Notes

Building YOUR ORGANIZATION with Blogging - Part 3: The "How"
Blogging: The "How"

Develop a plan and concentrate on a distinct goal

To be able to use your blog to further your business, it can't be a random gathering of daily thoughts. People will expect you to discuss everything about your company, but you have to create and maintain your site with a specific purpose in mind. Could it be to showcase employees? Provide information related to your field? Recruit new employees? There are read more of 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 are having trouble deciding on a direction, you might want to launch multiple blogs, as was done by Stonyfield Farm and Ice.com. However, if you're not used to blogging, it's probably far better start with one.

Identify the editor and retain a geniune voice

Effective blogs are high maintenance--they have to be updated regularly to help keep the interest of journalists, customers and se's. You should choose an editor immediately. If you decide not to edit it yourself, be sure you choose anyone who has enough time, whom you trust, and who comes with an engaging writing style that may draw in readers. Most importantly, don't allow your PR department write your site. Bloggers will figure it out, and it'll cause your blog to reduce all credibility.

Find the appropriate tools

There are way too many blogging tools to list in this posting, so the best strategy would be to research what's on the market and what will best meet your business needs. Blog tools range from completely free resources like blogger.com to highly specialized resources that offer all the great features you can ever want. Also, new tools are added on an almost daily basis. In order to be overwhelmed with options, go 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 which will start the initial discussion and make sure your editor is ready to post as had a need to get the conversation going. It's also advisable to make it a two-way conversation by including a good way for readers to respond.

"Permit both negative and positive posts on your 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 professional and business way. If you don't 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 ought to be updated at least once 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 blog sit there and hope people will see it. Use any existing newsletter to announce and promote your site. Link to it from your website . You can even boost your search engine rankings by using keywords and phrases with which you want to be associated.

You also want to analyze how your site is being used. Make sure you have the tools set up to know who reads what, when and where. This can help you better adjust your strategy and meet your customers' information needs.

Monitor occasionally

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

Final Word

Blogs probably aren't the final great word on marketing, but they are here to stay. If you need to get your name out on the Internet and prove you take your visitors 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.
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