PPB October 2019

Justin Reynolds Dishes OnThe Tomato Scoop Blog I n 1997 the term “weblog” was first coined, spreading the popularity of this efficient and far-reaching communication tool that’s available to anyone with an idea, a computer and internet. But creating a blog, as it’s now called, that attracts and captivates readers requires certain skill and practice. Among those who do it best are the folks at Red Tomato Promotions, a Sydney, Australia- based promotional marketing agency, which took home a Gold Pyramid this year for its blog, The Tomato Scoop (https://redtomato. com.au/blog) . PPB spoke withManaging Director Justin Reynolds to learn how they make it happen. PPB Why is a blog important and how does your company use it? Reynolds Our company blog, The Tomato Scoop, is a great way for us to help connect with our clients and prospects with relevant and useful information. This goes a long way in assisting themwith their day- to-day working challenges. The Tomato Scoop also helps us to position ourselves as industry experts. By combining promotional products andmarketing tactics, our clients see the benefits of using thesemediums hand in hand. Plus, the more relevant content that we produce for our clients and prospects, the bigger the tribe that we form. PPB What are the elements of a great blog? Reynolds Themarketing teamat Red Tomato spends a considerable amount of time researching trends and listening to our clients on their marketing challenges. Once we have an idea of topics that we would like to write about, themarketing team starts to create their killer content. We follow a formula each time to wordsmith our articles. Yes, there is a formula to create themost effective articles. Here are the steps we take: • Craft a compelling headline • Conduct keyword research • Compile our meta description • Create a feature image • Write an introduction that will hook the reader into reading further • Add the body of the article • Use data where possible to support our position • Add any multimedia, if possible • Recap through the conclusion • Create a meaningful call to action PPB What do you typically write about and who does the writing? Reynolds At Red Tomato we are writing about topics that interest our buyers. This could be anything fromproduct trends, marketing challenges and event planning to employee on-boarding. Our topic selection is also delivered at themost relevant times of the year when our readers are looking for that information. It’s a teameffort to construct our blog content. We have a copywriter, digital marketing coordinator and graphic designer that all play an instrumental role in our content creation. The teamcomes together tomake sure that we are producing themost educational content that will benefit our clients. Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB . St Regis Silver Winner FEATURE | PPAI Pyramid Award Winners—Technology 72 | OCTOBER 2019 |