Notes

Building Your Business with Blogging - Part 3: The "How"
Blogging: The "How"

Develop a plan and focus on a distinct goal

In order to use your blog to further 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 particular purpose in mind. Is it to showcase employees? Provide information linked to your field? Recruit new employees? T here are various possibilities, and you have to decide which way you're going before you ever launch your site. Define your audience, what its needs are, and how far better meet those needs. If you're having trouble deciding on a direction, you may want 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 must be updated regularly to keep the interest of journalists, customers and search engines. You should choose an editor immediately. If you decide not to edit it yourself, ensure you choose someone who has enough time, whom you trust, and who comes with an engaging writing style which will draw in readers. Above all, don't allow your PR department write your site. Bloggers will figure it out, and it'll cause your blog to lose all credibility.

Find the appropriate tools

There are way too many blogging tools to list in this post, therefore the best strategy is to research what's on the market and exactly what will best meet your business needs. Blog tools range between free resources like blogger.com to highly specialized resources that offer all the bells and whistles you could ever want. Also, new tools are added on an daily basis. If you want to be overwhelmed with options, head 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. Each and every time you post, you should make an attempt to start a discussion, either among your employees or together with your customers. Plan topics that may start the initial discussion and ensure your editor is prepared 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 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 be effective, it should be updated at least one time a week. According to marketing writer Brian Quinton, "Nothing kills off consumer interest--and therefore internet search engine interest--like a dead blog. Give people a reason to check the blog site regularly."

Drive and analyze traffic

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

You also want to analyze how your site is being used. Be sure to have the tools set up to learn 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 works out all right. Periodically check discussions and see if they flow the way you intended and if they meet your targets. If they don't, you may want to rethink your blogging strategy.

Final Word

Blogs probably aren't the last 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 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. Check out her blog at http://creativewithwriting.blogspot.com.
Here's my website: https://www.bitspower.com/support/user/aaen08hammond