Blogs For Big Companies

If you work for a big Company and think it is time to have an official blog, be sure to make it attractive and interesting for your readers. A blog is an excellent tool to keep users informed and updated, but it has to comply with the image an PR requisites of your other communication efforts. And yet, the content has to be dynamic and useful for your readers, not only a self-praise newspaper. Some ideas of what your blog team (or PR agency) should be posting:

1) Read, follow and listen - you probably won’t get much in the way of results from blogging until you know what and how to write. Hire talent to do it, an experienced blogger (could even be one of your employees who is already doing this), or an Agency. Let your highest corporate level be in charge of it, don't leave it in the Marketing Dept. hands. Review it constantly and have a monthly report the first semester, then a weekly less detailed one. And at the same time, you should have an RSS Reader such as Google Reader to keep track of it and of other places where you, your company and your products are mentioned.

2) Write what people search – If you’re one of those folks who’s resisted blogging because you don’t think anyone would read your company's blog, don’t worry, they probably won’t. Most blogs aren’t read like a magazine, or like you might view it, they are found. In other words post the answers to the questions, problems, and challenges that you know your market is asking and seeking and your blog content will become the single greatest online lead generation tool in your mix. Discover the exact phrases people in your market are using when they search, and write valuable content around that and people will find your blog before they know your competitors exist.

3) Ask for participation – Blogging is one of the first ways to build an engaged community. People talk about building community on twitter and other social sites, but few things can compare to the engagement that can surround healthy debates, reader generated content and suggestions in blog comments. Write your blog posts in ways that invite people to comment, ask for their ideas, and even ask them to give their opinions. Over time, you will build community participation and you may find that blogging is more fun when it becomes a conversation. And more, it gives YOU some information about your market base, loyal customers, and unhappy ones too.