From the Desk of Janet Barclay

The last seminar I attended was Enjoy Promoting Your Website with Web 2.0, which was presented by Suzanne Falter-Barns, Chris Muccio, and Peggy Murrah. If you’re not familiar with the term, Web 2.0 refers to a site that allows some kind of interaction with the user, rather than a traditional static website. Of course, I already "enjoy" blogging, and establishing and building relationships on social networking sites, but I wanted to learn from the experts how to make the most of my activities.

As I learned in the two previous seminars, the key is to effectively communicate how you differ from others in your industry, or your personal brand. It’s also important to be aware of the various sites that are out there for social networking, content sharing, social bookmarking, and so on, so you can determine which are most suitable for your purposes. You then need to decide which sites you will use, and how often. Then, as with any marketing strategy, you need to have a measurement system in place to evaluate how you are doing.

I found it most interesting to hear that 79% of all media now find their expert sources through blogs. That in itself is a reason to make sure that your blog really shows your expertise and your passion for what you do! It’s also given me an extra bit of motivation to move forward with the exciting new changes I have in store for my own blog!