Your future in digital marketing and other questions answered

Howdy, all. Wanted to answer a few of your questions from last week below. Keep 'em coming!

- Graham 

How does a company decide how much money it is going to allocate for online marketing and digital content?

It comes down to each company's specific financial situation and budget, really. There's no process that every business follows for this. Most companies look at their overall profit/loss for the year and what potential revenue/customers they might be able to bring in through marketing efforts to come up with this number. At the company where I work, we look at how a particular marketing effort has performed for us in the past to then figure out what the ROI will be in launching it again. 

Is there any sort of community where new bloggers can post to gain more visibility from popular bloggers? Have you found other bloggers endorsing you to be a large part of generating a following? 

You bet! Networking with other bloggers can be a great way to build a following. Each niche or interest has its own places where bloggers and other influencers congregate. In some instances, that's Twitter or Facebook. In other cases, bloggers and influencers meet at conferences or events. For example, the BlogHer network is a very powerful network of women in social media who also often meet for in-person events. 

How do you convert a simple blog into a powerful brand ambassador and sales magnet for the business?

Make it interesting and useful for your customers/audience! David Meerman Scott has some powerful examples on this in his book. A blog won't be a powerful sales tool unless it really hooks your audience with creative, interesting posts that folks might want to share – building your brand's credibility and influence in the process. 

In regards to creating a blog, are there "hot topics" that would be best to write about? In creating my own blog what would spark the most interest? What would be the next step after WordPress?

Writing about anything particularly current or in the news is a great way to find "hot topics." After all, so many news sources today just look for hot takes from blogs and social media to then excerpt (helping to spread your influence). Think also about topics that people care about and talk about, even if they're not in the news – or a topic you have a lot of expertise in that others don't. After setting up your blog with Wordpress, I'd advise to write, write, and write some more to develop your voice and concepts for future posts. Once you think you've gotten the hang of it, I'd start to publicize your blog more by talking it up on social media, engaging with other bloggers, and commenting on other sites. 

Companies who are looking to really win the digital marketing game typically with hire someone who is a "digital strategist" to help them. In today's age, it seems like a majority of people who are tech-savvy and have an eye for business can become a pretty adept digital strategist. For someone who would like to really start looking into the field, what would you reccommend for them to learn first, and what processes must they know if they really want to win the "digital world"? 

I know this class can sometimes be frustrating in not having an instructor in-person to ask questions to – but in a way, this is really useful for digital marketing. Tactics change so quickly week to week, with new tools always emerging. It's impossible to ever truly be "done" with learning this field. I think having a strong grasp of communications – whether offline or online – is the best first step to a successful career in this field. If you can't communicate well (whether through writing, graphic design/photography/videography, etc), it's going to be hard to make a go of it online. Second, really go deep on digital tools. Play around with them as much as you can. Experiment. Read what other people are doing online, and stay up on digital marketing news and information. Just like hard work drives success for MSU's basketball and football teams, so it does with digital marketing. Finally, don't be afraid to ask others for help or advice (including your instructors!)

Is owning/writing for a blog beneficial for future employers to see? 

Absolutely! In fact, I got my first communications job with Gov. Granholm in large part due to a Michigan government and politics blog I kept up when I was at MSU (yeah, I was a nerd – but a nerd with a job before most of my friends!) ;-) Owning and writing for your own blog is a great way to show dedication, and to show off your digital media chops. Also, the longer you keep your blog up – and the more links you can drive to it – the better you can optimize your own name for search. Start your own website/blog today!