Corporate Blogging, fad or foe?

 

It seems like more and more corporate organizations are evolving their public relations efforts to social media and blogging. Is it good practice?

Corporate organizations have people working for them. People just like you and I, they frame the organization. Sometimes the public fails to notice that they aren't just money hungry sales people or investment bankers. Which is why corporate blogging has become more popular throughout the years, it allows the public to read not only about their culture but they can offer some helpful advice about their industry.

Blogging allows companies to connect with their customers on a more human level. Sometimes this happens before a company acquires those customers. We call it 'Content Marketing'.

Keep in mind that your customers are more inclined to reading something that is uniquely yours. Posting articles about your business is bad practice (for the most part), such posts should be left for periodical social media updates.

Once a corporate blog is created, maintaining it doesn't have to be excruciatingly painful or time consuming. Here are my tips for creating and maintaining a corporate blog:

1.       Page design and name choice - The design must be fitting to the industry that you are in with a balance of creativity.

2.       Planning - From the topics, to the layout, and frequency. Everything about your blog should be planned. When to post, what to post, and how to promote the post. The more detail the better.

3.       One writer - Everyone has different writing styles, it may be better practice to allow one or two contributors to write for the blog. You can also outsource the writing to a freelance writer, you'll just have to provide the subjects.

4.       Promote your blog - You can link your blog directly from your website under the obvious subheading 'Blog'. Make it obvious, people are more likely to click on it and read on.

5.       Social Media - Send your posts to Facebook and Twitter (with appropriate hashtags). You'll reach more people, it's as simple as that.

Make a plan, include measurable objectives and evaluate them as you go along. Add some personality to your posts, make it fun to read. Last, but certainly not least, keep on blogging. Content marketing is powerful.