, Video and Story.
Brian then sought to find out why we market our blogs and how we go about it? How do you define your audience? What do they like to do online? Where are they found; Facebook? Twitter? Instagram perhaps? What creative strategies can one apply to reach out to their audiences?
After these thought-provoking questions, Brian defined the types of media which include:
•Owned media: which is made up of Blogs, Websites and social media platforms
•Earned media: comprising of PR/Online ambassadors
•Paid media: which deals with advertising
He then explained that the above is measured by Analytics, Impact and Reach respectively.
When starting a blog, one needs to define their strategy because it is foolhardy to expect a strategy to present itself. He advised content creators to think through everything they do online and put long term goals in place saying that if you have the mind to work with corporates in the long run, you should always publish the right content from the get-go. When the time comes to engage corporates, they will not only look at your stats and blog numbers, content will play a big part in their decision to work with you or not.
Noting that most brands are now uploading videos on Facebook directly instead of using Youtube, he shared statistics that online brands posted 20,000 more videos on Facebook than they did in Youtube in 2014. The tips he gave for doing this effectively included:
•Using subtitles for the videos
•Keeping the clips short
•Making it frequent
Using subtitles on a video is a simple way of avoiding extra expenses from paying someone to do the voice-over.
As much as a blogger should have interesting and captivating content, he is advised to ensure that their content is mobile-friendly in order to reach all their audiences given that a majority of online users use mobile devices.
Brian cautioned against simply being an influencer but for one to choose to be a brand ambassador instead for it is important for someone to promote a brand they are passionate about. “As much as an influencer can make you trend today; you cannot be sure they will not bash you tomorrow”
You can connect with Brian on his twitter page: @mungei