Welcome to the Digital Blogging Classroom

Welcome to the Digital Blogging Academy

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:02:53 +0000

Blogging moved from the margins to the mainstream of digital publishing around 2003, changing the way firms could relate to their customers, and offering the potential to transform the role of corporate communications. By developing their own blogs, or carefully raising discussion and comment on those run by others, brands can extend their footprint and reach wider audiences. It can be an exceptionally powerful, cost-effective and intimate way of developing a message, but comes with real risks and limitations. The digital networked society has given a voice to anyone, and this democratisation of access to discussion creates a new landscape for messaging. It’s a powerful reminder of the new era of communications we all work in, and getting it right demands strategic thinking and a sustainable plan, as well as authenticity and tenacity. This Academy explores how and why this is the case, and gets you thinking about how you might be able to harness blogging for your brands.

This online learning resource is where you can discuss the issues from your Academy and download the outputs of our workshops.

Your Academy Director and lead tutor is Danny Meadows-Klue: Danny@DigitalStrategyConsulting.com

Welcome to the Digital Training Academy

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:02:20 +0000

Welcome to your Digital Training Academy: a great way to boost your knowledge and skills, helping you and your team get the most from digital marketing, publishing and communications.

All of us here at Digital hope you'll enjoy your Digital Training Academy, but we also hope you'll instantly be able to achieve more in your firm.

Find out how Digital Training Academy works

About Digital Training Academy courses and marketing coaching

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:34:16 +0000

How does our digital marketing coaching and training work? Here is a quick overview… Welcome to your academy
Which countries do we train in? We are based in the UK but train in twenty countries, in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Middle East and across Europe, including these… Directory of international Digital Classrooms
Where in the world are we next month? Here is a list of a few events… Events @ Digital
What research will you get after training? Here are some examples of the monthly digest of research and reports you will receive for one year.
Would you like to see an example online classroom? Here is one from the Digital Search Academy.
Would you like to see an example of how tutors answer marketing questions after your training? Here’s an example from the Digital Publishing Strategy Academy.
Would you like to see an example of an international classroom? Here is one from Croatia, the smallest market we train in.
Would you like to see an example of a lesson? Here is one from the Digital Analytics Academy that was videoed.
What did Academy graduates say about their training? Here are just a few of the comments… Testimonials.
Do we deliver executive coaching for Chief Executives and boards of directors? Yes, we can talk more by email.
Do we train advertising agencies, and digital agencies? Yes, we can talk more by email.
If there are only a couple of people who need training, would you like to join a public course? Public Access Courses

Research: Blogging and traffic

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:43:18 +0000

Blogging has moved from the fringes of the web to the mainstream. Over the last few years, collectively audiences have swelled, and this download of data from Digital's friends at NetRatings, you can see the latest traffic numbers for some of the key blogs and platforms.

Research - Blogging and traffic

Digital Blogging Academy Classroom: join us here in your classroom

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:04:35 +0000

Here is the place you can discuss issues with your tutor and other Academy participants

When you have been completing your exercises, is there anything that you’d like to share or reflect upon? Is there something that wasn’t clear or you’d like someone else’s views on? Is there a new point you would like to make about this aspect of digital communication? Are there any new issues that you have discovered now you are applying your knowledge? Use this space to make your comments and to ask your questions. If there’s a particular Academy Lesson, then try to include the title in your comment. Otherwise, simply putting the concept at the start will help other participants find the topics they are interested in more easily.

The classroom is open after the Academy, and for the first two weeks, tutors regularly visit to answer your questions.

Digital Thought Leader: Ben Saunders

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:57:04 +0000

Ben Saunders is a record-breaking polar explorer and by his own admission an "extreme blogger". From the North Pole he wrote to millions using his blog, a PDA, a matchstick and a satellite phone. While achieving the record for the fastest solo walk to the North Pole, Ben was able to keep up to date with the progress. In this edition of Digital Thought Leaders he tells how he did it.

Blogs are the most diverse of digital publishing platforms. They can be harnessed by anyone, anywhere for almost any publishing reason. Ben's blogs demonstrate their power both to amplify an offline event and to make intimate connections with millions.

Read the report

Getting blogging to work effectively for your brand

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:57:04 +0000

Digital Blogging Academy (Advanced)
Writing your blog marketing plan

12th June 2008 | London

Blogging is one of the most intimate and persuasive communication tools, yet why do most blogs fail to get readers and most readers fail to engage with blogs? In a channel that’s free to use and can transform the perception of a brand, why is much of the content copied and pasted from press releases and given scant attention by marketing teams? Get it right and blogs can transform customer communication into deep and immersive dialogue that changes brand image, conveys complex information and builds a buzz that gets customers talking and taking your messages further. From business to business and high tech, to corporate social responsibility and crisis management, blogs can be at the heart of integrated marketing communications. In today’s rich digital landscape they can form the anchor of a social media strategy, and harness email, RSS and feeds to build regular customer contact. Digital marketing veteran Danny Meadows-Klue leads this intensive Digital Training Academy (advanced level) which includes a marketing planning workshop that will help you turn these ideas into a structured plan for your business.

Materials: Materials are restricted to participants.
Bookings: To apply for a place email our events team.

Case study: Channel’s Big Art Mob | Sector: Media | Format: Mobile blogging

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:06:41 +0000

This is a mobile blogging site that set out to create the UK’s first ‘comprehensive map of public art’. The Big Art Mob is a web-based resource and community ahead of Channel 4’s Big Art Project television series. 'Mobile blogging' was brought in to enable the sending of photos, text and other media direct from a mobile phone to appear within seconds on their website.

Digital Insight Report: A blog is for life and not just for Christmas

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:00:00 +0000

Weaving blogs effectively into digital marketing

Digital Insight Report - January 2007

Blogging moved from the margins to the mainstream of digital publishing around 2003, changing the way firms could relate to their customers, and offering the potential to transform the role of corporate communications. By developing their own blogs, or carefully raising discussion and comment on those run by others, brands can extend their footprint and reach wider audiences. It can be an exceptionally powerful, cost-effective and intimate way of developing a message, but comes with real risks and limitations. The digital networked society has given a voice to anyone, and this democratisation of access to discussion creates a new landscape for messaging. It’s a powerful reminder of the new era of communications we all work in, and getting it right demands strategic thinking and a sustainable plan, as well as authenticity and tenacity. This Digital Insight Report explores how and why this is the case, and gets you thinking about how you might be able to harness blogging for your brands.

Download report

Exercise: Get up to speed with the steps in blogging | Pre-Academy | Optional

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:15:35 +0000

To help you get the most out of this Academy, here’s a simple exercise you can do before we start. It should only take you 5-10 minutes.

From Digital’s Blogging Academy, here’s a simple lesson to familiarise yourself with the process of blogging in the context of one of the leading online newspapers. The Guardian (UK) was one of the first to really appreciate the role of blogging and the power it has to change the nature of communication. As a newspaper, they overcame the challenge of defining the barrier between editorial staff and readers, but creating a simple system of comment and participation. To get the most from your Digital Training Academy follow these steps to look at one of their first blog spaces.

Exercise: Getting familiar with blogs and blogging | Pre-Academy | Compulsory

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:14:11 +0000

Blogging can fit into the marketing mix in many different ways, and as part of the Digital Blogging Academy we’ll be looking at different solutions. Blogs on your own site are a great way of firming up the voice of the brand and ensuring that your message gets out just the way you’d like it to. Independent blogs in your industry can be a powerful way of letting people know about what you - or the projects your company is linked to – are doing, but it comes with an ethical dilemma about transparency that marketers need to be particularly savvy about. If you’ve never commented on a blog before, then try this before your join us for the face-to-face part of your Academy.

Article: Should small firms blog?

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:05:43 +0000

Getting online can still be tough for small firms and when we were teaching in Nottingham this really came home to me. A few of us were talking about the potential of a web presence to really give a lift to micro-businesses and firms started to ask about the role of blogs vs brochureware on their sites...

http://meadows-klue.blogs.com/meadowsklue_on_media/2007/03/should_sole_tra.html

Article: Blogging in the snow

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:03:47 +0000

In the book industry, one of the blogs that caught my eye was from Snowbooks, a small publisher that’s pulled off some big web coups. They also reach out to key book bloggers such as DoveGreyReader, Random Jottings and Ready Steady Book, and enjoy the fact that if their products are strong, then they market themselves…

Read our interview with Snowbooks chief Emma Barnes

Digital Insight Report: Ten simple steps for getting your website on the right track (small companies)

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:00:08 +0000

As hundreds of thousands of small British firms start to harness the power of the web to get customers, maintain relationships and sell direct, this simple guide provides a checklist of practical steps many have found useful. Every firm can benefit from online marketing, and as the techniques have matured, they've become simple to use.
http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/insight/2007/03/ten_simple_steps_for.html

Academy lesson: Adding a blog feed to Facebook

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:55:46 +0000

In this video we see how you can add a blog feed to a Facebook profile, enabling you to disperse your content further.