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The Best Resources to Ramp Up Your Corporate Blogging Strategies

In preparation for speaking to a local business group about Corporate Blogging, I’ve gathered quite a few resources from many sites. I would be remiss if I didn’t publicly thank them. I’m also providing a handout to folks with resources and links back to these folks’ websites.

In the past, I was against corporate blogging as a strategy. I penned the term clog because that usually happens when you try to be strategic or measured in a blog. It backfires on you. I’ve seen too many great examples of good corporate blogging to be against it anymore. Companies would be making a mistake if they didn’t use this strategy in their communication plan.

Why have a Corporate Blogging Presence?

Recently, I’m beginning to notice many companies that appreciate what blogging provides their companies and their customers, specifically:

  1. Provides the company and its employees exposure as thought leaders in their industry.
  2. Improves the visibility of the company. In fact, according to some statistics, 87% of some visits to company websites make it there through blogs.
  3. Provides your employees, clients, and prospects with a human face to your company.
  4. It leverages the blogosphere and search engine technologies to improve your company’s online findability.

How do you Execute:

To execute successfully, there is some great advice out on the net. Here are some examples:

  1. Think about putting together a blog committee that oversees the blog, the content, pushes participation, and approves blogs for the company.
  2. Encourage your bloggers to read blogs and get their advice from blogs. Marketing and Press Release resources are viewed as impersonal and looked down upon by bloggers – usually because of the spin, insincerity, and pre-approved content.
  3. Define your blog’s focused topic, purpose, and ultimate vision. Communicate these on your blog effectively and determine how to measure your success.
  4. Humanize your posts and tell the story. Storytelling is the most effective way of educating people on your post’s message. Great storytellers always triumph.
  5. Participate and join your readers. Allow them to influence and provide feedback on your topics, and treat them with great respect. Participate in other blogs and link to them. It’s a ‘sphere of influence’ that you must connect to.
  6. Build trust, authority, and your brand. Respond quickly and effectively. As you build trust, so will your company.
  7. Build momentum. Blogs aren’t about the post but the series of posts. The strongest blogs build reputation and credit by pushing important content regularly.

Here’s my vision for the three-axis a great blogging strategy encompasses: the Blogging Triangle:

The Blogging Triangle

One trackback commented on the post that the design was missing from the overall strategy. When discussing Corporate Blogging Strategies, I believe design is fundamental – but predetermined by Marketing. Before diving into blogging, I hope a corporation already has a great web design and presence. If not, they best add it to the list!

What Risks are there?

In a not-to-recent book club meeting, we asked one of our attendees, an attorney, what the legalities were about employees blogging. He said it was the same risk as that employee speaking anywhere else. Most employee handbooks cover the expectations of those employees’ actions. If you don’t have an employee handbook covering your employees’ expected behavior, perhaps you should! (Regardless of blogging).

Legal Do’s

  1. Provide Clear Guidelines: Give employees clear guidelines for writing and publishing blog posts. Ensure they understand the company’s expectations and any legal requirements.
  2. Copyright Compliance: Ensure employees understand the importance of respecting copyright laws and using only authorized images and content.
  3. Disclosure: Do encourage employees to disclose their affiliation with the company when discussing products or services. Transparency is crucial.
  4. Privacy Respect: Instruct employees to respect individuals’ privacy rights and avoid sharing personal or sensitive information without proper consent.
  5. Review and Approval: Establish a review process where a designated person or department reviews blog posts before publishing.
  6. Compliance with Company Policies: Ensure blog posts adhere to the company’s code of conduct and policies.

Legal Don’ts

  1. Defamation: Don’t allow employees to make defamatory statements about competitors, customers, or anyone else. Defamation can lead to legal consequences.
  2. Confidential Information: Don’t permit the disclosure of confidential or proprietary company information in blog posts.
  3. Misrepresentation: Don’t allow employees to make false claims about products, services, or the company itself. Misrepresentation can harm the company’s reputation.
  4. Unlawful Content: Don’t tolerate content that promotes discrimination, harassment, or illegal activities.
  5. Neglecting Copyright: Don’t ignore copyright laws. Ensure employees understand the need to obtain proper permissions or licenses for third-party content.
  6. Ignoring Regulatory Compliance: In blog posts, don’t overlook compliance with industry-specific regulations or legal requirements, especially in regulated industries.

Remember that these legal do’s and don’ts can vary by jurisdiction and industry, so it’s crucial to consult with legal counsel to ensure compliance with specific laws and regulations related to blogging in your region or field. Some additional items to discuss:

  1. How will you deal with criticism, negative confrontations, and comments? Setting expectations up front on how comments will be moderated and accepted on your blog is advisable. I would encourage a comment policy for any corporate blog.
  2. How will you ensure brand control? You don’t need your bloggers messing with slogans, logos, or your brand’s voice. Make it hands-off.
  3. How will you deal with your bloggers who aren’t productive? Have your bloggers accept a policy beforehand where participation is mandatory and that falling behind will cost them exposure. Please give them the boot! Maintaining a consistent output of topics is key to any blogging strategy.
  4. How will you deal with exposure of intellectual property key to the company’s business?

Books to Read on the Topic:

Corporate Blogging Advice and Resources

All the information I put together in this post was inspired by one of the many links above or in this list below. There were too many posts referenced to detail out here. I gathered as much information as I could and attempted to put it together in a single post that would provide an excellent overview of several experts’ viewpoints on corporate blogging strategies. I hope the owners of these blogs appreciate it – they deserve all the credit for this post!

I would encourage anyone visiting to spend time on each one of these blogs. They are incredible resources!

Corporate Blogging Examples

This post wouldn’t be complete without providing some Corporate Blogging links. Some are official corporate blogs, but I think it’s essential to look at unofficial corporate blogs as well. It provides evidence that if you decide not to blog about your company or brand, someone else might!

Corporate Blogging Search Optimization

Businesses and consumers are researching their next online purchase through the consumption of content, and corporate blogs provide that content. That said, you must optimize both your platform (typically WordPress) and your content. When you roll out the red carpet to Google, they index your content and extend its reach significantly.

Please feel free to comment and add your own favorite Corporate Blogging Links!

Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is CMO of OpenINSIGHTS and the founder of the Martech Zone. Douglas has helped dozens of successful MarTech startups, has assisted in the due diligence of over $5 bil in Martech acquisitions and investments, and continues to assist companies in implementing and automating their sales and marketing strategies. Douglas is an internationally recognized digital transformation and MarTech expert and speaker. Douglas is also a published author of a Dummie's guide and a business leadership book.

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