tikichris

I had a great time speaking as a panellist at the Hotel Marketing Association’s recent Clearing up the Mystery of Blogging seminar at the Royal Garden Hotel. If I was able to share even a fraction of the insight some of the other panellists imparted, I did very well indeed!

Feedback during, immediately after, and since the event about my presentation has been overwhelmingly positive. It was even requested by a few folks from the audience that I share the highlights of it with them online. So, here’s the gist of what I had to say about the mystery of blogging.

I’ve pared the presentation down and edited out some of the more visual aspects. There may have been a few more slides of pie photography that the audience had the pleasure of viewing that I’ve edited out of this online version for the sake of brevity . 😉

HUH?

My blog is a multipurpose platform

My blog, tikichris, features a variety of photo-rich posts published on a daily basis highlighting the best of London culture and lifestyle alongside lots of food and drink and travel related features and plenty of recommendations based on firsthand experience.

I see the blog as a sort of a multipurpose platform which serves as …

• An online calling card and ‘living’ CV;
• An outlet for expression;
• A way to celebrate things that interest me;
• A key to opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise be able to access; and
• A revenue stream.

I make money directly through the blog with advertising and sponsorship, and indirectly from jobs that come my way by people finding me though it. The client that has kept me busiest over the past year has been TripAdvisor. The gig that I seem to get the most mileage out of is travel writing for City AM. Just last week and rather out of the blue I was invited to blog for Huffington Post.

Clearing up the mystery of blogging

When I received the initial email asking if I would like to join this panel, I was chuffed to accept. Honestly, I felt a little nervous about public speaking but was fairly certain I could offer at least a bit of value to the discussion. Then another message landed in my inbox requesting that I come up with a five minute case study including “visuals” and details on how “the campaign” came about and “the success stories” in regards to figures, specifically “social reach, bookings generated, ROI, and percentage.” And I froze up.

“Huh?” was my first reaction. My second was “why in the world would a room full of marketing professionals want me to speak to them about marketing?” And that’s when an idea for this presentation dawned on me:

• Do you (marketing professionals) think we (bloggers) have the same goals and use the same metrics as you to measure success?
• Could there be a ginormous divide between how marketing professionals speak and how non-marketing people talk about hotels?
• Is there a gap between what marketers in the hospitality industry think bloggers do and how bloggers actually see themselves?

If so, I reckon that’s where I might be able to share some insight and help marketers better understand the mystery of bloggers.

Storytellers

I must admit I’m rather clueless as to ROI, bookings generated etc. I don’t really see those things as my job as a blogger and I certainly don’t keep track of them. But, I am pretty good at telling a story. And hopefully, as with any bloggers worth their salt, I’m a decent writer with an ability to engage my readers with great content. I’m “in” blogging because it’s such an amazing platform to broadcasting my message. I guess whether you’re talking about a travel blogger, food blogger, fashion blogger, mommy blogger, whatever blogger – the appeal of the medium is the same. We’re all in it to share information and tell our stories with immediacy.

Visuals

As for visuals to go along with this presentation, I wasn’t sure what to share. It’s not all that uncommon for me to be in front of an audience speaking about blogging, but I must admit this is the first PowerPoint presentation I’ve done since longer than I can remember. I don’t have any graphs or pie charts, but here are some photos I’ve taken of pies.

Campaigns

I don’t really “do” campaigns. I get invited to experience an event or venue and then write about it. In a lot of cases, I’m not sure “how” a campaign came about or what it even is. But I can tell you about when I am invited somewhere, the reasons tend to fail into these categories:

• Something new – this is probably the most typical invite;
• Special occasion;
• In a slump;
• Aiming to reach a new or specific audience – increasingly this means my audience of mostly affluent Central Londoners.

But my blog isn’t just a series of posts created from accepting invites to stuff. Much of my content is the result of pursuing personal interests and trying to capitalize on existing circumstances. When I pitch to PRs, tourist boards, hotels, it usually falls into one of these broad categories:

• Keen interest;
• Special personal occasion;
• Blend of work and play;
• Making the most of an existing situation.

Success

Sure I pay attention to my stats and try to find ways to increase traffic. And I’m all for making more money. But I’m not sure I – or many of the sorts of bloggers hotel and businesses in the hospitality industry would want to attract – measure success in the same way most marketing professionals would. For me success might be the chance to go somewhere new, treat my girlfriend to something special, become a better writer, or avoid getting a “real” job. But when I consider an invitation or come up with a pitch, I try to consider how it will affect the main reasons I blog (as mentioned at the beginning of this presentation):

• To enhance my online calling card and ‘living’ CV;
• To provide an outlet for expression;
• To celebrate things that interest me;
• To enjoy opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise be able to access; and
• To make money.

I suppose in one way or another and with varying degrees of importance, any blogger you’re apt to encounter would have the same similar agenda.

Concluding

In closing, I guess what I’m trying to get at is that most bloggers are best at providing more qualitative than quantitative, but still exceptionally valuable, insight. I would urge anyone who’s looking to start reaching out to bloggers – or who has already but can’t seem to achieve anything substantial success dealing with them yet – to take the time to get to know a few key bloggers whom you think best pair with your brand. Nurture them, but also listen to them and ask for their advice … before “the campaign” starts. Odds are you’ll develop an excellent relationship with a potentially important ally, who …

• Isn’t afraid to express a strong opinion;
• Probably has an impression base of contacts;
• Can tell you what your competitors are doing;
• Knows what works and doesn’t as a consumer; and
• Generally loves to share.

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For more information about the Hotel Marketing Association go to hotelmarketingassociation.com.

The other panellists for the Clearing up the Mystery of Blogging seminar included the following:

• Ernest Opoku – Digital Marketer at Generator Hostels responsible for web content and email marketing. He is also a blogger and a founder of lifestyle website yinnyang.co.uk.
• Gemma Bull – Gemma is PR Manager for InterContinental Hotels Group, Europe currently overseeing external brand communications across all brands for Europe. Previously, she was with PR agency Hill + Knowlton Strategies for 6 years where she worked across a number of big consumer, travel and retail brands including Yahoo!, Visa, Comet, B&Q, Sainsbury’s and IHG.
• Jen Lowthrop – Jen runs a blog titled She Gets Around, in which she shares her travel adventures and investigates different dating cultures – through personal experience and interviewing others. She has also been a contributor to DoubleTree Hilton’s popular DTour blog.
• Nienke Krook – With nearly half a million followers on Pinterest, Nienke’s The Travel Tester blog is a force to be reckoned with. Originally from Holland, Nienke blogs regularly on how travel can benefit personal development, with a mission to help followers best choose travel experiences to match their style.
• Terry Lee – Terry is Managing Editor of luxury lifestyle and travel blog LiveShareTravel. The blog is packed full of inside knowledge and personal experience from a collection of writers that are united by a desire to uncover travel tips that deliver luxury without breaking the bank.
• Heather Cowper – Heather is a seasoned blogger and speaker who has worked with brands, hotels and PR companies whilst running her Heather On Her Travels blog. She recently spoke at TBEX in Costa Brava on what’s working in paid blogger campaigns, as well at Social Travel Britain about why brands should target the 40+ traveller.