What Makes a Great Company Blog?

April 14, 2008 Comments (13)

Mack Collier

Mack Collier

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As more companies and businesses enter the blogging waters, it's becoming easier to identify the characteristics of an outstanding company blog.  Next week at the Small Business Marketing Unleashed conference in Houston, I'll be presenting on the topic of Blogging for Business.  Part of my presentation will cover the elements of a great company blog, and I thought it would be a good idea to cover those areas here as well.

So today will be the first of a five-part series this week examining the elements of a successful company blog.  Let's first look at the content.

When a business starts blogging, many aren't sure what they should be blogging about.  So they begin writing about what they know best, themselves.  Unfortunately, the last thing a business blog should be, is a tool to promote that business.

Instead, companies should use their blog to provide value for their readers, and to give them information that they can find use in.  Note what Patagonia states is the purpose of its blog, The Cleanest Line:

"The goal of The Cleanest Line is to further Patagonia's mission by encouraging dialogue about the products we build, the sports we love and the environmental issues we're concerned about. By talking openly about the products we build, Patagonia users can help us achieve ever greater standards of quality and functionality. By spreading the word about specific environmental issues, we can increase awareness and take action as quickly as possible. By sharing field reports, we can inspire one another to keep experiencing the natural wonders of our precious planet. And like any good conversation, there's always the possibility for pranksters and poets to direct the conversation towards territories lacking any seriousness whatsoever."

Patagonia understands how to position its blog as a place to discuss topics that are of interest to their current and potential customers.  Instead of going overboard with self-promotion, they instead promote the values and ideals that are at the heart of their brand.  Which is what their customers relate to.

Before you begin creating content for your blog, put yourself in the shoes of your reader.  Why would a person want to come to your blog?  What would they be looking for?  If someone arrived at your blog via a Google search, what would they be searching for?

While some promotion on your blog is fine, don't go overboard.  Visitors to your blog will become readers only if you give them content that they find value in. 

Tomorrow I'll look at how a great company blog sets its posting schedule.



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Comments (13)

While they are true these points are not enough though. I just wrote down the 10 commandmantes of business blogging which add some crucial aspects I think:
http://seo2.0.onreact.com/10-commandments-of-business-blogging

While value is the goal the way to reach it is to be focused on as well.

Posted by: Tad Chef on April 15, 2008

Commandments! My spanish just wen wild it seems...

Posted by: Tad Chef on April 15, 2008

It will be interesting to see more articles on this subject...Most blog owners have no idea where to begin when it comes to continual writing of their blog so even hiring an copywriter for good content may be beneficial.

Posted by: Search Engine Optimization Journal on April 15, 2008

Thanks Mack. I look forward to the rest of the series and to meeting you next week! :)

Posted by: Rachel Phillips on April 15, 2008

"While they are true these points are not enough though."


Thanks for the feedback Tad, but this post is the first in a series, and only addresses how to properly frame the content on your blog in a way that engages the reader and gives them the information and value they are looking for. There's FAR more to successful business blogging than this, and I'll be covering the other areas over the course of this week!

Posted by: Mack Collier on April 15, 2008

Rachel can't wait to meet you!

Posted by: Mack Collier on April 15, 2008

Awesome tips! Thanks for sharing them!

Posted by: Federal Watch on April 15, 2008

Focusing on reader needs, rather than corporate news, provides many advantages. Patagonia, a great company on many levels from employee satisfaction, brand prestige, and social responsibility - seems apt. Their success with blogging should surprise few folks.
Yet most of us can not reach those heights. I hope you provide more practical tips in the next essays. Please remember that some of your target audience includes small and medium businesses taking their first, tentative steps into the wild, wild web world of blogging.
Thanks!

Eric

Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create compellingconversations.com
www.compellingconversations.com

Posted by: Eric Roth on April 15, 2008

"Focusing on reader needs, rather than corporate news, provides many advantages. Patagonia, a great company on many levels from employee satisfaction, brand prestige, and social responsibility - seems apt. Their success with blogging should surprise few folks.
Yet most of us can not reach those heights."

Eric just to clarify, what do you think Patagonia is doing that the average blogging small business cannot?

Posted by: Mack Collier on April 15, 2008

Mack,

Great article.

My company has been running a corporate blog for about 18 months now and we've seen great success both in terms of search engine rankings and visitor numbers. The key for me is to refrain from overtly promoting the company. A well managed and interesting blog says everything you'd want to say about a company anyway.

We even get criticism from readers when we put anything that promotes the company even a little bit!

Check us out http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog

We'd be happy to contribute if you wanted to do a case study or anything like that.

Posted by: Nick Hibberd on April 16, 2008

Great Mack, so i guess I have to subcribe, damn one more feed to watch ;-)

Posted by: Tad Chef on April 17, 2008

Our small company is under 2 years old. Our blog is a key component of our culture. New employees have told us that they were interested in joining the firm becasue of our blog! We would be pleased to participate in any way.

Posted by: SEI Design Group on April 17, 2008

Great subject! I've just launched my online toy store, and from what I've been reading, blogging is a key component of successful marketing. Since this is all new to me, I'll be hanging on your every word!

Posted by: Linda Moore Kurth on April 17, 2008

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Search Engine Guide > Mack Collier > What Makes a Great Company Blog?

Mack Collier is a social media consultant, and author of The Viral Garden, a blog focusing on marketing and social media. He also is a frequent contributor to the website Marketing Profs, as well as the marketing blog Daily Fix.

Known for his 'community-first' approach to blogging and social media, Mack focuses on teaching companies how they can use social media to excite and engage their customers, as well as better understand and market to them.

Mack is a requested speaker and has advised companies of all sizes on their social media strategies, from small businesses and startups, to companies as large as Dell and Nettwerk Music. His writings have been referenced in several mainstream publications and websites, including The Washington Post, MSNBC.com, Ad Age, CNET, and The Boston Globe.

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