KEY POINTS:
So you've heard about blogging but don't know if it's the right approach for your business? A blog can be the most powerful tool your business can have, but like any tool, success comes down to how well you use it.
The 'blogosphere' now contains around 90 million
blogs which can be described as falling into two types personal interest and business, though some blogs are a mixture of the two. Business blogging became more mainstream from around 1999 in the US, and since then there have been both meteoric successes and embarrassing failures for a number of companies and individuals.
Although blogging can present pitfalls for the uninitiated, writing a blog for your business can be also be very valuable, because:
1. It provides a low cost option for developing a web presence for your business that doesn't require a web designer
2. It can heighten the perceived value of your brand through positioning your business as a thought leader, light-hearted or whichever tone you wish to use when writing
3. It can win you new business through exposing your ideas to a potential worldwide community of blog readers who may not have found your website
How to set up a blog
There are a number of online blog applications available, most of which require you to register for a free account. Most use a content management system for controlling the blog design and content, which functions like a basic version of Microsoft Word®. Writing a blog post is as simple as writing any other form of article. You can also add different types of media such as photos and video by uploading them from your computer or other websites. Check out:
www.wordpress.com
www.blogger.com
www.typepad.com
Who should write the blog?
This is where many businesses stumble, mainly due to a lack of transparency around who is writing blog posts or a lack of postings due to time pressures. It is important to understand that writing a blog is a commitment which will requires posts at least weekly. This is to keep the blog posts present in search engines and to help grow an audience.
It's great to have a General Manager or owner blogging but it can actually have a negative effect if they're too busy to write posts. Nothing looks worse than a blog where the last post is three months old. There have also been a number of high profile cases where 'ghost writers' have posted on behalf of CEOs and been caught out. It's best to find a contributor who will have the time and passion to write regular posts and will respond to any comments from readers. Your newest or youngest employee might be the best person for the job. The more active and responsive a blog is the more likely readers are going to stay interested.
Blogging guidelines
Some businesses use a number staff contributors to help keep content fresh. This also allows for varied topics and gives readers a good sense of the interests of staff. Businesses which choose this option often create guidelines for staff around posting. Common sense often prevails, and the rules around blog posts need not be too dissimilar from those applied to emailing. IBM has produced a good set of guidelines for their employees which provide a good starting template. For more information check out IBM Social Computing Guidelines
Tone and style
Tone and style develops over time and with experience. It is useful to read a number of blogs prior to writing, in order to understand the different writing styles and perhaps identify the ones which you would like to emulate. A number of business people have used blogs to grow both their businesses and their own personal 'brands'. Here are a few New Zealand examples to read for inspiration.
Rod Drury, CEO Xero
Russell Brown, Media Commentator
Richard MacManus, Editor, ReadWriteWeb. Started in Wellington this blog is now in the Top 20 most read blogs in the world.
