Blogs started off as an informal and fun way to share information and tell the world about yourself or your passion. Now it is clear they are a great tool for business. However, be warned; blogs must be handled with care. When using them commercially you need to use the right strategies and take the right precautions or they can cause you more harm than good.
This article shares 8 Principles which will help to make sure your blog is helping your business rather than hindering it.
Principle 1: Blog Responsibly
Make sure that employees do not reveal sensitive information about your business in your company blogs. Your competitors could (and probably will) read your blogs and the last thing you want is your secret strategy being leaked to them before you have even launched it to the public.
Principle 2: Know thyself and thy blogging
To keep up with the ever changing world of blogging, it is important you notice new trends. Traditionally, blogs were just comments, stories, questions and notations. Nowadays some of the most successful blogs are multimedia works of art with significant audio and video elements. To make your blog stand out, get creative with multimedia!
(General Motors’ blog is a great example: http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/).
Principle 3: Know thy enemy blogger
It is not enough just to know your own technological or literary skill in creating your blog. You should also study other people’s blogs. There are some blogs out there that are doing groundbreaking work and by studying them you will get some great inspiration for what is possible. I recommend you take Cory Miller’s advice and “Study the great blogs and learn what makes them great.”
Principle 4: Blog effectively
Get clear on when a blogging strategy is effective and when it is not the most optimal approach. Thomas Nelson Publishing recommends that employees host company blogs themselves rather than hosting at the company level. This strategy creates separation between the company and individual blogs. However, especially in a smaller workplace, it may be better to allow employees to blog directly on the company site as it projects more of a ‘family feel’. In this instance, employee education as to what is and isn’t appropriate would be a necessity.
Principle 5: Blog with Vision
Take what you’ve already learned about blogging; put it into new perspectives, and attempt to predict directions in your particular niche, from the implementation of new strategies and technologies, to possible blogging avenues as yet unexplored.
Principle 6: Blog with Depth
The 6th principle is to blog with depth. This means to blog with your marketing strategy and purpose firmly in mind. Remember, a blog is there to serve your marketing and overall business strategy and is only a tool to do that- it is not an end in itself. When you look at it from this perspective you will know what to do, what not do, and what to definitely avoid.
Principle 7: Keep note of blogging details
Many times we tend to look at the big picture while forgetting the finer lines. Likewise with blogging, it’s easy to get a blog going and then to leave it running unchecked. In the end, you end up with nothing more than a Blob. A blog is not a wind-up machine but more like an organism. It requires both fine tuning and nourishment. This means noting the details of what’s happening with your blog and recognizing where it is, where it’s going, and any important details as they arise.
Principle 8: Avoid blog overuse
Blogging is a tool among OTHER tools. It has its uses and its abuses. It also has its limitations. You should be aware of this fact, and recognise that a good thing pushed to the limit cans turn into a bad thing. There are other avenues that are still just as effective as blogging and should be implemented alongside the blog itself.
Understanding the Good, The Blog and the Ugly is about realizing how to get the best out of your company blog and avoiding any negative consequences. When you follow the 8 steps to effective blogging you will be off to a good start.
It is important that you law down rules for your employees to follow if they are blogging under the company banner. Otherwise, you could be open to the torts of slander, libel and defamation. Or you could just be downright embarrassed by what gets put on it. Remember, once it’s published on your blog it’s there for the whole world to see.
Many people set up their blog with a free blogging service such as www.blogger.com. I suggest that you use your own domain to operate your blog using Wordpress or Movable Type. This gives you much more power and flexibility when creating your blog.
http://www.wordpress.org http://www.movabletype.org/
Both of these services provide plenty of supporting documentation. You’ll be stepping into the blogosphere before you know it…
