Is your business bloggable?
I’m sure you are hearing us talk more and more about the great web tool know as blogging. Blogging is not that new of a concept but it the past 2 or 3 years both blogging and podcasting has taken off like wildfire because CMS and related software has become a lot easier to use, RSS is becoming more mainstream and people and companies are recognizing the blogging is a great way to gain better search engine results. However I’m sure the question of, “How do I blog about my business?” is asked by a lot of people. I admit that before I became a frequent blogger I didn’t “get it” either. How come I didn’t get it? For the most part I was only seeing blogging for what it was being used for as opposed to what it could potentially be. In the early days I only saw blogging as people posting an online diary or just any old thing on their minds but that’s just a mindset and for the most part with any new technology or methodology people will just play around or as I like to call it, “kick the tires” or take it for a test drive.
I personally think most businesses and organizations are “bloggable” but they are not sure of how to do it. My first suggestion is to get the word “blog” out of your head. It’s a silly word that was invented and sort of took on a life of it’s own. It’s nothing more than a way to post new content, sort it by date and give people a way to subscribe to it via RSS (You can technically have a blog without RSS but I would not recommend it as it defeats the purpose). My second suggestion is when you start to write a blog post think about how you would talk to others in business networking, public speaking or social situations.
Often people worry that they might post something they shouldn’t post. Of course you shouldn’t post confidential information but in public setting you usually don’t reveal “big secrets” either. Finally you have to ask yourself, “What are my readers and/or site visitors looking for?” Do you have clients or people who ask the same questions over and over? A FAQ section on a web site is nice but it’s amazing at how much extra detail you can go into when writing in a more conversational tone. This particular post is an example of answering or addressing a question I have been asked multiple times.
A couple of other blogs to check out on this subject are, The Blog Challenge at businessandblogging.com and today Micheal Martine made a post called, If You Can’t Blog It, Don’t Do It in which he mentions certain kinds of companies that shouldn’t blog. I disagree with him to a point because he calls out certain companies considered, “evil” by himself and others but he has already received some comments that give the perspective that if those companies did blog, or rather had better and direct communication with the public the company would be understood better or even transformed.
I will say that blogging has helped our company focus better, learn from our readers/clients and in the process of writing we have learned more about our industry as we seek out sources and deeper information. Is your company blogging? Are you confounded by what you should write? What roadblocks keep you from blogging?
February 28th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Great post, and I thoroughly agree. Most businesses are indeed bloggable. Thanks for linking back to Business and Blogging.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I appreciate that you mentioned my article even if you disagree–disagreements make for great discussion, do they not? :)
I see growing trends in business where consumers are more concerned than ever about where, why, and how good and services are produced/sourced. If your story is compelling in this area, then to me that is very attractive and effective blog material. But if your story is one of cover ups, lawsuits, consumer complaints, and legal investigations, well…
It’s not that such a company couldn’t have a blog, but what the hell are they thinking acting like that in the first place? They have already been acting in ways that are completely antithetical to blogging. Getting a blog without a wholesale change of heart would not accomplish very much, in my opinion.
Again, thanks for taking up the discussion. :) You make a lot of great points about how businesses should create content for their blogs.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Oh I hear what you are saying Micheal and I agree with your viewpoint and there may be some companies out there beyond hope. Sadly some of those you mentioned are in a position where they can get by without that kind of communication and the regular consumer is not their customer but they are many companies in the “everyday world” that could be taking advantage of these tools that aren’t.