Integrating new forms of media like blogs into the marketing mix may feel like a grand experiment to many companies. But then, experiments are nothing out of the ordinary for Steve Spangler Science.
The inspiration for the blog came from –- what else – another blog, says founder and CEO Steve Spangler. Boingboing.net posted a three line entry about company's "Insta-Snow" product, along with a link to the item's URL. The post resulted in so many hits Spangler's server crashed.
The company was founded in 1990, with the catalog business debuting in 1995 and the online component ramping up in 2003. The customer base is split 50/50 between teachers and parents.
Spangler, who was a science host on NBC's News For Kids, knew as a former science teacher he could come up with lots of things to blog about.
However, the key to making a blog translate into sales is learning how to not only write to appeal to readers, but search engines as well, he says, noting that traffic is driven to the site by the success of keywords.
One word in particular has generated loads of site visits: Mentos.
Just about anyone with a computer and an Internet connection has seen the videos of a geyser of Diet Coke shooting out of a bottle after Mentos were dropped inside. Spangler created the experiment years earlier as a way to teach about the power of carbon dioxide.
When the video went viral, people flocked to the original source.
"We all laughed because we've been doing this for years," Spangler says of the phenomenon, which led them to create a product to help budding scientists facilitate the experiment, the Geyser Tube.
When writing blog entries, keep far away from corporate speak, says Stephan Spencer, president of Netconcepts, which works with Spangler on the blog. "Keep it in your voice," he says. "Blogs are an ROI opportunity, not just a marketing expense."
Blogs need to be updated regularly, notes Spencer. And recency rather than frequency is important—its not good to post five times in one day and then go dark for two weeks.
Much of Spangler's content is evergreen, so he goes back and updates old posts, doing things like adding video or photos when appropriate. And if you can't update the blog regularly, don't just abandon it, says Spencer. Repurpose the content elsewhere on your site.
The power of the blog has also translated into honors for Spangler, such as becoming number 18 on the online version of Time magazine's top 100 poll.
While Stephen Colbert and Howard Stern used their respective television and radio pulpits to lobby for votes, all Spangler had to do was mention it casually in a post.
"I shouldn't be on that list," he says modestly.
Spangler has also taped an episode of Food Network's "Unwrapped," which will air this summer. He went to a supermarket, filled a cart with Diet Coke and then started asking shoppers if they knew where the Mentos were sold.
"People were laughing because they got it," he says, noting that one of his main goals is to keep science fun for kids. "If it gets back to the dinner table [conversation], you've won."
