Let me start by describing the majority of businesses I meet with. First, there’s the small business. The average small business I encounter has a cheesy website they threw together five to ten years ago simply because they wanted to be “cutting edge.” Their ugly sites are usually difficult to read and navigate, and you have to know the exact URL to find it because it’s not likely to turn up on a Google search.
Then there are medium-sized businesses who may have a fancy looking Flash website. The site is mostly cool photos design with little text and is still difficult to find on Google or anywhere else. The owners are generally proud of their fancy Flash website, though sometimes they grumble about whether or not it could be more useful.
There are, of course, many exceptions to these types. But from small business to billion dollar business, too many websites lack the web savvy to strengthen customer relationships online.
Regardless of company size, each company website should have a blog. This is my reputation management recommendation for all businesses. Create a blog on your site and post to it regularly. Every day is ideal. Weekly is minimum. And before you dismiss my suggestion as “too difficult” or “too time consuming”, let’s look at the benefits. Regardless of company size, you’ll find that the benefits outweigh the costs in time and money.
Benefit #1: Thought Leadership
A blog allows you to comment on what is happening in your industry. You can cover news, technology, prominent figures, economic issues, provide warnings, make suggestions, explain concepts, and promote your industry. Many industries do not have a thought leader in the blogosphere at this time. Even in industries where several companies/individuals have established themselves, there is always room for a unique perspective.
Benefit #2: Customer Relationship Management
A corporate blog provides a forum for customers and potential customers to voice their concerns, questions, comments, and opinions. For many industries, a blog is an excellent opportunity for getting the customers and clients involved, allowing them to submit posts which will be made public after you approve them. Know your audience. If having a voice is a big deal to them or even some of them, give your readers and customers a voice. The opportunity to contribute and the time spent in interaction reinforces the investment each person makes in your company and brand.
Benefit #3: Relevance
Chances are that at some point, someone in your vertical will decide to establish themselves as the expert. Repetitive exposure is relevance. Combine a blog with a monthly email (following email marketing best practices, of course) to remain in the forefront of their minds. Provide value to your customers above and beyond your standard product or service. Blogs are value added relevance. Get over the “I’m too old school for this” attitude and either make yourself take the plunge or find someone else who can. Ask Coca-Cola, Google, and Amazon. Each of these companies rose to the top because they understood the principle that regular exposure is key to remaining on top. Allow someone else to come in and steal the attention and you’ve lost market share.
If you are extremely uncomfortable with web technology and you need a helping hand, feel free to ask? I don’t have all the time in the world, but I can easily walk you through a blog setup on your website. WordPress is a breeze, and I think more useful than the other blog softwares out there.
Contact your local webmaster or interactive agency about setting up a company blog. Heck, drop me a line if you need to. IT’S THAT IMPORTANT! Don’t let this slide. Make it a priority. THIS WEEK, make sure that you have set the ball in motion to establishing your very own company blog.
Brief Warning:
Don’t go starting a .blogspot or .wordpress blog as your company blog. Host your blog on your own website, or create a new domain name for your blog that links back and for to your company site. The two most popular placements of a company blog are www.company.com/blog and http://blog.company.com. I prefer the former because it’s easier to remember and it’s the same formula for all information on your site: site.com/stuff.
The free hosting on blog companies’ domains are unprofessional, difficult to remember when trying to find it a second time, and a waste of your time. Go ahead and set one up on their hosting if you want to, but use it only to control your company name on their server and direct all traffic to your REAL blog hosted on your company’s site.
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