Corporate blogs are a little tricky. Building and keeping up with a blog that is branded and is repeatedly visited by your clients, prospects and referral sources, requires some thought, some planning and some real commitment.
Once again I am compelled to have you ask the question “Why?” A corporate blog takes time to create and then maintain. You are focused on your ROI. You don't really feel the blog is necessary but you've consented “because it's what everyone is doing.” So, “Why are you moving forward with the creation of a corporate blog?”
There are many good reasons for corporations to create and maintain a blog, but I'll save that discussion for another time. For now, let's assume you've solved the ROI equation and answered the “Why?” to your satisfaction and you're ready to get started. I'd suggest you put on paper a sentence or two representing the goal you have set your sights on for the blog. Maybe it's something like this:
The XYZ Company Blog will provide invaluable information to current clients, prospects and referral sources while establishing XYZ Company as a thought leader in our industry. The result will be seen in the increased visits to our website and blog, the active engagement of our clients, prospects and referral sources in our social media efforts, along with an increase in our revenue which we can directly relate to our blogging efforts.
From here you could:
- Think about really defining metrics for tracking your progress.
- Determine what your bloggers are going to write about so they have clear parameters.
- Build a reasonable Content Calendar that meets the needs of your bloggers while striving to accomplish your goals.
- Determine who's going to proof-read and edit each post.
- And, finally, determine some parameters for handling the interaction you are hoping to generate from your clients, prospects and referral sources.
Now it's time to implement your plans and start writing and interacting, while regularly checking tracking devices and tweaking things along the way. We're huge proponents of blogs for a variety of reasons, so if you need some help figuring all this out, we're here for you.
There are many other things to think about and do to create a successful corporate blog. So, if you have some ideas of your own, please leave a comment below.
Have you seen good results from corporate blogging? What blogs are those? I’d like to see them because I’m in charge of our website, social media, and blog for my company and our blog is the toughest of those things to work with. Especially with our services. We are an investement banking services firm (not an investment bank). Do you have any clients similar to us that have had success with blogging? I’d love to see examples to have a little inspiration.
Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to ask the questions you asked. I am buried with work this week but will do my best to make the time to respond to you question.
Inspiration is on the way!! It’s just going to be delayed a bit. I’l get back to you as soon as possible.
Brad
Hi Jennifer,
I was able to spend a little time on your comment today. You’ve got to remember you are in a very tough industry for social media. The SEC and FINRA regulations prevent you from participating like others. The good news is these regulations are softening every year. But they will never go away because these agencies have to protect the public.
There are many things you can do that are within the rules. I was recently at a great conference in New York with a couple hundred professionals from financial services companies who got together to talk about the industry and social media. There will be another conference like it this year and I am happy to tell you about it when I know more.
LinkedIn is a place the people in your company should be promoting what you do. We do work with other financial services people who are involved with LinkedIn with our guidance. It is also very possible for your company blog to provide valuable information to clients, prospects and referral sources. You just have to stay within the lines the regulatory agencies have put in place for you. I would be happy to speak with you on the phone or exchange email with you in more detail.
Here are two examples you may want to look at:
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch doesn’t have a separate site they call a blog, but their website links to articles that could be considered blog posts like this one: http://bit.ly/zQRxK5
Grant Thornton also has a tab at the top of their website that takes you to “Grant Thornton Thinking” which is a page that contains links to articles they’ve written http://bit.ly/zbakO4
I also have a few thoughts I’ll share with you on your blog. No charge, so take ’em for what they’re worth:
I personally counsel clients to create a corporate blog that has the corporate brand, but has a personality of its own. This may mean it has a catchy name. It may also mean that it uses the corporate logo/brand and colors, but doesn’t look like just another page on the corporate website. My website and blog would be an example of what I’m talking about.
If you want people to visit the blog, don’t make them go all the way to the bottom of your page and find the teeney tiny print that says “Blog”. Put a tab up top or, better yet, a graphic that links to the blog.
Finally, one of the keys to blogging success is consistency. You’ve got to post at least one new thing every single week no matter what. I think your last post was last September. That’s way too long in between posts. Then when you post something promote it on other social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Let me know if I can be of help.