A new blog can be a very exciting time for any company. Depending on what report you read, you can find anywhere between 60,000 and 160,000 blogs popping up every month. With all the blog noise, it's incredibly difficult and pertinent that you set your blog apart from the pack. Here are three simple ways to get organized so your company can start blogging effectively:
Assign Bloggers
Who is going to contribute? Assigning bloggers is the first step to any blog. Of course we want the whole company to pitch in, but in reality, that just can't happen. Some people might not be interested, while others simply don't have the time to take on additional work.
We're all busy at work, but it's important to try and include individuals who have a unique perspective on their area of expertise and are willing to contribute. Ideally, you want people who are excited about their position and are willing to encourage others to get better at their jobs. It's very easy to tell when someone is forced to write a blog post versus someone who actually wants to contribute their knowledge to the masses.
Try and assign a blogger from each department so that your blog can create a well rounded discussion about your company and services as a whole.
Assign Schedules
Many leading bloggers will tell you that it is of the utmost importance to blog consistently. Whether that means 5 times a day or once a month, consistency is key.
Consistent blogging is part of what keeps viewers coming back. If I know that my favorite blog always posts new articles on Wednesday, then you can bet that every Wednesday I'm going to check out their site.
Depending on how many bloggers you assign, create a schedule. Give everyone a specific date when their blog post is due and try to keep them on track. Things always come up, but one of the benefits of technology is the ability to assign things to happen in the future. If a contributor has a conflict with their posting schedule then have them turn in their post early and just assign it to post at a later date.
Often professional bloggers will assign a whole set of new posts to launch while on vacation or during a particularly busy time of year. Just because you’re on vacation or swamped at work doesn’t mean your blog audience has to suffer.
Assign Resources
Not everyone is a born blogger and not everyone reads blogs all day long. Many people tend to get nervous when you ask them to blog because the task seems daunting, or the process confuses them, or for any number of reasons related to starting something new.
I personally have three blogs that I write for and still on occasion get finished with a new post only to never release it because of some sort of insecurity. I think it's confusing to read, or think that no one is interested in that topic. If you let your mind wander, you could come up with hundreds of excuses not to post your article.
It's important to give new bloggers resources that they can use to help create new post ideas. Here are a few ideas that I gave our staff when it comes time for them to post a new article:
Forums
No matter what your blog is about there is a forum on it somewhere. Google "your topic + forum" and you'll stumble onto something. Pick a few of their questions or issues for your next blog post.
Client Questions
How many times a day do you get asked questions by clients? I keep a notepad of questions I get asked throughout the day, which makes perfect blog posts when I can't think of a new topic.
Office Questions
The same scenario as the client questions reference above. Co-workers can ask just as many questions as clients and these can also be used for blog posts.
Blog Comments
If you read a lot of blogs you'll notice that people tend to ask questions to the author. Depending on how popular the blog is, an author can easily get swamped and not have time to answer every question that comes through. These questions can be a great source for your next post.
Your blog is a direct relationship to the outside world. You need to make sure that your blog is as well rounded and intuitive as your company. Giving your bloggers as many resources as they can handle is only going to help the quality of content your blog produces.
Blogging can be a great way to give your company more exposure, but you have to be willing to put in the time.
How about you? What are some other ways you've encouraged your company to get in the blogging game?