Blogging For Business

• How are you growing your list online?
• Where are you getting dynamic content from?  (People can only hear the same marketing message a few times before you will be ignored.)
• Hopefully by now you realize that e-mail is NOT an acquisition tool --- what are you using instead?

• Check out Coca-Cola's Blog --- as great of a job that Phil does in talking about Coke's history...I wonder what is happening today?  I have to believe that there are hundreds of people within this organization that could provide great insight into the happenings, product developments and changes through a corporate blogging strategy.
• ING - Asia Pacific has a nice blog going --- but it hasn't been updated since January 7th...a bit disappointing.  With only 2 content contributors at the Director and C-level it is likely these guys don't have the time or make the time to blog regularly...how about leveraging that passionate middle manager?
• Southwest Airlines has gotten attention for their blog in the past for good reason --- they update regularly, frequently and allow several people within the organization to blog.  Kudos to them!  I wonder how they do the administrative process there?  Check out a full review of the blog here from Mack at The Viral Garden.

I scribbled something about this in an earlier post from the EEC; but wanted to discuss this a bit more...so does blogging really make your smarter?  Well, I can't make any promises --- there are some smart people out there that blog, but I think there is the classic chicken or the egg question that comes to mind here.  Anyways --- I absolutely do think that blogging can be 'good for you' (there is some lame pun in here about organic food and search...). 

When I can't think of something to blog about --- I read more, I think harder, I relate things outside of my company to my business...all things that at the end of the day I hope make me understand our potential and current customers better and make me better at my job of brining new clients onto our corporate blogging platform.  On the flip side, when I have much to blog about I have to think of the most important points --- the facts or opinions that relate to Compendium the most and oftentimes I am forced to make a clear opinion of an issue versus the back and forth that goes on in conversation. 

So while every company may want to have smarter employees (well, more productive, anyways) --- what about having more engaged, passionate and informed employees?  My theory is at the end of the day productivity will increase when employees are freed to more deeply explore their company, job, industry, clients. 

• Go Daddy (known for being a Internet domain registrar) has launched a new blog product --- interesting; but not quite sure what to make of it and am still skeptical about podcasting ever being a viable marketing tool from an ROI and reach standpoint --- which seems to be the focus of their services.
• There were some jokes about blogging being part of one of the panelists job descriptions...my thought is that this will soon be the norm and not something really 'unique' --- so no jokes here.
• Some thoughts about 'learning from doing your blog' --- the thought process here is that as you blog you are creating a crisper point of view...by writing out your thoughts and adding commentary blogging actually helps the blogger too...I totally get this.
• 52% of the audience thought that blogs were great at augmenting what they read from traditional publications and sites...8% thought blogs were the only way to go.  All in all, 60% of the email marketers in the crowd see the value in blogs from a content perspective.
• The overall consensus that was when doing 'corporate blogging' (blogging on behalf of the company) it is a 80/20 or 90/10 rule --- in the sense that the BULK of the blog content should be focused on industry news, trends, etc and only a small portion focused on talking about your business and its value proposition.  I agree to this split here, but think it is important to talk about your company and what you are doing on a day to day basis in your blog --- it provides that human element and allows people to understand YOUR business...which is different than screaming the loudest a la billboard and traditional TV advertising.

It is really quite amazing…considering only a few years ago for most of us it was Yahoo or bust when it came to search engines of choice.  But, Google made searching better…easier…cleaner  and well, cooler….so we switched.  Now I would say for most searches you could get equally relevant results with either service; but then Google also has all of the ad-ins that are so darn handy (Google Documents, Google Reader, iGoogle page, Gmail, GChat, Google Analytics…the list goes on).  So why would I go to two places instead of one?  I won’t…and most people won’t either. 

Stick with me on this quasi-parallel…so I really like Jay Leno --- yes, I have realized with the writer’s strike that he isn’t as funny without great writers; but I think he is great.  So I used to watch Channel 8 for the 11pm news, but then would have to change the channel to Channel 13 for Leno --- doesn’t seem like much work, right?  Well…I would often miss the first minutes of the monologue and decided one day to check out the other news channel --- guess what?  I liked it better and I didn’t have to change the channel…and now I am hooked.

Back to the focus --- as Chris Baggott often says -- brand doesn’t matter much in the world anymore and merely gets you a potential buyers consideration.   But it REALLY does NOT matter on the web (think Yahoo!, Dogpile, Friendster). Something better comes along…and it is as easy as typing a new address in the toolbar or searching to get where you want to go.  And finally to the point --- there are a few ways this relates to corporate blogging:

• If you believe brand doesn’t matter as much as it used to stop spending your marketing budget otherwise.  Take some of your print or billboard and put it towards SOME type of new media...just make sure you do the research and have a purpose behind your new media campaigns.
  
• So you think brand does matter still?  You’re wrong, but I will say the people behind the brand do matter…and I might just go to the more expensive grocery store because the deli manager is more helpful and friendly than the 17 year old kid at the superstore that could care less if I get the best cut.  Let your employees have a voice and show their passion--- through their own blog.
• Be found!  No one cares how much flash your site--- they care about you solving their problem (i.e. - I need a vacuum that is good for pet hair….Where is the best place to eat fish in Memphis, etc.).  If you can, be there on search results --- that's step one and blogging for SEO is a great way to get there (step two would be having an awesome web site that tells the whole story and provides interaction). 
• Go Organic.  Solve the problem, don’t sell (the sales adage – we don’t sell, we provide solutions).  You solve the problem by having the most relevant information; this information shows up on a search result in the organic (natural) section versus the PPC area that is rarely clicked on simply because it doesn’t provide relevant information. 

This is a somewhat far-fetched idea --- and I am sure there is some 'real' research out there somewhere (if you find it…let me know!).  A question I have is how different people really do search?  Is there a demographic (age, gender, socio-economic status) that lets us know that this person will be very descriptive (long-tail) in their search or may be a specific demographic will structure their search verb-noun (buying homes) versus noun-verb (home buying) or even the improper use of  prepositions at the end of a questions (i.e. - where is Burma at?).  I feel as if Google's personalized search results will start to answer these questions a bit.

On the flip side may be there aren’t demographics that will tell us how one searches and what we have known for years holds true to be the main indicator of how one searches ---  where in the buying cycle the potential client or buyer is.  We know that searches get much more specific as the buyer is further along the buying cycle and can often include brand names or the word “buying”. 

But here is where I am going with this...if (or when) you can determine what search terms users have at a given point in the buying cycle this is huge first step as now you can have your call to action on a blog directed at this stage (learn more here vs. buy now.   However, could you imagine if you knew how your various demographics were searching?  Customizing the content & look and feel based on this knowledge (buying stage + demographics) could yield amazing conversion rates (we can even implement what we know from brick & mortar stores here to some extent --- color theory, placement, etc.)  Imagine being able to direct all 20-somethings that are close to buying to the same blog with relative accuracy?  It is a marketer's dream!

So what's the next step for your company in getting to this point?  Implement a blogging strategy, see where your hits are coming from (obviously, this works best if you are blogging for SEO), work to determine who they are coming from, define what terms are highly converting and of course, adjust your blogging strategy based on what you know. 

Some sites get some amazing traffic, but aren't able to keep the traffic in the 'off season.'  Well --- as with everything in marketing you have to think about "what are your goals?"; but for the most part we would all like to see more people on our sites...more potential views of our ads, more people learning about your company or  product and hopefully more people converting.  So what are these sites that have some sort of seasonal or event based component to their business to do?  Well --- first off, it is important to win search...so that your site shows up when someone is searching for your solution --- not when you think someone may be searching.  In other words, even though you think the only time most people look for information on swim lessons is in the spring...you better be showing up on search results all year around...because people might want them in the winter indoors and if you can offer that great; if not, have a compelling site that wins search in January convincing a parent that your lessons starting in May are the absolute best.  So really, winning search through blogging is part one.  Part two is engagement.  Someone finds you --- comes to the site once, but why would they come back?  May be they didn't convert the first time on the site and are still in the buying process or aren't looking to buy for a period of time --- however, why would they come back to a site that is simply a brochure style site?  That's the second layer of blogging...people get to know you, value your opinions and have a reason to revisit your site...even when it is -2 degrees outside and you think no one is even thinking about swim lessons.

I am excited for a new boost of energy in Compendium's own blogging strategy...we have just started a new blogging initiative within our own company and everyone has the goal of blogging twice a week --- a great place to start! 

With several new employees starting within the last couple of weeks this is also great timing within the organization --- as externally facing blogs are a gold mine when it comes to getting to know others within your company better including their attitudes, thoughts and knowledge about corporate blogging.  So check out a few of the newest Compendium Blogs.

• Blogging from the Server Side
• Seeking Sales Success
• Empower Your Website for SEO
• Happy Blogging

• More, more and more...continue to remember content is king for blogging for search --- a post doesn't have to be a great literary work.  So let's say blog postings 3 times a week at a minimum.
• Use keywords appropriately; this is a hard line to draw --- while it is important to produce keyword rich content in each blog post it can't be forced or your posts start to sound computerized and become dehumanized.
• Educate readers about corporate blogging...why I don't claim to know it all --- I think every blog needs to provide great information to the reader.  If you are on the first page of Google results you better be saying something worthwhile of that ranking.

One of the statements that I often come across in the sales process is "my customers don't read blogs, so I don't think we should spend time and money creating one."  Well, there are a few things wrong with this somewhat antiquated notion regarding business blogs.  First, have you (as a markerte) asked your customers if they read blogs?  Probably not.  I think the amount of your target market that does read blogs is probably a lot bigger than you imagine.  Next, even if a large portion of your customers don't know what a blog is --- chances are they have read one!  Blogs do great in search (especially SEO Optimized blogs) and many people come across blogs everyday when they are searching Google and never realize they were "reading a blog." 

The final point is that even if some of your current customers aren't "big into the blogging thing" --- chances are there are some potential customers that are searching the web with a problem that your product can solve (i.e. - a great lead); shouldn't you be standing there, telling your story and winning over new customers...acquisition through your blogging solution!

Back to the first point; below is a funny visual about Facebook "for old people" (original source here); but the truth is that the popularity of social networks, blogs and other Web 2.0 tools is growing faster in older generations --- so before you dismiss your clients as non-Internet savvy; take a second look...chances are they are doing more on the web than you think!

A recent Dell survey to small business professionals shows that 24% are most interested in "Blog Marketing" and 22% of respondents were most interested in "Lead Generation." (see the chart below).  Surprise:  These top two interests can be achieved through a single blogging strategy.  Blog with a purpose --- blog for SEO and there is your lead generation.  Leads come through search (around 80% of all web visits start with search)...blogs are great for search.  And to the small business marketer:  It is great to be interested in these topics...but I encourage everyone to take a larger piece of their traditional advertising and marketing budgets and put it towards web and search engine marketing for 2008.  Everything is testable!  Dive in...try out some of the Web 2.0 options --- corporate blogging, PPC, e-mail marketing and watch your qualified leads grow!

I just got back from the SIPA Conference in Miami and one of the most exciting things that I learned more about was "universal" or "blended" search on Google.  Both Jay Berkowitz and Bill Barnes hit on this topic in their sessions.  The basic idea is that Google will serve up all types of results in a traditional search --- including images, videos, blogs....integrated in with traditional text results (see the example to the left).  This isn't NEW...but it is getting closer to becoming a reality.  So all the same rules are applying here in the sense that Google is working to serve up the most relevant results --- however, the variety of these results has just been expanded. 

Blogs are perfect and ready for this change --- make sure you optimize your videos and pictures (i.e. - tag, name appropriately) and then this is just one more way for your corporate blogs to win search --- over traditional websites.

I ran across this cartoon on bLaugh and thought I would share.  How many times have you ran across a "dead" blog...not updated for weeks, months or years...I always wonder, did they just simply run out of things to say? 

Business blogging is different --- while a teenager may stop loving Hannah Montana and stop updated her "I Love Hannah" blog or a political campaign will be over and therefore that candidate blog may die --- a corporate focused blog has no reason to end.  If you are still in business there is something to blog about...who is your latest client?  What are the upcoming changes for your product?  What are the industry trends and news?  How does the news/policies affect your business?  Just a few questions to start your business blogging today...and tomorrow.

This past Friday I had the assignment of going to the MBO Conference; a local Indianapolis event focused on "Internet Marketing" ...and I was stoked from the start.  It ended up being a great day of networking and learning more and more about online marketing, SEO, social networking and of course, blogging! 

Douglas Karr covered blogging and did a great job in a short amount of time covering the nuts and bolts of why blogging is important for companies and what blogging really is about.  Doug's follow-up post provides some great information for marketers on how corporate blogs can work with your website and provide that necessary dynamic content.  Oh, and on another note --- check out Doug's consistency with his blog posts...one of the keys to success in any blogging effort...brings the point home that not every post needs to be a chapter of "War and Peace" and that some shorter snippets really work great for SEO and for reader's interest.