Building Your Business with Blogging Part 3 The How

Blogging: The "How"

Develop a plan and focus on a distinct goal

To be able to use your blog to further your business, it can not be a random gathering of daily thoughts. People will expect one to discuss everything about your company, but you need to create and maintain your blog with a specific purpose in mind. Could it be to showcase employees? Provide information linked to your field? Recruit new employees? There are various possibilities, and you need to decide which way you're going before you ever launch your site. Define your audience, what its needs are, and how best to meet those needs. If you're having trouble deciding on 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 best to 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 immediately. If you decide never to edit it yourself, be sure to choose anyone who has enough time, whom you trust, and who comes with an engaging writing style that will draw in readers. Most importantly, don't allow your PR department write your blog. 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 posting, so the best strategy would be to research what's out there and exactly what will best meet your organization needs. Blog tools range between free resources like blogger.com to highly specialized resources that offer all the great features you could ever want. Also, new tools are added on an daily basis. To be able to be overwhelmed with options, head to Google and type in "blogging tools."

Facilitate discussion and become open to comment

Part of the selling point of blogs is the interaction they fuel. Each and 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 that will start the original discussion and make sure your editor is prepared to post as had a need to get the conversation going. You should also ensure it is a two-way conversation by including an easy way for readers to respond.

"Permit both negative and positive posts on your own blog, and reply to comments made on other blogs pertinent to your neighborhood of focus," says Katherine Heires in her article, "Does YOUR ORGANIZATION Belong in the Blogosphere?." "Respond in a specialist 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 be effective, it should be updated at least once a week. In accordance with marketing writer Brian Quinton, "Nothing kills off consumer interest--and therefore internet search engine interest--like a dead blog. Give people grounds to check the blog site regularly."

Drive and analyze traffic

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

You also desire to analyze how your blog is being used. Make 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 blog go and hope everything works out fine. Periodically check discussions and see should they flow the way you intended and if 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 stay. To be able to get your name from the Internet 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 Writer�s Journal magazine in 2002 and 2004. Andrea served as editor of AVA (Advertise Virginia) Magazine from 2005 to 2006. Have a look at her blog at http://creativewithwriting.blogspot.com.