Engage consumers - Corporate blogging for fun and profit
No, this isn’t a continuing ed class at your local community college. This is about writing a blog that will help nurture those valuable online influencers. And, if you follow a few simple tips, you might just have a little fun doing it.
The profit part
While blogs are an ideal channel for brand promotion, they give readers the most value when they avoid direct promotion. That means you shouldn’t write about why your brand is the greatest thing since twist-off beer caps or sliced bread. In other words, it shouldn’t read like conventional marketing material, like an ad. Mark Collier writes that this is a mistake businesses often make when they foray into the blogging world. Instead, he proposes that the way to create effective blog copy is to give readers value.
So how do you provide value? Quite simply, by providing the info they want and need. Operate a bakery chain? Tell readers how to keep their muffins fresher longer. Run an accounting firm? You might not be able to make numbers sexy, but you can tell clients how to make their visit to your office easier. Giving readers value is a smart step toward building relationships with online influencers.
The fun part
Okay, not everyone likes to write. But when your daily agenda includes painful budget meetings, firing employees, or having lunch with a food-spitting client, then blogging might actually be the most enjoyable part of your day. Here are three tips for pain-free blogging:
- Remember that you’re writing a corporate blog, not a research paper for English 201—so don’t stress out about writing perfect prose. Instead, write as though you’re speaking to the audience directly, casually, and professionally.
- No one wants to spend their lunch hunched over a keyboard furiously pounding out the entry that was supposed to be posted yesterday. Make blogging less stressful by setting aside time to write an entire batch of entries. The result? When you get caught up in another project or find yourself at home nursing a sick kid, you can simply post an entry from your stockpile.
- Writing a regular blog is a commitment. Make the job easier by recruiting additional writers. Have an interesting and relevant conversation with a client? Ask her to write a guest post. Did customer service implement a new customer care initiative? Recruit the manager to blog about it. Spreading the responsibility will make it seem like less of a chore—and that means you’re more likely to blog consistently, creating more opportunities to generate conversation.
Blogging can be an important part of your strategy to build relationships with online influencers—and it doesn’t have to be painful. To learn more about building a complete social media strategy, contact the team at Social Strategy1.
