The first step in getting your blog content right is picking the right set of blog objectives to fit you business objectives and align with your other marketing efforts. I put together the list below as a start. I am sure that you can add to this list based on your experience or what you have seen. I have been helping a number of business bloggers with their efforts and continue to see new approaches. I welcome additional suggestions. Tomorrow I will offer a similar list on a related but different topic - the types of blog posts. Again I welcome additions.
• Expand your market exposure and brand awareness
• Provide the informal, more personal side to market communication
• Provide useful tips and answer FAQs on products and services
• Provide background and contextual information on your company and its products and services
• Introduce new products and services
• Test potential product and service ideas and get market feedback
• Cover company news
• Provide a trusted news source for your market
• Enhance existing communication channels, publicize and coordinate with them
• Establish a thought leadership position in your market area
• Comment on other key bloggers in your market space
• Become part of a blogging community or multiple communities in your market space.
• Enhance customer relations and provide a personal, conversational communication channel
• Provide background and contextual information on key employees, making a moiré personal connection with the market
• Provide insights from a variety of perspectives by enlisting multiple bloggers
• Create a searchable knowledge resource for yourself, your customers, and the market on things you feel are important
• Support a cause that interests your customers or supporters
• Provide another direct sales channel
• Acquire new revenue streams
Also, consider uses of a blog for communication inside the firewall as many companies have successfully done. Examples include;
• Team collaboration
• Internal communication
• Project management
• Company content management
• Personal knowledge management
• Learning channel
Great lists - a reference post for sure.
On the internal one, this works for quite small businesses/teams, as well as big enterprises. Even in small businesses/work groups you get the "nobody ever tells me what's going on around here" syndrome. A busy (is there any other kind?) business owner, CEO, exec, can use a blog to keep her or his team more in the loop, get early warnings, log in from the field, share good news/new deals etc, get feedback and deal with issues on the go, not just at a weekly/monthly/annual gripe session (or worse, as part of an exit interview). And now with services like Utterz you can do that from your cellphone wherever you are.
Posted by: Des Walsh | December 11, 2007 at 05:35 AM
Des - Thanks for your suggestions. They are good expansions. Bill
Posted by: bill Ives | December 12, 2007 at 08:07 AM
A very useful article..Thank you.
Posted by: scott | February 07, 2008 at 07:53 AM
Thank you for this information. It was very helpful
Posted by: Pam | February 06, 2009 at 03:16 PM
You are right. Thanks for this valuable information. For communication and project management, have a look to http://pm-software.org This site has several reviews about project management directory.
Posted by: Account Deleted | November 28, 2010 at 10:56 AM
I can call myself a veteran in trying out new PM tools and though I found some that compete against the likes of MS project and basecamp, this one really took me by surprise. Just check it out -- http://2-plan.com …and with animated graphics it is loads of fun too
Posted by: Account Deleted | December 12, 2010 at 02:40 AM