So many advice columns, tips and books focus on what you should talk about on your corporate blog, but few ever go into things that you should not talk about. While it is important to focus on the positive, you also need to be aware of some common mistakes that can derail your efforts. With the right approach, and saying the right things, your corporate blog can be successful. However, it only takes one bad post to sink all the work that you have done.

Let’s go over a few things that have no place on corporate blogs:

1. Company Rivalries –

If company X has stolen your customers/clients/ideas, your blog is not the place to air that dirty laundry. Company rivalries may be interesting, but at the end of the day, the participants just end up looking foolish, or downright nasty. It is best to take the high road when you are in the midst of a problem like this and keep the dirty laundry where it belongs. Your corporate blog should always present the best possible public face to the world, and that face should not look petty.

2. Bad News –

While there are some instances where full disclosure on a blog can benefit a company when there is bad news, if you are not versed in the art of communicating bad news and putting a good spin on it, it does not belong on your blog. Once again, we come to the public face of your company. Your blog is the place for positive news, not for “the sky is falling and we are all going to be homeless.” Keep the bad news out of your blog, unless there is absolutely no way that you can avoid addressing a problem.

3. Inappropriate Humor/Graphics/Videos/Sound Files –

Viral videos have exploded on to the scene and although many are truly funny and you may want to share them, they have no place on a corporate blog. Bottom line – if you wouldn’t tell a joke, show a video or graphic to your 98 year old grandmother, it doesn’t belong on your blog. You may think it’s funny, 99% of your readers may agree, but it’s that 1% that can tank your company. Always keep it clean, and avoid running the risk of tarnishing your company’s image through inappropriate content.

One thing that corporate bloggers need to be aware of before they write one word is that in the blogosphere, a post is forever. It’s not just about weathering the storm that a bad post can cause for a week. Thanks to search engines, caching, linking and copying, a bad blog post will live forever.

Before you write anything, think for a minute if you will be proud of that post in a month, a year, five years. Chances are, that’s how long that post will be around. If the answer is no, write something else. Always take the high road and your company will benefit.

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Originally posted 2008-10-22 05:29:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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(Blogger, etc… focus on how posts may be deleted forever without warning, lack of professionalism, etc…)

In a lot of different instances when it comes to blogging, making use of a free blogging platform can really come in handy. If you are writing a personal blog or a blog that is only meant to be read by friends, family members and casual colleagues, then making use of a free blogging platform like Movable Type or Blogger is actually a good idea. These blogs allow you to blog as part of a giant network where you can gain exposure and readership just by posting, which makes them an excellent place for you to start out when you are just beginning to get the hang of blogging. Unfortunately, these are not a long term solution by any means because as a blogger with a free blogging network platform, you are actually subject not only to someone else’s rules relating to blogging, but also a loss of apparent professionalism by not having that individuality or uniqueness that you would have if blogging privately on your own website.

Because you are subject to the rules of the blogging platform that your blog is based off of, you may find your blog posts being deleted for no apparent reason and absolutely no warning, which can force you to deal with a difficult blow. How would you like to write a really nice, really detailed post that will attract readers, only to find out sometime later that it was deleted from the server because a moderator for the blogging platform did not agree with it? No warning is given, nor is any real chance to save your work before it is gone. While most moderators on blogging platform sites like Blogger and WordPress are working hard to be fair, this does not mean that you are protected.

In addition to the risk that your blog posts may be deleted without any real warning or rhyme or reason, another threat that you face is losing your look of professionalism because you are blogging on someone else’s website. This is similar to the difference between having your own domain name, or parking your website at http://www.geocities.com.

Which is more professional, in your eyes, http://www.mycorporateblog.com or http://www.geocities.com/~mycorporateblog?

The same thing goes when it comes to your blog. You want your blog to be a representation of your professionalism as an employee with the company and a blogger on the internet, and what this means is having your own unique blog website using an open source blogging software. WordPress may have a network where bloggers can create their own blogs on site, but their software is also downloadable, allowing you to create your own customized blog off site as well. This gives you an opportunity to create a professional blog that will do everything in its power to uphold your image of professionalism, which is a good part of why you are blogging in the first place.

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Originally posted 2008-11-20 05:18:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Growing traffic to your corporate blog is not a difficult process if you know what to do. If you have a corporate blog and you need to grow your traffic base, here are some simple steps that will help you create a more effective overall corporate blog.

1 – Know who you are targeting.

What types of readers or customers are you hoping to attract? Before you can grow traffic to your blog you need to know what kind of traffic you are intending to attract. Come up with a list of the types of readers that you want to gain the attention of, then fine tune your writing accordingly.

2 – Now that you know who you are targeting, the next step is to become savvy when it comes to keywords.

Choose good keywords, not necessarily the most popular, but still keywords that will benefit you. Choose keywords and phrases that are on target, on topic and on subject without them being searched for by absolutely everyone. There are a lot of software solutions out there that will give you a good idea of what keywords to use, such as WordTracker for instances which allows you to test out different words and phrases.

3 – Focus!

Make sure to liberally cover your postings with the words and phrases that you chose. This is not always easy for people who are not trained in SEO, but with some practice you can learn how to implement important keywords into your blog. Search engines like Google are beginning to use advanced algorithm technology that allows them to analyze the nature and subject of your page in order to index it more efficiently, so the more keyword rich your blogs are, the better off you will be.

4 – Make your blog real and personal.

In other to build the most value possible in your corporate blog in order to build traffic, you need to write consistently, regularly and passionately. You have to care about the subject that you are writing about, which is what will allow you to deliver the content that readers are looking for. If you want your prospects, vendors, partners and customers to believe in the content that you are posting, you need to post content with true value and meaning.

5 – Now that you are writing the types of content that your potential target markets are looking for, the final step is to promote yourself!

Use every ounce of marketing know how that you have to help your blog reach out to your target readers. Mention your blog on your website and in your direct mail correspondence. Mention it in your newsletter and utilize RSS feed links. E-mail your contacts with information about what is currently going on in your blog, and implement other advertising campaigns like Google AdWords, Ad Sense and other vital gateways to much larger networks.

“Build it and they will come” is not enough, but once you build your blog, the next step is to spread the word if you want your ideal target market to find you.

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