So you finally started a company blog. You know it’ll be good for marketing — if you can just figure out what it is you should be writing about. Exactly how are you supposed to choose a topic? How often should you write? Who should write it? It takes some time to figure these things out, so don’t be in a rush to get everything going until you’ve made a few decisions.

Find a writer.
Choose your writer carefully. She (or he, of course) should be passionate about your topic. Interesting. Able to write in an engaging manner. Technically savvy enough to learn to use whatever content management system (CMS) you have chosen. Make sure it’s the right person.

Choose your topic.
What about your topic? Well, what are you an expert on? Your business, obviously. What industry are you in? What interesting tidbits would you like to share about it? Maybe there are some little-known secrets about how to get the most out of your product. Are there common misconceptions you can talk about — in a way that is helpful to the customer? Remember that the customer is always asking “What’s in it for me?”

What should I write about?
Many web sites have a frequently asked questions section. How about answering some of those questions in slightly longer articles on your blog? You have a chance to explain in a little more detail about your business. Just make sure it’s helpful and really does answer their questions. No “contact us for more information” here. They are contacting you by coming to your site. Give them what they’re looking for.

Open your comments.
Yes, I did say that. You can always moderate them if needed. But if you allow comments — and actually monitor and answer them — you have a golden opportunity to interact with your customers. Let them ask questions. Let them complain. Instead of being scared of complaints, embrace them! Use it as an opportunity to provide amazing customer service. You have a public way of resolving someone’s issues. Don’t ignore it or bury it. Show people you care about your customers by responding and then helping. You’ll be surprised how much good will you can create with small acts.

Keep to a schedule.
Try to write on a regular schedule. Once or twice a day is good. If you can’t keep up with that, shoot for three times a week. Or even once a week. Just try to keep it consistent. Your readers want reliability. They don’t want to see 10 posts, then nothing for 3 months. Spread things out a little if needed. Just don’t abandon them. Make sure you devote enough resources to keep it updated and interesting. Stagnant blogs don’t get indexed by search engines, and that doesn’t help your search results.

Keeping a company blog is good for your SEO, good for marketing, and good for customer relations. You keep visible, and hopefully you engage current and potential customers. Are you still struggling with your company blog? Where do you seem to be getting stuck?

image: sxc.hu

Post from: Bizzia