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06/03/2010

 

(P-O-P-S)  While blogging is a very popular format for individuals and media outlets looking to generate lots of impressions, business blogging (B2B) is really more complicated.  Business bloggers should create content valuable to prospective customers and deliver it in a way that can support lead generation for their business.   The novice blogger would be hard-pressed to achieve this end without first knowing the concerns of their reader. Besides, there are so many blogs on the internet already that just creating another with no specific focus is perhaps not the best use of your time if you are a small business just starting out. While syndicated articles publicity is a great tool to get your company found, a company blog about your industry if you are a newbie appears to be arrogant and self-serving, not the image you wish to paint in today’s service oriented market.
Of course, if you did just invent the wheel, that is another story. So no set of rules applies to everybody equally. But for the average startup guy, this appears to be the route recommended:
o   Sign up for a bunch of RSS feeds from established bloggers in your industry and see what they are about.  Read them regularly, and decide who makes the most sense to you. Begin commenting on some of them about the ideas expressed. Get your name out as part of the community. One of my favorite sources of information is the Hubspot blog. I subscribe to their feed, but like anyone quickly realizes, they churn out articles several times a day, and you fast have to begin selecting what you read, no less what you comment on. You become that Internet skimmer you always disdained. But you truly become aware of why short and to the point posts are best, and titles all important.      
o   If you cannot publish at least once a week, and it should be more frequent than that, do not commit to a blog. Thought leaders in an industry are just that, and if you are not looking for speaking engagements and to be branded by your blog, than spend your time building your business in a different fashion.
But if you think the medium is appealing and you have the personal time or manpower to assign to a blog, make sure it’s name and URL are attached to your company website. Do not blog about your company or your products, but about your industry.  Once you have some readers, use them to figure out what they are looking for. Query them about the format: video, podcast, text or graphics, and do it with a sense of humor. Let your personality shine through. You can hire someone like Points of Persuasion Syndicate to keep the site going but be sure to overseer the site so that it reflects your personal thoughts and views. It is a big time commitment, and it uses up lots of content. It needs constant replenishing and the best grist for it comes from your audience.
To blog or not to blog?  That is a question only you can answer for yourself and your company. David Meerman Scott, author and speaker, who blogs at Web Ink Now, wrote about his blog three years after it began: 
My blog has given me a platform that has allowed me to take my business into areas that I could never have imagined just three short years ago. Quite simply, my blog is the best thing I've ever done in business. (June 16, 2007)
 
 

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