Content Marketing

5 Tips For Manning A New Company Blog

By Inae Oh

Congratulations! Really. You not only managed to land a job in this sour-faced economy, but you’ve managed to secure a job as a WRITER for your company blog. We writers know that to be paid by the electronic pen these days is to truly hit gold. More importantly, I’ll be sure to look your way for the next round of happy hour drinks.

Image by Cristiano Betta via Flickr

But before you go on writing any old drivel for the universe to read, make sure to keep certain important guidelines in mind. Yes, blogging is meant to be a fun, approachable look into a company’s inner workings — what’s going on at the office on Friday afternoon? — Meet our latest new hire! But fun and approachable doesn’t warrant readers knowing that most of your coworkers have a rather disconcerting drinking habit every afternoon, let alone Friday afternoon.

Nor is your blog virtual real estate for political allegiances or any overt biases (unless of course you’re writing for a political organization). Instead, remember to include links to RSS feeds! Analytics is key! And so on.

These things may seem obvious, but trust us, we’ve spotted some rather excruciating no-no’s and gaffes made by company bloggers. Anyone recall the Marc Jacobs Twitter meltdown? Ok, that was actually pretty awesome to watch an intern stand up for themselves, but we’re going to bet they’ve burnt that high fashion bridge to the ground.

Check out these tips for writing your company’s blog:

Maintain Publishing Frequency

Unfortunately, there’s no magic number to the ideal number of posts you should write in a day. Every company is different, but one thing is for sure — you should make sure to write regularly. An untended blog only shows a lack of care for the company’s overall message, and even worse, a lack of regular posts might mean your company is just…boring (gasp!). So remember to keep the content coming, but also remember to avoid posting for the sake of posting. Like the coworker who talks just to talk, it’s obvious when empty words are spoken. Write when you’ve got viable, interesting content. It’s simple and soon enough, it’ll be natural.

Leverage Social Media

Blogs are a great place to include links to outside social media pages, such as your Facebook and Twitter accounts. If someone is reading your company blog, it’s likely they’re interested in what your company has to say. Pretty logical, right? Facebook and Twitter are just two more ways for readers to engage with their communities, and one of the best places to feature your social media plug-ins is on your blog. Take it even further by including Twitter’s ‘Follow’ buttons. It’s also very useful to reference tweets or cool, new Facebook updates directly in your posts. The same goes for social media: remember to tweet new blog posts. It’s all about interconnectivity and the more you train your audience to click on your company’s different community tools (blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) the better.

Have a Voice, But Don’t Get Too Personal

One of the most important elements to a company blog is a distinguished voice. However, that’s not to say a company blog is a soapbox to fill everyone in on what you did Saturday night or why you can’t seem to find Mr. Right. That’s a surefire way to raise eyebrows from readers (not to mention your bosses…) Keep your content professionally relevant.

Engage Your Readers

You’ve been tapped as the honorable voice of your company. A voice is meant to be heard, and your audience more often than not, will often respond. So don’t leave your readers hanging. As mentioned, those who read the blog are often people who desire to engage with your brand. Engagement is a two-way street that requires following up, answering questions, and responding to thoughtful comments. Otherwise, expect a decline in numbers. It’s like a big-person relationship that needs tenderness and care( aka text capital): would you keep texting a potential love interest who never answers back? No. After several attempts at a response, your text capital has run out, and therefore you no longer want to try. Show your audience the love they deserve!

Complement Your Blog With A Newsletter

Too often are bloggers forgetting to remind their readers about another source of great content — the company newsletter. If you’re writing up a sweet post on a cool event your company is hosting, remember to give a shout out to the newsletter. “Want more updates on great events such as this? Get them sent straight to your inbox with our newsletter by clicking here.” Connect the dots and keep your community looped in.

Hope this helps you with the fine art of company blogging. Of course, there are many more tips to equip you with, but these are the starters. Watch this space for more detail. Good luck and keep getting paid!