Truth 39. Good business blogging is edgy

Do you need to talk your employer into developing one or more company blogs or into endorsing one you’d like to do on behalf of your department or firm? Sometimes blogging is where a difference in generational attitudes comes up. In many cases but definitely not all, older decision makers may not be immediately comfortable with the idea of blogging. If this is true where you work, and you feel your organization is missing out, you can marshal your best arguments and research what competitors are doing to help make your case.

Point out, of course, how stunningly inexpensive it is to blog. It’s also a way for a company to control its own story and go right to the public, bypassing the media in its gatekeeper function. And it’s an unparalleled way to go where your customers, clients, and prospects are. But don’t undersell the time commitment involved. Present this realistically, or you’ll just end up with a big responsibility added to your workload.

Here are some ideas about using blogs as a business tool if you want to move your company into the blogging world, or expand its applications:

1. Share information instantly—Blogs are superb outlets for relevant news about your company, such as a new product or service, new capabilities, and interesting ways to use a product. You can build interest in a product coming down the pipeline, and reward fans for their loyalty with early news or “inside” information. In crisis situations, blogs can deliver news at “real-time” speed.

2. Ask your customers or clients for direct feedback—Focus on a specific area: for example, a company-owned hotel’s accommodations. Additional blogs can concentrate on various other aspects of the business, such as the dining experience, bridal accommodations, and conference facilities.

3. Respond to input on a daily basis—At least one person in a sizable organization should be responsible for monitoring the bloggers’ universe on a daily basis. Most organizations of any size or significance face blogs whose sole focus is to badmouth them or play “gotcha.” As politicians have learned, false statements must be countered immediately. Even negative postings that are true or somewhat true should be dealt with quickly because thousands or millions of people are probably reading them. Your company needs its own instant information outlet—its own blog—rather than just responding to negative attacks on other people’s blogs.

4. Encourage company employees to blog—Do this even if they might post comments critical of the company. Several major information technology companies promote blogging, either on the company’s official blog site, or on the employees’ own sites—without vetting the blog posts beforehand. Contrary to the managers’ original fears, no company secrets seem to have been revealed. Interestingly, they found that even rantings by unhappy employees offered a benefit, because it gave workers a public outlet for their frustrations and sometimes led to workplace improvements.

5. Directly ask your company’s customers to make suggestions for improving your products—For example, a leading paint manufacturer operates a company blog site that encourages customers and potential customers to ask questions and to tell the company what they like about the various products, and what they don’t. Managers have made some useful product changes based on this public feedback. A baby products company created a “mother’s panel” to offer advice on new products and needs. That’s transformed its entire marketing strategy.

6. Respond to complaints—When you receive client complaints, narrow your scope to the issue at hand and always be helpful and conciliatory. Telling customers that whatever happened to them wasn’t really your business’s fault isn’t helpful and will antagonize them needlessly. Blog posts are information sources for other prospective customers, so answer complaints specifically, and if possible point out ways the situation might have been avoided.

7. Bridge distances—If your business has locations that are geographically scattered, employs a far-flung global workforce, or relies on collaboration, corporate blogs are great ways to bridge time zones and distances. Blogging casts a wide net, and posting a question or posing a dilemma can bring you innovative solutions. The informal feel that blogs promote can boost relationship building, too.

8. Deliver content value—If you want people to read the blog and to keep coming back, fill it with useful information for your chosen audiences. Solid material draws people and search engines. In-depth articles on specialized subjects are excellent (see Truths 47 and 48 for advice on how to write them).

Tie blogs to your marketing

Track your traffic and rankings and respond to what’s working. Promote your blog by identifying and incorporating keywords, just as for Web sites, and submit them to search engines; also submit your blog to one or more blog directories. Link to as many other relevant blogs as you can. To help justify the time you’re investing, think about other ways to use the material you’ve developed for your blog.

Whether you’re blogging for yourself or your business, be sure to link your blog to your Web sites, and other blogs, as appropriate. Your letterhead, print materials, and even e-mails should include your Web and blog URLs. Consider your varied marketing efforts as building blocks that create an image, or persona, that’s more than the sum of its parts. If you have an e-newsletter, promote it on the blog, and the other way around. If you’ve issued a white paper or product catalog, promote them electronically as well. That way, you feed traffic to your own media and build an audience.

However, you also need to aim for some consistency in graphic appearance and how you present your organization. That’s branding.