Often businesses ask whether they should start a blog to help customers, clients, and prospective buyers find their Web site. However, as honest and ethical SEO specialists, we advise every client and prospect that a corporate blog is just one method to enhance a well-developed and optimized Web site.
Paul Boag from Smashing Magazine has proposed 10 Truths regarding corporate blogging to create an engaging and lucrative marketing strategy.
1. A blog in itself does not automatically generate traffic (nor do the search engines automatically index each blog post.)
2. Corporate blogs require a long term committment with regular, ongoing and relevant blog posts.
3. Engage readers by adding an RSS feed or email notification option, so they are aware of your newest corporate blog post and read at their leisure. RSS feeds are one of the most overlooked options by corporate blog developers. Adding a feed can be created at Feedburner.com; add to the upper right or left corner of your blog for reader subscription.
4. Engage readers by asking questions, feedback or posting polls. Corporate blogs should be the initial step in creating a dialogue between your business and the consumer.
5. Do not post press releases on corporate blog sites. Press releases are corporate statements and corporate blogs have a more personal tone with its readers.
6. Write corporate blog posts from the reader’s point of view, not from the CEO’s point of view. Once visitors find that your products/services are reputable and affordable, they want to learn about the people from the company. Start conversations with your readers.
7. Admit your mistakes and faults, you’ll appear human rather than a mindless droid. Take for example, the Flickr case. Flickr users were encountering some major technical problems, which prevented them from using the site. Flickr acknowledged their fault on their blog and sought to resolve the problem with an apology.
8. Ask knowledgeable and good writers within your organization to regularly write for your corporate blog. Then ask others to view themselves as editors rather than authors; correcting grammatical errors or facts about the information posted. Oftentimes the marketing department in your firm are not the best writers for corporate blogging to engage readers’ interest.
9. Corporate blogging does not have been as long as those inter-office memos. Vary it up with a question, a paragraph or a review of one of your products or services. Also, if you do write a longer blog post, for example 300 words or more, break it up with bullet points or an interesting picture or graphic.
10. Finally, once you start and maintain a consistent corporate blogging regime, most likely your competition will find your blog. Do not be afraid of your competition; maintain your professionalism as well as your authorative composure. You will fare well among your competition, and gain a competitive edge.
While we realize this was one of those long posts (see #9), we did attempt to inject a couple readability techniques (numbers, underlining, pictures). We believe you will find much success if you follow a consistent and engaging conversation with your readers.
How did we do? The Search Circus team would like to hear from you (see #4)!
