Blogging for your Business

At a great session on 'Effective Marketing in a Changing World', run by Business Link and presented by Grant Leboff, I spoke with a number of SME owners. Many of these owners did not understand, do or even think about blogging. Because they're lazy? No, simply because the world is moving a little too fast for most of us to keep up.

In response to this I thought a post about commercial blogging, not to make money via the blog directly, but for using a blog as part of your marketing strategy would be useful. So here are 10 points you might like to consider around blogging and your relationship with it.

1. A blog does not have to be work

People have been writing diaries or recording their activities and lives since the beginning of time. It can and often is a fun process for both the writer and reader, when done well. If time is precious...

2. Share the task or delegate to others

As with a lot of things, with all the will in the world it is possible for them to slip away and not get done. If there are a few of you then it might make sense to have several people blogging for the company and not just you. Often people will enjoy a new and different task where they can express themselves.

If it is only you then don't worry. If you're using a tool like Blogger, or a website built on something like Wordpress (great for blogging) or Drupal (what's Drupal? This site's built on it), then you can write blogs, set a date to post it and forget about it, or save it and come back later. But when blogging it is important that everyone in the organisation understands...

3. This is not about you it's about your customers

There are plenty of blogs out there about peoples' lives and the minutiae of their daily existence. Is that going to engage your customers to your blog and/or website on a regular basis? Perhaps for some but it isn't very likely. What will do that though is detailed and useful blogs that are relevant to them and their needs.

4. Don't write for sales, write for interest

A blog that is trying to sell is not a blog, it's an advert. It offers nothing of value to your customer and they will quickly see through any veiled attempt to hide that fact. If you are accomplishing point 3 then it won't be a problem, but how?

5. Your marketing strategy plays an important role

Don't have a marketing strategy in your desk draw then don't worry. I am sure you know your customers and that is the important point here. Don't try to be all things to all people. Understanding your customers allows you to tailor your writing and content to their needs. What are the developments in the industry? What relevant events are coming up? Who's talking to whom about what? Great commercial blogging content can come from simply compiling useful information for your customers in one place. After all time is an important commodity and we have less and less of it so saving your customers time is very powerful.

6. Try to be consistent

If possible, try to be consistent with content and delivery. You could try to get into a rhythm of blogging every Monday evening or every third Thursday of the month and set a reminder on your mobile. Discuss, compile and have an opinion on a particular area so your blog followers will know what to expect from your content. Some may not like it and might not keep reading but those that do will be happy to continue reading future posts. Now for the contradiction.

7. Only post if you have something to say

Many people are daunted by the prospect of starting to blog. There is a perception that something must be written daily and it should be profound. Don't worry silence is sometimes golden. It's better to have something good to say infrequently, than waffle every day. Remember, others in your organisation may have something interesting to say or perhaps you could invite someone to do a guest blog for you.

8. The only barrier to blogging is you

Many SME owners are put off by the fact that there are many bloggers out there already and there are quite literally, thousands of websites covering the subject they are thinking of blogging about. Don't be and for one simple reason, the volume of information in the World Wide Web is off putting for a lot of your customers. If they already trust and like you then they will be open to listening to you and will be thankful that you take the time to keep them up to date. So my suggestion is get started.

9. A word of warning

Don't forget that a blog is a very free, open and immediate method of getting you and your message out there. Within an organisation it may be important to have a policy or method for monitoring posts and maintaining a consistent message. With tools like Wordpress and Drupal you can set user rights so that it may be that members of your team can write a blog posting for you but you are the only one that can publish it. And finally...

10. Blogging WILL not increase your turnover by 20%

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but blogging alone won't help you out of the recession. All blogging is, is a 21st Century method of marketing. I say 'all it is' but don't write it off. A little time and some commitment and it can really pay off. Ideally you will look at social media (such as Twitter and Facebook) as a whole marketing package to consider marketing your business. But which and how to use social media? Well that's for next time. Thank you for reading.

P.S. if you are looking to get started try going to Google and search for blogging, you can use Blogger to get started for free. Or if you've already got your own website then contact your developers and see what they might charge to add a blog to your current website. Happy blogging!

Photo Credit Shirokazan