SEOWorld

Corporate Blogs - The Strategy

Once you have decided that your organization can value from having a blog, where do you start? A strategy is just as important in your blogging attempt as it is with anything else of value to your company. Your blog strategy refers to the basic direction and purpose of your blog, and what actions are necessary to achieve this direction. Simply put, what end do you seek and how do you intend to achieve it? I’ve listed a few of the key steps to getting your blog started on the right foot, and keeping it going in the long run.

Define your goal- What do you want to accomplish? Determine the goal and focus of your blog first, and then prepare a list of 10 topics to be covered. It’s a good idea to do keyword research before establishing this list of categories so that you can include topics that are actively being searched for related to your company. This will increase your appearance in search results. Once this list has been created, stick to it.

Determine who will write - Designate an editor or chief blogger to coordinate the management of the blog, but consider who else within your organization would be a useful contributor. Are there people within your company who already maintain their own blogs? Consider making them a part of your blog team. Consider who has a passion for one of the topics you have chosen. If you aren’t passionate about your topic, your readers will be able to tell.

Consistency - Decide how many times per week you will post to your blog. You might start with a plan to post 1-2 times a week. That is fine; just stick to it. If you increase your posting to 4 times a week, do not go back to only posting twice a week. Your readers will count on your consistency.

Create a Calendar - Unlike a personal blog, where you can write about whatever strikes you each day, you will want to make a plan. Utilize your list of categories and the keyword research that you’ve done to create a calendar of the topics to be covered. This will ensure that you to stay on topic. Ask department leads what they would like to say to the end users. What do they wish for the users to know?

Design - It’s not necessary to spend thousands on having a blog designed. Some of the top rated blogs have very simple designs. The most important factors are simplicity and ease of use. Utilize your logo and the same look and feel of your current website.

Valuable content - As your write to the topics selected for your blog, consider the value to your user. Write content for your customers. What information can you provide them that will help them succeed? Consistently providing valuable content will keep your users interested and establish trust.

Comments - Allow comments on your blog, because a blog without comments is just web page. You are creating a community through your blog, so don’t take your users for granted. Furthermore, respond to users who comment on your blog. This will promote loyalty among your users.

Track your progress - Invest in some analytics software to track your progress. The first few months of blog growth can be measured by the following four stats: Technorati ranking, Alexa ranking, Comments, and Number of subscribers.