Entries Tagged 'goals' ↓
November 6th, 2008 — Buildify, blog design, goals, planning, platform, post design
(ie: should blog design match main site design?)
There are a lot of different considerations that need to be made when you are taking the initial steps to set up your corporate blog. For example, one of the first considerations that you should make is whether design integration is or is not important for your corporate blog. Should your blog design have the same design as your main site, or is there room for some creative license when setting up a site that is meant to be companion to your main site, but not necessarily part of the same website? The truth here is that either option is viable, as long as you are achieving what you intend to when designing the look and feel of your blog in its early stages on your website.
If your website has a distinct design that is classic and simple, then implementing it both on your main site and your blog site will add seamlessness for easy maneuverability, which is something that your readers will appreciate. As long as they can differentiate between the main website and the blog as they move from one to the other, there should be no underlying issues in creating a seamless design that remains the same from page to page. Because so many WordPress blog templates are designed to allow for extra pages, some corporate bloggers build the blog to spec and then add their main site around it, creating an entire blog and website combination from a single blog template. This is not the only option available to you however, so you should not feel locked into it.
On the other hand, as long as you keep a similar theme in place, there is no reason why you cannot create a website design and a blog site design that are unique to one another. If your website has a set of colors and a main graphical theme that is completely unique to your blog, you may be going for something a little too unique. However, design integration when it comes to hooking a blog and a website together does not mean using the exact same template twice - You can create an acceptable level of design integration simply by using the same images, the same basic color scheme or just a similar layout design. These small details will add up to show your readers that they are still on the same website while still making it easy for them to differentiate between your blog and your website, which can sometimes be beneficial to them.
The design details are ultimately up to you as you put your corporate blog together. What you should be aware of is the fact that both of these options have merit, and you can always add and change elements as you go to suit your style and to respond to comments from your readers. Your corporate blog and website do not have to have the same exact design implemented into both, but seamlessness can be nice when showing readers that the two sites have the same common goal.
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November 5th, 2008 — goals, marketing, money, sales, web traffic
One of the biggest problems facing corporate bloggers is whether or not they can communicate effectively through their blog. There are a few steps that you can take to determine just how well you are reaching your audience, and it is not terribly difficult to come up with a plan on how to accomplish this. Let’s get started with the basics.
What do you hope to achieve through your corporate blog?
By focusing on the end result that you would like to have, you can better determine how to write your posts to reach that end. For example, let’s say that you want to increase consumer awareness of your company. This would mean that your posts would need to focus on community efforts that your company is hosting, more information about how your company operates as well as posts that give a more human side to your company.
If your goal is to sell products, you will need to work on a different approach. In order to effectively sell via a blog, you have to follow the basic tenets of copywriting, and find a way to incorporate them into a blog post. For example, you have to have a problem, discuss how that problem effects the consumer and then supply them with a resolution to that problem. This may sound difficult, but there is a way to work this into a blog post.
Let’s say that you sell auto parts and you are trying to increase your sales. One blog post that you could write could focus on the problems of dealing with salvage yards for parts. In this instance, it can be difficult to find parts that are in good condition. There is your problem. Now, you can elaborate on what bad auto parts can do to a vehicle, ie: discussing how this issue affects the consumer. Then, you can offer them a solution, ie: your auto parts that are in perfect working condition and come with a warranty.
This can easily be adapted to any industry, and as long as you are following the basic Problem/How it Affects Consumers/Solution formula, you should not have any problems writing effective blog posts that will sell product. But you can’t just stop there, you also need to focus on why a consumer should trust you. This can be accomplished through other means, such as testimonials, as well as by providing your readers with useful information, not too many sales pitches and a good rapport with you, the blogger.
If your goal is simply to get more visitors to your site and the blog will be used to feed them into your main site, you can take a different tactic. This will require finding interesting ways to induce people to visit your site, such as news that will integrate well with a specific division in your company. For example, let’s say that you run a sales training firm. You are trying to get new clients, and finding it difficult. Your blog could cover recent statistics about a drop in trained sales people, and that would feed into your training division. Again – problem and solution.
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November 4th, 2008 — Buildify, Categories, blog design, goals, research
If you have decided to create your own corporate blog, one of the first things that you may be trying to figure out is what categories to create. Categories allow you to tag and file your blog entries, and they make it easier for your readers to find the specific entries that they are interested in reading based on the tags or categories that you choose. In other words, deciding how to pick different categories for your corporate blog is an important part of setting your corporate blog up for easy reading.
Choosing the different categories for your corporate blog begins by making a list of the different things that you want to write about in your blog. Once you have a good working list of the subjects that you want to touch on when writing your blog, the next step is going to be to open up a category for each of the topics on your list. When you are done adding categories for each of these topics, you should create one more additional category that will allow you to cover anything that goes above and beyond the scope of the categories that you already created. For example, let us say that you are creating a corporate blog for your computer or IT company. Some of the categories that you may include in your corporate blog on this subject will include:
- Computers
- Current Technology
- Industry News
- Company News
In addition to these categories, you may decide that you also like to blog about meeting interesting people and dining out when you attend corporate events. If this is the case, then adding a category to house both of these types of blog entries, or adding a category for each of these different types of blog entries will allow readers interested in learning what you are doing to find out about who you are meeting and what types of dining you are experiencing while attending corporate events and dining out with clients and other colleagues.
When you are building your first blog, reading other blogs for advice and inspiration is a good idea. Blogging on making money and blogging about blogging are not the only subjects that make money when it comes to putting together and writing in a blog. The blogosphere, or the world of blogs, is actually a lot denser with different categories and different topics and subjects that you can write about, which is why blogs are so popular in the first place.
When it comes to choosing categories for your blog, however, it would be wise to look at other corporate blogs that fit into the same niche or industry as yours, to get a feel for what other bloggers are writing about, and what types of blog entries are getting attention in your industry. Once you have a firm idea of what the current hot topics are, you can create categories that are accommodating, and this will ensure that you are working within defined categories that will attract the interest of your readers.
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September 29th, 2008 — audience, content, engaging ideas, goals, planning
When you first start your corporate blog, it can be pretty exciting. You’re all charged up about the benefits you’re going to be reaping and the sales you’ll be making. After a few weeks of this however, this newness tends to wear off. If you didn’t luck out and gain instant success with your blog, it can feel like it’s just you and the crickets. While no one wants to waste time and resources, it is important to give your corporate blog enough of a chance to make it, and that means sticking with it, even though you may be completely fed up. Here are some tips to keep you going.
1. Set up a posting schedule and stick to it every day.
Once it becomes routine, and you realize that posting really only takes a few minutes, it is easier to keep the habit. Try making your morning coffee time your corporate blog time too, or find ways to combine your posting time with something that you enjoy. If necessary, set up a reward system so that you treat yourself for every post you make. Your blog won’t stand a chance if you abandon it, so you’ve got to keep at it until something happens.
2. Set realistic expectations.
Very few blogs make it overnight, and less than 2% of all blogs are actually runaway hits. It is vital to go into this project knowing that the returns may be smaller than you expect. You will need to give your blog at least six months to develop a steady audience. If after that time you have not seen any measurable results, it will be time to reevaluate your options. Until then however, stick with it.
3. Find new ways to get excited about posting.
Every single post you make on your corporate blog does not need to be a well thought out missive. Try putting up polls instead, or reference an interesting article that you saw. By finding new things to talk about that are related to your industry, you can keep that forward momentum going.
4. Put a face on your audience.
Corporate blogging is all about putting a personal face on your business, but this works both ways. It can be pretty difficult to get excited about posting when you feel like you are talking to a brick wall. To keep your energy up, imagine that you are writing to a friend. Envision this person and write your posts as though you were having a conversation with them.
This has the added benefit of making your posts more reader-friendly and more engaging. Try it and see if you don’t notice a difference in your attitude.
5. Don’t set yourself up to fail.
If you find yourself grumbling about “no one is going to read it anyway,” stop right there. Defeatist talk will only get you defeat. You’ll need to keep a positive approach going and give yourself time to succeed. It will happen, if you apply yourself.
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September 23rd, 2008 — comments, content, customer base, goals, planning
As with any task, developing effective habits can mean the difference between success and failure. Many first time corporate bloggers don’t take the time to develop good blogging habits and as a result, they don’t do as well as they should. Here are some tips to help you get into some good habits that will pay off.
First, you need to set a specific time for blogging every day. It doesn’t take that long to write one post, and you should be able to set aside fifteen to thirty minutes of your day for this. By setting a specific time, you’re also helping your readers to learn when they should be checking your site for new content.
Next, it is vital to take the time each week to come up with a topic list. This can be very beneficial on the days where you don’t feel as creative. You’ll have that topic list to fall back on and it won’t be as difficult to come up with something to blog about. Try to find topics that are engaging and related to current events for the best results.
Now, it’s time to expand this step even further. In addition to your topic list, it is a good idea to keep a file of interesting things that you come across that are related to your blog. Whether it is a news story, another site, or something that is connected with your company, bookmark it or save it to a special file. You’ll have a wealth of topics and information at your disposal. Whenever you find something interesting put it in there and keep building this file up.
If you are facing a tough week where you will not have a lot of free time to devote to your blog, write ahead. Write out your posts for that week over the weekend or during some free time and you’ll be all set. Then, all you will have to do is post them each day, which only takes seconds. This is a great method to ensure that your blog won’t fall by the wayside, no matter how busy you get.
Lastly, it is also important to take the time to interact with your readers. This can be done after work or whenever you have a free minute. By getting into the habit of carrying on conversations through comments on your blog, you will be building up a strong readership that is connected to you.
The most important factor to a successful blog is a corporate blogger that is willing to take the time that it takes to be successful. From spending extra time developing new topics, to posting, to promotion, you have to be willing to give it your best shot. By getting into good habits early on, you will be able to fall back on these when you get busy, or when you may not feel like posting that day. Once it’s part of your routine, you can ensure that your corporate blog will never fall by the wayside.
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September 17th, 2008 — comments, goals, keywords, links, networking, search engine, statistics, web traffic
If you have ever felt like you were blogging to a wall, you know how difficult it can be to engage your audience. During the first few weeks or even months after starting your own corporate blog, there are going to be dry periods where you are writing for a handful of people. This is the most frustrating period and many bloggers pull up stakes. However, if you can begin writing more effective posts, you will start to see an increase in readers.
So, how do you that? There are many ways that you can gauge the overall effectiveness of your blog. We’re going to look at the two most important ways and provide tips on gauging and improving your effectiveness. Let’s get started!
Reader Effectiveness
This can be a tough one to gauge, at least at first, but you can learn a lot if you take the time to do your research. You will need to make sure that you have analytics software installed on your blog (Google Analytics is one of the best and it is free). This is going to be one of your main tools when it comes to figuring out how you are impacting your readers.
There are three main ways to gauge whether or not you are reaching your readers:
- The amount of comments left on your blog
- Whether or not your traffic starts to climb
- How many links you are getting from other sites
All three are vital to your corporate blog – but it’s not always easy to improve this area. First, start by including your audience in the discussion. Ask them direct questions, encourage them to leave comments, and keep up the conversation with them. Little by little, you’ll notice more interaction and your blog will begin to pick up steam.
Search Engine Effectiveness
While the results from this can be a bit slow to realize, you should start to see something happening if you are blogging effectively for search engines. You can gauge this by:
- How high your Google Page Rank is.
- How many new links you have coming in to your blog
- How well your blog does in results pages
- How many people are entering your site from search engines (see analytics)
If you are using keywords and not seeing your blog anywhere in the search results for that keyword, there is something wrong. Either you are picking keywords that simply have too much popularity, or you are not using them the right way.
Density is vital when it comes to keywords. You’ll need to include the phrase in the title of your post, in the first and last sentence and throughout the post. A good rule of thumb is to shoot for 2 to 3% density on your keywords or phrases. This will make a big difference.
If you are using keywords where there are already millions of results, fine tune your approach. For example, instead of real estate, you can use the keywords Montana Real Estate. Focus on long tail keywords as well to start building up solid results.
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September 16th, 2008 — advertisment, goals, marketing, money, networking, planning, platform, promotion, public relations, social bookmarking sites, web traffic
If you are completely new to blogging, you may find that you have a lot of questions and at times, it can be hard to find the answers. We’ve compiled the most common issues facing new corporate bloggers and supplied the answers to these problems below.
1. Is this going to make my company more profitable?
Yes and no. It is important that you go into corporate blogging with the right mindset. Yes, it can be a very powerful means of promotion, but it’s going to take a lot of time and success will not happen overnight. The main reason that most companies get into corporate blogging is not to increase sales directly, but to improve their search engine rankings. Often, the result of a better ranking is more sales, but you should not view your corporate blog as a mythical tool that will rake in millions of dollars in sales.
2. What blogging platform should I use?
This is a tougher question because the answer is a bit nebulous. Everyone is going to have their preference, but overall, the most powerful and customizable platform has to be Wordpress. You’ll have two main options with Wordpress. First, you can set up an account on Wordpress.com, where they will host and install your blog for you, or you can download a free copy at Wordpress.org and install it on your own server.
For those that don’t have a lot of experience, the hosted version works quite well, despite its limitations. For those that need more options with plugins and configuration, installing it at the server level is the best option.
3. How do I promote my blog?
Once again, there is no set answer to this question, but there are several techniques that can be used successfully. First, you’ve got to make your blog easy to find on your own corporate site. Next, you’ll need to start promoting it in two different ways, directly and indirectly.
Direct promotion involves submitting your blog posts to social bookmarking and networking sites. Indirect promotion involves leaving comments on other blogs and leaving a link to your own blog inside. This should be used in moderation and your comments should always be related to the post and not blatant promotional attempts.
4. Is corporate blogging worth the effort?
Absolutely, but only if you are willing to spend extra time promoting your blog. If not, then it is a waste of your time. A good corporate blog will take a few months to catch on and you’ve got to be willing to take the time to really work on creating great posts and promoting them. Success is not going to happen instantly, and it will take work. However, you can see a big difference in your main site’s traffic and in public opinion when you really work on your blog.
Corporate blogging is not for everyone. If you’re interested in getting started, it is best to remember that it will take a lot of time and effort. For those willing to make that sacrifice, success is just around the corner.
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September 15th, 2008 — audience, content, engaging ideas, goals, planning, reputation
If you’ve been considering starting a corporate blog, but you’re not quite sure that your company is ready yet, there is still a way that you can get your feet wet and start taking advantage of what a blog can do for promotion. Instead of closely defining a corporate blog as something that is used to talk about only your company or to relay company news, you can get involved in a niche topic that may actually be more popular.
A niche blog is usually a defined topic blog that covers something that interests you or can be related to what your company does. For example, let’s say that you run a company that specializes in search engine optimization. You could start a niche blog that would cover tips and tricks or new techniques that are available in this industry. By focusing on a single topic, you may be able to experience more success than you could with a regular company blog.
Here’s a great tip to get you started. Write down everything that your company does or sells, and get your inspiration for your niche blog from there. Find a way to tie in something that the public will find interesting or helpful and choose that to be the main focus of your niche blog. Using another example, let’s say that you have a sporting goods online store.
A great corporate niche blog for this type of company would be one that focuses on fitness tips. You can incorporate what you sell in a subtle way and provide a service to the public. That is the heart of a niche blog and the key to its success. By giving readers something they can really use or benefit from, you are ensuring that you will be able to quickly rise to the top ranks of corporate bloggers.
There are many different ways that a niche blog can be put to good use for your company. One of the most powerful is that you will be developing a reputation for yourself as an expert. Many first time bloggers make the mistake of trying to remain anonymous, or they don’t work on self promotion. We’re not saying that your corporate blog should be the “me show” but you will still need to find a way to inject a little bit of your own personality into your blog.
A niche blog offers a great way to do that, especially if you are covering tips that can be used or helpful information. Look at your blog as a way to develop yourself as an expert in what you do, and let company promotion occur as a side effect. Chances are, your blog will be more interesting and you’ll be getting solid traffic to your corporate site as a result. When you look at a corporate blog as a way of reaching out to the public and providing a service, it will give you the solid foundation you need for success.
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September 5th, 2008 — Buildify, book review, goals, planning
If you are on the fence about starting your own corporate blog, this is a great book to read to help you make your decision. The subtitle is “The Truth About Business Blogs” and that pretty much says it all. For those that don’t have time to go through stories that meander and they just want to get to the heart of the matter, this is the perfect book. It’s hard hitting, logical and presents a clear case as to why you should and why you shouldn’t have a corporate blog
The author did a great job of defining what a corporate blog can and cannot do. This is a great way to learn more about how high you should set your expectations for your blog. If you have pie in the sky ideals, they may be shot to pieces, but at least you won’t waste your time approaching your blog from the wrong angle. The book covers pretty much everything you could ever want to know about business blogging, from the tools you’ll need, to what you can really expect your blog to accomplish for your company.
Although the author uses a healthy dose of skepticism, he also provides some tips that you can really use. For example, he covers the fact that topical blogs are usually much more effective and popular than blogs that simply discuss company business. For those that are still unsure of what blogging is or why you should be doing it, the advice is very clear cut and easy to understand. You can go from a complete blog newbie to a pro just by reading this book.
The book covers what you will want to avoid with your blog as well, especially when it comes to presenting a professional appearance. There are plenty of tips contained within the pages of the book to get you started out on the right path. Although the title would indicate that the author is anti-business blogging, the opposite is actually true. He just seems to want to bring a dose of realism into the world of corporate blogging and help site owners achieve their goals the right way.
You can follow along as a blog is started from scratch, learning all the way about what you should and should not do. This was a great way to present the information that business owners really need to know and this section alone was worth the cost of the book.
Overall, we highly recommend this book to anyone that has considered starting their own corporate blog. You’ll be able to learn quite a bit about the entire process as well as learning some specific mistakes that you should not make with your own blog. We appreciated the way the author presented the information and found it to be a very quick read that was well targeted to the main audience for this book. If you don’t have a lot of time, this is the perfect book to read before you get started on your corporate blog.
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September 1st, 2008 — blog design, content, goals, money, networking, public relations
Every week, new corporate blogs spring into existence, but many are doomed to fail from the start. How can you be assured that your blog is going to be a success? Follow in the footsteps of the leaders and learn from their mistakes! There are three main secrets to successful corporate blogging, that any business owner can implement. They are easy to follow and you’ll be able to start seeing the benefits right away.
1. Be Original.
This can be broken down into three main sub categories: Design, Content and Promotion. Let’s look at the first one, design. There are thousands upon thousands of free themes out there for most blogging platforms. That doesn’t mean that you should be using one. When you’re running a corporate blog, you don’t want to have the same theme as some crazy teenager that’s a little bit emo and a whole lot desperate. It gives the wrong impression. Spend the money to have a theme designed for you that is original.
Next, let’s look at content. Sure, it’s easy to lift content or use snippets of other articles that have already been published. But why would anyone want to read that? You’ve got to put yourself in your reader’s shoes. You may be busy and a blog post may be the last thing on your mind, but you’ve got to take that time to write an original post. It will pay off. Lastly, promotion. You’ve got to find an original way to get your site noticed. This means using social networking, PPC ads and having a great campaign that will get the attention of readers.
2. Be Prolific.
The best blogs are the ones that publish every day, and in many cases, more than once a day. Frequent publishing has many benefits. First, you’re giving your readers an excuse to come back more than once and to visit every single day. Second, you’re building more opportunities for search engine indexing. The best corporate bloggers take the time to really knuckle down and commit to producing lots of original content every single day. It does pay off.
3. Be social.
Today’s online world is social and if you’re not taking part, you’re missing out. Encourage comments on your blog, talk to your readers, not at them. There are many little ways that you can be social on your blog. We’re not saying drop that veneer of professionalism, but you’ve got to find a way to reach out to them. Remember their names, use social networking sites, leave comments on other blogs. These are just a few ways that you can be social and increase your readership.
If you’re not comfortable commenting on another blog, mention one of their more interesting posts. Chances are they’ll be thankful for the publicity and they’ll return the favor. This is an easy way to build up your blog’s readership and make some great contacts in the blogging world. Corporate blogging is a great tool, especially when it is utilized the right way.
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