Building YOUR ORGANIZATION with Blogging Part 3 The How

Blogging: The "How"

Create a plan and focus on a distinct goal

If you want to use your blog to help expand your business, it can not be a random gathering of daily thoughts. People will expect you to discuss everything about your company, but you need to create and maintain your blog with a specific purpose in mind. Is it to showcase employees? Provide information linked to your field? Recruit new employees? There are several possibilities, and you need to decide which way you're going before you ever launch your blog. Define your audience, what its needs are, and how far better meet those needs. If you're having trouble choosing a direction, you might like to launch multiple blogs, as was done by Stonyfield Farm and Ice.com. However, if you are new to blogging, it's probably far better start with one.

Identify the editor and retain a geniune voice

Effective blogs are high maintenance--they need to be updated regularly to keep the interest of journalists, customers and search engines. You should choose an editor right from the start. If you decide never to edit it yourself, make sure you choose someone who has enough time, whom you trust, and who comes with an engaging writing style that will draw in readers. Most importantly, don't let your PR department write your site. Bloggers will figure it out, and it will cause your blog to reduce all credibility.

Find the right tools

There are way too many blogging tools to list in this post, so the best strategy is to research what's out there and exactly what will best meet your business needs. Blog tools range between completely free resources like blogger.com to highly specialized resources that offer all the bells and whistles you can ever want. Also, new tools are added on an almost daily basis. If you want to be overwhelmed with options, go to Google and enter "blogging tools."

Facilitate discussion and become open to comment

Part of the selling point of blogs may be the interaction they fuel. Every time you post, you need to make an attempt to start out a discussion, either among your employees or together with your customers. Plan topics which will start the original discussion and make sure your editor is ready to post as needed to get the conversation going. You should also ensure it is a two-way conversation by including a good way for readers to respond.

"Permit both positive and negative posts on your own blog, and answer comments made on other blogs pertinent to your area of focus," says Katherine Heires in her article, "Does YOUR ORGANIZATION Belong in the Blogosphere?." "Respond in a professional and business way. Unless you want to hear from your customers and critics in a public environment, don't blog."

Update regularly

Blogs are high maintenance. That's because, for a blog to work, it should be updated at least one time a week. According to marketing writer Brian Quinton, "Nothing kills off consumer interest--and therefore search engine interest--like a dead blog. Give people grounds to check your blog site regularly."

Drive and analyze traffic

You can't just let your site sit there and hope people will see it. Use any existing newsletter to announce and promote your blog. Link to it from your website. Also you can boost your search engine rankings by using keywords and key phrases with which you desire to be associated.

You also desire to analyze how your blog is being used. Be sure you have the tools set up to know who reads what, when and where. This will assist you to better adjust your strategy and meet your customers' information needs.

Monitor occasionally

Unfortunately, you can't just let your site go and hope everything turns out all right. Periodically check discussions and see if they flow how you intended and when they meet your goals. If they don't, you may need to rethink your blogging strategy.

Final Word

Blogs probably aren't the final great word on marketing, however they are here to remain. If you need to get your name from the web and prove you take your customers seriously, consider blogging.

"The phenomenon is real," says Andrew Sullivan in his article, "The Blogging Revolution." "Blogging is changing the media world."

Andrea's writing background includes features, editorials, reviews, profiles, poetry and fiction. She was the winner of the MOTA short story contest in 2002 and received honorable mentions for fiction from Writerï¿½s Journal magazine in 2002 and 2004. Andrea served as editor of AVA (Advertise Virginia) Magazine from 2005 to 2006. Check out her blog at http://creativewithwriting.blogspot.com.