For many businesses online today, blogs are one of the top tools for generating sales leads. If your organization chooses to get involved online, a blog will serve as your central social media tool and home base.
A blog is essentially an online journal, derived from the term “web log”, but they can be used for a number of purposes—keeping your community updated with industry news and press releases, reports and testimonials from your existing clients, and other time-sensitive updates your customers might find interesting. Some blogs are updated 30 times a day, while others only have weekly or monthly updates.
Blog updates can be most effective when they include images and other media. And it’s a wise idea to allow your readers to post comments and reactions to your articles—encouraging valuable feedback and establishing a real dialogue with your audience. In the new marketing world, your users want to feel that their voice is heard and their opinions valued.
Just a few benefits of starting your own blog:
- A blog allows your organization to engage directly with your target audience and potential customers, and gives you a platform to address their questions, concerns, and complaints directly.
- You can describe the benefits of your product or service, showcase the expertise of your staff, and share the impact your organization is making.
- You can easily gain insight into your customers’ needs and desires to adjust your products or services or develop new ones.
- A blog gives your company a personal voice, and can make you more approachable, which will help boost customer loyalty.
- Maintaining a blog also gives you the power to direct the conversation around your organization, products, or services and influence public perception of your company.
A few ideas for creating a successful business blog:
- Decide who will write your updates. A staff writer—someone who is truly passionate about your organization and what you do—is best. And realize that blogging requires a significant time commitment—especially administering comments, linking to others, and developing relationships online.
- Set goals and create a publishing calendar. Decide what you want your blog to accomplish. Do you want to provide a wealth of content and reach the top of the search engine results? Do you want to keep your customers up-to-date with press releases? Or do you want to establish authority and thought leadership in your industry?
- For best results, update your blog as frequently as possible. Readers expect regular posts. The more frequently you can make updates about your business and your industry, the more quickly you can build a devoted readership.
- Stay relevant and be helpful. Write reviews of relevant books, link to related news, services, and resources. When you offer helpful tips and links and create a useful resource for your niche, your readers will be more inclined to share your blog with others.
- Keep it personal. A blog shouldn’t come off as too corporate or stuffy—your readers what to know what you think about the trends in your industry. Make your entries personal by telling your readers a story. Use a conversational and informal voice.
- Before initiating any new social media marketing initiative, it’s always a good idea to consult with those have experience. Do you have colleagues who’ve successfully built business blogs? Ask your marketing and PR staff for their opinion on your blog’s goals, content or tone. Finally, when it comes to the technical aspects of establishing your blog and targeting specific keywords and demographics‚ consult with the experts. We’re here to help you create the most impactful social media presence you can—if you need help, just ask.
A company blog will be the central tool in your social web presence. Blogs can be an incredibly effective and inexpensive marketing platform for establishing your organization’s credibility and encouraging customer loyalty. The most important steps to creating a successful business blog are planning, commitment, and—most importantly—a message worth sharing.
Cody is a nomadic entrepreneur & lifestyle designer who helps social changemakers & other remarkable people spread their message on the web.
Tags: Blogging, Business, community, Marketing, online marketing, Social Media
Some good recommendations for any company starting out with blogging. Especially the notion of finding a passionate person and reserving enough time for it. If you don’t do that, you will fail.
The only point I disagree with is concerning post frequency. To me it’s better to have one great post a week than to put out too much noise. Of course, if you really can provide great value every single day, go for it!
Thanks for the comment Fabian. Good point—I tend to do only 1–2 posts per week on my personal site and those are much longer, in-depth, thoughtful posts that take a lot of research on my part and a lot of thinking on the readers’ part. Of course, it all depends, but I think if you’re trying to create an industry blog and monitor news that matters for your business and your market, a lot of readers like newspaper-like coverage.
Hey Cody, I’m a firm believer that everyone should have a blog as a giant networking tool. It’s an incredible way for people to learn about you in depth. The dedicated people we’ve met through Under30CEO has been awesome–it’s how we know each other!
Hope you are out and about in Thailand or somewhere crazy. Keep blogging, we want to hear more!
Great post Cody…I want to ask your thoughts about keeping it personal. You see brands on Twitter using their CEOs or marketing people as the figure heads. Do you think the tactics should be the same on the blog, one central person being the voice, the face of the brand (in essence being the PR guy). Or do you think it’s important for people to see the company from all different perspectives (different departments, people, etc.).
Hope you’re doing great my friend!
@Matt: Yes I definitely have benefited from my blogging efforts more than anything else: I have friends, mentors, and clients on 5 continents thanks to the online connections I’ve made since I started writing online 3 years ago!
@Brenton: I do think a multi-author blog can work well when done right, but yes, most of all, it’s important from the perspective of a business blog (when your main goal is to make money or increase sales) that you have to get the right person/people working on your blog. It’s not a hard-sales platform. It’s somewhere that you need to be personable, give a damn about your readers/users, and connect & create sincere relationships with others. I think ideally this is a good place for the founder or CEO/president of a company, but they won’t always fit the bill. You need someone who’s passionate about your company, who can be authentic & genuine, and who’s a good writer/storyteller and can relate well with others.
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