For those thinking about starting a corporate blog, there are a few caveats that should be considered before you ever throw your hat in the arena. The blogosphere can be a scary place if you are not prepared and it is easy to have a disaster of epic proportions on your hands without even realizing it. There are numerous stories of corporate blogging disasters and while they can be amusing, the owners of the companies affected probably would not agree.

A corporate blog is a unique tool that allows you to reach out to the public, increase brand awareness and build up your customer base. It is also a tool that has the potential to cause irreparable damage. You don’t want your blog to go down in flames, and you certainly don’t want it to take your company with it. Here are some tips to help you avoid the most common blogging disasters.

1. Pick your bloggers well.

If you will not be doing your own blogging, this usually means that the task falls to an employee. You will need to make sure that they are well balanced, can handle criticism and can post in an articulate and friendly manner. Think of this blogger as a public speaker – would they present the right face for your company to the public?

You also need to make sure that the employee is a stable individual that is not prone to bursts of anger or being disgruntled. You don’t want your company’s dirty laundry aired to the world and it only takes one angry blogger to turn the tide against you. If you end up firing a blogger, make sure that you remove their posting capabilities BEFORE you do so that they don’t have a chance to post one last burning missive.

2. Be consistent.

If you decide to allow comments on your blog, great. Just don’t change your mind. This gives an incredibly bad image of your company and makes it seem as though you have something to hide. Likewise, refusing to allow comments on your blog can give the same impression. Find the balance by using comment moderation tools to weed out bad comments and let the good ones through.

3. Always remain professional.

Your corporate blog is not the place to get overly personal. You may be having a bad day, you may hate your job, you may want to stick it to your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend but your corporate blog is not the place to air these subjects. Always keep your private thoughts private – they just don’t belong on your blog. Keep your posts friendly and open, but make sure that you never cross that line.

By utilizing these three simple rules, you can avoid becoming a blogging disaster for the history books. If you have never blogged before, or you prefer not to leave your company’s future in the hands of an employee, it is a good idea to get some help with your blog. There are blog management services that specialize in helping you present the right image and get your message across.

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Originally posted 2008-07-15 05:25:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Currently, one of the best ways to reach out to your customer base is through the use of a corporate blog. When it comes to getting that personal touch just right and humanizing your company, there is no better tool than a blog done well. Let’s take a look at just a few of the benefits that a corporate blog can bring your company.

1. Greater Discoverability

Static pages such as you find on a regular site are not very discoverable when it comes to search engine traffic. If you’re in a very tight niche, it can be difficult to get your pages up to the top of the search engine results. When you have a corporate blog, you’re boosting that discoverability for the following reasons. First, you have more content that is added to on a regular basis. Search engines start spidering your site more often and the result is that you have a higher ranking in search results.

Second, you’ll be covering several different topics that readers of all kinds will be interested in. The more you write about the better your chances are of having new customers stumble upon your blog and as such, your company.

2. The Human Touch

Many consumers view corporations are being soulless and run by a bunch of drones. A corporate blog that is done well will create that human element and help consumers see that your business is run by real people. This builds a stronger level of trust and your readers begin to develop a relationship with you via this blog. Over time, this can lead to a fan base as well as regular visitors and much more traffic.

3. Better Brand Awareness

Part of the key to building a strong brand is having that instant name recognition. When you have a corporate blog, you’ll be exposed to an entirely new audience. Your fans will begin to associate your company with openness and they will begin to recognize not only your name but your brand as well. There is no better tool for quickly building up your company’s brand.

This is not to say that corporate blogging is easy. In many cases, it may be beneficial to outsource the management of your blog to a trained professional that is capable to assisting you with SEO as well as pertinent advice on how to avoid common blogging pitfalls. By having a professional company guide you on your path towards corporate blogging the successful way you can be assured that you can avoid not only these pitfalls but that your blog will be able to accomplish all of the points mentioned above as well as many other benefits.

Blogging is an exciting new horizon for many companies and while it isn’t foolproof, with the right team, you can make a big difference in your company’s popularity. It’s definitely a balance, but with the right elements, you can have a very successful corporate blog that gets noticed.

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Originally posted 2008-06-24 05:34:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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One of the latest trends is corporate blogging, but is it right for you company? Not every company under the sun can benefit from having a blog, but there are quite a few benefits that can be reaped in the right circumstances. First, you’ll need to decide what you want to do with your blog and then you’ll be able to figure out whether or not it will be useful for your unique business.

Let’s take a look at some goals that many companies have when it comes to setting up a corporate blog. First and foremost, this can be used for some very powerful PR that is very cost effective. You’ll have something to talk about on a constant basis and an audience that is targeted for your industry. Nearly every kind of business can utilize their blog as a means of driving up their publicity.

Another common goal for a corporate blog is to build brand awareness and a customer base. By having that personal connection with your readers you will be able to create a relationship that will be long lasting and memorable. Many corporate blogs are faithfully read on a regular basis.

You can also use a blog to increase product awareness and eventually sales. Since your audience of readers is so targeted to your industry, it is very easy to promote new product launches through your blog. This is a very useful means of advertising that is cheap and very effective. Few other methods of advertising can produce this kind of result.

Next, you’ll need to decide whether or not you have the time to keep a blog current. There is nothing worse than starting up a blog and building up a readership than to leave them cold with an infrequently updated blog. If you’re going to get into blogging, you’ve got to make that commitment to stick with it, no matter what.

Since this is difficult for many companies it is recommended that you find a blog management company that can make it a lot easier to stay on top of everything. These professionals can be of great assistance in keeping your blog updated on a daily basis and they can help with the overall management and promotion of your blog. You can even hire blog managers that can assist you in coming up with new content on a regular basis so that you can stay connected with your customers.

Corporate blogs are very powerful tools, but they need to be managed correctly if they are going to be of any use to your business. With the right help, your blog can easily become well read and it can achieve the goals you’ve set down. On the same token, an improperly managed blog can lead to disaster. It’s best to get that help you need from the start to make sure that your blog stays on target and reaches as many people as possible on a regular basis.

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Originally posted 2008-06-16 05:27:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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When it comes to reaching out to your customers or building up your customer base, a blog is a very powerful tool. Unfortunately, many companies do not take advantage of these benefits and they are missing out on some very powerful marketing techniques that are not only cost effective but useful. Let’s take a look at a few of the reasons that a corporate blog can make a difference for your company.

First, you’ll be able to start building brand awareness right away. Most consumers don’t feel a connection to a new brand right away and if you’re only using a static site to attract them, they may not be impressed. Your goal is to become an immediately recognizable force. By using a corporate blog to attract attention you can easily accomplish this and establish yourself as a leader in your industry.

Next, when it comes to search engine optimization, a blog is one of the easiest ways to guarantee that search engines are going to index your site and rank it higher in the results. This is due to the fact that you’ll be publishing content on a regular basis and that your blogs can contain keywords that will help improve your ranking. For those in a very limited niche that is already crowded, this can really make a difference.

You can also use a blog to reach out to your current customers in a time of crisis. This can be a very powerful tool when you are trying to put your best face forward. Normally, many companies do not have the opportunity to explain their side of the issue. With a corporate blog you’ll have that forum you need to get your message across in any crisis situation.

A corporate blog can be used to promote new product launches or new services. This is a very powerful aspect of a blog. You’ve got a way to instantly connect with your customers and provide them with breaking news about your company’s products and services. Since your audience is already targeted, you’re guaranteeing that your readers are going to be interested in what you have to say. Although many prefer to keep their blogs non-commercial, this is a very powerful way to increase sales as well as reach out to customers in a cost effective manner.

Lastly, you’ll have the ability to closely interact with your customers and see what is really on their minds. If you allow comments on your blog, you can really see how your company is perceived and what you could be doing differently to attract the right kind of attention.

Running a corporate blog can be a bit complicated if you want to avoid the common pitfalls that plague business owners. It is recommended that new companies or those trying to establish a blog for the first time work with a professional to ensure that all of their needs are met. This helps ensure that a company’s new blog will be successful and noticed.

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Originally posted 2008-07-14 05:20:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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